Fossil teeth suggest that seeds helped save bird ancestors from extinction
Around 65 million years ago, at the end of the Cretaceous period, a sudden cataclysmic event wiped out almost 50% of all species on Earth, ending the reign of the dinosaurs. How is it that the...
View ArticleWhy raptors are losing the race in beak evolution
Ever since Darwin’s famous observations of the Galapagos finches, the wonderful and vast diversity of bird beaks has provided a wealth of examples of natural selection – from the spoonbills to the...
View ArticleControversial conservation – bringing the northern white rhino back from the...
Ten years ago, the last wild northern white rhinos (Ceratotherium simum cottoni) were killed in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. These magnificent mammals, which once roamed the central African...
View ArticleThe Sea Urchins That Defy Ageing Regardless of Lifespan
Ageing – the reason we will all eventually die. Our bodies and minds change. We undergo physical and psychological alterations. Our tissues become worse at regeneration and repair. Similarly our...
View ArticlePeculiar ancient island mammal predates dinosaur extinction
It might look like not much more than an over-sized shrew, but the solenodons (the Cuban solenodon, Solenodon cubanus, and the Hispaniolan solenodon, Solenodon paradoxus) are a very special group of...
View ArticleNew technology boosts hopes for critically endangered monkey
Technology and biodiversity haven’t always had the greatest of relationships. Generally speaking, as technology has advanced it has made life easier for people. When life gets easier, people multiply...
View ArticleCrustaceans act recklessly when intoxicated by algae
Dive into the Atlanic Ocean off the coast of Maine, USA, and you’ll find tiny creatures called copepods. These 1 mm sized crustaceans, named after their ‘oar-feet’ that they use to row themselves...
View ArticleHow to Protect One of Africa’s Most Elusive Cats
African golden cats are mysterious, understudied, and threatened by the logging industry and the bushmeat trade—but recent research provides the first evidence that sustainable business practices...
View ArticleNew technology to prevent bird-aircraft collisions
Birds may have inspired humans to conquer the air, but now that we share the skies each year hundreds of birds and aircraft collide, causing billions of pounds of damage and a number of fatalities....
View ArticleToxic moths deter predators with an acoustic warning
An arms race between bats and moths has been raging for over 65 million years. As bats become more adept at catching their prey, embattled moths have to counter with survival strategies of their own....
View ArticleFeature: Pájaros of Peru
As I walked around the network of small overgrown lakes, I could already see the next mist net. The 12ft long horizontal net, with mesh too fine for birds to see, happily stood poised against the dying...
View Article30 years on, the creatures of Chernobyl thrive
Over 30 years have passed since the Chernobyl disaster devastated the city of Pripyat, Ukraine, and left its citizens fleeing for their lives. At the time it was difficult to imagine that anything...
View ArticleBeetle babies: newly discovered beetle gives birth to live young
In the insect world it is common to find females laying their eggs and promptly leaving them to develop and hatch on their own. No parenting awards for them, perhaps, but the strategy does work. In a...
View ArticleGalapagos islands home to world’s largest biomass of sharks
The Galapagos Islands of the Pacific are home to many wonders and are often linked to Darwin’s seminal studies. The waters around the islands are also rich with life and diversity, and new research has...
View ArticleThe last link between mammals and reptiles survived far longer than expected
What can teeth tell us about an animal that is thought to be the last link between mammals and reptiles? Quite a lot, actually. The recent discovery of fossilized teeth has cast doubt on the idea that...
View ArticleThe last two Montserrat ‘mountain chicken’ frogs could save their species
The “mountain chicken” frogs on the Caribbean island of Montserrat are in a perilous and seemingly irredeemable situation. It’s worth questioning whether attempted recovery is even worth the effort....
View ArticleHow the ‘ship of the desert’ was domesticated
Bathed in sunshine, casting shadows on the sand beneath their feet, ‘ships of the desert’ are an iconic animal, synonymous with travel through romantic and beautiful desert landscapes. For over 3,000...
View ArticleBeach debris reduces sea turtle nesting success
Sea turtles play important roles in both aquatic and coastal ecosystems, spending most of their life at sea but requiring sandy beaches to reproduce. When they haul themselves up beaches to nest, they...
View Article‘Shark jelly’ has record proton conductivity
Sharks, skates and rays have the ability to locate their prey by detecting the electrical signals that an animal gives off as it moves. Key to this ability is the ‘ampullae of Lorenzini’ (AoL),...
View ArticleManta rays found going with the flow
South of the great barrier reef, there is an island where manta rays (Manta alfredi) group together. A recent study on these rays has revealed the secret that drives their feeding behaviour, and may...
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