Animals – latest news.
Enlarge / A chimpanzee named Ayumu participates in an eye-tracking session in an experimental booth. (credit: A. Goncalves et al., 2022) Swiss primatologist Christophe Boesch once commented on a picture of a chimpanzee skull, pondering, “What goes on in the chimpanzee’s mind when they see such a sight in the forest? ” We might not yet […]
A male orb-weaving spider catapults off a female after mating. Survival could mean another chance to fertilize her eggs. A male orb-weaving spider catapults off a female after mating. Survival could mean another chance to fertilize her eggs. Rudyard Kipling famously observed in a 1911 poem that “the female of the species is deadlier than […]
Enlarge / Brown University biologists x-rayed boa constrictors to determine how they manage to breathe while squeezing prey to death. (credit: John Capano) Watching a boa constrictor capture and consume its prey is quite something. First, the snake strikes and latches onto the prey with its teeth, then it coils its body tightly around the […]
Figaro the cockatoo displays his “primate level” combination tool-using skills by playing a cockatoo version of “golf, ” and choosing the correct hole for a cashew reward. Two other cockatoos figured out different tool-using techniques to achieve the same result. (Goffin Lab) Figaro the cockatoo displays his “primate level” combination tool-using skills by playing a […]
Enlarge / The patterns of the ocellated lizard are predictable by a mathematical model with regard to phase transitions. (credit: UNIGE or Michel Milinkovitch) Zebras and tigers have stripes, cheetahs plus leopards have spots, and the ocellated lizard ( Timon lepidus ) boasts a labyrinthine pattern of black-and-green chains associated with scales. Now researchers from […]
Enlarge / (left) Biologists have named a newly discovered species of branching worm, Ramisyllis kingghidorahin, after Godzilla’s nemesis. (right) Fragment of one specimen of the branching worm. (credit: M.T. Aguado) In the 2019 blockbuster film, Godzilla: King of the Monsters, everyone’s favorite kaiju, Godzilla, battled another titan named King Ghidorah, a monster notable for its […]
Enlarge / Sure, they look like they’re just taking a friendly swim, but these two dolphins are actually aroused. A recent study found that female bottlenose dolphins have large erectile bodies that fill up with blood, large nerves with nerve bundles that end right under the skin, thinner skin on the clitoris body, and genital […]
Enlarge / A gecko perches on a leaf. A September study found that geckos are very good gliders, and their tails help stabilize them when they crash-land into tree trunks. (credit: MPI for Intelligent Systems) There’s rarely time to write about every cool science-y story that comes our way. So this year, we’re once again […]
Enlarge / SEM Micrograph of a tardigrade, more commonly known as a water bear or “moss piglet. ” (credit: Cultura RM Exclusive/Gregory S. Paulson/Getty Images) There’s rarely time to write about every cool science-y story that comes our way. So this year, we’re once again running a special Twelve Days of Christmas series of posts, […]
Enlarge / Veterinarians at Chicago’s Shedd Aquarium have pioneered a lot of unusual procedures to diagnosis and treat the animals in their care—including figuring out to give MRIs to electric eels. (credit: Aurich Lawson | Getty Images) Right before Thanksgiving, we reported on how Chicago’s Shedd Aquarium solved the Curious Case of the Missing Chloroquine. […]