Browsing Tag
evolutionary biology
16 posts
Why some primates have even tougher births than humans
Lia Betti, UCL and Nicole Torres Tamayo, UCL; Institut Català de Paleontologia Miquel Crusafont Scientists have long thought…
Seals have a unique superpower in their ears, and we finally know how it evolved
James Patrick Rule, Monash University; Ian G. Brennan, Australian National University, and Travis Park, Monash University Have you…
Spider fangs are one of their scariest features – new fossils reveal their origins
Mark Williams, University of Leicester; Lorenzo Lustri, Yunnan University; Tom Harvey, University of Leicester, and Yu Liu, University…
This tiny Australian spider uses a high‑powered web catapult to trap and eat aggressive ants
Ajay Narendra, Macquarie University There’s more than one way a spider can spin its web. Some construct large…
Turtles finally have a place in the tree of life: X‑ray study of South African fossils was a decider
Valentin Buffa, University of Zurich; Jonah Choiniere, University of the Witwatersrand; Julien Benoit, University of the Witwatersrand, and…
Ancient bones show dogs have been woven into human life for nearly 16,000 years
Reconstruction of 14,300-year-old dog jawbone from Gough’s Cave, England. Tom Anders & Longleat Andrew Fairbairn, The University of…
Cacti may help explain a centuries‑old mystery of evolution
Jamie Thompson, University of Reading This question of why some branches of the tree of life explode into…
What’s it like to be a bat? Scientists develop new solution to the puzzle of animal minds
Graham Holtshausen/Unsplash Cristina Luz Wilkins, University of New England; Amy Lykins, University of New England; Cathrynne Henshall, Charles…
Fern stems reveal secrets of evolution – how constraints in development can lead to new forms
The lacy frond of the intermediate wood fern (Dryopteris intermedia). Jacob S. Suissa, CC BY-ND Jacob S. Suissa,…
How the first animals evolved – a new clue from a tiny relative
Max Telford, UCL The next time you go wild swimming, whether in a lake, river or sea, you…