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Ocean channel in Bahamas marks genetic divide in Brazilian free-tailed bats
Aug 18, 2017 | 21:24 pmBrazilian free-tailed bats are expert flyers, capable of migrating hundreds of miles and regularly traveling more than 30 miles a night. But they pull up short at a narrow ocean channel that cuts across the Bahamas, dividing bat populations that[…]
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Mechanisms explaining positional diversity of the hindlimb in tetrapod evolution
Aug 18, 2017 | 15:23 pmElucidating how body parts in their earliest recognizable form are assembled in tetrapods during development is essential for understanding the nature of morphological evolution. Researchers found in eight tetrapod species that the position of the sacral vertebrae and the hindlimbs[…]
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In search of Edwards' pheasant: Amost extinct?
Aug 18, 2017 | 00:09 amScientists say we need to improve our information about little-known species to reduce the risk of one going extinct just because no-one is interested in looking for it.
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The laws of attraction: Pheromones don't lie, fruit fly research suggests
Aug 17, 2017 | 22:00 pmFor the first time, scientists have shown that a female fruit fly's pheromone signals can actually tell males how much energy her body has invested in egg production versus in storing away energy for her own survival. And it's a[…]
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Olfactory receptors that enable ants to smell and recognize workers, males, and their queen identified
Aug 17, 2017 | 17:21 pmTo reign supreme in a colony, queen ants exude a special scent, or pheromone, on the waxy surface of their body that suppresses ovary development in their sisters, rendering the latter reproductively inactive workers that find food, nurse the young[…]
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First successful wild whale shark health assessments performed
Aug 17, 2017 | 16:09 pmFor the first time ever, scientists successfully performed health assessments, including collecting blood and biological samples, taking measurements and attaching satellite tracking tags, to a population of wild whale sharks -- the world's largest fish, classified as 'endangered' since 2016.[…]
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‘Euro Devil’: Fossil of carnivorous marsupial relative discovered in E Europe
Aug 17, 2017 | 14:31 pmScientists have discovered fossil remains of a new carnivorous mammal in Turkey, one of the biggest marsupial relatives ever discovered in the northern hemisphere.
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Larvaceans provide a pathway for transporting microplastics into deep-sea food webs
Aug 16, 2017 | 19:51 pmA new article shows that filter-feeding animals called giant larvaceans can collect and consume microplastic particles, potentially carrying microplastics to the deep seafloor.
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Pig-to-person spread of flu at fairs a continued concern
Aug 16, 2017 | 18:46 pmThe spread of influenza among pigs is common at fairs and other gatherings, and protective measures including cutting the length of time pigs and people congregate make good sense for both the animals and humans, say the authors of a[…]
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Popular sungazer lizards under threat from poaching
Aug 16, 2017 | 15:02 pmThe sungazer (Smaug giganteus), a dragon-like lizard species endemic to the Highveld regions of South Africa, is facing an assault on two fronts as farming and industrialization encroaches on its natural habitat -- which already consist of only a several[…]
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