Animals
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Researchers solve fossil croc mystery
Confusion over genetic and fossil data has now been sorted.
Assumptions about the evolutionary descent of a type of crocodile found in India have been shown to be false after re...
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City bees do better than country bees
Pollinators have more success in built-up areas.
Wild bees do better in cities and suburbs than farmland, according to new research. The finding has implication for t...
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Hare fur changes with the seasons
The hare has adapted to changing environments.
Most snowshoe hares, to cope with the changes in their environment over the course of the year, change their colour t...
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Horses know when something’s amiss
Study suggests the animals are smarter than we think.
Horses, it seems, may have a sense of the incongruous. Research led by cognitive scientist Kosuke Nakamura from the ...
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New spiders get the Enid Blyton treatment
Children’s author inspires arachnid researchers.
Six newly discovered species of spider have been named after Enid Blyton characters. The spiders are all members of ...
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New gibbon species found in Chinese tomb
Noblewoman’s tomb contained an ape unknown to science.
A previously unknown, extinct species of gibbon has been found in the most unlikely of places – the 2300-year-old tom...
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Parenting, lemur-style
Dads receive a boost in hormones from being active parents.
In humans, when men marry and have children, their levels of male sex hormones often decline. Scientists think this c...
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Five new species of snail-sucking snakes
Four of the new species are endangered.
The natural world is replete with unusual eating habits – moths bully larger animals and drink their tears, ostriches...
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Human activity turns species nocturnal
Mammals change their behaviour to avoid human beings.
As humans spread relentlessly across the globe, animal species are finding it increasingly difficult to keep their di...
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Lizards avoid predation by scaring predators
Scientists have discovered the purpose of its trademark feature.
The common blue-tongue lizard (Tiliqua sincoides), found throughout mainland Australia, uses its tongue as a defence ...
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Lessons from ants and fungi for better transport
Managing traffic isn’t just a human problem.
As more and more people move to cities, the experience of being stuck in impenetrable gridlock becomes an increasingl...
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Bees understand the concept of zero
Honeybees are remarkably numerate, research shows.
Honey bees understand the numerical concept of zero, demonstrating a level of cognition not previously known to exist...