Animals News

September 9, 2016

The Adorable Thing Bats Do to Catch Prey

Not One, but Four Giraffe Species

New Reptile Species from 212 Million Years Ago

Strange Fossil: Snake Eats Lizard Eats Beetle

Latest Headlines

updated 12:51am EDT

Yellow or Black, Large or Small? Ant Color and Body Size Respond Strongly to Environment

Sep. 8, 2016 — A study of ants across three continents has revealed that their color and size is strongly influenced by their environment, ... read more

Picky Ants Maintain Color Polymorphism of Bugs They Work With

Sep. 7, 2016 — Researchers have found that ants have a particular preference for aphid colonies with certain colors, which could be why these bugs are able to keep their colors ... read more

Crab from the Chinese Pet Market Turns out to Be a New Species of a New Genus

Sep. 7, 2016 — Shimmering carapaces make crabs attractive to pet owners. To answer the growing demand, fishermen collect and trade ... read more

Historical Coexistence With Dingoes May Explain Bandicoot Avoidance of Domestic Dogs

Sep. 7, 2016 — Domestic dogs and cats were introduced to Tasmania two centuries ago, but bandicoots still fail to recognize these ... read more

Risk to Small Children from Family Dog Often Underestimated

Sep. 7, 2016 — Dog bites suffered by young children are often inflicted by the family dog. Such incidents frequently occur despite the presence of an adult. A survey of dog owners shows ... read more

Tuning the Instrument: Spider Webs as Vibration Transmission Structures

Sep. 6, 2016 — Two years ago, scientists revealed that, when plucked like a guitar string, spider silk transmits vibrations across a wide range of frequencies, carrying information about ... read more

Flowers Critical Link to Bacteria Transmission in Wild Bees

Sep. 6, 2016 — Flowers are a hot spot of transmission of bacteria that end up in the microbiome of wild bees, new research has found. The work shows for the first time that multiple flower ... read more

Critically Endangered Whales in Russia Recovering

Sep. 6, 2016 — The critically endangered western gray whale population that feeds in Russia's Far East waters is slowly showing signs of recovery, but their numbers and range are still at risk from industry ... read more

Global Warming Data Not Enough to Predict Animal Extinction, Lizard Study Finds

Sep. 6, 2016 — Current models used to predict the survival of species in a warming world might be off target because they ignore the ... read more

Blue Coral Snake, Calliophis Bivirgata: A Mysterious Beauty Armed With Exotic Toxins

Sep. 5, 2016 — Toxicologists in Malaysia published the first report on the venom proteome correlating toxic functionalities of the Malayan ... read more

Tiger Sounds Could Help Save Population

Swimming With Dolphins In The Wild Could Soon Be Banned In Hawaii

London Zoo's Animals Have Annual Weigh in

Dead Fish Fill NJ Creek

Stealth Pig Cells May Hold the Key to Treating Diabetes in Humans

Sep. 8, 2016 — In preclinical work begun this year, stealth insulin-producers — pancreatic islets from pigs or mice coated with thin bilayers of biomimetic material — are being tested in vivo in a mouse model ... read more

Throughout History, Humans Have Preferred Their Pigs to Be Black, Suggests Study

Sep. 6, 2016 — An international team of researchers studied the mitochondrial DNA and MC1R gene sequences in tissue samples collected from 57 modern feral Hawaiian pigs. They found a novel mutation in all the ... read more

Four out of Six Great Apes One Step Away from Extinction, Experts Say

Sep. 4, 2016 — The Eastern gorilla -- the largest living primate -- has been listed as Critically Endangered due to illegal hunting, according to the latest update of The IUCN Red List of Threatened ... read more

New Model Could Help Improve Prediction of Outbreaks of Ebola and Lassa Fever

Sep. 2, 2016 — Potential outbreaks of diseases such as Ebola and Lassa fever may be more accurately predicted thanks to a new mathematical model. This could in turn help inform public health messages to prevent ... read more

Placenta in Females, Muscle Mass in Males: Dual Heritage of a Virus

Sep. 2, 2016 — It was already known that genes inherited from ancient retroviruses are essential to the placenta in mammals. Scientists have now revealed a new chapter in this astonishing story: these genes of ... read more

'Ghost Snake' Discovered in Madagascar

Sep. 2, 2016 — Researchers discovered a new snake species in Madagascar and named it 'ghost snake' for its pale grey coloration and elusiveness. The researchers named it Madagascarophis lolo, pronounced ... read more

Crop Domestication Is a Balancing Act: Some Ants Are Still Trying to Get It Right

Sep. 2, 2016 — The ancestors of leaf-cutter ants swapped a hunter-gatherer lifestyle for a bucolic existence on small-scale subsistence farms. A new study has revealed that living relatives of the earliest ... read more

Zolushka Sighting: The Tiger Cinderella Story Continues

Sep. 2, 2016 — Brought into captivity as a nearly starved, 3-month old cub, the tigress that became known as Zolushka (Russian for "Cinderella") flourished in a rehabilitation center designed to prepare ... read more

'Gambling' Wolves Take More Risks Than Dogs

Sep. 1, 2016 — Wolves pursue a high-risk, all-or-nothing strategy when gambling for food, while dogs are more cautious, shows a new study. This difference is likely innate and adaptive, reflecting the hunter versus ... read more

Of Dogs, Foxes, Cows, Camels, and Men: The Fight Against Rabies in Northern China

Sep. 1, 2016 — China has the second highest number of reported rabies cases in the world, but numbers of human deaths have been decreasing. According to WHO, the Chinese authorities are forecasting national rabies ... read more

New Virus Gets Official Name, Influenza D

Sep. 1, 2016 — A new influenza virus that affects cattle has an official name. influenza D. The executive committee of the International Committee of Taxonomy of Virus announced a new genus, Orthomyxovirdae, with a ... read more

It's a Boy: Controlling Pest Populations With Modified Males

Sep. 1, 2016 — Populations of New World screwworm flies -- devastating parasitic livestock pests in Western Hemisphere tropical regions -- could be greatly suppressed with the introduction of male flies that ... read more

Species Conservation Profile of a Critically Endangered Endemic for the Azores Spider

Sep. 1, 2016 — Subject to continuing population decline due to various factors, an endemic cave-dwelling spider from the Azores is considered as Critically Endangered. To provide a fast output potentially ... read more

Subantarctic Seabed Creatures Shed New Light on Past Climate

Sep. 1, 2016 — It takes thousands of years for seabed communities to recover from major glaciation events, new research suggests. The study focused on the seas around South Georgia in the south ... read more

Unique Health Survey of Finnish Cats Reveals Common and Breed-Specific Illnesses

Sep. 1, 2016 — A research group has conducted a unique study on the health of Finnish cats. The most typical health issues in cats have to do with the mouth, skin and kidneys. In addition, the research group ... read more

LED-Lighting Influences the Activity of Bats

Sep. 1, 2016 — The widespread replacement of conventional bulbs in street lighting by energy-saving light-emitting diodes (LEDs) has considerable influence on bats as urban nocturnal hunters. Opportunistic bats ... read more

Endangered Right Whale Population Threatened by Entanglements and Dramatically Declining Birth Rate

Sep. 1, 2016 — The most endangered large whale species in the Atlantic is threatened by increasing rates of lethal and debilitating entanglements and a dramatic 40 percent decline in birth rates since 2010. About ... read more

Food Puzzles Enhance Feline Wellbeing

Sep. 1, 2016 — Greater understanding of the importance of environmental enrichment in enhancing an animal's physical and social environment is bringing benefits for pet cats -- particularly those that are kept ... read more

Habitat Is a Crucial Factor in Survivability of Released Tortoises

Aug. 31, 2016 — A team of wildlife experts has analyzed the effect of habitat quality on the survival and dispersal of released desert tortoises. Juvenile tortoises used in this study originated from eggs produced ... read more

Massive Loss of African Savannah Elephants

Aug. 31, 2016 — The results of the first-ever pan-African survey of savanna elephants using standardized data collection and validation methods, has now been announced. The report confirms substantial declines in ... read more

Thursday, September 8, 2016