Mammals News

August 25, 2016

Ecology of Bringing Back the Woolly Mammoth

Tiny Extinct Australian Marsupial Lion

Whiskers Help Animals Sense Wind Direction

Reproducing Spots and Stripes of a Furry Animal

Latest Headlines

updated 10:51pm EDT

New Study Reveals Adaptations for Snub-Nosed Monkeys

Aug. 23, 2016 — In a heroic effort, researchers have now sequenced, assembled and analyzed the mutations in the genomes of 38 wild snub-nosed monkeys (from genome mapping of 42 individuals: ... read more

Whales in the Desert?

Aug. 24, 2016 — In Cerro Colorado, located in the Ica Desert of Peru, sedimentary sequences dating back nine million years have been found to host the fossil skeletons of hundreds of marine ... read more

The Cave Bear: A Vegan Gone Extinct

Aug. 23, 2016 — Scientists have studied the feeding habits of the extinct Cave Bear. Based on the isotope composition in the collagen of the bears' bones, they were able to show that the ... read more

Novel Molecular Clues Behind Nocturnal Behavior

Aug. 22, 2016 — Scientists offer new insights into why many animals sleep at night and are active during the day, while others do ... read more

Logged Rainforests Can Be an 'Ark' for Mammals, Extensive Study Shows

Aug. 22, 2016 — Research reveals that large areas of 'degraded' forest in Southeast Asia can play an important role in conserving ... read more

Proton Pump Found to Regulate Blood pH in Stingrays

Aug. 19, 2016 — Researchers have discovered the same enzyme used by 'boneworms' to dissolve whale carcasses, and that helps promote photosynthesis in corals, also regulates blood pH in ... read more

Most Island Vertebrate Extinctions Could Be Averted, Concludes New Study

Aug. 18, 2016 — Eight of every ten species extinctions has occurred on islands, and invasive mammals are the leading reason for those losses. Currently, 40 percent of species at risk of ... read more

Common Cold Viruses Originated in Camels, Just Like MERS

Aug. 18, 2016 — There are four globally endemic human coronaviruses which, together with the better known rhinoviruses, are responsible for causing common colds. Usually, infections with ... read more

Small Population Size? It Doesn't Have to Mean That Species Can't Adapt to Environmental Change

Aug. 17, 2016 — Worldwide, there are 16,938 endangered species. From the white rhino to the blue whale, numbers are dwindling in the face of ... read more

Pre-Hispanic Mexican Civilization May Have Bred and Managed Rabbits and Hares

Aug. 17, 2016 — Humans living in the pre-Hispanic Mexican city of Teotihuacan may have bred rabbits and hares for food, fur and bone tools, ... read more

Tiger Sounds Could Help Save Population

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

Hawaii May Ban Some Swimming With Dolphins

The Real Culprit Behind The Common Cold Might Be ... Camels?

On the Prowl for an Elusive Rodent Called 'the Ultimate Pokémon'

Aug. 16, 2016 — Researchers are on a real-life search for what one calls 'the ultimate Pokémon': Zenkerella, an elusive scaly-tailed squirrel that has never been spotted alive by scientists. However, ... read more

New Species of Extinct River Dolphin Discovered in Smithsonian Collection

Aug. 16, 2016 — A fossil that has been in the collection of the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History since it was discovered in 1951 is today helping scientists piece together the evolutionary ... read more

Elbows of Extinct Marsupial Lion Suggest Unique Hunting Style

Aug. 16, 2016 — Scientists have proposed that the long extinct marsupial lion hunted in a very unique way - by using its teeth to hold prey before dispatching them with its huge ... read more

Twenty-Five Little Bones Tell a Puzzling Story About Early Primate Evolution

Aug. 15, 2016 — A cache of exquisitely preserved bones, found in a coal mine in the state of Gujarat, India, appear to be the most primitive primate bones yet discovered, according to a new analysis. Their ... read more

Lions in West and Central Africa Apparently Unique

Aug. 11, 2016 — Lions in West and Central Africa form a unique group, only distantly related to lions in East and Southern Africa, biologists have ... read more

Historically Robust Natural Ecosystems Could Collapse Due to Climate Change, Human Activity

Aug. 11, 2016 — Global change will strike the oldest and most complex ecosystems of the world hardest, regardless of their past stability, warn experts in a new ... read more

Our Ancestors: More Gorilla Than Chimp

Aug. 11, 2016 — A new study that for the first time examined the internal anatomy of a fossil human relative's heel bone, or calcaneus, shows greater similarities with gorillas than ... read more

Total Number of Neurons -- Not Enlarged Prefrontal Region -- Hallmark of Human Brain

Aug. 10, 2016 — New study has determined that the total number of neurons, not an enlarged prefrontal region, differentiates the human brain from those of other ... read more

New Analysis Shows Threats to 8,000 Red List Species

Aug. 10, 2016 — Less than a month away from the kick-off the IUCN World Conservation Congress in Hawaii, a team of scientists reports that three quarters of the world's threatened species are imperiled because ... read more

How Climate Change Will Hurt Humanity's Closest Cousins

Aug. 10, 2016 — The consequences of climate change are an increasing concern for humans around the world. How will we cope with rising sea levels and climbing temperatures? But it's not just humans who will be ... read more

Study Pushes Back the Origin of HIV-Related Retroviruses to 60 Million Years Ago

Aug. 9, 2016 — A research group has used genomic data from the exotic Malayan flying lemur (colugo) to uncover the oldest lentivirus ever identified, whose first emergence may date to as early as 60 million years ... read more

Deer Evolution: Ancient DNA Reveals Novel Relationships

Aug. 9, 2016 — Researchers have sequenced mitochondrial DNA from museum specimens of rare species of deer. Analysis of partial nucleotide sequences has enabled the team to refine our picture of the evolutionary ... read more

Tiger Sharks Opt for Scavenging on Dead and Dying Sea Turtles as a Feeding Strategy

Aug. 8, 2016 — Researchers found behavioral evidence that tiger sharks prefer to opportunistically scavenge on dead or weakened green turtles rather than actively hunting healthy individuals despite more ... read more

Contamination from Marine Mammals May Hamper Recovery of California Condors

Aug. 8, 2016 — Biologists have discovered high levels of pesticides and other contaminants from marine mammals in the tissues of endangered California condors living near the coast that they say could complicate ... read more

Cat Scat: Research Examines Food Habits of Snow Leopards

Aug. 4, 2016 — A new study finds researchers may have been missing the mark on the diet of endangered snow leopards. The findings suggest the leopards have been consuming larger, not smaller, species, and ... read more

Whales' Ultrasonic Hearing Has Surprisingly Ancient History, Fossilized Ear Shows

Aug. 4, 2016 — All living toothed whales rely upon echoes of their own calls to navigate and hunt underwater, a skill that works best in conjunction with high-frequency hearing. Now, researchers who studied one of ... read more

Mystery of Sable Island’s Growing Wild Horse Population

Aug. 4, 2016 — Biologists have made a significant advance in understanding the ecology of Sable Island and its iconic wild horses -- one that underscores how intimately connected living systems ... read more

Deadly Bat Fungus in Washington State Likely Originated in Eastern US

Aug. 3, 2016 — The White-nose Syndrome fungus recently detected for the first time in western North America is genetically similar to strains found in the eastern United States and did not likely originate in ... read more

Foraging Strategies of Smallest Seals Revealed in First Ever Satellite Tracking Study

Aug. 3, 2016 — The first ever satellite tracking study of one the world's endangered seal species has revealed new information about their migration habits and hunting ... read more

Flies as a Mechanical Vector for Yaws

Aug. 2, 2016 — Yaws is a tropical disease that infects the skin, bones and cartilage. It is caused by the bacterium Treponema pallidum subspecies pertenue. Mostly children in remote tropical areas of Africa, ... read more

Tuesday, August 16, 2016

Monday, August 15, 2016