FLORA FAUNA

5,060 articles

Toxic sea snail uses weaponized insulin to subdue prey
Jan 20, 2015 (UPI)
Cone snails are some of the world's most unassuming poison dealers, none quite as venomous or inventive as the geographic cone snail (Conus geographus). The geo...
Out of the pouch: Ancient DNA from extinct giant roos
Jan 20, 2015 (SPX)
Scientists have finally managed to extract DNA from Australia's extinct giant kangaroos - the mysterious marsupial megafauna that roamed Australia over 40,000 y...
New species of legless amphibian found in Cambodia
Jan 16, 2015 (AFP)
A new species of legless amphibian resembling a giant earthworm or a snake has been discovered in a remote but threatened area of Cambodian rainforest, conserva...
The chemicals that insects use to communicate and survive
Jan 15, 2015 (SPX)
Most insects are covered with a thin layer of hydrocarbon molecules as a waterproofing barrier. Embedded in this layer are compounds that the insects use as che...
Endangered Amazon monkeys more diverse than thought
Jan 15, 2015 (SPX)
Research by UCLA life scientists and 50 colleagues sheds new light on the biological differences among more than 150 species of monkeys in South America, many o...
Surprise discovery off California exposes loggerhead 'lost years'
Jan 15, 2015 (SPX)
The discovery of numerous juvenile loggerhead turtles by a NOAA Fisheries research survey more than 200 miles off the Southern California Coast has revealed new...
Jaw mechanics of a shell-crushing Jurassic fish revealed
Jan 15, 2015 (SPX)
The feeding habits of an unusual 200-million-year-old fish have been uncovered by a University of Bristol undergraduate in a groundbreaking study which has been...
Swedish court gives green light to wolf hunters
Jan 15, 2015 (AFP)
Swedish hunters were given the go-ahead Thursday to shoot 36 wolves this winter as animal activists suffer a setback on one of the country's most divisive envir...
New Species Discovered Beneath Ocean Crust
Jan 15, 2015 (SPX)
Two miles below the surface of the ocean, researchers have discovered new microbes that "breathe" sulfate. The microbes, which have yet to be classified and nam...
Dinosaurs wiped out rapidly in Europe 66 million years ago
Jan 15, 2015 (SPX)
Dinosaurs flourished in Europe right up until the asteroid impact that wiped them out 66 million years ago, a new study shows. The theory that an asteroid rapid...
N.Z. navy in high-seas standoff with 'illegal' fishers
Jan 14, 2015 (AFP)
The New Zealand navy was involved in a high-seas standoff with two suspected poaching ships in Antarctic waters Wednesday after the vessels used "evasive tactic...
Australia migratory bird levels plunge from Asia development
Jan 14, 2015 (AFP)
Coastal developments in northeast Asia are threatening the survival of Australian migratory shorebirds, a study has found, with some species experiencing popula...
An ecological rule for animals applies to flowers
Jan 13, 2015 (SPX)
When, in 1833, Constantin Wilhelm Lambert Gloger published his key observation that warm-blooded animals tend to be more heavily pigmented or darker the closer ...
42 mastodon bones found in Michigan backyard
Jan 13, 2015 (UPI)
Two neighbors in central Michigan recently spent four days digging up bones, 42 of them in total -- the remnants of an ancient mastodon, which experts believe w...
A honey bee hive tells all
Jan 13, 2015 (SPX)
Exactly what plants do honey bees visit on their daily forages for food in rural Madison County, Ohio? A research team led by Dr. Reed Johnson from The Ohio Sta...
The devil is in the detail of life
Jan 13, 2015 (SPX)
Researchers have looked at a species of fish to help unravel one of the biggest mysteries in evolutionary biology. In many species of plants and animals, indivi...
Evolution: Rock sponges split up
Jan 13, 2015 (SPX)
A study led by researchers at Ludwig-Maximilians-Universitaet (LMU) in Munich throws new light on the evolution of the so-called rock sponges, and reveals that ...
Two-faced fish clue that our ancestors 'weren't shark-like'
Jan 13, 2015 (SPX)
An investigation of a 415 million year-old fish skull strongly suggests that the last common ancestor of all jawed vertebrates, including humans, was not very s...
Hunting bats rely on 'bag of chips effect'
Jan 11, 2015 (SPX)
When bats hunt in groups at night, they rely on the sounds of their fellow bats to tip them off on the best places to a grab a good meal. Researchers reporting ...
Mapping snake venom variety reveals unexpected evolutionary pattern
Jan 11, 2015 (SPX)
Venom from an eastern diamondback rattlesnake in the Everglades is distinct from the cocktail of toxins delivered by the same species in the Florida panhandle a...
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