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Evolution & Behaviour

showing 121-125 of 160 breaks

New fossil giraffe helps unravel the evolution of this iconic family

Despite everyone thinking of a giraffe's long neck as its distinguishing feature its family members are defined by two characteristics unrelated to necks: they all have double-lobed canine teeth (like a boxing glove), and ossicones, a special type of bony outcroppings covered by hair on... click to read more

  • María Ríos Ibáñez | Postdoctoral Research Fellow at Department of Paleobiology, Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales (CSIC), Madrid, Spain
Views 6739
Reading time 3.5 min
published on Oct 5, 2018
Shrunken heads: a curious strategy to survive winter

Phenotypic plasticity is a remarkable capacity of organisms to change their morphology, physiology, and behavior to adapt to their environment. This ability enables individuals to cope with changes in the environmental conditions within their lifespan. Organisms inhabiting seasonal environments undergo seasonal plastic changes to cope... click to read more

  • Javier Lázaro | PhD student at Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, Department of Migration and Immuno-Ecology, group of Resource Fluctuations and Animal Movement, Germany
Views 6446
Reading time 4 min
published on Sep 24, 2018
The snake with the skin of a rhino…that eats babies!

Legends say that the rhinoceros has skin that can withstand a gunshot. Despite the slight exaggeration, without a doubt the rhinoceros bears one of the toughest hides in the animal kingdom, stretching as thick as 5 cm and woven together specifically to repel attacks. What... click to read more

  • Dawei Han | PhD student at Department of Anatomy, Kirksville College of Osteopathic Medicine, Missouri School of Dentistry and Oral Health, A.T. Still University, Kirksville, USA
  • Bruce A. Young | Professor at Department of Anatomy, Kirksville College of Osteopathic Medicine, Missouri School of Dentistry and Oral Health, A.T. Still University, Kirksville, USA
Views 5577
Reading time 3.5 min
published on Sep 21, 2018
Ant medics: wound treatment in a predatory species

When we get injured we treat our wounds. Our skin is an important barrier against pathogens and if it breaks we have to keep it clean. If we are not able to do so ourselves, we go to a doctor to do it for us.... click to read more

  • Erik Frank | Postdoctoral Research Fellow at University of Lausanne Biophore Department of Ecology and Evolution CH - 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland
Views 5213
Reading time 4 min
published on Sep 19, 2018
Bloody-Minded Parasites and Sex

Most plants and animals reproduce sexually. Why is sex so common? This question has intrigued scientists for generations. Even Darwin pondered its prevalence. Sex occurs when two organisms merge their genetic material. Sexual parents produce genetically distinct offspring. Many organisms, however, reproduce asexually, meaning a... click to read more

  • Kayla Stoy | PhD student at Population Biology, Ecology, and Evolution, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
  • Amanda K. Gibson | Assistant Professor at Population Biology, Ecology, and Evolution, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
Views 6192
Reading time 3.5 min
published on Sep 17, 2018