Drastic declines in biodiversity due to human activities present risks to understanding animal behaviors such as tool use, according to new research. Shrinking animal populations make the study of these behaviors increasingly difficult, underscoring the urgency of targeted conservation efforts and inclusive conservation strategies. Action is needed not only for research, but also to respect our shared cultural heritage with animal species ..read more

Scientists have helped to construct a detailed timeline for bacterial evolution, suggesting some bacteria used oxygen long before evolving the ability to produce it through photosynthesis ..read more

More mammals were living on the ground several million years before the mass extinction event that wiped out the dinosaurs, new research has revealed ..read more

A new species of fossil is 444 million years-old with soft insides perfectly preserved. Research 'ultramarathon' saw palaeontologist puzzled by bizarre fossil for 25 years ..read more

An analysis of a 30,000-year-old fossil vulture from Central Italy has revealed for the first time that volcanic rock can preserve microscopic details in feathers -- the first ever record of such a preservation. An international team discovered a new mode of preservation of soft tissues that can occur when animals are buried in ash-rich volcanic sediments. The new research reveals that the feathers are preserved in a mineral phase called zeolite, a mode of preservation of soft tissues never reported before ..read more

The efficient architecture of our joints, which allows our skeletons to be flexible and sturdy, originated among our most ancient jawed fish ancestors, according to a new study ..read more

Feathers, essential for thermoregulation, flight, and communication in birds, originate from simple appendages known as proto-feathers, which were present in certain dinosaurs.By studying embryonic development of the chicken, researchers from the University of Geneva (UNIGE) have uncovered a key role of a molecular signalling pathway (the Shh pathway) in their formation. This research provides new insights into the morphogenetic mechanisms that led to feather diversification throughout evolution ..read more

Modern humans descended from not one, but at least two ancestral populations that drifted apart and later reconnected, long before modern humans spread across the globe ..read more

The only iguanas outside the Americas, Fiji iguanas are an enigma. A new genetic analysis shows that they are most closely related to the North American desert iguana, having separated about 34 million years ago, around the same time that the islands emerged from the sea. This suggests that the iguanas rafted 5,000 miles across the Pacific from western North America to reach Fiji -- the longest known transoceanic dispersal of any land animal ..read more

Misha lived her whole life in zoos, but this elephant's teeth are now helping scientists reconstruct wildlife migrations. Geologists show how strontium isotopes found in teeth or tusks reveal where large plant-eating animals may have roamed ..read more