A critically endangered new species of killifish sampled from an ancient forest in Kenya in 2017 and 2018 has now been described. Nothobranchius sylvaticus, from the Latin meaning 'pertaining to the forest', is also the first known endemic killifish to persist in a forest ..read more

Ancient DNA shows an endangered dove species endemic to Cuba is more genetically distinct than the dodo was before it died out ..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

Social media can help scientists track animal species as they relocate in response to climate change, new research shows ..read more

A groundbreaking study has revealed that brown trout can successfully navigate beaver dams -- obstacles which were previously thought to pose a significant barrier to their movement ..read more

A new study analyzing diet, average plasma sugar levels and cancer prevalence in some 273 vertebrate species showed surprising results. The study found no significant link between diet and plasma sugar levels across nonhuman vertebrate species, suggesting that glucose regulation is likely influenced more by evolutionary and physiological adaptations than diet alone. Birds in particular did not suffer increased cancer rates compared with mammals and reptiles, despite having higher blood glucose levels, which are associated with increased cancer risk in other animals, including humans ..read more

Neuroscientists have found a link between vocal changes and the aging brain in zebra finch songbirds, which could help lead to earlier diagnoses for disorders such as Parkinson's and Alzheimer's diseases in people ..read more

The rate of development of poikilothermic animals, such as insects, fish, and reptiles, is determined by environmental temperature. A research team has recently demonstrated how temperature can affect brain development in fruit flies. They found more synapses and postsynaptic partners in the brain of Drosophila melanogaster correlating to lower environmental temperature during pupal development ..read more

The 2025 U. S. State of the Birds Report, produced by a coalition of leading science and conservation organizations, reveals continued widespread declines in American bird populations across all mainland and marine habitats, with 229 species requiring urgent conservation action ..read more

Challenging the long-standing belief that fibroblasts produce skin collagen, researchers have investigated collagen formation in the 'glass-skinned' amphibian axolotl and other vertebrates. They discovered that keratinocytes, the surface cells of the skin, are responsible for producing collagen, which is then transferred deeper to form the dermis. Later, fibroblasts migrate into this collagen layer, modifying and reinforcing its structure ..read more