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Canine pitch-perfect: some dogs adjust their howls to match music
11 days ago•Source: Earth.com
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Giant Xiphactinus likely killed a Polycotylus plesiosaur in a prehistoric predator clash
CT scans of a Polycotylus plesiosaur fossil reveal a giant Xiphactinus tooth lodged in its neck, providing direct evidence that top predators in Cretaceous seas fought or attacked each other; the bite likely contributed to the plesiosaur’s death and highlights a violent prehistoric ecosystem where apex predators occasionally clashed.
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11-year-old uncovers colossal Triassic sea titan on Somerset beach
On a Somerset beach in 2020, 11-year-old Ruby Reynolds and her father found jawbone fragments that led scientists to identify Ichthyotitan severnensis, a giant ichthyosaur potentially about 82 feet long. Further fossils confirmed a whale-sized marine reptile from the Triassic, offering insights into ancient oceans and showing how a shoreline discovery can rewrite natural history.
Chimp Crystals Hint at Deep Evolution of Humans' Fascination with Shiny Stones
Encultured chimpanzees showed a strong attraction to quartz crystals, preferring them over ordinary rocks, carrying crystals to sleeping areas, and even selecting crystals from a pile in tests, suggesting a possible deep evolutionary pull toward shiny minerals. The findings could shed light on why humans have long valued crystals and gems, hinting at cognitive roots for value, though results must be interpreted cautiously since the chimps were not wild and replication in wild populations is needed.
Rare conjoined salmon twins found at Ontario hatchery prompt questions about early development
Researchers at a Windsor-area freshwater hatchery documented two Chinook salmon fry that are ventrally conjoined—sharing a single yolk sac and blood vessels while each having separate heads and tails—raising questions about the limits of twin development in fish. The finding underscores how tiny embryonic disruptions can produce such rare twins and highlights the need for careful hatchery monitoring to inform Great Lakes stocking and future research.
Beaded necklace on a spider reveals a new parasite species
Brazil’s Butantan Institute identified a brand-new mite larva, Araneothrombium brasiliensis, parasitizing a tiny spider in a museum specimen, the beaded attachment earning it a nickname and highlighting a rare spider–mite relationship that could be more widespread in the Neotropics.
If Humans Vanish, Could Octopuses Rise to Rule Earth?
Earth after humans is explored as a thought experiment: Oxford biologist Tim Coulson suggests that while extinction is inevitable for all species, humans leaving the scene could let other life forms fill ecological roles, with octopuses highlighted as potential civilization-building successors due to their problem-solving abilities and decentralized nervous system—though they’d still face challenges adapting to land; evolution remains unpredictable and intelligence could emerge in surprising ways.
Only-queen parasitic ant clones itself to hijack other nests
Scientists report that Temnothorax kinomurai, a rare Japanese ant, has no workers or males and reproduces by parthenogenesis to produce only queens. These parasitic queens invade nests of the related species Temnothorax makora, enlist host workers to raise their offspring, and in lab trials seven of 43 unmated offspring succeeded in coup; all offspring were queens, showing a unique combination of asexual reproduction and social parasitism in ants.
The Chill Switch: How Some Animals Control Body Heat to Weather Extremes
Some mammals and birds can deliberately alter their internal temperature through heterothermy, using short bouts of torpor or longer hibernation to conserve energy and water during harsh weather, predators, or food shortages. Studies highlight bats, sugar gliders, dormice, and other species adjusting torpor in response to wind, rain, predators, and even moon phase, showing a flexible survival strategy beyond normal body temperature control. This helps them endure variability, though it isn’t a foolproof shield against climate change.
Dawn's chorus: birds sing to release night's stored energy
A zebra finch study shows that the early-morning song isn’t random joy but a rebound from nocturnal silence: melatonin and hormones prime the birds to wake, and the return of light lets them release the stored energy in a powerful dawn chorus, a timing-based vocal warm-up pattern observed across species.
Mice exhibit CPR-like care for distressed cage-mates, linked to oxytocin
A USC-led study observed mice performing first-aid–like behaviors toward an unconscious cage-mate—sniffing, grooming, and face-directed actions—triggered by unresponsiveness and strengthened by oxytocin signaling; responses are stronger for familiar cage-mates, suggesting an innate caregiving tendency that could aid group survival, though it is not human CPR.
Cannibalism in Snakes: Evolutionary Trick Repeats Across 11 Lineages
A review of 503 cannibalism reports across 207 snake species finds that cannibalistic behavior has evolved independently at least 11 times. The behavior appears across continents and contexts, often linked to environmental stress or scarce food, with many captivity cases; jaw flexibility and dietary generalism help some snakes consume conspecifics. Researchers say cannibalism can provide ecological fitness as an opportunistic feeding strategy, though much of the data are anecdotal and more study is needed.