Zoology

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    ScienceDaily: Zoology News

  • Male Sabertoothed Cats Were Pussycats Compared To Macho Lions

    6 Nov 2009 | 5:00 pm
    Despite their fearsome fangs, male sabertoothed cats may have been less aggressive than many of their feline cousins, says a new study of male-female size differences in extinct big cats.

  • Can Biodiversity Persist In The Face Of Climate Change?

    5 Nov 2009 | 9:00 pm
    Predictions made over the last decade about the impacts of climate change on biodiversity may be exaggerated, according to a paper published in the journal Science.

  • Scientists Launch Effort To Sequence The DNA Of 10,000 Vertebrates

    5 Nov 2009 | 11:00 am
    Scientists have an ambitious new strategy for untangling the evolutionary history of humans and their biological relatives: Create a genetic menagerie made of the DNA of more than 10,000 vertebrate species. The plan, proposed by an international consortium of scientists, is to obtain, preserve, and sequence the DNA of approximately one species for each genus of living mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians and fish.

  • Airborne Nitrogen Shifts Aquatic Nutrient Limitation In Pristine Lakes

    4 Nov 2009 | 9:00 pm
    The impact of airborne nitrogen released from the burning of fossil fuels and wide-spread use of fertilizers in agriculture is much greater that previously recognized and even extends to remote alpine lakes.

  • Why Nice Guys Usually Get The Girls

    4 Nov 2009 | 9:00 pm
    For the insects called water striders, the pushiest guys don't always get the girls. New research provides support for the theory of multi-level selection and contradicts previous laboratory experiments that suggested that the most aggressive males are the most successful at reproducing.
 
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    Zoology: Journals, Blogs, News and Stories - Recent

  • A beautiful spider ...

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    6 Nov 2009 | 4:06 pm
    … NOT! The Peacock spider or Gliding spider (Maratus volans) is a species of jumping spider. T  » original news

  • Airborne Nitrogen Shifts Aquatic Nutrient Limitation In Pristine Lakes

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    6 Nov 2009 | 4:05 pm
    The impact of airborne nitrogen released from the burning of fossil fuels and wide-spread use of fertilizers in agriculture is much greater that previously recognized and even extends to remote alpine lakes.  » original news

  • Estimating the snake species richness of the Santubong Peninsula (Borneo) in two different ways

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    6 Nov 2009 | 4:05 pm
    The distribution of Borneo's species across the island is far from well-known. This is particularly true for snakes which are hard to find. Given the current rate of habitat destruction and consequent need for conservation strategies, more information is required as to the species composition and richness of specific areas of potential conservation priority. An example is the Santubong Peninsula, Sarawak, Malaysia, part of which has recently been gazetted as a National Park. In this paper, the snake species richness of the Santubong Peninsula is estimated on the basis of data obtained during…

  • Why Nice Guys Usually Get The Girls

    rss_feed
    6 Nov 2009 | 4:05 pm
    For the insects called water striders, the pushiest guys don't always get the girls. New research provides support for the theory of multi-level selection and contradicts previous laboratory experiments that suggested that the most aggressive males are the most successful at reproducing.  » original news

  • Male Sabertoothed Cats Were Pussycats Compared To Macho Lions

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    6 Nov 2009 | 4:03 pm
    Despite their fearsome fangs, male sabertoothed cats may have been less aggressive than many of their feline cousins, says a new study of male-female size differences in extinct big cats.  » original news
 
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    Tetrapod Zoology

  • Won't someone please think of the coelacanths, and other lamentations

    5 Nov 2009 | 5:23 am
    Goddammit, no time for more reports from Libya, or for more in the toads series, or for articles on hairless Spectacled bears or tiny heterodontosaurids or neovenatorids, or anything really. Here's how things are progressing in view of Saturday's event... Read the rest of this post... | Read the comments on this post...

  • The Tet Zoo tour of Libya (part I)

    3 Nov 2009 | 3:11 am
    So, I recently returned from a brief sojourn in Libya. The trip was led by Richard Moody, best known for his work on Cretaceous sea turtles; I was also accompanied by palaeornithologist Gareth Dyke and by a group of people interested in the country's geology. Libya - officially, the Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya - is huge: it covers nearly 2 million square kilometres and is the fourth largest African county. However, 90% of the country is desert, and the population is only about 5.7 million (of which nearly 2 million live in Tripoli, the capital). It's a land of spectacular…

  • Sea Monsters, the CFI conference

    30 Oct 2009 | 8:10 am
    On November 7th 2009, the Centre For Inquiry in London is hosting a one-day event titled Monsters From the Deep! It's being held at Conway Hall in Red Lion Square (a venue I know all too well...). I'm giving a talk at the event so wanted to advertise it: for more details please visit the CFI website here. The day kicks off at 11am and will include both talk and workshop sessions. Charles Paxton of the University of St. Andrews, well known for his work on statistical ecology, will be giving a talk titled 'Anecdotes, statistics and sea monsters'. The belief that anecdotal data (in this case,…

  • The Natterjack, its life and times

    28 Oct 2009 | 4:20 am
    The Natterjack Epidalea calamita (introduced in the previous article) is a remarkable animal, well adapted for the dry, relatively saline environments it inhabits (there are places where Natterjacks inhabit saltmarshes, moors, and disused industrial areas). A proficient burrower, it starts digging a burrow with its forelimbs but does most of the work with its hindlimbs (hindlimb burrowing is typical for anurans, whereas forelimb burrowing is highly unusual). The burrows help the toads to gain access to moisture in dry habitats because they typically extend down to damp sediments; a…

  • Toads of the world: first, (some) toads of the north

    26 Oct 2009 | 7:20 am
    If you've been following the toad series, you'll have read articles that introduce toads in general, discuss reproductive biology, and look at cranial anatomy. This can all be regarded as background introductory stuff. From hereon, we're mostly going to look at toad diversity in rough phylogenetic order: that is, starting at the base of the clade and working up to the 'top'of the tree [European common toad Bufo bufo shown here, from wikipedia. This individual has really weird nostrils]. Basal toads are all South American, and include the South American redbelly toads (Melanophryniscus) and…
 
 
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    WebEcoist

  • Water On Lens: Underwater Stage Filming and Photography

    Angie
    5 Nov 2009 | 10:00 am
    If you were asked to name a truly wonderful British film, chances are it was filmed at Pinewood Studios. Its great reputation has resonated worldwide, the scene for a thousand iconic images. Pinewood Studios recently had an inspiring exhibition, Water on Lens. It featured underwater photographs from movies such asThe Da Vinci Code, Casino Royale, and Elizabeth: The Golden Age, as well as television features and music videos. Here are 23 images taken from those underwater shoots as well as a few extra underwater stage filming photos. Pinewood Studios (image…

  • Size Matters: Largest Web Spinning Spider Found

    Delana
    4 Nov 2009 | 10:00 am
    The largest web-spinning spider in the world has been identified, and she’s a terror. The Nephila komaci was discovered in South Africa and displays some rather fascinating characteristics. Its webs, which can reach up to one meter wide, are impressive. But the most striking feature of the spider is its extreme sexual size dismorphism; in plain English, that means the female of the species is dramatically larger than the male. The average female Nephila komaci is approximately 40 mm long. The male of the species is about one-fifth the size of the female, and is often devoured after…

  • Fulgurites: High-Glass Digs Where Lightning Goes To Die

    Steve
    3 Nov 2009 | 10:00 am
    Few of nature’s elemental phenomena are more powerful yet less permanent than lightning… well, not exactly. Fulgurites, or “petrified lightning”, are the glassy trails of lightning strikes left in sandy soil or exposed rocks. As fragile as they are beautiful, fulgurites are the next best thing to holding a lightning bolt in your hand! Out Of The Blue, Into The Ground (images via: Ross Sea and Highly Allochthonous) The word fulgurite is derived from “fulgur”, which means “thunderbolt” in Latin. That’s just part of the story, though, as the…

  • Got Vertigo? Terrifying Towers & Glass Balconies

    Steph
    2 Nov 2009 | 11:00 am
    All of your instincts may be screaming for you to avoid looking down at all costs, but when you’re this high in the air, the view is just irresistible. Whether you’re clinging for dear life to a rickety wooden rainforest observation tower or staring straight down through a glass floor at city streets thousands of feet below, frighteningly tall spires and lookouts give us humans a look at our environment that our ancestors would never have imagined possible. CN Tower, Toronto, Canada (image via: shidairyproduct, ilkerender) Do you trust a piece of glass about the thickness of two fingers…

  • A Greener Way To Queue: 3 Eco Bus Shelters

    Mike
    1 Nov 2009 | 1:40 pm
    (Image via: Planetary Gear) Now that Winter is drawing in, we start to appreciate the things taken for granted in the balmier months – such as well-sheltered bus stops. The good news is that the latest designs are more luxurious and more eco-friendly than the soulless gappy cubicles we known so well, as these three designs show. (Image via: Planetary Gear) Firstly, the solar-powered Eye-Stop currently being testing in Italy It is comprised of a dazzling array of interactive screens that let you plan your route, check your e-mail and monitor local air quality. If you want to get updates…
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