All teeth and claws? New study sheds light on dinosaur claw function
Theropod dinosaurs, a group which includes such famous species as Tyrannosaurus rex and Velociraptor, are often regarded as carnivorous and predatory animals, using their sharp teeth and claws to...
View ArticleShortening tails gave early birds a leg up
A radical shortening of their bony tails over 100 million years ago enabled the earliest birds to develop versatile legs that gave them an evolutionary edge, a new study shows.
View ArticleMale kangaroos woo mates with bulging biceps
A male kangaroo's forearm size could be a sexually selected trait and help them find a mate, a new study has found.
View ArticleThe evolution of fins to limbs in the land invasion race
Why did animals with limbs win the race to invade land over those with fins? A new study comparing the forces acting on fins of mudskipper fish and on the forelimbs of tiger salamanders can now be used...
View ArticleWhy do we gesticulate?
If you rely on hand gestures to get your point across, you can thank fish for that! Scientists have found that the evolution of the control of speech and hand movements can be traced back to the same...
View ArticleThe swing of architect genes
Architect genes are responsible for organizing structures of the body during embryonic development. Some of them, namely the Hox genes, are involved in the formation of forelimbs. They are activated in...
View Article11.9 million-year-old fossil of great ape sheds light on evolution
(Phys.org) —Researchers who unearthed the fossil specimen of an ape skeleton in Spain in 2002 assigned it a new genus and species, Pierolapithecus catalaunicus. They estimated that the ape lived about...
View ArticleComputer simulations show evolution of birds' crouch likely due to increase...
(Phys.org) —An international team of researchers working together to discover how, when and why birds have evolved to stand in a crouching position, have come to the conclusion that it was due much...
View ArticleTadpoles not just baby frogs
(Phys.org)—Tadpoles may be vital in helping maintain the ecosystems of freshwater streams, a James Cook University researcher is discovering.
View ArticleFossil remains in museum found to be 165 million year old marine super-predator
(Phys.org)—Researchers examining a fossil specimen discovered in a museum storage bin have found it to be the remains of a super-predator that lived during the Jurassic Period, around 165 million years...
View ArticleNew 'Moby Dick' lizard species found in Madagascar
A new lizard species has been discovered in Madagascar and named "Moby Dick" mermaid skink—after the albino sperm whale imagined by Herman Melville—for its flipper-like forelimbs and unpigmented skin,...
View ArticleGiant pterosaur needed cliffs, downward-sloping runways to taxi, awkwardly...
(Phys.org)—It weighed about 155 pounds and had a 34-foot wingspan, close to the size of an F-16 fighter jet. A five-foot-long skull looked down from a standing height similar to that of a modern...
View ArticleRecent studies bring fossils and genes to piece together evolutionary history
Paleontology, with its rocks and fossils, seems far removed from the world of developmental genetics, with its petri dishes and embryos. Whereas paleontology strives to determine "What happened in...
View ArticleCanadian researchers discover fossils of first feathered dinosaurs from North...
The ostrich-like dinosaurs in the original Jurassic Park movie were portrayed as a herd of scaly, fleet-footed animals being chased by a ferocious Tyrannosaurus rex. New research published in the...
View ArticleA bit of gibbon take is all a super-ape needs
Scientists on Wednesday said they had uncovered the secret behind the extraordinary jumping ability of the white-handed gibbon, capable in the wild of leaping across more than 10 metres (33 feet) in...
View ArticleArcheologists find what might be the smallest Mesozoic dinosaur
(PhysOrg.com) -- Paleontologists digging in the south of England have unearthed what might be the smallest dinosaur ever discovered; at just a foot long and weighing only a couple hundred grams, the...
View ArticleWhy you should never arm wrestle a saber-toothed tiger
Saber-toothed cats may be best known for their supersized canines, but they also had exceptionally strong forelimbs for pinning prey before delivering the fatal bite, says a new study in the journal...
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