Swaths of Asia inhabited by surprisingly related ‘Lizards of the Lost Arcs’
A varied collection of lizards throughout Asia are unexpectedly close cousins of beach-dwelling mourning geckos, all descended from a common ancestor species that thrived...
The origin of snakes: New evolutionary scenario
The early evolution of snakes happened from surface-terrestrial to burrowing in the lizard-snake transition suggests a research group.
Predator control can have unintended consequences
Introduced predators pose threats to biodiversity and are implicated in the extinction of many native species.
New ‘big-armed fly’ species named after former California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger
A new fly species with bulging forelegs is named after former California governor and famous bodybuilder and actor Arnold Schwarzenegger. Measuring 0.395 mm in...
For global invasion, Argentine ants use chemical weapons
Researchers show how Argentine ants use chemical secretions as weapons in their interactions with harvester ants, which are native to California. The findings could...
Scientists suggest way to predict the behavior of invasive weeds
Is it possible to predict which nonnative plant species will become invasive weeds and when? According to new research, the answer is 'hopefully yes.'...
Wild Sri Lankan elephants retreat from sound of disturbed Asian honey bees
A new study using playbacks, has for the first time shown that Asian elephants in Sri Lanka are scared of honey bees, much like...
A race against pine: Wood-boring wasp in North America threatened by a Eurasian invader
Invasive species have diverse impacts in different locations, including biodiversity loss, as a result of native species being outcompeted for similar resources. A US...
Hybridization can give rise to different genome combinations
Researchers have for the first time determined that hybridization between two bird species can give rise to several novel and fully functional hybrid genomic...
Closed marriage: An orchid that never blooms
A flower identified as Lecanorchis nigricans has been revealed to be a different identity, Lecanorchis nigricans var. patipetala. Both species are self-pollinating, but the...