species

Human evolution: Largest ever family tree reveals our species’ history

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By Michael Marshall A visualisation of relationships between ancestors and descendants in the genealogy of modern and ancient genomes Wohns et al. (2022) Meet your relatives. A family tree of humanity has been constructed using genetic data from thousands of modern and prehistoric people. The tree gives a view of 2 million years of prehistory … Read more

New Evidence Shows When The Dinosaur-Killing Asteroid Struck

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The Chicxulub asteroid that ended the reign of the dinosaurs is one of the most momentous impact disasters in Earth’s history, and scientists have now identified the time of year when this deadly event took place.   New evidence suggests the asteroid hit in the spring for the Northern Hemisphere, which would be fall (or autumn) … Read more

Wild Wild Life newsletter: Horzontal gene transfer – when species steal each other’s genes

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By Penny Sarchet Bemisia tabaci (male and female) Alamy Stock Photo Hello, and welcome to February’s Wild Wild Life, the monthly newsletter that celebrates the biodiversity of our planet’s animals plants and other organisms. To receive this free, monthly newsletter in your inbox, sign up here. Spring in London is almost close enough to taste now, … Read more

A Creepy, Exceptionally Rare ‘Ghost Shark’ Chimaera Has Been Found in The Pacific

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Researchers have discovered an exceptionally rare, newly hatched “ghost shark” near New Zealand’s South Island, according to the country’s National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA).   Translucent, gelatinous and crowned with a pair of giant black eyes on its pointed head, the alien-like baby likely belongs to one of the more than 50 … Read more

It Turns Out Species Can Go Extinct Twice… And The Second Time Is For Keeps

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Species can actually go extinct more than once. In a biological sense, species become extinct when the last animal of a species stops breathing. But they can also become extinct a second time, researchers say.   When a species disappears from our collective memory and cultural knowledge, it becomes extinct in a different way. That second … Read more

New dinosaur: Species had teeth that were constantly replaced

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Iberospinus natarioi, a new species of spinosaur dinosaur found in Portugal, constantly grew new teeth to replace those it broke while hunting fish and other aquatic animals Life 16 February 2022 By Christa Lesté-Lasserre Life reconstruction of Iberospinus natarioi, showing detail of muscles, and a fossil of part of the lower jaw Mateus, Estraviz-Lopez et … Read more

The precious genes of the world’s first cloned ferret could save her species | Science

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Country: Country *AfghanistanAland IslandsAlbaniaAlgeriaAndorraAngolaAnguillaAntarcticaAntigua and BarbudaArgentinaArmeniaArubaAustraliaAustriaAzerbaijanBahamasBahrainBangladeshBarbadosBelarusBelgiumBelizeBeninBermudaBhutanBolivia, Plurinational State ofBonaire, Sint Eustatius and SabaBosnia and HerzegovinaBotswanaBouvet IslandBrazilBritish Indian Ocean TerritoryBrunei DarussalamBulgariaBurkina FasoBurundiCambodiaCameroonCanadaCape VerdeCayman IslandsCentral African RepublicChadChileChinaChristmas IslandCocos (Keeling) IslandsColombiaComorosCongoCongo, The Democratic Republic of theCook IslandsCosta RicaCote D’IvoireCroatiaCubaCuraçaoCyprusCzech RepublicDenmarkDjiboutiDominicaDominican RepublicEcuadorEgyptEl SalvadorEquatorial GuineaEritreaEstoniaEthiopiaFalkland Islands (Malvinas)Faroe IslandsFijiFinlandFranceFrench GuianaFrench PolynesiaFrench Southern TerritoriesGabonGambiaGeorgiaGermanyGhanaGibraltarGreeceGreenlandGrenadaGuadeloupeGuatemalaGuernseyGuineaGuinea-BissauGuyanaHaitiHeard Island and Mcdonald IslandsHoly See (Vatican City State)HondurasHong … Read more

Strongest insect bite: The raspy cricket has strongest bite force of 650 species

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Researchers have tested the bite force of hundreds of insects and found that the raspy cricket chomps down with 1200 times more force than the wasp with the weakest bite Life 11 February 2022 By Carissa Wong The raspy cricket’s bite packs the biggest punch University of Bonn in Germany The raspy cricket is the … Read more

Australia Just Listed The Iconic Koala as ‘Endangered’ in Several States

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Australia officially listed koalas across a swathe of its eastern coast as “endangered” on Friday, with the marsupials fighting to survive the impact of bushfires, land-clearing, drought and disease.   Conservationists said koala populations had crashed in much of eastern Australia over the past two decades, warning that they were now sliding towards extinction. Environment … Read more