Tag: evolution

When we think of evolution, we often think of the millions of years of slow adaptations that gradually see ducks emerge from dinosaurs, or large gray wolves (Canis lupus) in...

Ivory poaching in Mozambique has led to an increase in tuskless elephants in one park. Using video footage and photographic records, researchers found that as elephants (Loxodonta africana) were illegally...

Some male butterflies seal their mate’s genitalia with a waxy substance to prevent future mating. But females can fight back, researchers say, evolving larger, more complex organs that are harder...

Native lizards are taking exception to robots invading their home territories when those robots resemble other anoles. Researchers found that in response to small lizard robots, native Dominican anoles flapped...

Short-term changes in birds’ body shapes may not indicate an ability to evolve with the fast pace of modern climate change. Researchers recently compared fossils of relatively small birds from...

The winds of change blow strongly on the toepads of lizards most frequently caught in the paths of hurricanes. A new study on nearly 200 anole species across the Caribbean...

American pikas are considered to be particularly vulnerable to climate change due to the high alpine regions that many of them occupy. Biologists have believed that genetics play a strong...

What can a severed wolf head from the Pleistocene tell us about wolves today? A local man in Siberia reportedly discovered the head last summer and pulled it from the...

What would a barn swallow be without barns? According to recent research, maybe nothing at all. After studying the birds’ DNA, researchers believe it may be impossible to separate barn...

The peppered moth (Biston betularia) became a textbook example of evolution in action. Known as “Darwin’s moth,” in its pale form it is camouflaged against lichen growing on tree bark....