The origin of turtles has always been a bit of a puzzle for scientists who study the evolution of animals. To this day, where ...

A forgotten fossil discovered in a museum drawer after more than 60 years is challenging assumptions about animal evolution.

The question of why females mate with multiple males has long puzzled evolutionary biologists. A new study of African ...

Frontmatter -- CONTENTS -- PREFACE AND NOTES -- ACKNOWLEDGMENTS -- 1. Before Animals -- 2. Phylogenetics and the Base of the Animal Tree of Life -- 3. Ctenophora -- 4 ...

“Terrible Lizards”—That’s the literal translation of the term Dinosauria, coined by Sir Richard Owen in the 19th century to describe the colossal bones early paleontologists were unearthing. For a ...

A monkey descending a tree trunk often keeps its head up, moving almost like a cautious climber backing down a ladder. Squirrels and many other mammals, by contrast, tend to go headfirst. That ...

Evolution is a continuous, powerful force shaping the natural world around us. As environmental pressures intensify, future animal evolution is likely to produce fascinating and sometimes bizarre new ...

A new genome-based study suggests that ancient sharks like frilled and cow sharks could sit outside the family tree that ...

Today, biologists taking a closer look at the animals located inside the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone (CEZ), which is about the ...