Evolution(Page 2)

The latest science on how life has adapted and changed over generations—and how new species come to be.

Latest in Evolution

a large brown bear in italy

Bears in Italy inbreed more, but are less aggressive

By Margherita Bassi

3D scan cross-section of an ant

Weak ants conquered Earth using sheer numbers

several red and beige mushroom-like plants growing at the base of a tree

Asexual parasitic plants break biology’s rules

By Laura Baisas

Artist's impression of sparks from flint and pyrite

Neanderthals harnessed fire 350,000 years earlier than previously thought

Close up of Nazca booby bird

Female Galápagos birds flaunt their sexual partners. The males don’t seem to mind.

Inside the mouth of this anchovy, plankton particles are captured by the gill arch system.

Sardine-inspired washing machine filter removes 99% of microplastics

Frog eating hornet in cage

Pond frogs devour murder hornets, stinger and all

Ants checking pupa cocoon against white background

Sick baby ants sacrifice themselves to save their colony

Large green anaconda in grass

Anacondas have been huge for over 12 million years

Newly described muscle anatomy (right) and overall jaw anatomy of Dunkleosteus terrelli (center), compared to a more typical arthrodire (left)

Cleveland’s beloved ancient sea monster was more turtle than shark

Charles Darwin’s Address Book is a small brown leather notebook, with “VISITS” and “ADDRESSES” printed on its spine (photo 1) and index-letter tabs in alternating black and red. The entries were begun by his wife, Emma Darwin, and are in her pleasant, rounded handwriting (photo 2), shortly after their marriage in January 1839. Latter entries were by Darwin (photo 3), and he continued to use this Address Book throughout his lifetime.

Flip through Charles Darwin’s digitized address book

Fragments of BRT-VP-2/135 before assembly. The specimen was found in 29 pieces of which 27 of them were recovered by sifting and picking the sifted dirt.

Prehistoric foot bones finally linked to our early ancestors

a small chihuahua running

Your pet dog really does have wolf genes

By Laura Baisas

$Neanderthal human remains from the Troisième caverne of Goyet (Belgium). Highly fragmented bones bear traces characteristic of fresh bone fracturing and percussion, demonstrating intentional treatment of the bodies. The individuals (GNx, for “Goyet Neandertal” x), numbering six at minimum, were identified by genetic analyses: XX indicates female gender, and XY male gender.. Credit: Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences /Scientific Reports$

The Neanderthals who ate their neighbors

a baby chimp on an adult chimpanzee's back

Chimpanzees’ brutal battle for territory leads to a baby boom

By Laura Baisas

The frozen carcass of a 39,000-year-old female woolly mammoth named Yuka from the Siberian permafrost is displayed for an exhibition in Yokohama, suburban Tokyo on July 12, 2013 at a press preview before the opening.

Oldest known RNA found in 40,000-year-old woolly mammoth leg

Close up of tree toad

These toads don’t start as tadpoles

Four views of ochre fragment used by Neanderthals

Neanderthals used ‘crayons’ to color

Artist's recreation of ‘Epiatheracerium itjilik’ in its forested lake habitat, Devon Island, Early Miocene, 23 million years ago. The plants and animals shown, including a rodent, rabbit and the transitional seal ‘Puijila darwini,’ are all based on fossilized remains found at the site.

Rhinos once lived in Canada

By Laura Baisas

Close up of bearded dragon against black background

Reptile ‘pee crystals’ might help treat kidney stones and gout

several large black antsDeposit Photos

Ants ‘social distance’ during a pandemic

By Margherita Bassi

a lemur in a tree

Lemurs keep evolving new species, even after 50 million years

By Margherita Bassi

Paranthropus boisei. Reproduction of an adult skull. 1,8 million years ago. Pleistocene. Olduvai Gorge (Tanzania). (Photo by: Universal History Archive/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

This overlooked human ancestor wielded tools with a gorilla-like grip

Close up of stink bug on leaf

These stink bugs use cordycep-like fungus to fend off parasitic wasps

Close up of Neanderthal skull

Lead has been poisoning humans for over 2 million years

bat hanging upside down from tree branch at night

Why do bats spread so many diseases? They’re evolutionary marvels.

Interstellar dust in the Carina Nebula.

Life on Earth may have come from cosmic dust

an illustration of a marine reptile swimming amongst fish

Jurassic ‘sword dragon’ uncovered in England

By Laura Baisas

three birds crowding around a white foraging puzzle

Young birds get by with a little help from their…siblings

By Laura Baisas

Elephant bones at excavation site next to chalkboard labeling it

Ancient humans butchered giant elephants with thumb-sized tools

an older couple holding hands as the sun sets

Women really do live longer than men. Here’s why.

By Laura Baisas

A reconstruction of Breugnathair elgolensis

Cat-sized Jurassic reptile had the jaws of a python

sea sponge among coral underwater

Sea sponges may have been Earth’s first living creatures

a venus fly trap closes on a fly.

Venus fly traps’ death-grip trigger discovered

By Laura Baisas

Homo habilis mandible shown with the two tooth pits that were documented and magnified separately.

Leopards may have feasted on our earliest ancestors

a black and white dog surrounded by dog toys

Dogs can learn and remember how toys work

By Laura Baisas

Close up of Australian sleepy lizard with its mouth open on the ground outdoors

A zookeeper’s burnt lunch revealed a lizard’s secret survival skill

A mating pair of octopuses with one of the animals raising its arm up

Octopus arms are the animal kingdom’s most flexible

By Laura Baisas

A green chameleon on branch extending tongue to catch an insect

A chameleon’s ‘ballistic tongue’ may inspire blood clot-clearing robots

a close up of a bee on a bright green leaf

Bees have thousands of eyes

By Margherita Bassi

a squirrel holding an acorn while it sits on a logCREDIT: Sandra Standbridge via Getty Images

Rodents’ secret weapon? Thumbnails.

By Laura Baisas

Illustration of Spicomellus dinosaur

Stubby dinosaur took spikey armor to the extreme

Mother and child orangutan in tree nest

Baby orangutans spy on mom to build cozy treehouse nests

a curled yellow deep sea worm

Deep sea worm wears Rembrandt’s favorite toxic color

By Laura Baisas

an aerial view of a humpback whale spinning in a circle with nets made out of bubbles

Humpbacks are the only whales that can feed with bubble nets

By Laura Baisas

Artist's illustration of Istiorachis macarthurae on a sandy beach

Retired doctor discovers new dinosaur species deep in a museum archive

close up of Cuban brown anole

These New Orleans lizards are full of lead

Petralona skull of ancient hominin

Hominin skull discovered in 1960 finally gets an accurate age

Six stone tool artifacts

Stone Age humans traveled for miles to find the perfect rocks

Norselaspis illustration

A googly-eyed fish could upend evolutionary history

a small, yellow snail with dark eyes

Apple snails can regrow their eyeballs

By Laura Baisas

Robot fiddler crab waving claw at actual male fiddler crab on beach

‘Wavy Dave’ is a beefy-armed robot crab on a mating mission

Australian major skink

Australian lizard mutated to resist snake venom

Two researchers excavating dig site in Norwegian cave, seen from above

Remote Norwegian cave is an ice age animal jackpot

Black tarantula with pixelated rectangle over back thorax

These tarantulas’ genitals are so long, it required a new genus

Three photos of early hominin and primate skulls

Human teeth evolved to fit our diet

red tomatoes on a vine next to some yellow potatoes and peaches

How the tomato created the potato

By Laura Baisas

A herd of ceratopsians (Styracosaurus albertensis) accompanied by an ankylosaur (Euplocephalus tutus) walk through an old river channel under the watchful eyes of two tyrannosaurs (Gorgosaurus libratus). Artwork by Julius Csotonyi.

Dinosaurs roamed in multi-species herds, fossilized footprints show

an illustration of a marine reptile with large fins and a beak swimming by several squid and one shark

Ichthyosaurs were silent assassins of Jurassic seas

By Lauren Leffer

several small fish with colorful organa and blue scales

Orange male guppies are hornier

By Laura Baisas

a team of greenland sled dog puppies with white fur pulls a sled

Oldest known dog breed reveals hidden human history

By Lauren Leffer

Burmese python on ground

Pythons can devour bones thanks to unique stomach cells

An artist’s reconstruction of the fossilized landscape, plants, and animals found preserved in a remote bonebed in Petrified Forest National Park in Arizona. The newly described pterosaur Eotephradactylus mcintireae is seen eating an ancient ray-finned fish alongside an early species of turtle and an early frog species, with the skeleton of an armored crocodile relative lying on the ground and a palm-like plant growing in the background.

North American pterosaur could sit on your shoulder

By Laura Baisas

A jumping spider devours a hoverfly. The hoverfly has evolved to look like a wasp, but in this case the resemblance is not sufficient to deter a spider from attacking it.

Flies disguised as wasps can’t fool birds

By Lauren Leffer