Evolution (Page 4)

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

Latest in Evolution

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

eight chipmunk specimens with tags on them in a museum collection

City living is changing rodent skulls in Chicago

By Laura Baisas

Fuzzy beetle on red flower

Most bugs can’t see red—but these beetles can

European Gray Wolf Cubs in a Grass in a Spring Day

Two Ice Age ‘puppies’ weren’t exactly dogs

an illustration of an extinct marsupial with brown and white fur and a small trunk-like nose

Australia’s giant extinct marsupials may be ID’d using tiny bone bits

Well-preserved dinosaur skull belongs to new sauropod species

a close up of a bed bug

Bed bugs have been bothering humans for 60,000 years

By Laura Baisas

an illustration of a long marine reptile with large teeth eating a shelled animal

‘Very odd’ 40-foot-long marine reptile stalked prehistoric Canada

By Laura Baisas

an illustration showing the various sizes of extinct giant sloths

8,000-pound sloths once roamed North America. Where’d they go?

By Laura Baisas

Fossil fragments on black background

These human ancestors weren’t as lonely as experts thought

The Chicago Archaeopteryx, under UV light to expose soft tissues.

Feathered fossil shows famed dinosaur could fly (like a chicken)

An illustration of what the Amniote (early reptile) would look like from 350 million years ago.

Amateur paleontologists uncover earliest known ‘reptile’ footprints

By Laura Baisas

an illustration of an extinct arthropod, with three large black eyes, antennae, and 16 body segments

Ancient three-eyed ‘sea moth’ used its butt to breathe

By Laura Baisas

A mother chimpanzee carrying her twins on her back.

Wild chimp babies bond with their moms in human-like ways

By Laura Baisas

The recent discovery helps bridge the gap between ancient cicadas and their present day descendants.

Earliest ‘true cicada’ fossil discovered in Germany

seven women in dive gear stand on black rocks above the ocean on a cloudy day

South Korea’s ‘sea women’ are genetically adapted for their tough trade

By Lauren Leffer

an illustration of a large red ant with curved jaws. a bird looks on with a concerned expression

Extinct hell ant species used specialized jaws to impale its prey

By Laura Baisas

Coiled rattlesnake near flowering bush

Rattlesnakes may evolve specialized venoms

three chimpanzees sit around a round fruit sharing it

Wild chimps sharing ‘boozy’ fruit caught on camera for the first time

By Laura Baisas

a sea slug in the ocean with whispy purple tendrils

Sea slugs harness the power of the sun to show off their colors

By Laura Baisas

an illustration of a small crocodile ancestor sneaking up on a small mammal ancestor

Crocodile ancestors survived two mass extinctions—here’s how

By Laura Baisas

Earth's oceans seen from space

How did water end up on Earth? New evidence upends long-held theory.

Researchers conducting necropsy on woolly mammoth calf

Dissected mammoth calf smells like ‘fermented earth and flesh’

Green ocean island water against blue sky with mountains in distance

Earth’s oceans weren’t always blue, scientists say

one brown horse and one black horse run along green fields in iceland

Scientists discover why horses are such exceptional athletes

By Lauren Leffer

Venus fly trap wasp encased in amber

This ancient ‘Venus fly-trap’ wasp used its butt to kill

a green iguana sitting at the base of a palm tree

After a 5,000-mile float, these iguanas probably set an ocean record

By Laura Baisas

an illustration of a black rodent-like early mammal with a membrane like a flying squirrel flying through a forest

Early mammals were all one color, study suggests

By Lauren Leffer

Original fossil (ATE7-1) alongside the mirrored right side by means of virtual 3D imaging techniques of the face of a hominin assigned to Homo aff. erectus found in level the TE7 of Sima del Elefante site.

1.4-million-year-old bones deepen mystery of who reached Europe first

an illustration of a small weasel-like early mammal with brown, black, and white fur climbing on a tree

This extinct tree-dwelling mammal may be among humans’ closer relatives

By Laura Baisas

Close up of lemon shark

Megalodon may have been ‘even longer’ than we thought

Diagram of Lapedo child grave site

Scientists pinpoint age of suspected human-Neanderthal hybrid child

a dead fish being dragged on artificial turf

Dragging dead fish around reveals super power of mucus

By Ethan Freedman

a large bird with a long neck and black plumage called an emu walking around in nature

Emus might not be the ‘world’s dumbest bird’ after all

By Laura Baisas

africa and the middle east seen from space

New theory ups the odds that intelligent aliens exist

By Lauren Leffer

one jaw fossil and six vertebrae fossils lined up

500,000 years ago, a bunch of animals fell into a Florida sink hole

By Laura Baisas

A blow fly larva disguised as a termite, antennae and all.

Rare fly species wears fake termite head to infiltrate nests

By Laura Baisas

a close up of a human ear

Most humans haven’t moved these muscles in 25 million years

By Laura Baisas

Three chimpanzees in an enclosure at the Kumamoto Sanctuary holding leafy branches.

Peeing is contagious for chimpanzees

By Laura Baisas

The great green bush-cricket.

Parasitic crickets have a few moves to outsmart ants

By Laura Baisas

Three red ants interacting with one another

Even ants may hold grudges

a bird with white and black plummage and an egg on a nest and three other birds standing around her

Which animals reproduce at the oldest age?

By Laura Baisas

An adult female chimpanzee cracks an oil palm nut with a stone hammer and anvil while her infant son looks at the camera.

Some chimpanzees are great nutcrackers

By Laura Baisas

A reconstruction of the oldest known gorgonopsian in life.

This dog-like predator is the oldest known mammal ancestor

By Laura Baisas

Striated frogfish (Antennarius striatus), also known as the hairy frogfish.

Anglerfish use ‘extremely rare’ mechanism to control their lures

A juvenile Nile crocodile. It is small with pointed teeth

Why are crocodiles so bumpy? A dermatological mystery has been solved

By Laura Baisas

Frozen surface of Lake Enigma

Life discovered lurking under Antarctica’s frozen Lake Enigma

a siberian husky sits in the snow. it has piercing blue eyes and its ears are perked up

Humans gave dogs treats 12,000 years ago, new archeological evidence suggests

By Laura Baisas

The anglerfish species Lophius piscatorius.

Anglerfish are so much more than just their dangly bioluminescent lures

By Laura Baisas

brain scans in pink, blue, and yellow

Humans may have big brains thanks to our gut

By Laura Baisas

a long piece of fossilized dinosaur poop on the ground

200-million-year-old dinosaur poop and vomit reveal a lost Jurassic world

By Laura Baisas

An illustration of the amygdala, shown in red. It is a part of the brain’s limbic system and plays a key role in processing emotions.

‘Was I awkward?’ What overthinking after a party has to do with your ‘lizard brain’

By Laura Baisas

A mother and calf West Indian manatee (Trichechus manatus latirostris) in Crystal River, Florida.

Florida’s famous manatees were originally tourists

By Laura Baisas

Marine fossils found at Neanderthal cave site

Neanderthals may have enjoyed collecting tchotchkes—just like us

stone walls separating several small houses in ireland

Scottish, Irish, and Northern English better at detecting fake accents

By Laura Baisas

An illustration of two Skiphosoura bavarica in flight.

New pterosaur species sliced through the air with a sword-like tail

By Laura Baisas

a small bird with black, gray, and white, plumage solves a puzzle in a lab

Immigrating great tits learn from their new neighbors

By Laura Baisas

x-ray scans of early human skulls. the teeth are colored red, green, orange, blue, and purple to show the differences among them

These 1.77-million-year-old teeth could help demystify human childhoods

By Laura Baisas

an elephant in a zoo enclosure holds a yellow hose in its trunk and uses the hose as a shower

Watch a clever elephant use a hose to get clean

By Laura Baisas

Chimpanzee playing a number-based game on a touch screen

Like humans, chimps often perform tasks differently when crowds are watching

Illustration of a terror bird standing by river

Meat-eating terror birds could grow up to 12 feet tall