A confirmed H5N1 case in a dead long-nosed fur seal and a second suspected case have prompted warnings about the virus’s potential impact on Australia’s seals and sea lions. Scientists say the country’s estimated 12,000 Australian sea lions could be especially vulnerable.
A Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton named Gus has become the most expensive dinosaur fossil ever sold at auction. An unidentified buyer paid more than $50 million, or £37.3 million, for the fossil.
Researchers have reported the discovery of a previously unknown monkey species deep in the forests of the Democratic Republic of Congo. The animal is distinguished by its noticeably orange lips.
A newly classified groundsnake from New Guinea has been given the scientific name Lielaphis slashi, honoring Guns N’ Roses musician Slash, whose birth name is Saul Hudson. The nocturnal snake has a red-brown body and cream-colored belly.
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Birdwatchers near Chicago observed a bobolink whose body is divided into male and female halves, a condition known as bilateral gynandromorphism. Experts believe it may be the first documented example of this phenomenon in the species.
Fossil bite marks suggest the giant crocodylian Purussaurus neivensis was a major predator in a Miocene ecosystem filled with enormous herbivores. Researchers say its influence may have extended beyond individual hunts to the population sizes of large prey.
Researchers say a crinoid fossil discovered in a Montréal museum collection preserves soft tissue more than 450 million years after the animal lived. The specimen is only the second known crinoid fossil with soft tissue and the oldest identified so far.
A study of Greenland shark eyes found no evidence of retinal cell death and detected active, blue-light-sensitive rhodopsin. The findings challenge the idea that the long-lived Arctic sharks are functionally blind and may offer clues about protecting vision from age-related decline.
Physicists working with the ALICE collaboration at CERN have produced quark-gluon plasma using collisions between oxygen-16 and neon-20 nuclei. The results also suggest that the particles emerging from these fleeting events preserve clues about the shapes of the nuclei involved.
A Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute experiment found that blue morpho butterflies raised under hot conditions developed less-brilliant iridescent wings. The heat also increased deaths among pupae and extended the time they remained in that stage, while the effects on predators and potential mates remain uncertain.
Research suggests bottlenose dolphins use individually distinctive whistles to identify and contact one another, while elephants, parrots and marmosets may use similar vocal labels. Scientists caution that proving an animal call is truly a “name” requires evidence of shared symbolic meaning.