Evolution

How hummingbirds can explain other species’ extinction

Bird extinction may unleash cascade effect where these pollinators and plants interact most intensely | 2'51

Fight or flight

The ability of birds to fly seems incompatible with the ability to attack and defend using spurs

The uncertain identity of the pigmy marmoset

Brazilian primatologist Jean Boubli, from Salford University, in the UK, and his team, solved a 19th century mistery regarding the world's smallest monkeys | 3'47

Neanderthals and humans took turns occupying Europe

Neanderthals and humans took turns occupying Europe

Two lives dedicated to biodiversity

Thomas Lovejoy and Edward Wilson are unforgettable benchmarks with respect to the importance of nature and conservation

Caribbean incursions

Studies back up the hypothesis that the Caribbean Sea flooded parts of the western Amazon between 23 and 10 million years ago

The rise and fall of Tupi

Speakers of the language may have numbered 4 to 5 million a millennium ago but began declining sharply before Europeans arrived on the continent

Under the feathers

Rainforest marsupials

Study suggests opossums emerged in the Amazon about 40 million years ago

The enigmatic dragon man

An almost complete skull fossil that was hidden for 85 years may belong to a new species of archaic human being

The colors and songs of evolution

Varying plumage hues and song patterns lead to the formation of new species in certain bird groups

Family ties

Roughly 46,000 years ago, modern human beings ventured into the heart of Europe and interbred with Neanderthals

These birds show how species arise

Ornithologist Luís Fábio Silveira, curator of the bird collections at the Zoology Museum of the University of São Paulo (MZ-USP), explains how studies with capuchino seedeaters help understanding their diversification by means of evolution | 5'46

Where birds came from

Most species in the tropics emerged in extreme environments, such as deserts and mountains, before establishing themselves in other biomes

Pterosaur precursors

A new study suggests that a group of small extinct ground-dwelling vertebrates, called lagerpetids, were the closest relatives of these mysterious winged reptiles

Could these be the precursors of pterosaurs?

Study suggests that extinct small terrestrial vertebrates, the lagerpetids, were the closest relatives of those mysterious winged reptiles | 6'43

The advanced brain of a primitive dinosaur

The brain of a well-preserved specimen of Buriolestes schultzi, one of the oldest known dinosaurs, has been reconstructed using computed tomography, suggesting an unusual evolutionary path for one of the most important lineages of this extinct group of reptiles: the sauropods

Two species of mata-mata

New analyses have revealed that there are at least two species of mata-mata

A dose of Darwin in taxonomy

New method of classifying living organisms favors evolutionary history and abandons the divisions of the Linnaean system

Research during quarantine

Carlos Guerra Schrago: The theory and practice of evolution

The discipline that seeks to reconstruct the histories of species is itself evolving, according to UFRJ biologist

A giant tortoise

The largest freshwater turtle that ever existed, possibly the largest of all turtles, lived between 13.8 million and 5.3 million years ago in South America, inhabiting a larger area than previously thought

Why females live longer

The difference in lifespan between the two sexes, the researchers noted, is not due to different aging rates

The extinct manatee of Rondônia

Newly discovered species lived in the Madeira River region 45,000 years ago

Diaspora 2.5 million years ago

Chipped stone artifacts found in Jordan may be evidence of archaic humans leaving Africa 400,000 years earlier than previously thought

Legacies of the genome

Magazine followed the evolution of sequencing projects that improved disease diagnosis and led to the development of innovative treatments

How do rivers and floodplains influence species formation in Amazonia?

Throughout millenia, water bodies and landscape changes favor plant and animal diversification in the region

Travel lessons

Travel itineraries combine science learning with exploring new horizons, allowing visitors to act as research assistants on scientific studies

Tuatara fossil discovered in Rio Grande do Sul

The oldest specimen of a sphenodon in the southern hemisphere has been found in the municipality of Candelária, in the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul

3.8-million-year-old skull

A nearly complete hominid skull dated at 3.8 million years old has led to new conclusions about the origins of the genus