Zoology

Environment

Belo Monte Dam and drought cause the Volta Grande do Xingu region to dry up

Monitoring indicates that low water flow is preventing fish from reproducing and impeding the way of life of Indigenous people and riverside communities

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Evolution

Lice, the origin of the kiss?

Human kissing may have arisen through evolution of a hygiene habit among primates

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Paleontology

Fossil helps understand how bird brains evolved

Skull from dinosaurs' time is exceptionally well preserved

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Oceanography

Threat to Brazilian coral puts fish at risk

Despite being resistant to environmental changes, species are being eliminated

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Evolution

The eardrum may have saved reptiles from mass extinction

The tympanic membrane in the inner ear emerged in a common ancestor of lizards, crocodiles, alligators, snakes, turtles, and birds 250 million years ago

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Infectology

Dangerous viruses in animal fur

Breeding animals for fur production may increase likelihood of viruses being transmitted to humans

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Retrospect

Brazil’s first fossils were believed to be from monsters

Towards the end of the eighteenth century, scientific analyses began to displace the religious view of the animals that lived millions of years prior

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Public Health

New mycosis spreads

Mycosis caused by fungi of the genus Sporothrix spreads across Brazil

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Photolab

Farmers

Photograph captures the social order of an anthill

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ECOLOGY

A bacterial coating that protects amphibians

Sensitive to climate change and pollutants, frogs and toads resist toxins with the help of skin microbiota

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Biodiversity

Almost 2,500 species face extinction in Brazil

Almost 2,500 species of animals and plants at risk of extinction in Brazil

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PHOTOLAB

Sea broccoli

Microscope image uses fluorescent antibodies to highlight the innervation of tentacles, which resemble broccoli

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PALEONTOLOGY

Biomechanics used to infer how titanosaurs moved

Newly described species lived around 110 million years ago in what may have been the last land bridge between Brazil and Africa

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PALEONTOLOGY

Marks left by insects on rhynchosaurus bones indicate underground activity

Marks left by insects on rhynchosaurus bones indicate underground activity

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EVOLUTION

A rare hybrid butterfly

Heliconius elevatus, a hybrid of H. pardalinus and H. melpomene, has more genes from the former, but inherited the coloration capable of scaring off predators from the latter

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Ethology

Underground amphibians produce “milk” to feed their young

Study published in Science describes nursing behavior in caecilian species found in Brazil

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Zoology

The explosive evolution of snakes

A combination of genetic, ecological, and morphological data reveals the secrets of success behind these legless reptiles

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Communication

Brazilian researcher wins award for dance about kangaroos

Doctoral student’s music video sharing the results of his research in Australia won the international Dance Your Ph.D. competition

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Paleontology

Plentiful hunting in the rivers

Turtle fossil found in a mine in the Madeira River basin belonged to one of the largest species ever described

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Zoology

The smallest vertebrate in the world

Flea toad (Brachycephalus pulex), from Bahia, is the smallest known vertebrate

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Paleontology

Fossil lineage found in Rio Grande do Sul survived the world’s biggest extinction event

Predator lived 252 million years ago and had relatives in the region of present-day Eastern Europe, in what is now Russia

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Zoology

Wildcats from the Andes and Central America differ to those found in Brazil

Complex that includes Leopardus tigrinus and L. guttulus gains new species, L. pardinoides, all in danger of extinction

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Epidemiology

Thousands of dead pups

Outbreak of the H5N1 avian flu virus devastates southern elephant seal populations

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Ecology

The economic value of wildlife

Wildlife investment index in Africa encourages environmental conservation and ecotourism

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Zoology

Unique fauna at Pico da Neblina

Scientists discover two new families of frogs at Pico da Neblina

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Zoology

Guide to Amazon snakes launched at the Butantan Institute

Illustrated panels provide information and teach visitors how to recognize 160 species that inhabit the biome

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Zoology

Egg-laying mammal rediscovered

Rare species of mammal that lays eggs is found in a forest in Indonesia

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Zoology

No flash photography, please

Flash photography by tourists can cause stress to caimans in the Amazon

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Ecology

Parasites that turn spiders into zombies

Infected by fungi, invertebrates climb higher to die

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Biology

A snake that squeaks

Snake found by students makes a sound like a chirp when defending itself

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