Zoology

Fight or flight

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

Transgenic zebrafish found in streams in the Paraíba do Sul basin, Minas Gerais

More than a hundred specimens of the fluorescent zebrafish were captured by researchers

Hibernation delays aging in marmots and encourages sexual maturation in ground squirrels

Studies on the effects of hibernation were carried out by Brazilian researchers in the USA

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

Cross-infection between species

Humans have transmitted SARS-CoV-2 to animals, at least two of which have passed the virus onto other people

A connection between big and small

Dog breeds can have up to 40-fold size differences, determined by 25 genes

Two lives dedicated to biodiversity

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

Vaccinating primates against yellow fever

Early trials suggest human vaccines are effective in wild primate species susceptible to the yellow fever virus

Dogs know when their owners speak a different language

Dogs can differentiate between languages, according to researchers at Eötvös Loránd University in Hungary

DNA in the air helps identify animals

Two studies published in the same scientific journal in January indicate that the air contains DNA at levels sufficient to allow species identification

Karen Strier: Four decades with the muriquis

American anthropologist has contributed to primate conservation in the Atlantic Forest and trained almost 80 Brazilian researchers

Big cats and Covid-19

Snow leopards died from complications associated with COVID-19 in November

Heart of the Amazon

Using India ink to dye the circulatory system of the brycon (brycon amazonus), one of the characteristic fishes of the Amazon basin

The tambaqui genome

A group of researchers has sequenced and analyzed the genome of the second largest fish in the Amazon

Ants with women’s names

Ants with women's names

The great ocean fertilizers

Whales are the largest living beings on the planet and play an important role in recycling ocean nutrients

Protozoan fossil in Brazilian amber

Researchers at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ) have described a new extinct species of protozoan: Palaeohypothrix bahiensis

Rainforest marsupials

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

Unexpected feast

The crows and the empty set

With training, carrion crow were able to understand the empty set as a null numerical quantity close to one

A giant water and food vacuum

African elephants are able to fill their nostrils with 3.7 liters of water in just 1.5 seconds

The harvestman with eight canes

Of all the harvestman species found in Brazil, Giupponia Chagasi is the best adapted to living in caves—a trait known as troglomorphism

Toads in the mist

In well-preserved remnants of the Atlantic Forest, a team of zoologists identified a peculiar new species of toad

A very informative gesture

Mountain gorillas may be communicating with other members of their troop when they rise up on their hind legs and beat their chests with their hands to produce a loud, hollow sound

Gimli and Nigel, two dwarf giraffes

Gimli and Nigel are the first recorded examples of dwarfism in wild giraffes

Anti-predator chemical shield

Seemingly harmless at first glance, the African maned rat (Lophiomys imhausi) carries a lethal weapon in its coat

Bird sings at lower volume in quiet city

During the pandemic, the white-crowned sparrow's singing returned to the volume it sang at in the 1970s

Under the female gaze

Males with brightly colored wings attract more females to their territory, as well as more rival males, sparking a fierce competition for mating partners

Leprosy in wild chimpanzees

Photos taken in 2017 are the first record of wild chimpanzees with lesions indicative of leprosy on their faces and other parts of their bodies

A poisonous weave

A spider web commonly found in the Americas is composed of toxins that paralyze and help kill prey