Showing 20 articles starting at article 481
Categories: Anthropology: General, Paleontology: Early Mammals and Birds
Published Unusual sex chromosomes of platypus, emu and pekin duck
(via sciencedaily.com) Three studies uncovered the unusual sex chromosomes of platypus, emu and Pekin duck. Platypus have five pairs of sex chromosomes forming an unusual chain shape, while the sex chromosomes of emu and duck are not as different between sexes as those of human.
Published Why crocodiles have changed so little since the age of the dinosaurs
(via sciencedaily.com) New research explains how a 'stop-start' pattern of evolution, governed by environmental change, could explain why crocodiles have changed so little since the age of the dinosaurs.
Published New dinosaur showed descendants how to dress to impress
(via sciencedaily.com) Scientists have found the most elaborately dressed-to-impress dinosaur ever described and say it sheds new light on how birds such as peacocks inherited their ability to show off.
Published Archaeopteryx fossil provides insights into the origins of flight
(via sciencedaily.com) Molting is thought to be unorganized in the first feathered dinosaurs because they had yet to evolve flight, so determining how molting evolved can lead to better understanding of flight origins. Recently researchers discovered that the earliest record of feather molting from the famous early fossil bird Archaeopteryx found in southern Germany in rocks that used to be tropical lagoons ~150 million years ago.
Published Flightless bird species at risk of extinction
(via sciencedaily.com) Bird species that have lost the ability to fly through evolution have become extinct more often than birds that have retained their ability to fly, according to new research.
Published Ancient blanket made with 11,500 turkey feathers
(via sciencedaily.com) New research sheds light on the production of an 800-year-old turkey feather blanket and explores the economic and cultural aspects of raising turkeys to supply feathers in the ancient Southwest.
Published Henderson island fossils reveal new Polynesian sandpiper species
(via sciencedaily.com) Fossil bones collected in the early 1990s on Henderson Island, part of the Pitcairn Group, have revealed a new species of Polynesian sandpiper. The Henderson Sandpiper, a small wading bird that has been extinct for centuries, is formally named Prosobonia sauli after Cook Islands-based ornithologist and conservationist Edward K Saul.
Published New genome alignment tool empowers large-scale studies of vertebrate evolution
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Three new articles present major advances in understanding the evolution of birds and mammals, made possible by new methods for comparing the genomes of hundreds of species. Researchers developed a powerful new genome alignment method that has made the new studies possible, including the largest genome alignment ever achieved of more than 600 vertebrate genomes.
Published Giant lizards learnt to fly over millions of years
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Most detailed every study into how animals evolve to better suit their environments shows that pterosaurs become more efficient at flying over millions of years before going extinct with the dinosaurs.