Tag Archives: species

An international team of scientists from China, Taiwan and the United States has successfully sequenced and analyzed the genomes of the Chinese banyan tree (Ficus microcarpa), which is famous for its extraordinary aerial roots; Ficus hispida, a related fig species lacking aerial roots; and Eupristina verticillata, a wasp coevolving with …

Fungi play a significant role in the diets and nutrition of diverse vertebrates. Many fungi, particularly truffle-like species, have evolved close associations with animals that help to disperse their spores. These animal-fungus associations are frequently overlooked, but they are an important part of functional ecosystems and imperative for the dispersal …

A team of scientists from Hong Kong, the United Kingdom and the United States has sequenced and assembled the chromosomal-level genomes of two very different millipede species: the orange rosary millipede Helicorthomorpha holstii and the rusty millipede Trigoniulus corallinus. Their results provide important insights into arthropod evolution and highlight the …

Paleontologists in Tasmania have unearthed the fossilized remains of a previously unknown species of the trilobite genus Gravicalymene and named it after Thomas Stewart Baker, the fourth actor to play the title character in the television series ‘Doctor Who.’ Gravicalymene bakeri. Scale bar – 1 cm. Image credit: Smith Ebach. …

A new genus and species of an early ornithopod dinosaur has been identified from two nearly complete skeletons found in China’s Liaoning Province. Changmiania liaoningensis, an anterior part of the holotype in caudolateral view; red arrow indicates the emplacement of the gastrolith clusters. Image credit: Yang et al, doi: 10.7717/peerj.9832. …

In a study published in the Journal of Morphology, an international team of scientists has pieced together the ancestral relationships that make up the family tree of hillstream loaches (Balitoridae), detailing for the first time a range of unusual pelvic adaptations across the family that have given some of its …

An international team of marine biologists has described two new species of the polychaete worm genus Melinnopsis from deep waters off the east coast of Australia. Light microscope images of Melinnopsis gardelli: (A) holotype, lateral view of complete specimen; (B) holotype, dorsal view of anterior region, arrow indicates postbranchial dorsal …

A new species of crocodilian related to modern alligators has been identified from fossils found in Mississippi and Alabama, the United States. Named Deinosuchus schwimmeri, it lived between 75 and 82 million years ago (Cretaceous period) and had teeth the ‘size of bananas,’ capable to take down even the very …

A team of mycologists from Oregon State University, the USDA Forestry Sciences Laboratory and Michigan State University has discovered a new species of spiny-spored truffle in the United States. Spores of Tuber luomae. Image credit: Joyce Eberhart. Truffles are the fruiting bodies of subterranean ascomycete fungi, predominantly one of the …

Two New Cryptic Species of Australian Sugar Gliders Discovered A research team led by Charles Darwin University biologists has identified and raised two additional species within what is currently designated as the sugar glider (Petaurus breviceps). The recognition of distinct species is of particular importance given the current climate of …