The bamboo coral Isidella displaying bioluminescence in the Caribbean in 2009.
Sönke Johnsen
Dozens of animals, some on land but many in the ocean, can produce light within their bodies through chemical reactions. Scientists are still trying to understand when and why this trait developed.
Shark Bay Dolphin Research
For dolphins, childish play may be useful practice for adult life.
Elephants have close social bonds, which may have led to the evolution of name-like calls.
Michael Pardo
Humans aren’t the only animals that have names for each other − and studying animals that use names can teach researchers more about how human names evolved.
A female giraffe browsing.
Giraffe necks are a hot topic among biologists. A new study contradicts an older theory that says male giraffes need long necks to fight over mates.
Mark Phillips/Alamy Stock Photo
When extreme heat arrives, people can seek safety in air-conditioned buildings. Are wild animals doomed?
frank60/Shutterstock
Human culture has changed too fast for evolution to keep up.
A superb fairy wren foster parent about to feed a Horsfield’s bronze cuckoo chick.
Mark Lethlean
New research on cuckoos suggests the battle between exploiters and victims may be a key reason for life’s enormous diversity.
Giraffes at Lake Nakuru National Park in Kenya.
Xinhua via Getty Images
Giraffes show remarkable genetic differences between populations.
Tim Herbert/Shutterstock
The bigger the brain, the better we are at finding fruit. But is that true? A new study on wild primates refutes this idea.
The prehistoric movement of creatures onto land required the skin of prehistoric aquatic animals to adapt.
(Shutterstock)
Fossilized skin belonging to an amniote was recently discovered. The skin was so well-preserved, that its cellular structures could be identified.
The European pied flycatcher may have a genetic predisposition to learn certain songs.
Anton MirMar/Shutterstock
It may not be obvious to the human ear but birds of the same species sing in different dialects.
Warpaint/Shutterstock
Paleontologist Bill Ausich explains whether dinosaurs could ever roam the Earth again. Listen on The Conversation’s Curious Kids podcast.
Slavianin/Shutterstock
Male proboscis monkeys are known for their large, bulbous nose appendages. It’s a strange feature to evolve – with new research shedding light on their unlikely origin story.
You can see this dog’s third eyelid in the corner of its eye.
Shooty Photography/Shutterstock
It’s a question of evolution and adaptation.
Yuganov Konstantin/Shutterstock
Ever been made to feel small? Here’s why being petite is no bad thing.
MisFluffy/Shutterstock
The origin of life on Earth is one of the biggest mysteries in science.
Lichen, the first described example of symbiosis.
AdeJ Artventure/Shutterstock
Symbiosis is so much part of life on Earth that it has shaped the evolution and structure of cells. It’s happening almost everywhere we look, including inside our gut.
Cicadas climb up a tree at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., during the Brood X emergence in 2021.
Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images
The last time that these two groups of cicadas emerged from underground together, Thomas Jefferson was president.
Ryan Boedi/Shutterstock
The extinction of the dinosaurs sparked an explosion of bird species, according to the largest-ever study of bird genetics.
People have collected fossil horses throughout North America for centuries.
Florida Museum/Mary Warrick
Horse fossils are abundant and widespread across North America. Scientists often use their long history to illustrate how species evolve in response to a changing environment.