The transition from swimming to walking involved some awkward first steps, according to a new study that recreated how one of the first animals, which left the sea for land, moved. The study found that that the fishy four-limbed animal Ichthyostega used its front limbs like crutches, pushing its body up and forward onto land while its legs and tail trailed behind. It lived in water near the shoreline when not on land. This was one small step for sea creatures but one big step for animal kind, because those early movements on land around 374-359 million years ago likely later evolved into walking, including human locomotion. PHOTOS: Living Fossils: Animals From Another Time "Ichthyostega's muscular and mobile elbows would have also assisted in station ... Continue reading →
Early Europe Art Depicts Female Sex Organs: Photos our sites video shop stay connected corporate Image Credits DCL Copyright © 2012 Discovery Communications, LLC. The number-one nonfiction media company. Discovery News CONTENT LINKS 15 Enterprise Feedback ManagementCRM Integration Continue reading →
Multiple engraved and painted images of female sexual organs, animals and geometric figures discovered in southern France are believed to be the first known wall art. Radiocarbon dating of the engravings, described in the latest Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, reveals that the art was created 37,000 years ago. This makes them slightly older than the world’s earliest known cave art, found in Chauvet Cave, southeastern France. PHOTOS: Early Europe Art Depicts Female Sex Organs Since this site, Abri Castanet in southern France, is very close to Chauvet, it is likely that the artists in both cases came from what is known as the Aurignacian culture, which existed until about 28,000 years ago. “Abri Castanet has long been recognized as one of the ... Continue reading →
How Santino, the Chimp, Attacks Visitors: Photos our sites video shop stay connected corporate Image Credits DCL Copyright © 2012 Discovery Communications, LLC. The number-one nonfiction media company. Discovery News CONTENT LINKS 15 Enterprise Feedback ManagementCRM Integration Continue reading →
Bad Animal Mothers: Photos our sites video shop stay connected corporate Image Credits DCL Copyright © 2012 Discovery Communications, LLC. The number-one nonfiction media company. Discovery News CONTENT LINKS 15 Enterprise Feedback ManagementCRM Integration Continue reading →
The human population is growing at such a staggering rate that we are organizing ourselves more like ant supercolonies, with new research finding that we have more in common now with some ants than we do with our closest living animal kingdom relatives. The new study, published in the journal Behavioral Ecology, points out that both humans and ants (termites, too) live in societies that may consist of up to a million plus members. NEWS: Are Ants Smarter Than Fifth-Graders At Math? "As a result, modern humans have more in common with some ants than we do with our closest relatives the chimpanzees," Mark Moffett, author of the study, told Discovery News. "With a maximum size of about 100, no chimpanzee group has to deal ... Continue reading →
The appropriately named Rebellatrix, a shark-like predatory fish that partly resembled tuna, terrorized ocean dwellers 240 million years ago. Rebellatrix, meaning the rebel coelacanth, is described in the latest issue of the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. Coelacanths are iconic fishes today, well known as living fossils. PHOTOS: Living Fossils: Animals From Another Time Coelacanths are thought of as slow movers, so the speediness of Rebellatrix comes as a surprise. Lead author Andrew Wendruff from the University of Alberta told Discovery News that the fish measured over three feet long and had a tuna-like forked tail. “Since the tail of a fish is used for locomotion, much can be deduced about the type of locomotion as well as its lifestyle,” Wendruff said. “Fish with forked tails ... Continue reading →
The difficulty of getting pandas to mate in the wild and in captivity is legendary. A new study sheds some light on just how tricky it can be. Giant panda males are reproductively viable for six or more months out of the year but females are only in the mood for one to three days each year, according to a new study. The new study takes a very close look at giant panda reproduction. It's the first to reveal male giant pandas' reproductive capacity over time. The research is published in the latest issue of Biology of Reproduction. PHOTO: A Summer of Panda Pregnancies In addition to the inherent problems of encountering a female during her short “ready and willing” mating period, a male giant ... Continue reading →
A juvenile mammoth, nicknamed "Yuka," was found entombed in Siberian ice near the shores of the Arctic Ocean and shows signs of being cut open by ancient people. The remarkably well preserved frozen carcass was discovered in Siberia as part of a BBC/Discovery Channel-funded expedition and is believed to be at least 10,000 years old, if not older. If further study confirms the preliminary findings, it would be the first mammoth carcass revealing signs of human interaction in the region. The carcass is in such good shape that much of its flesh is still intact, retaining its pink color. The blonde-red hue of Yuka's woolly coat also remains. "This is the first relatively complete mammoth carcass -- that is, a body with soft tissues preserved ... Continue reading →
