Necks question... how did the biggest dinosaurs get so big?
Alongside Tyrannosaurus rex, the basic sauropod dinosaur is one of the most iconic and instantly recognisable of prehistoric animals. Not only is their elegant shape with four columnar limbs, a long...
View ArticleNeck ribs in woolly mammoths provide clues about their decline and eventual...
Researchers recently noticed that the remains of woolly mammoths from the North Sea often possess a 'cervical' (neck) rib—in fact, 10 times more frequently than in modern elephants (33.3% versus 3.3%)....
View ArticleEvolution of snake courtship and combat behavior
A small study suggests snakes may have developed courtship and male-to-male combat behavior, such as moving undulations, neck biting, and spur-poking, over time, according to a study published...
View ArticleHow dinosaurs divided their meals at the Jurassic dinner table
How the largest animals to have ever walked the Earth fed, and how this allowed them to live alongside one another in prehistoric ecosystems is the subject of new research from the University of...
View ArticleShort-necked Triassic marine reptile discovered in China
A new species of short-necked marine reptile from the Triassic period has been discovered in China, according to a study published December 17, 2014 in the open-access journal PLOS ONE by Xiao-hong...
View ArticleLong-necked 'dragon' discovered in China
University of Alberta paleontologists including PhD student Tetsuto Miyashita, former MSc student Lida Xing and professor Philip Currie have discovered a new species of a long-necked dinosaur from a...
View ArticleCertain genes in vertebrate embryos correlate with differences in neck length
Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich researchers have shown that patterns of activity of certain genes in vertebrate embryos correlate with differences in the length of the neck region. The findings...
View ArticleResearchers reconstruct dinosaur tracks
Twelve years ago, footprints of carnivorous dinosaurs were discovered and excavated in a quarry near Goslar. Paleontologists from the University of Bonn, working with Dinosaur Park Münchehagen and the...
View ArticleEngineers find secret to steady drone cameras in swan necks
Swans and geese are the envy of aeronautical engineers. Even plump geese can perform remarkable aerial acrobatics – twisting their body and flapping their powerful wings while keeping their head...
View ArticleResearchers discover clues on how giraffe neck evolved
Scientists have long theorized that the long neck of modern-day giraffes evolved to enable them to find more vegetation or to develop a specialized method of fighting.
View ArticleSharks could reveal how neck disease forms in humans
New insights into how the neck vertebrae of elephant sharks naturally become fused could help researchers to understand how neck development can go wrong in people affected by disease.
View ArticleFossil vertebrae reveal clues to evolution of long neck in giraffe
(Phys.org)—A trio of researchers with the New York Institute of Technology has pieced together the neck of the now extinct giraffe-like creature Samotherium major and in so doing has found some clues...
View ArticleA new look at old bones reveals patterns of neck elongation in elasmosaurids
I think at this point it's no secret that I really really really like aquatic animals, especially of the extinct variety (in case you don't believe me, see here and here and here and here and here and...
View ArticleLong-necked dino species discovered in Australia
Scientists unveiled fossils Thursday from a new species of giant, long-necked dinosaur unearthed in northeast Australia, speculating that its ancestors had trekked across Antarctica some 105 million...
View ArticleDinosaurs' rise was 'more gradual,' new fossil evidence suggests
Researchers have discovered two small dinosaurs together with a lagerpetid, a group of animals that are recognized as precursors of dinosaurs. The discovery made in Brazil and reported in the Cell...
View ArticleInvention takes a new spin on concussion prevention
Some of the best ideas come from drinks at a bar with friends. Theo Versteegh's revolutionary idea to mitigate concussion in sport was no different.
View ArticleOdd facts about the giraffe
One of the most under-studied large mammals in Africa, research has shown the giraffe has silently been going extinct, with numbers dropping 40 percent in the past three decades.
View ArticleThe evolution of turtle neck retraction
One of the unique and most iconic features of many modern turtles is that they can withdraw their neck and head to hide and protect them within their shells. The group name of species which do this,...
View ArticleHunter's find leads to discovery of prehistoric sea creature
A fossil found by an elk hunter in Montana nearly seven years ago has led to the discovery of a new species of prehistoric sea creature that lived about 70 million years ago in the inland sea that...
View ArticleDinosaur find in outback Queensland
The remains of what might be the most complete sauropod dinosaur ever found in Australia have been uncovered by a team including a Swinburne palaeontologist.
View ArticleSticking your neck out: How did plesiosaurs swim with such long necks?
When dinosaurs ruled the land, plesiosaurs ruled the oceans. Famous for their incredibly long necks - some of which were up to 7 metres long - plesiosaurs have remained an evolutionary mystery for...
View ArticleNo simple way of predicting breathing difficulties in pugs, French bulldogs...
As many as a half of all short-nosed dogs such as pugs, French bulldogs and bulldogs experience breathing difficulties related to their facial structure. However, research published today by the...
View ArticleComparing the amount of energy needed by two species of Galapagos tortoises...
(Phys.org)—A team of researchers with members from the U.S., Portugal and France has conducted a study of the amount of energy required by the two main types of tortoises that reside on the Galapagos...
View ArticleRace to save Indonesian croc stricken by tyre necklace
Indonesian conservation officials are racing to locate and rescue a saltwater crocodile that has had a motorbike tyre wrapped around its neck for more than a year on the island of Sulawesi.
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