Vertebrate

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  Some Squirrels Are Ruthless Predators That Devour Meat: Study

  California ground squirrels, usually known for their plant-based diet, have been observed hunting and eating voles in the first recorded instance of the species preying on live vertebrates, according to new research.

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  Ancient Viruses Responsible For Our Big Brains And Bodies: Study

  Ancient viruses that infected vertebrates hundreds of millions of years ago played a pivotal role in the evolution of our advanced brains and large bodies, a study said Thursday.

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  Teen Unearths 5-Million-Year-Old Walrus Skull, Gets New Species Named After Him

  In 2011, a 13-year-old fossil enthusiast discovered a walrus skull in northern California. Eleven years later, a paleontologist named the extinct species after him.

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  365-Million-Year-Old Fish With Extreme Underbite Showcases Vertebrate Diversity

  Vertebrates are defined as all animals that possess a vertebral column, or backbone. Most living vertebrates also possess jaws, teeth and paired fins or limbs.

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  After Deadly Mating, Antechinus Morph into Cannibals, Reveals Study

  Death of males potentially presents an opportunity for cheap energy gain via cannibalism for still-living male and female antechinuses.

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  Scientists Say Humans Hundreds Of Times Deadlier Than Sharks. Here's Why

  The results of the research have been published in the journal Communications Biology.

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  New Dinosaur Species With Blade-Like Spikes Identified In UK

  The species has been named after Professor Paul Barrett, the head of fossil vertebrates at the Natural History Museum.

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  Yunnanozoans Are Oldest and Most Primitive Stem Vertebrate, Researchers Conclusively Identify

  A group of scientists have identified that the fossil records of yunnanozoans, an extinct creature that lived 518 million years ago in the Cambrian Period, are the oldest known stem vertebrates. Stem vertebrates refer to creatures that were vertebrates, i.e. possessing a spinal column, but have now gone extinct though have closely related living ve...

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  Over 500 'Lost' Species of Terrestrial Vertebrates Missing for Decades Identified in New Study

  An international study has identified 562 'lost' terrestrial vertebrate species that are yet to be declared extinct. The list includes amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals, found after examining data from the International Union for Conservation of Nature's Red List of Threatened Species (IUCN Red List) on 32,802 species. Most of the lost spe...

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  Scientists Devise 'Lifespan Clock' for Vertebrates

  An Australian research team say they have come up with a "lifespan clock" which provides accurate maximum age estimates for vertebrates, a key variable in the study of both living and extinct animals.

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  Do You Know Eyes Have Natural Version For Night Vision?

  Even in the best lighting, identifying the presence and direction of a moving object is key to survival for most animals. But detecting motion with a single point of reference doesn't work very well.

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  Scientists Finally Find 240-Million-Year-Old 'Mother Of All Lizards'

  Here's a fact you should know about the world in which you live: It's home to more kinds of scaly reptiles than all the mammal families combined. The reptile order Squamata, which includes snakes, lizards and legless worm-looking creatures known as amphisbaenians, is the largest order of living land vertebrates on the planet.

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  Malaria May Have Evolved 100 Million Years Ago: Study

  Malaria may have evolved in prehistoric insects at least 100 million years ago, and the first vertebrate hosts of the deadly disease may have included the gigantic dinosaurs, a new study suggests.

• Jaw-inspiring: Ancient fish was pivotal in evolution of face, researchers find

  Let's face it. It's easy to take for granted that mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians and fish - vertebrates just like people - have a face. But it has not always been the case.

• 'Lost world' discovered in remote Australia

  An expedition to a remote part of northern Australia has uncovered three new vertebrate species isolated for millions of years, with scientists on Monday calling the area a "lost world".