In biological sciences, morphology is the branch that studies the form, external structure, and macroscopic organization of organisms and their parts, independent of function. It encompasses comparative morphology, which analyzes homologous structures across taxa; functional morphology, which relates structural features to mechanical or biomechanical constraints; and developmental morphology, which examines changes in form during ontogeny. Morphological data, including body plans, organ systems, and patterning of tissues, are central to systematics, phylogenetic inference, and taxonomy, and are integrated with molecular and genetic information to elucidate evolutionary relationships, phenotypic variation, and constraints on organismal design.
New research is significantly revising a widely cited evolutionary model, the Inhibitory Cascade Mode (ICM). Benjamin Auerbach, professor in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Tennessee, ...
Evolution
Mar 30, 2026
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In a study published in The Anatomical Record, researchers have identified a new species of large-bodied gorgonopsian from the middle Permian. The discovery pushed back the known origins of when these apex predators began ...
Museum collections have underpinned scientific research for centuries. But physical specimens in boxes and drawers don't easily lend themselves to the research techniques of the new millennium. "How can we apply these techniques ...
Plants & Animals
Mar 27, 2026
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In a study published in Science, an international research team from the Mansoura University Vertebrate Paleontology Center (Egypt) and the University of Southern California (U.S.) describe Masripithecus moghraensis, a newly ...
Evolution
Mar 26, 2026
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A research team from the National Taiwan Normal University has clarified the status of a secretive reptile. Led by Si-Min Lin, the team focused on the Formosan legless lizard, scientifically known as Dopasia formosensis. ...
Plants & Animals
Mar 25, 2026
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Animals come in an extraordinary range of body shapes. A starfish looks nothing like an earthworm, a mouse, or a human. Yet even closely related species can appear radically different: corals, jellyfish, and sea anemones ...
Plants & Animals
Mar 20, 2026
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The combination of a beaver-like body and duck-like bill of the platypus (Ornithorhynchus anatinus) is only the first of a long list of strange features on this unique creature. These odd mammals also lay eggs, have venomous ...
The cactus on your windowsill may grow slowly, but new research shows that cacti are surprisingly fast at creating new species. Biologists have long thought that pollinators and specialized flowers drive the formation of ...
Plants & Animals
Mar 17, 2026
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In storytelling, even small visual details can become unforgettable. In the globally popular anime "Demon Slayer," one such detail is the short bamboo muzzle worn by a central character. It looks simple and believable, just ...
Plants & Animals
Mar 6, 2026
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Woodpeckers are well known for striking tree trunks with remarkable force and precision. These birds deliver thousands of high-speed impacts per day, generating mechanical loads that would destabilize the skulls of most other ...
Plants & Animals
Mar 5, 2026
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