How dinosaurs learned to stand on their own two feet

Paleontologists at the University of Alberta have developed a new theory to explain why the ancient ancestors of dinosaurs stopped moving about on all fours and rose up on just their two hind legs.

Lungfish provides insight to life on land

A study into the muscle development of several different fish has given insights into the genetic leap that set the scene for the evolution of hind legs in terrestrial animals. This innovation gave rise to the tetrapods—four-legged ...

Study reveals how leaf-cutting ants gauge leaf portion size

They might not be able to leap tall buildings with a single bound, but leaf-cutting ants are insect superheroes, capable of carrying leaf pieces up to six times their body mass to cultivate fungus in their borrows. But how ...

How the whale got its teeth

Whales are mammals, but they don't look like the mammals living around us, as they have a triangular fluke for tail, no hind legs and no body hair. And inside their mouths, their teeth are unfamiliar too – being much simpler ...

Resting postures determined by animals' size

Cows always rest on their chests so that their digestion is not impaired. Rodents sometimes rest sitting down, while kangaroos sometimes lie on their backs. The larger the animal, the less often it lies down, and when it ...

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