Are humans preventing flies from eavesdropping?

Soundscapes may influence the evolution of tightly co-evolved host-parasitoid relationships. Both traffic noise and natural ocean noise were found to inhibit parasitoid Ormia fly orientation to sound, which affects reproduction of the fly and survival of the cricket host.

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The dark giraffe, the new dark horse

Darker male giraffes have been found to be more solitary and less social than their lighter-colored counterparts, according to new research. A long-term study revealed that the color of male giraffes' spots more strongly relates to their patterns of social association, rather than their age, as previously thought.

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T. rex used a stiff skull to eat its prey

A Tyrannosaurus rex could bite hard enough to shatter the bones of its prey. But how it accomplished this feat without breaking its own skull bones has baffled paleontologists. That's why scientists are arguing that the T. rex's skull was stiff much like the skulls of hyenas and crocodiles, and not flexible like snakes and birds as paleontologists previously thought.

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Monkeys like alcohol at low concentrations, but probably not due to the calories

Fruit-eating monkeys show a preference for concentrations of alcohol found in fermenting fruit, but do not seem to use alcohol as a source of supplementary calories, according to a new study. The findings do not support the idea that human alcoholism originated from a predilection of primates for alcohol-containing overripe fruit.

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New species of crocodile discovered in museum collections

By looking at 90-year-old crocodile skulls in museum collections and double-checking with live specimens at a zoological park in Florida, researchers have just discovered a new species of ten-foot-long croc. The new species, Crocodylus halli, is from the southern part of New Guinea, and until now, scientists had thought it was the same species that lived on the northern part of the island.

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