Australian researchers looking for a genetic lifeline to endangered hog deer species endemic to Pakistan, northern India and mainland southeast Asia have found widespread hybridization of the species in Victoria.
Read moreWe usually think of a species as being reproductively isolated — that is, not mating with other species in the wild. Occasionally, however, closely related species do interbreed. New research documents the existence of a previously undiscovered hybrid zone along the coasts of California and Oregon where two related bird hummingbirds are blurring species boundaries, and researchers hope that studying cases such as this one could improve their understanding of how biodiversity is created and maintained.
Read moreUsing DNA from museum specimens collected in the early 20th century, researchers identified two new species of giant salamander — one of which they suspect is the world's biggest amphibian.
Read morePalorchestid marsupials, an extinct group of Australian megafauna, had strange bodies and lifestyles unlike any living species.
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