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Great eared nightjar: The 'baby dragon' bird that lays its eggs on the floor
By Lydia Smith published
Great eared nightjars live on the forest floor, remaining motionless throughout the day, camouflaged among leaf litter and tree stumps.

The history of cat domestication
By Marilyn Perkins, Stephanie Pappas last updated
Discover the history of our feline friends, and learn about the debate over whether cats are really "domesticated" at all.

Cats may have been domesticated much later than we thought — with earlier felines being eaten or made into clothes
By Richard Pallardy last updated
Two studies of ancient felines find that cats were likely domesticated in Egypt or other regions in North Africa — and moved into Europe with humans much later than previously believed.

Birds have been nesting in the Arctic Circle for almost 73 million years, newly discovered fossils reveal
By Jesse Steinmetz published
A major collection of more than 50 bird fossils found in northern Alaska suggest some ancient ancestors of modern birds learned to either adapt to the harsh Arctic winter, or migrate south during the Mesozoic — the age of dinosaurs.

Giant 85 million-year-old mystery sea monster fossil finally identified
By Jess Thomson published
A brand new species of elasmosaur named Traskasaura sandrae has been identified from three specimens found on Vancouver Island.

Do parrots actually understand what they're saying?
By Marilyn Perkins published
Parrots are prolific vocal learners. But do they actually understand the words they say?

Insects: Facts about the creepy-crawlies that make up more than half of the world's animal species
By Sascha Pare published
Discover interesting facts about insects, the critters whose combined weight on the planet is 70 times that of all humans.

Pelican eel: The midnight zone 'gulper' with a giant mouth to swallow animals bigger than itself
By Mindy Weisberger published
Open wide! The gaping gob of a pelican eel can expand into a voluminous sac for trapping elusive prey in the dark ocean depths.

Colossal chief scientist clarifies de-extinction claim, while confirming its 'dire wolves' are 'grey wolves with 20 edits'
By Patrick Pester published
In an interview with New Scientist, Colossal Biosciences' chief scientist has clarified that its "dire wolves" are just genetically modified gray wolves following a backlash to the "de-extinction" label it put on them.

Colossal's de-extinction campaign is built on a semantic house of cards with shoddy foundations — and the consequences are dire
By Vincent J. Lynch published
Opinion "Dire wolves" created by Colossal Biosciences were pegged as "the first animals in history to be brought back from extinction." But that all depends on your definition of de-extinction — and Colossal's definition isn't the same as everyone else's.
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