Animal Life news stories

Different from any other monkey on Earth, Xenothrix was a slow-moving tree-dweller with few teeth and rodent-like leg bones.

The new dating suggests that these images are at least 40,000 years old, earning them the title of the earliest figurative cave paintings yet found.

Researchers have uncovered evidence that dairying arrived in Mongolia as early as 1300 BC through a process of cultural transmission rather than population replacement or migration.

The huge loss is a tragedy in itself but also threatens the survival of civilisation, say the world’s leading scientists.

“All these fossils occur in a layer no more than 10cm thick… It tells us this is a moment in geological time… They died suddenly and were buried quickly.”

Space scientists have told Nasa they want the agency to “dream big” to ensure their new robot rover visits a maximum number of sites to increase chances of uncovering signs of ancient life on Mars.

The birds are able to combine individual parts to form a long-distance reaching aid.

The European Parliament has voted for a complete ban on a range of single-use plastics across the union in a bid to stop pollution of the oceans.

Insects around the world are in a crisis, according to a small but growing number of long-term studies showing dramatic declines in invertebrate populations.

After millions of years living in darkness, a species of blind cavefish has lost an ancient system of DNA repair.

The results were clear and consistent at locations across North America: bees stopped flying during the period of total solar eclipse.

The discovery of the 115,000 year old Neanderthal was made at the Jaskinia Ciemna cave in southern Poland.

The question of what happened to our Ice Age megafauna does not fall under the purview of a single discipline. It’s a mystery at the intersection of various sciences.

Evidence from genetic analysis of tusks in major shipments will help link individual criminals to wider networks and bring them to justice.

Archaeologists have unearthed ancient pet burials dating as far back as 14,000 years, from the dawn of animal domestication. Interred animals occur in at least some cultures and time periods on every continent except Antarctica.

Cheese may have helped fuel the spread of agriculture across Europe.