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Animal News
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"Drunk" Bats Fly Right--Discovery Surprises Scientists
Some bat species can fly and communicate just as well while inebriated as while sober—even with blood alcohol levels that would exceed legal limits in humans.
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World's Biggest Snake Ate New Prehistoric Croc Species
A new, unusually small species of ancient croc found in Colombia was likely no match for the largest snake ever to slither across the Earth, a new study says.
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Eyeless Urchins "See" With Spines
Sea urchin bodies act as big spine-covered eyes, according to researchers who created "Twilight Zone" conditions to test how well the marine creatures can see.
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Vampire Squid Turns "Inside Out"
The vampire squid can turn itself "inside out" to avoid predators—as seen in a video just released to emphasize the need to protect deep-sea species from the effects of human activities. Video.
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Tentacled Snake Uses Odd Appendages to Sense Prey
Just as Spider-man has his spidey sense to warn him when danger's near, the bizarre tentacled snake has its own special system for sensing an approaching meal, a new study says.
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Groundhog Day Pictures: Punxsutawney Phil, Now and Then
The groundhog has spoken, predicting six more weeks of winter in 2010. See Punxsutawney Phil through the years—plus Groundhog Day origins and a wild woodchuck.
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Groundhog Punxsutawney Phil Sees Shadow--And Long Winter
On Groundhog Day 2010, Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow—and six more weeks of winter, according to tradition. Get surprising facts behind the wacky weather prediction.
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Birds Got Too Fat to Fly After Dinosaurs Vanished?
The ancestors of ostriches and other flightless birds once flew, a new study says. They apparently grounded themselves in earnest, though, after dinosaurs were wiped out.
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Groundhog Day 2010 & Punxsutawney Phil: Facts Behind Forecast
With ancient origins and modern media smarts, "immortal" rodent Punxsutawney Phil rules Groundhog Day 2010. Get the surprising facts behind winter's wackiest weather prediction.
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New "Destroyer" Dinosaur Found, Was T. Rex Relative
The 29-foot-long predator reigned over the U.S. West about 75 million years ago, rare dinosaur fossils from New Mexico reveal.
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Dinosaur True Colors Revealed for First Time
Pigments have been found in fossil dinosaurs for the first time—taking "dinosaur color out of the realm of art and into the realm of science."
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Pictures: Dinosaur True Colors Revealed by Feather Find
See the first ever scientifically colored dinosaur illustration—and get the facts on the feather-pigment discovery that made it possible.
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Pictures: Evolution of Dinosaur Art
See how science has changed the art of dinosaur illustration—from the addition of feathers to, as of today, the discovery of dinosaur pigment.
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"Sex Puppeteers" Force Sex Change, Virgin Birth in Bugs via Genes
Fast-spreading parasites force sex changes on victims, induce virgin births, and turn animals into "gross monsters"—all via genetic sabotage, a new study finds.
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Fish "Engineers" Dig Up Homes for Marine Life
Grouper "landlords" that carve out their rocky homes in the seafloor inadvertently give other marine animals free housing, a new study says.
Most Popular Stories
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True-Color Dinosaur Pictures: First Full-Body Rendering
See the woodpecker-like dinosaur that's made history as the first to be fully and scientifically colored—and the feathery fossil that spawned the new view.
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"Super Earth" May Really Be New Planet Type: Super-Io
A planet touted as the most Earthlike outside our solar system might be molten on one side with raging volcanoes on the other, say scientists who think the rocky world CoRoT-7b is closer kin to Jupiter's moon Io.
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