Stories by Jack Tamisiea

Unique patterns of neuron activation help tiny birds catalog thousands of scattered food caches

Thirsty cicadas produce more powerful jets of urine than some mammals

Schools of brainiac fish share “images” of nearby objects and use their extraordinary ability to see farther

The ancient reptile Dinocephalosaurus had a neck of mythic proportions

Snakes saw a burst of adaptation about 128 million years ago that led to them exploding in diversity and evolving up to three times faster than lizards

Traits such as face shape, size and sex help predict a dog breed’s life span

The mouselike male antechinus goes all out for its first and final mating season

Some species of cave-dwelling spiders lack eyes but still maintain the ability to sense light, which likely protects them from the arid environments at the sunny mouths of caves

Domestic cats are cherished human companions, but a new study shows the enormous breadth of species the felines prey on when they are left to roam freely

Chinstrap Penguins take more than 10,000 seconds-long naps during the day to remain vigilant while incubating their eggs

Experiments visualize a rodent’s ability to imagine the future

A deep-sea expedition discovers a strange, dark world of strawberry squid and ratfish in cold-water corals near the Galápagos Islands

In addition to finding where citrus come from, researchers have pinpointed the genetic origins of the fruits’ tart taste

Scientists have uncovered an ancient trilobite’s last meal preserved inside a nearly intact fossil

Western Australia’s Argyle Mine is famous for its rare pink diamonds, and scientists now think they know how these formed: a tectonic collision followed by the breakup of a supercontinent

An expedition using a deep-sea remotely operated vehicle has uncovered a hidden underground ecosystem below hydrothermal vents on the seafloor

With their stealth, speed and serrated teeth, sharks are predators to be reckoned with. And that’s before factoring in the cocaine some sharks may be eating

An extraordinary fossil captures the moment when a hungry mammal attacked a dinosaur

Paleontologists have uncovered a miniature world of sea creatures whose tiny guts, eyes and even brains remain visible 462 million years after they perished

California blackworms make a contribution to the math and physics of knot tying by demoing twisting motions that help them escape a tangled worm ball

Researchers close in on a taxonomic home for one of paleontology’s weirdest wonders, the Tully Monster

Hibernating brown bears avoid the blood clots that can develop in even temporarily immobile people. Scientists now think they know how the animals do it

A spider that caught and devoured a much larger shrew for its meal adds to evidence that more spiders aren’t strangers to dining on vertebrates

Sharpshooter insects use a physics phenomenon called superpropulsion to efficiently fling away droplets of pee at extremely high speeds