Have we misunderstood the first known animal? Dickinsonia, a weird organism from half a billion years ago, may have inflated its body to feed. The strategy is not seen in animals today, which raises questions about whether Dickinsonia really belongs in the animal kingdom after all. Image: sharloch
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Fearsome sabre-toothed cats may have had a tender side. The prehistoric predators risked damaging their powerful jaws and teeth during hunts, but a study of their fossils suggests injured individuals could then rely on their peers for food. Image: tabitum
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From chocolate brown to brick red, emerald green to turquoise blue, bird eggs come in an astonishing variety of colours. And it all began with one dinosaur alive tens of millions of years ago, according to a new analysis that concludes colourful eggs evolved just once. Image: Bart Hanlon
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The Neanderthal rib cage was subtly different in shape from our own – and that could help explain how the heavily built ancient humans grabbed enough oxygen from the air to survive. Image: grapitix
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In what could be a case of remarkably fast animal evolution, the crickets of Hawaii have begun to purr. The discovery is the latest twist in a decades-long battle between crickets and a parasitic fly that is attracted by their songs. Image: LeGrimlin
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