National Geographic estimates there are between 50 billion and 430 billion birds populating the planet, outnumbering humans by up to approximately 50 times. Spread across 9,700 species, according to ...

DURHAM, N.C. -- Classifying kangaroos and platypuses together on the evolutionary family tree is as absurd as adding your neighbors to your own family ancestral line simply because they share your ...

The question of what defines a species has vexed scientists across the ages, particularly in conservation, where decisions require a firm understanding of biodiversity. When you purchase through links ...

Principles of taxonomy -- Formal classification of mammalia -- Review of mammalian classification -- Bibliography -- Index to technical names -- Index to vernacular ...

Taxonomy, or the naming of species, is surprisingly complicated – and contentious. It doesn't take much scientific expertise to divide lions from tigers, or pigeons from flamingos, but details count ...

A HEARTY welcome may be accorded to the work referred to below, which contains a well-elaborated and highly philosophical digest of the present state of our knowledge of the past history and ...

Florida manatees, a subspecies of the West Indian manatee (Trichechus manatus), can live as long as 60 years, weigh up to 1,200 lbs, and have no natural predators. The biggest threat to these peaceful ...

Scientists don’t know much about the newly-dubbed “crazy beast” that roamed the world about 66 million years ago. What they do know is thanks to a newly-discovered fossil in Madagascar and work from ...

No, birds are not mammals. Rather, they are avians. Mammals are characterized by their milk glands, hair, vertebrae and their birthing of live young (being viviparous), according to Britannica.