Analysis of ancient DNA of a mysterious extinct monkey named Xenothrix -- which displays bizarre body characteristics very different to any living monkey -- has revealed that it was in fact most closely related to South America's titi monkeys (Callicebinae). Having made their way overwater to Jamaica, probably on floating vegetation, their bones reveal they subsequently underwent remarkable evolutionary change. […]

Researchers revealed the importance of the brain's dopaminergic system for inhibiting already-planned actions. They trained monkeys to redirect their gaze towards targets newly presented on a screen, apart from when presented with signals to avoid such redirection. Simultaneous analysis showed that the activity of dopaminergic neurons correlated with successful refusal to redirect gaze to a new target. These findings could aid the development of treatments for diseases with impaired inhibition […]

Few things can delight an adult more easily than the uninhibited, effervescent laughter of a baby. Yet baby laughter, a new study shows, differs from adult laughter in a key way: Babies laugh as they both exhale and inhale, in a manner that is remarkably similar to nonhuman primates. […]

No one had reported seeing the strange creature -- a cross between a bear and a monkey -- since before the Great Depression. Then, this past summer, an amateur biologist stumbled upon the presumed-extinct Wondiwoi tree kangaroo while trekking through Papua New Guinea. The revelation underscored how little we still know about the natural world -- a major obstacle to conservation. […]

Researchers report that wild monkeys in the Americas are transmitting the Zika virus to humans via mosquitoes, making complete eradication of the virus in the Americas very unlikely. […]

Analysis of ancient DNA of a mysterious extinct monkey named Xenothrix—which displays bizarre body characteristics very different to any living monkey—has revealed that it was in fact most closely related to South America's titi monkeys (Callicebinae). Having made their way overwater to Jamaica, probably on floating vegetation, their bones reveal they subsequently underwent remarkable evolutionary change. […]

Since the age of the Roman Empire and the story of how the twins Romulus and Remus were raised by a wolf, tales of interspecies adoptions have captivated the human imagination. The story that emerged from Canada's St. Lawrence River in July of 2018 was no exception. While researching belugas, a group of scientists captured drone footage of a young male narwhal, more than 1,000 kilometres south of his Arctic home, swimming with a pod of belugas. […]

When Stony Brook University anthropologist James Rossie began sifting through sediment in the Tugen Hills of Kenya during his first day of the dig, he didn't know he'd discover teeth from a previously undiscovered tiny ape species. […]

No one had reported seeing the strange creature—a cross between a bear and a monkey—since before the Great Depression. Then, this past summer, an amateur biologist stumbled upon the presumed-extinct Wondiwoi tree kangaroo while trekking through Papua New Guinea. The revelation underscored how little we still know about the natural world—a major obstacle to conservation. […]

Sometimes hidden clues beneath our feet can reveal intriguing stories about the impacts of environmental change. […]