Our Blog

Spotted hyena (Crocuta crocuta) photo © Tony Camacho Spotted hyena: so analysed and yet so enigmatic The niche of any species cannot be fully understood except within a framework...

Spotted hyenas (Crocuta crocuta) photo © ArtMalou The undignified aristocracy of the spotted hyena Although biologists have avoided these terms, the spotted hyena qualifies as...

Crocuta crocuta & Homo sapiens photo © Kevin Richardson Spotted hyena as shadow-self Figure 1. Crocuta crocuta & Homo sapiens [photo © Kevin Richardson] The human species...

Plotosus lineatus photo © Hectonichus Aposematic parallels between fish and butterfly Both the striped eel catfish and the zebra longwing butterfly rest gregariously in dim light...

Loxia curvirostra photo © Andreas Eichler via CC BY-SA 4.0 Don’t cross out racial discrimination in finches Links to the images that inspired this bio-insight:...

Bitis arietans photo © Johannes van Rooyen A large adder full of olfactory surprises Bitis arietans photo © 4028mdk09 The puffadder has been found to be odourless – even to...

Eucalyptus erythrocorys photo © Consultaplantas Pyree growth-form in eucalypts The illyarrie is a fire-adapted low tree that naturally grows with at least one major branch set at...

Panthera pardus pardus photo © Derek Keats Rapid miniaturisation of leopard in southern Africa The leopard is the only African wild mammal in which body mass in...

Prionailurus bengalensis euptilurus photo © Pontafon No such thing as Nipponese wildcat or Honshu dhole Prionailurus bengalensis iriomotensis photo © Momotarou2012 One of the...

Canis familiaris, Smålandsstövare breed, photo © Linathrash Ischial blaze diagnoses real ancestor of domestic dog Canis familiaris, Bohemian shepherd breed, photo © Krosandra The...

Equus quagga quagga photo © Frederick York Extinct quagga had a short dark mane In the mane of the plains zebra, the pale stripes are wider than the dark stripes. The extinct...

Alces alces photo © kuhnmi                                  Ear language in moose The only sharply defined markings on the moose are at the anterior bases of the ears. These...

Sus scrofa cristatus photo © Bernard Dupont                          Puzzling failure of wild boar to colonise Mediterranean islands Before the islands of the Mediterranean were...

Canis lupus photo © Doug Smith Extinction of the wolf as a colour-monomorphic species The original wolf no longer exists worldwide because of hybridisation with the domestic dog,...

Ball-and-stick model of a glucose molecule, image available in the public domain                                  Addiction to the most natural of fuels In the human species,...

Acinonyx jubatus juveniles with mother photo © Mathias Appel  Chimaera-mimicry in juvenile cheetah Mellivora capensis photo © Jaganath The juvenile colouration of...

Litoria phyllochroa photo © Froggydarb Radiation of Australasian treefrogs (genus Litoria) Litoria raniformis photo © Tnarg 12345 Australasian marsupials have radiated into...

Acinonyx jubatus photo © Rob Kirby Working versus idle weaponry in the wild Alcelaphus cokii photo © Dger The distinction between working and idle weaponry is illustrated by this...

Canis familiaris photo © bein_korean Canine duality as both herd and herd-dog The domestic dog is perhaps the only animal farmed for human consumption while – at the same time...

Connochaetes mearnsi & Equus quagga boehmi photo by Uli Sauer Why zebras are attracted to wildebeests The plains zebra consorts with wildebeests to enhance its optical...

Equus spp. and Crocuta crocuta photo by Eric Baker via CreativeCommons 2.0 Camouflage along different lines in zebras i.e. more intensely pigmented than the normal colour Zebras...