/newsroom/taxonomy/term/3150/all en /newsroom/channels/news/new-understanding-reptile-colouration-344812 <p>Snakes and mice don’t look alike. But much of what we know about skin colouration and patterning in vertebrates generally, including in snakes, is based on lab mice. However, there are limits to what mice can tell us about other vertebrates because they don’t share all of the same types of colour-producing cells, known as chromatophores. For example, snakes have a type of chromatophore called iridophores that can generate iridescent colours by reflecting light.</p> Tue, 10 Jan 2023 17:56:14 +0000 katherine.gombay@mcgill.ca 288611 at /newsroom /newsroom/channels/news/stemming-tide-invasive-species-338304 <p>Ballast water release from ocean vessels has introduced hundreds of invasive species to coastal ecosystems worldwide, causing major disruptions to fisheries and biodiversity. Attempts to control aquatic invasions have met with mixed success in general. However, a new study suggests that a bi-national regulation targeting ships entering the Great Lakes since the mid-2000s has been remarkably effective in reducing a large proportion of the invasive species in<i> the world’s largest freshwater ecosystem</i>.</p> Thu, 10 Mar 2022 17:52:17 +0000 lawrence.chiang@mail.mcgill.ca 286090 at /newsroom /newsroom/channels/news/uncovering-underlying-patterns-contemporary-evolution-336562 <p>Wild populations must continuously adapt to environmental changes or risk extinction. For more than fifty years, scientists have described instances of “rapid evolution” in specific populations as their traits (phenotypes) change in response to varying stressors. For example, Spanish clover has developed a tolerance for copper from the mine tailings in which it grows, and the horn size of Alberta bighorn sheep has decreased due to trophy hunting.</p> Tue, 18 Jan 2022 14:38:05 +0000 katherine.gombay@mcgill.ca 284331 at /newsroom /newsroom/channels/news/experts-international-day-biological-diversity-may-22-331100 <p>As the global community is called to re-examine our relationship to the natural world, one thing is certain: despite all our technological advances, humans are completely dependent on healthy and vibrant ecosystems for water, food, medicines, clothes, fuel, shelter, and energy, just to name a few. The 2021 theme, “We’re part of the solution”, was chosen to be a continuation of the momentum generated last year under the over-arching theme, “Our solutions are in nature”, which served as a reminder that biodiversity remains the answer to several sustainable development challenges.</p> Mon, 17 May 2021 18:22:25 +0000 frederique.mazerolle@mcgill.ca 265915 at /newsroom /newsroom/channels/news/discovery-new-praying-mantis-species-time-dinosaurs-327814 <p><i>Artist’s interpretation of Labradormantis guilbaulti in liftoff among the leaves of a sycamore tree, Labrador, around 100 million years ago. The interpretation is based on fossils (for the wings) and living and extinct relatives (for the rest of the body). Fossilized sycamore leaves have been found in the same deposits as the mantis wings and show that this new insect species would have lived in a lush warm temperate forest during the Cretaceous. CREDIT: A. Demers-Potvin</i></p> Tue, 19 Jan 2021 15:02:08 +0000 katherine.gombay@mcgill.ca 256302 at /newsroom /newsroom/channels/news/new-species-ichthyosaur-discovered-museum-collection-323090 <p><i>Hauffiopteryx altera</i> (Latin for <i>different from</i>) has been identified as a new species of Ichthyosaurs by researchers from ����ֱ�� and the State Museum of Natural History Stuttgart in Germany.</p> <p>Ichthyosaurs (‘fish lizards’), a group of tuna-shaped reptiles that inhabited Earth’s seas during the Mesozoic Era, were discovered by scientists in the early 19<sup>th</sup> century. Similar to the modern-day dolphin, ichthyosaurs underwent profound adaptions to aquatic environments including limbs transformed into flippers, a dorsal fin, and a tail fin.</p> Thu, 02 Jul 2020 14:37:17 +0000 frederique.mazerolle@mcgill.ca 220746 at /newsroom /newsroom/channels/news/ancient-reptile-had-mammal-tooth-enamel-study-shows-322246 <p>A new study by ����ֱ�� and the University of Alberta (UofA) paleontologists shows that one type of ancient reptiles evolved a special type of tooth enamel, similar to that of mammals, with high resistance to wear and tear. The <a href="https://www.cell.com/current-biology/pdf/S0960-9822(20)30278-5.pdf?_returnURL=https%3A%2F%2Flinkinghub.elsevier.com%2Fretrieve%2Fpii%2FS0960982220302785%3Fshowall%3Dtrue">study</a> is the first to report this kind of enamel in a fossil reptile.</p> Tue, 19 May 2020 19:37:24 +0000 frederique.mazerolle@mcgill.ca 211716 at /newsroom /newsroom/channels/news/fossilized-wing-gives-clues-about-labradors-biodiversity-during-cretaceous-320712 <p>A fossilised insect wing discovered in an abandoned mine in Labrador has led palaeontologists from ����ֱ�� and the University of Gdańsk to identify a new hairy cicada species that lived around 100 million years ago.</p> <p><i>Maculaferrum blaisi</i>,<i> </i>described in a study published in <i><a href="https://www.app.pan.pl/article/item/app006692019.html">Acta Palaeontologica Polonica</a></i>, is the first hemipteran insect (true bug) to be discovered at the Redmond Formation, a fossil site from the Cretaceous period near Schefferville, Labrador.</p> Fri, 21 Feb 2020 15:11:44 +0000 laurie.devine@mcgill.ca 199213 at /newsroom /newsroom/channels/news/newly-discovered-labrador-fossils-give-clues-about-ancient-climate-299002 <p>The discovery of fossilized plants in Labrador, Canada, by a team of ����ֱ�� directed paleontologists provides the first quantitative estimate of the area’s climate during the Cretaceous period, a time when the earth was dominated by dinosaurs. The specimens were found in the Redmond no.1 mine, in a remote area of Labrador near Schefferville, in August 2018. Together with specimens collected in previous expeditions, they are now at the core of a recent study published in Palaeontology.</p> Thu, 01 Aug 2019 14:40:22 +0000 krysta.veneruz@mail.mcgill.ca 183892 at /newsroom /newsroom/channels/news/study-invasive-predators-watch-prey-297577 <p> Wed, 05 Jun 2019 19:09:01 +0000 cynthia.lee@mcgill.ca 166887 at /newsroom /newsroom/channels/news/evolution-illustrated-293922 <p>What do you get when you put together several tons of steel plates, hundreds of mice, a few evolutionary and molecular biologists and a tiny Nebraska town near the South Dakota border?</p> <p>Would you believe one of the most complete pictures ever of vertebrate evolution?</p> Fri, 01 Feb 2019 15:47:54 +0000 cynthia.lee@mcgill.ca 138214 at /newsroom /newsroom/channels/news/bright-warning-colours-poison-dart-frogs-also-act-camouflage-287476 <p><span>Poison dart frogs are well known for their deadly toxins and bright colours, which have made them a classic example of warning coloration.</span></p> <p>The Dyeing Dart Frog, for example, is highly toxic and warns its predators with a bright yellow-and-black pattern.</p> <p>However, new research led by scientists at the University of Bristol has revealed that the colour pattern does more than simply signal “danger”. Counterintuitively, it also works as camouflage.</p> <hr /> <p><a href="/newsroom/dendrobates-tinctorius">Gallery</a> </p> Fri, 01 Jun 2018 18:10:04 +0000 laurie.devine@mcgill.ca 42603 at /newsroom /newsroom/channels/news/redpath-museum-outreach-wins-award-239535 Wed, 15 Oct 2014 17:13:12 +0000 laurie.devine@mcgill.ca 21249 at /newsroom /newsroom/channels/news/microplastic-pollution-discovered-st-lawrence-river-239101 <p>A team of researchers from ����ֱ�� and the Quebec government have discovered microplastics (in the form of polyethylene 'microbeads,' less than 2 mm in diameter) widely distributed across the bottom of the St. Lawrence River, the first time such pollutants have been found in freshwater sediments. Tue, 23 Sep 2014 16:23:09 +0000 cynthia.lee@mcgill.ca 21154 at /newsroom /newsroom/spotlight/what-66-million-year-old-forest-fire-reveals-about-dinosaurs <p><img style="float: right;" class="rt" src="/newsroom/files/newsroom/styles/wysiwyg_medium/public/channels/image/img_1154_copy.jpg?itok=i2YzRwbK" width="160" height="240" alt="" /></p> Sun, 08 Jun 2014 16:12:27 +0000 laurie.devine@mcgill.ca 20845 at /newsroom