fish
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Unprecedented Biting Strength in Jurassic Lampreys Points to Flesh-Eating Past
Fossilised lampreys from the Jurassic period have surprised a team of paleontologists by their size and well-preserved feeding structures, indicating the creepy fish were already predatory 160 million years ago. Scientists recently identified two new lamprey species, Yanliaomyzon occisor and Yanliaomyzon ingensdentes, which translate to “killer” and “large teeth,” respectively. Remarkably, these species are ten…
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Fish May Feel Each Other’s Fear Through the Same Mechanism That Drives Human Empathy
You may have heard that ‘fish don’t feel pain.’ It’s a common, persistent myth that dates back to 17th-century French philosophy. Yet, regardless of René Descartes’s many other worthwhile ideas, the scientific consensus is that he was flat-out wrong on this one. Fish, and all other classes of vertebrate animals, seem to suffer from bumps,…
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How Scientists Are Using AI to Help Protect the Oceans
You’ve seen the art AI image generators can create, and you may have played with natural language AI chatbots. You’ve benefited from artificial intelligence tools recommending you music and suggesting your next streaming show. But AI can do much more. Humans are excellent at spotting patterns. It’s why we see faces on Mars or in…
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A Mysterious Arctic Shark Just Showed Up in the Caribbean
One of the strangest and longest-lived species of shark has been spotted far beyond its usual haunts. In new research this month, marine biologists report having found a sleeper shark in the western Caribbean waters near Belize for the first time. The discovery is the latest to suggest that these enigmatic creatures, typically seen in…