While skin bone plates are well studied in crocodylians (shown here in a gharial, in purple), their presence in lizards and ...

Our bones did not begin deep inside the body. They started in the skin, not long after the first complex animals took shape. Subscribe to our newsletter for the latest sci-tech news updates. Ever ...

Body coverings such as hair and feathers have played a central role in evolution. They enabled warm-bloodedness by insulating the body, and were used for courtship, display, deterrence of enemies and, ...

The newly described Mirasaura grauvogeli from the Middle Triassic had a striking feather-like crest, hinting that complex skin appendages arose far earlier than previously believed. Its bird-like ...

Skin-shedding in reptiles is a crucial natural bodily process. Some people think that only snakes and lizards shed, but this is untrue. It’s an essential part of life for all reptiles for a variety of ...

Deep inside an Oklahoma quarry, palaeontologists discovered a small fragment of skin that is rewriting the history books. The fossilised reptile skin, dated at 289 million years old, is the most ...

Richard O. Prum is in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and at the Peabody Museum, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut 06511, USA. Read the paper: Triassic diapsid shows early ...

Rachael has a degree in Zoology from the University of Southampton, and specializes in animal behavior, evolution, palaeontology, and the environment. Rachael has a degree in Zoology from the ...

Snakes are famous for the phenomenon of complete skin removal without leaving any fragments behind, a practice that raises interest and questions among people. This natural process, although unusual ...