Earth’s history is filled with incredible milestones, and the emergence of the first animals is one of the most captivating. Scientists have long been intrigued by how and when life began on our ...

Behold, one of Earth's earliest animals: Ok, so it's a flattened, circular blob with a mysterious question mark shape for a butt crack.

The primitive history of these unusual animals, he said, is “truly crucial” to our understanding of how mammals (including humans) came to be. “Monotremes are these living relics from a very ...

Ctenophores are one of, if not the, oldest animals on Earth — quite possibly a sister to all other animals in the tree of life, so “they provide a really unique opportunity to study ...

Global diversity and energy of animals shaping the Earth’s surface. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2025; 122 (8) DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2415104122 ...

A new study suggests the platypus and echidna — the only egg-laying mammals — had a water-dwelling ancestor. The finding could upend what’s known of their evolution.