Zoology | smithsonianmag.comhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/rss/tag/zoology/RSS feed for ZoologyenTue, 13 Oct 2026 19:23:43 +0000One of the World’s Largest Chinstrap Penguin Colonies Is Shrinking Fasthttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/one-of-the-worlds-largest-chinstrap-penguin-colonies-is-shrinking-fast-180989676/Zavodovski Island, a remote, uninhabited volcanic island between South America and Antarctica, lost 63 percent of its chinstrap penguins between 2011 and 2025, according to a new studyTue, 13 Oct 2026 19:23:43 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/one-of-the-worlds-largest-chinstrap-penguin-colonies-is-shrinking-fast-180989676/These Wild Lemurs Sing Just Like Opera Stars, Widening Their Mouths as They Hit the High Notes, Study Suggestshttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/these-wild-lemurs-sing-just-like-opera-stars-widening-their-mouths-as-they-hit-the-high-notes-study-suggests-180989603/Scientists suspect this musical trait arose independently in humans and indris, which split from a common ancestor some 74 million years ago. Today, the lemurs make loud, haunting calls to communicate with one another in the dense forests of eastern MadagascarFri, 02 Oct 2026 14:34:46 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/these-wild-lemurs-sing-just-like-opera-stars-widening-their-mouths-as-they-hit-the-high-notes-study-suggests-180989603/Where Did Bats Originate? Huge Genetic Study May Have Settled the Longstanding Debate and Rewritten the Creatures' Evolutionary Treehttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/where-did-bats-originate-huge-genetic-study-may-have-settled-the-longstanding-debate-and-rewritten-the-creatures-evolutionary-tree-180989568/The flying mammals likely arose 65 million years ago in Europe, before spreading to Africa and then the rest of the world, according to the new researchFri, 25 Sep 2026 14:00:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/where-did-bats-originate-huge-genetic-study-may-have-settled-the-longstanding-debate-and-rewritten-the-creatures-evolutionary-tree-180989568/Cameras Capture Adult Chimpanzees Passing Tools—and Know-How—to Their Young, Teaching Important Skills to the Next Generationhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/cameras-capture-adult-chimpanzees-passing-tools-and-know-how-to-their-young-teaching-important-skills-to-the-next-generation-180989538/Researchers recorded footage of wild chimps in Senegal showing youngsters how to use sticks to fish out ants and how to smash baobab fruit against rocks to open it, among other instances of instructionTue, 22 Sep 2026 14:00:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/cameras-capture-adult-chimpanzees-passing-tools-and-know-how-to-their-young-teaching-important-skills-to-the-next-generation-180989538/Meet the Adorable and Tiny Tilcayo, the First Brand-New Cat Species Identified in More Than a Centuryhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/meet-the-adorable-and-tiny-tilcayo-the-first-brand-new-cat-species-identified-in-more-than-a-century-180989528/Discovered in a cloud forest in Bolivia, the diminutive felines are smaller than a house cat and covered in large, irregularly shaped rosettesMon, 21 Sep 2026 14:00:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/meet-the-adorable-and-tiny-tilcayo-the-first-brand-new-cat-species-identified-in-more-than-a-century-180989528/Tasmanian Devils Lived Alongside Humans in Northwestern Australia as Far Back as 45,000 Years Ago, Researchers Findhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/tasmanian-devils-lived-alongside-humans-in-northwestern-australia-as-far-back-as-45000-years-ago-researchers-find-180989503/Fossils and marked bones unearthed in a Juukan Gorge cave suggest that the marsupial species not only once lived in the region but may have been a “garbage compactor on four legs” for its human populationWed, 16 Sep 2026 13:15:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/tasmanian-devils-lived-alongside-humans-in-northwestern-australia-as-far-back-as-45000-years-ago-researchers-find-180989503/Two Chonky, Mountain-Dwelling Marmots Were Found in the Bay Area. What Were They Doing So Far Away From Their Home?https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/marmot-mystery-how-did-these-large-mountain-dwelling-rodents-end-up-in-the-bay-area-180989502/The two rodents of unusual size, rescued this month, might have hitched a ride in the engine compartment of a vehicle coming down from the mountains, wildlife officials sayTue, 15 Sep 2026 20:21:10 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/marmot-mystery-how-did-these-large-mountain-dwelling-rodents-end-up-in-the-bay-area-180989502/This Ancient Insect Had 24 Legs—and Could Help Explain How the Ancestors of Modern-Day Bugs Took Over the Landhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/this-ancient-insect-had-24-legs-and-could-help-explain-how-the-ancestors-of-modern-day-bugs-took-over-the-land-180989420/A previously undescribed critter that lived 324 million years ago appears to have been a transitional species that lived between land and sea. It could help researchers fill an 80-million-year gap in the fossil record of how crustaceans evolved into insectsTue, 01 Sep 2026 14:00:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/this-ancient-insect-had-24-legs-and-could-help-explain-how-the-ancestors-of-modern-day-bugs-took-over-the-land-180989420/