Animal names often sound precise, but many are the result of early guesswork that never got corrected. Explorers, naturalists, and translators labeled creatures based on appearance or limited ...

Some animals fake their body size by sounding 'bigger' than they actually are. Researchers studied 164 different mammals and found that animals who lower their voice to sound bigger are often skilled ...

You can add marmoset monkeys to the list of species that use “names.” But whether animals have anything more to say remains unknown. Do animals have names? According to the poet T.S. Eliot, cats have ...

Western University provides funding as a member of The Conversation CA-FR. Western University provides funding as a member of The Conversation CA. Did you know that animal sounds can be crucial to ...

Many animal names mislead, stemming from early observations and comparisons rather than scientific accuracy. Creatures like prairie dogs and guinea pigs bear names that don't reflect their true nature ...

Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. I write about biodiversity and the hidden quirks of the natural world. Scientists estimate there are over 8 million animal species ...

Animal names often say more about the people who coined them than the creatures themselves. Early explorers, sailors, traders, and scientists relied on first impressions, loose comparisons, and ...