New fossil evidence from China suggests that some of our vertebrate ancestors had four eyes. The study, published in Nature, takes a closer look at a structure found in multiple 518 million-year-old ...

Scientists analyzing 443-million-year-old Scottish fossils have uncovered the early evidence that some of the first groups of vertebrates possessed surprisingly advanced eyes and traces of bone, ...

Because we're a member of the group, it's easy to see vertebrates as the pinnacle of evolution, a group capable of producing bats, birds, and giant whales in addition to ourselves. But when they first ...

Humans tend to put our own intelligence on a pedestal. Our brains can do math, employ logic, explore abstractions and think critically. But we can’t claim a monopoly on thought. Among a variety of ...

With terrifyingly sharp teeth arranged around a circular mouth, lampreys look about as primitive a vertebrate as you could imagine. But a new study finds that the animals have a surprising similarity ...

It is one of several new finds that could rewrite how scientists understand fish evolution. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

The oldest chambered hearts have been discovered in fossils from Western Australia. The two-chambered organs, which date back about 380 million years, are preserved within remarkable three-dimensional ...

A 2021 study revealed the largest known bioluminescent vertebrate, the kitefin shark (Dalatias licha), deepening scientific understanding of how light-producing species operate in the world’s twilight ...

The number of vertebrate species inhabiting the different regions of the world is highly variable, as is the proportion of threatened species. Some regions, such as the tropics, have more threatened ...