National Geographic estimates there are between 50 billion and 430 billion birds populating the planet, outnumbering humans by up to approximately 50 times. Spread across 9,700 species, according to ...

DURHAM, N.C. -- Classifying kangaroos and platypuses together on the evolutionary family tree is as absurd as adding your neighbors to your own family ancestral line simply because they share your ...

Principles of taxonomy -- Formal classification of mammalia -- Review of mammalian classification -- Bibliography -- Index to technical names -- Index to vernacular ...

The question of what defines a species has vexed scientists across the ages, particularly in conservation, where decisions require a firm understanding of biodiversity. When you purchase through links ...

Taxonomy, or the naming of species, is surprisingly complicated – and contentious. It doesn't take much scientific expertise to divide lions from tigers, or pigeons from flamingos, but details count ...

Some of the best known species on Earth may not be what they seem. Credit...Steve Holroyd/Alamy Supported by By Carl Zimmer Naturalists have been trying for centuries to catalog all of the species on ...

No, birds are not mammals. Rather, they are avians. Mammals are characterized by their milk glands, hair, vertebrae and their birthing of live young (being viviparous), according to Britannica.