The humble rodent “thumb” may not seem like an obvious window into evolution, but its keratinized tip – the unguis (hoof, claw, or nail) – turns out to reveal striking insights into rodent history and ...

Foot bones that are separate in small hopping rodents are fused in their larger cousins, and a team of researchers at the University of Michigan and University of California, San Diego, wanted to know ...

Subterranean rodents, notably mole-rats and other fossorial species, exhibit some of the most dramatic examples of chromosomal evolution and speciation in mammals. Adaptations to an underground ...

The legions of squirrels breaking into backyard bird feeders benefit from a surprising trait developed over millions of years—tiny hands with four claws and a human-looking thumbnail. This combination ...

Foot bones that are separate in small hopping rodents are fused in their larger cousins, and a team of researchers wanted to know why. Foot bones that are separate in small hopping rodents are fused ...