North American raccoons are widespread across the contiguous United States and live in close proximity to humans (i.e. urban) and in rural environments. This makes them an excellent species for comparative work on the effects of human environments on phenotypic traits. We use raccoons as a mammalian model system to test whether exposure to human environments triggers a trait of the domestication syndrome. Our data suggests that urban environments produce reductions in snout length, which are consistent with the domestication syndrome phenotype. These results are crucial for the discussion of the validity of the Neural Crest Domestication Syndrome hypothesis. They also offer new opportunities to potentially observe early-stage domestication patterns in a yet non-domesticated mammalian species, without the possibility of introgression or hybridization with other already domesticated mammals.

The anthropologist was famous for her pioneering research with chimpanzees and her influence on conservation

Primates -

Diverse forms of Homo coexisted during the Middle Pleistocene. Whether these fossil humans represent different species or clades is debated. The ~1-million-year-old Yunxian 2 fossil from China is impo...

The Division of Vertebrate Zoology at the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) seeks an Assistant Curator in either the Department of Ornithology, Ichthyology, or Mammalogy to start on or after J...

One of the most devastating diseases finally has a treatment that can slow its progression and transform lives, tearful doctors tell BBC.