Biologists find that red-blooded vertebrates evolved twice, independently

Nature, in all its glory, is nothing if not thrifty.

Through the process of natural selection, it finds new uses for existing features, often resulting in what is known as convergent evolution -- the development of similar biological traits in different orders of animals, such as powered flight in birds and bats.

Now, research by University of Nebraska-Lincoln biologists has found convergent evolution of a key physiological innovation that traces back through the two deepest branches of the vertebrate family tree.

A team led by Jay Storz (prounounced storts), assistant professor of biological sciences, analyzed the complete genome sequences of multiple vertebrate species and found that jawless fishes (e.g., lampreys and hagfish) and jawed vertebrates (pretty much everything else, including humans) independently invented different mechanisms of blood-oxygen transport to sustain aerobic metabolism.

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On the trail of a 'living fossil'

The nocturnal solenodon, which is only found in the Dominican Republic and in one of the last forested patches of Haiti, is often described as a "living fossil", thanks to the fact that it has been around, virtually unchanged, for the past 76 million years.

Remarkably, this means it would have once scuttled amongst the giant feet of the dinosaurs, in the days when they roamed the Earth.

And it is an odd-looking animal.

It is the size of a rabbit, with a ginger-brown coat. It has disproportionately large, clawed feet, beady little eyes and a very long, thin nose.

But perhaps its most bizarre - and prehistoric - feature is that it is the only mammal that can inject venom through its teeth, the same way a snake does.

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