Male tarantulas seek love, find death around Halloween
It’s tarantula mating season in Colorado and spider aficionados are traveling from as far away as California to see the annual matchmaking rituals. As Colorado’s public radio news recently detailed,...
View ArticleTwo comb jellies can fuse together into one–and keep both butts
For one species of comb jelly, survival from injury can come down to numbers. Two Mnemiopsis leidyi– aka the sea walnut–can fuse together and turn into one after an injury. These bioluminescent...
View ArticleThe next lifesaving antibiotic might be a virus on your toothbrush
There is a bevy of biodiversity lurking in your home right now. Shower heads and toothbrushes are brimming with a collection of viruses that is so varied, that many of them have never been seen...
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With fearsome feet, hawk-sized Cretaceous birds could scoop up baby dinos
Some of Earth’s most famous dinosaurs once called what is now the western United States home. However, dinosaurs including the mighty Tyrannosaurus rex and sturdy Triceratops, were not the only types...
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Scientists simulate calls of ‘future finches’
The finches that call Ecuador’s Galápagos Islands home are biological rock stars, as they provided a key piece of evidence for Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution. One reason for this is how new...
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These lions devoured 28 humans, wildebeest, and more in 1898
Over a century ago, two giant male lions called the Tsavo “man-eaters” killed at least 28 people over the course of about nine months. New DNA sequencing using tiny hairs that were carefully extracted...
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13 memorable and metal Wildlife Photographer of the Year winners
In a village where forests once grew, a tiger lounges on a grassy hillside. India’s Western Ghats has a stable population of the majestic big cats, but nearby development has impacted the area’s...
View ArticleHow to squirrel-proof your pumpkins
Pumpkins are a standard fall decoration and, unfortunately, a tempting treat for wildlife. Raccoons, deer, moose, foxes, mice, and insects all enjoy feasting on pumpkins. Squirrels, in particular, are...
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Seven new frog species named for their ‘Star Trek’-esque calls
Scientists have discovered seven new species of tree frogs in the lush rainforests of Madagascar. These small amphibians make strange, high-pitched whistling sounds that sound a bit like the sound...
View ArticleMysterious elephant species uncovered with 87 prehistoric stone tools
Over two decades ago, a team from the University of Jammu uncovered the giant fossilized skull of an extinct elephant species in India’s Kashmir Valley. The remains were uncovered along with 87 basalt...
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The Poozeum: Fossilized bug farts, T. rex poop, and more ancient coprolites
Chicago’s Field Museum has Sue the gigantic Tyrannosaurus rex. The Wyoming Dinosaur Center has a 106-foot Supersaurus named Jimbo. The Poozeum in Williams, Arizona has poop–fossilized poop from...
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Blue whale skeleton still leaking oil, 26 years after death
When visiting the New Bedford Whaling Museum in southeastern Massachusetts, you might want to be a little careful standing under their 66-foot-long blue whale skeleton. That’s because these blue whale...
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Why these plankton puff up to 6x bigger than normal
Microscopic plankton are at the heart of the ocean’s food chain, feeding much bigger animals like whales. However, not much is known about how single-celled phytoplankton–most of which don’t have any...
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Scientists build rest stops for monarch butterflies on a volcano
Monarch butterflies are among the planet’s power migrators. Every autumn, a new generation of the orange and black insects are born in the northern United States and southern Canada. They then take to...
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Gila monster spit inspired a new way to detect rare pancreatic tumors
Gila monsters are odd lizards, both from a physical and chemical standpoint. Most people can at least recognize the 1.5-foot-long lizard due its striking bumpy, pink and black scales, squat body, and...
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Jeff VanderMeer talks about his new novel and ‘deranged court jester’ Elon Musk
Ten years ago, author Jeff VanderMeer released three haunting novels delving into the mysteries of Area X, an abandoned coastal region transformed by forces beyond human comprehension. The publication...
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Burmese pythons stretch their mouths even wider than we thought possible
Invasive Burmese pythons are without question the bane of Florida’s ecosystems. Since their confirmed presence in the Everglades National Park in 2000, their destructive impact on native wildlife has...
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Chicago’s dirty water may be keeping invasive species at bay
When silver carp invade a waterway, they’re hard to miss. The large, filter-feeding fish regularly grow more than three feet long and easily exceed 20 pounds. They loiter near the surface, where the...
View ArticleThe origins of kissing may have a lot to do with body hair
It may not be the most romantic thing to say, but kissing accomplishes very little from a biological standpoint. If anything, a smooch’s ability to facilitate the spread of communicable diseases can...
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450-million-year-old arthropod found preserved in fool’s gold
Amber preserves all sorts of fossils from mating termites to tiny crabs to tough tardigrades. The richly colored tree resin is not the only substance that can preserve priceless traces of the past. A...
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