The Chilean devil ray is one heck of a swimmer—the fish make surprisingly fast and deep dives into the Atlantic Ocean, a new study says. When scientists first put satellite tags on, they expected the devil rays to stay close to warm surface waters, where they’re frequently seen. But their research, published July 1 in Nature Communications,...
Road salt used to clear snow-covered roads in the United States is creating beefier monarch butterflies, a new study says. When snow melts, road salt runs into nearby soil and into the roots of common plants, which are in turn ingested by caterpillars. Then, as they become adult butterflies, their brains and muscles develop abnormally:...
A newfound species of lungless salamander from Arkansas seems to be sipping from a fountain of youth. From the outside, the recently discovered Ouachita streambed salamander (Eurycea subfluvicola) looks like the larval form of a related species, the many-ribbed salamander (Eurycea multiplicata). But on the inside, the “remarkable” amphibian is obviously an adult, with a fully developed reproductive system, a new...
Who can forget the “dino droppings … droppings?” scene of the 1993 blockbuster hit, Jurassic Park—the one where actor Jeff Goldblum walks up to a huge pile of dung left by a sick triceratops? It’s memorable, all right, but there’s one thing the film missed: The piles of dino dung were likely cleaned up before...
Who can forget the “dino droppings … droppings?” scene of the 1993 blockbuster hit, Jurassic Park—the one where actor Jeff Goldblum walks up to a huge pile of dung left by a sick triceratops? It’s memorable, all right, but there’s one thing the film missed: The piles of dino dung were likely cleaned up before...
Shopkeepers in any downtown area love foot traffic, right? It’s the key to business. But what if that traffic isn’t full of potential shoppers. What if, instead, it’s a flock of large birds strutting their stuff down the sidewalks? That’s the scene these days in Longreach, Queensland; an influx of emus (Dromaius novaehollandiae) is starting...
Shopkeepers in any downtown area love foot traffic, right? It’s the key to business. But what if that traffic isn’t full of potential shoppers. What if, instead, it’s a flock of large birds strutting their stuff down the sidewalks? That’s the scene these days in Longreach, Queensland; an influx of emus (Dromaius novaehollandiae) is starting...
For polar bear pregnancy tests, it’s all about the poop. Elvis the beagle is helping zoos around the country figure out if their polar bears are pregnant, and he gets it right 97 percent of the time. But Elvis has never met a polar bear. Instead, he sniffs samples sent to him from zoos around...
For polar bear pregnancy tests, it’s all about the poop. Elvis the beagle is helping zoos around the country figure out if their polar bears are pregnant, and he gets it right 97 percent of the time. But Elvis has never met a polar bear. Instead, he sniffs samples sent to him from zoos around...
Ever wondered what a bison’s beard tastes like? Marine biologist and filmmaker Greg Marshall was lucky—or not so lucky—enough to find out recently. Marshall got a mouthful of the thick, coarse hair while downwind of a fellow researcher who was trimming the beards of two American bison at the Nature Conservancy’s Dunn Ranch Prairie in Missouri on October...
Ever wondered what a bison’s beard tastes like? Marine biologist and filmmaker Greg Marshall was lucky—or not so lucky—enough to find out recently. Marshall got a mouthful of the thick, coarse hair while downwind of a fellow researcher who was trimming the beards of two American bison at the Nature Conservancy’s Dunn Ranch Prairie in Missouri on October...
Ever wondered what a bison’s beard tastes like? Marine biologist and filmmaker Greg Marshall was lucky—or not so lucky—enough to find out recently. Marshall got a mouthful of the thick, coarse hair while downwind of a fellow researcher who was trimming the beards of two American bison at the Nature Conservancy’s Dunn Ranch Prairie in Missouri on October...
Last week we learned about an insect that can leap up to three feet (almost a meter) in a single bound. The planthopper (Issus coleoptratus), a common garden bug found all over the world, is able to take these giant leaps because its legs are powered by an interlocking gear system. It’s the first known natural gear system—even...
Last week we learned about an insect that can leap up to three feet (almost a meter) in a single bound. The planthopper (Issus coleoptratus), a common garden bug found all over the world, is able to take these giant leaps because its legs are powered by an interlocking gear system. It’s the first known natural gear system—even...
Last week we learned about an insect that can leap up to three feet (almost a meter) in a single bound. The planthopper (Issus coleoptratus), a common garden bug found all over the world, is able to take these giant leaps because its legs are powered by an interlocking gear system. It’s the first known natural gear system—even...