By Marlene Cimons Brown anoles are one of the most successful species on the planet. These resilient creatures have settled throughout a large portion of the Western Hemisphere, even landing in such distant places as Hawaii and Singapore by hitching ...
I’ve had the life-altering experience of living in Galapagos for two months while volunteering on the communications team at the Charles Darwin Foundation. But rather than detailing the ins and outs of my daily tasks, I thought I would ...
Skunk spray is so potent that it can knock you out or even kill you—and now we know why the North American mammals evolved the noxious stuff. Skunks are nocturnal, and their predators rely heavily on scent to navigate ...
Every week, embark with host Boyd Matson on an exploration of the latest discoveries and interviews with some of the most fascinating people on the planet, on National Geographic Weekend. Please check listings near you to find the best way ...
By Karl Gruber They don’t exactly say achoo, but sponges can “sneeze,” according to a new study that shows the simple aquatic creatures are more complex than previously thought. Sponges are stationary animals, found in both marine and fresh ...
It’s not easy being a rodent in the U.S. Great Plains. Animals like black-tailed prairie dogs (Cynomys ludovicianus) are under constant threat of being preyed upon from land and air by predators that include hawks, eagles, and coyotes. ...
Wild cats are charismatic creatures, so you’d think we’d know them all pretty well by now. Just how little we understand—at least in some cases—is reflected in the identification of a new species of cat known ...
By 6:00am, the sun is shining, everyone in camp is up and getting breakfast and gathering for the morning briefing from expedition leader Lee Berger. Today’s assignments were clear: set up more shower tents, get the gear ready, and ...
When it comes to choosing a mate, even lizards have certain standards. Tracy Langkilde, an associate professor of biology at Penn State University, and Lindsey Swierk, a graduate student in Langkilde’s lab, recently looked at the relationship between body-color ...
In the remote mountain forests of Halmahera (map), the largest island of the Maluku archipelago in Indonesia lurks the newest member of the rodent family sporting spiky brown fur and a stubby tail. Scientists first discovered the distinctive rodent, called ...
In the remote mountain forests of Halmahera (map), the largest island of the Maluku archipelago in Indonesia lurks the newest member of the rodent family sporting spiky brown fur and a stubby tail. Scientists first discovered the distinctive rodent, called ...
These are gecko feet. Notice their crazy toes. The “stripes” are made of modified scales covered in thousands of “hairs,” only twice as long as our hairs are thick. Each hair branches into thousands of tips. Each tip branches ...
When we call a person two-faced, it’s an insult. But for some clever animals, being two-faced is a high compliment. Many animals evolve eyespots and even false heads—like the thorny devil—to look more menacing and fake out ...
When we call a person two-faced, it’s an insult. But for some clever animals, being two-faced is a high compliment. Many animals evolve eyespots and even false heads—like the thorny devil—to look more menacing and fake out ...
We’ve told you about an urchin that can eat with its anus and a tadpole that can see through its tail. And now, in the latest discovery of a surprising use for body parts, scientists say there’s a ...