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Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute

Toby Kiers

Fungi Expert Is on a Mission to Protect Global Natural Underground Networks

The youngest woman to receive the Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement, evolutionary biologist Toby Kiers was also the youngest student on Barro Colorado Island when she first burrowed underground into the fascinating and complex world of fungi

Brígida de Gracia

A New Species of Fossil Fish From Panama Named After STRI Ngäbe Researcher

An analysis of marine fossils from the Upper Miocene Chagres Formation in Panama, most belonging to the Myctophidae family, discovered four new species, one of which has been named in honor of Brigida de Gracia, the first Ngäbe marine paleontologist

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A Comparison of Colorful Hamlets From the Caribbean Challenges Ideas About How Species Arise

Scientists have been thinking about how new species evolve since Darwin wrote On The Origin of Species in 1859. The results presented here call into question some of the most common explanations of how species originate.

Capuchin monkeys have been monkey-napping baby howler monkeys

Monkey-Nappers! A Group of Capuchin Monkeys Caught on Camera With Abducted Baby Howler Monkeys

Observations of Coiba's tool-using immature capuchin monkeys show them carrying abducted infant howler monkeys. What is the reason for this behavior?

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Red-Eyed Treefrog Eggs Hatch a Plan to Escape Warming Temperatures

A new study from the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI) shows that red-eyed treefrog embryos hatch early when exposed to high ammonia levels — an environmental cue that it’s too hot and dry for the eggs to survive

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Smarter Foragers Do Not Forage Smarter

Why do primates have big brains? In the Panamanian rainforest, scientists pitted large-brained primates against smaller-brained mammals to find out who was the smartest forager.

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Indigenous Marine Scientist Studies Fish Feeding Evolution in Panama

Through advanced isotopic analyses, Rodnyel Arosemena seeks to understand how fish in the Caribbean and the Pacific that had a common ancestor take advantage of the resources of their different environments today.

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Red Flags: I'm Not the Bug for You

Recent research conducted in Panama has revealed that the waving behavior exhibited by matador bugs, with their attractive hind-leg flags, are neither mating displays nor distraction tactics against predators, as previously thought.

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Extraordinary Fossil Find Reveals Details About the Weight and Diet of Extinct Saber-Toothed Marsupial

A 13-million-year-old saber-toothed marsupial skeleton discovered during paleontological explorations in Colombia is the most complete specimen recovered in the region

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A Turtle Time Capsule: DNA Found in Ancient Shell

Paleontologists discover possible DNA remains in fossil turtle that lived 6 million years ago in Panama, where continents collide

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Marine Fossils Unearth Story About Panama’s Deep Past

New fossil mammals found in Caribbean Panama suggest ongoing marine interchange during the final stages of formation of the isthmus connecting North and South America

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An Indigenous Language Book Presents the Unique Biodiversity of a Panamanian Island

Botanist Alicia Ibañez hopes the book, which presents new data on the tiny island’s endemic flora and fauna in both Spanish and Ngäbere, will increase awareness of the importance of preserving its biodiversity

Acanthoctenus manauara female.

A Young Biologist Shares Her Love for Eight-Legged Creatures

Self-professed spider-fan and arachnid systematist Stephany Arizala would like more people to study this megadiverse group, so that we can do a better job of protecting them

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Accidental Slingshot Wound to a Tree Reveals Unexpected Ant Behavior

Despite significant movement restrictions during the first wave of the pandemic in Panama City, a group of curious high school students roamed their neighborhood drilling holes into Cecropia trees and documenting how Azteca alfari ants responded to damage to their host plant.

Clavelina puertosecensis, a species of tunicate, taken by Shih Wei, a student of the Tunicates course at the Bocas del Toro Research Station, in Panama. Experts teach courses and create instructional videos on how to collect, preserve and observe marine invertebrate groups. (Credit: STRI)

Like A Cooking Show With Worms: Smithsonian Videos Teach Tropical Taxonomy of Diverse Marine Creatures

A program at the Smithsonian’s Bocas del Toro Research Station, in Panama, allows marine invertebrate experts to pass down their very specific knowledge to aspiring taxonomists.

Illustration from the graphic novel 'Martina and the Bridge of Time' by Aaron O'Dea and Ian Cooke Tapia. (Ian Cooke Tapia)

A Young Comic Book Heroine Travels Through Panama’s Deep History

'Martina and the Bridge of Time'' tells the story of the Isthmus’ formation and evolution through the adventures of a young Panamanian girl

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