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Amphibians

Fire salamanders are among the most-studied amphibians in Europe, yet until now, no one realized they are biofluorescent.

Scientists Have Been Studying Fire Salamanders for More Than 250 Years. They Just Discovered That the Creatures Glow Under UV Light

Fire salamanders—one of Europe’s most well-researched amphibians—are biofluorescent, which means they can absorb light from an external source at one wavelength, then re-emit it at another

The first image of newly hatched California giant salamanders in the wild can teach biologists about the nesting habitat of the little-known species.

A Snorkeling Biologist Snapped the First-Ever Photo of Newly Hatched California Giant Salamanders in the Wild. Here’s Why That’s a Big Deal

The discovery provides another key data point about a little-known species for which every observation matters

An artist's rendition of Captorhinus in its death pose

This Nearly 300-Million-Year-Old Mummified Reptile Reveals the Evolutionary Origins of How We Breathe

Unusually well-preserved fossils have provided the earliest known evidence of a land vertebrate that could pump air in and out of its chest using muscles between the ribs—the same strategy used by modern mammals, reptiles and birds

Panamanian golden frog in nature

Panamanian Golden Frogs Disappeared From the Wild Due to a Deadly Fungus. Now, Scientists Are Returning Them to Nature

Smithsonian researchers in Panama have begun to reintroduce native golden frogs to the wild in special enclosures

Scientists found that fringe-lipped bats have a roughly 50 percent success rate when trying to capture prey.

These Lazy Bats Are Super-Efficient Killers That Carefully Conserve Energy to Attack at a Moment’s Notice

Wild fringe-lipped bats spend just one-tenth of the night in flight, but they can precisely snatch a calling frog and nab prey that rivals their own size

Through gene-editing, researchers in the field of synthetic biology hope to make endangered species more resilient against disease or climate change and protect human health, among other goals.

Three Stunning Ways Biologists Aim to Edit Animal and Plant Genes to Fight Diseases and Extinction

The strategy, known as synthetic biology, is gaining momentum globally as a conservation tool and human health solution, despite attracting some critics

Eastern hellbenders are known as "snot otters" because they're covered in a slimy, protective coating.

Scientists Are Releasing the Lovingly Nicknamed ‘Snot Otters’ Into Ohio Waterways in a Big Success for Conservation

Eastern hellbenders, the largest amphibians in North America, are in trouble, but conservationists are hard at work to help the wrinkled wonders survive

For two days at the start of monsoon season on the Indian subcontinent, male Asian common toads (right) turn bright yellow, while females (left) stay brown.

For Two Days Each Year, These Drab Brown Toads Turn a Dazzling Neon Yellow—and Scientists Finally Know Why

When monsoon rains begin to fall on the Indian subcontinent, Asian common toads congregate at temporary puddles for a frenzied, two-day mating spree

During mating season in fall, this male hellbender wanders along the bottom of a stream in North Carolina in search of a den site. Hellbenders rely on pristine streams and well-oxygenated flowing water. As they have declined across much of their range, sights like this have become uncommon.

Why Has This North Carolina Town Embraced a Strange Salamander?

The city of Boone has put a giant mural of the eastern hellbender downtown and its residents often imbibe a local Hazy IPA named after the amphibian

Axolotls are helping scientists understand the key to limb regeneration.

Axolotls May Hold the Key to Regrowing Limbs, and Scientists Are Unraveling Their Secrets to Help Humans Do the Same

With the help of gene-edited axolotls, researchers have gotten one step closer to enabling human limb regeneration

Crossing roads is a dangerous part of the migratory journey for many amphibians. In Monkton, Vermont, two tunnels beneath a street are helping frogs, salamanders and other creatures reach their destinations safely, according to a new study.

Two Wildlife Tunnels Are Saving Thousands of Amphibians From Being Crushed by Cars in Vermont

New research finds a pair of underpasses installed under a road that crosses a migration corridor have led to an 80.2 percent reduction in amphibian deaths

Amateur fossil hunters discovered a trackway left by a creature that might have looked like the one in this illustration. The finding raises new questions about the evolution of the earliest reptiles.

Fossil Hunters Discover Earliest Known Footprints of a Reptile-Like Creature, Pushing Back the Timeline of Their Evolution

A new study suggests two fossil trackways found in Australia were made by an early amniote, a group that today includes reptiles, birds and mammals

A researcher swabs a frog. 

Scientists in Australia Mapped the Genome of an Endangered Frog Species in an Effort to Save It

A deadly fungus threatens the southern corroboree frog, which needs a lot of help to survive

The charismatic salamanders known as axolotls can survive in the wild despite being bred in captivity, according to a new study.

Captive-Bred Axolotls Can Survive in the Wild, Offering Hope for the Critically Endangered Amphibians

The popular salamanders are nearly extinct in the wild, where they are confined to a small system of canals in Mexico City. But a new study suggests released axolotls could thrive in their natural habitat as well as artificial wetlands

In hopes that they could control destructive cane beetles, people introduced cane toads to Australia in 1935. Instead, the amphibian's population exploded, and today, cane toads number roughly 200 million.

Scientists Create Gene-Edited ‘Peter Pan’ Tadpoles That Could Control Invasive Cane Toads Through Cannibalism

To combat one of Australia’s most troublesome species, researchers are developing hungry tadpoles that never grow up

A skull of the Triassic amphibian Buettnererpeton bakeri gets uncovered for the first time in 230 million years. Researchers found it in a cache of skeletons that were well-preserved and appear to be relatively undisturbed over time.

Enormous, Crocodile-Sized Amphibians Mysteriously Died Together in Wyoming 230 Million Years Ago

Paleontologists found a group of four-legged Triassic creatures preserved in the same bone bed—but they don’t know what killed the animals

The finished national anthem included the calls of 41 birds.

How Scientists and Composers Teamed Up to Create a Stunning Natural Version of Colombia’s National Anthem

A team trekked for two weeks and collected the sounds of birds, frogs, a jaguar and whales in order to make the song

A fossil skull of a prehistoric amphibian, found in a 230-million-year-old burrow in Wyoming, turned out to be from an unknown species.

A Paleontologist Cracked Open a Rock and Discovered a Prehistoric Amphibian With a Clever Survival Strategy

Named “Ninumbeehan dookoodukah” by Eastern Shoshone students and elders, the creature burrowed in riverbeds to stay moist during extreme droughts