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Animals

Getting caught in the rain can be fatal for bees since they breathe through tiny openings in their exoskeleton.

See the Amazing Images That Showcase the Short, Brilliant Lives of Honeybees Throughout the Seasons

A new book follows the insects through rain and shine and highlights the unique behaviors of each bee in a colony

The American woodcock has been migrating through the New York City area for, probably, millennia. But in recent years, the bird’s fame has skyrocketed.

These Rotund and ‘Charmingly Goofy’ Birds Are Delighting New Yorkers and Dancing on Social Media. What Is the American Woodcock?

The endearing animals make a pit stop in Bryant Park during their migrations to northern breeding grounds, gathering fans and starring in viral videos

In a first for small-brained animals, the study found that bumble bees can keep track of a beat even as it speeds up and down. 

Despite Their Tiny Brains, Bumblebees Have a Surprising Sense of Rhythm, According to a New Study by Neuroscientists

By speeding up the tempo of alternating flashing lights, the scientists were able to demonstrate yet another example of the small insect’s remarkable mind

The last documented thylacine died at a zoo in Hobart in 1936, but people have reported hundreds of sightings of the extinct creature since then.

New Research

Rock Art Suggests the Tasmanian Tiger May Have Survived on Mainland Australia Longer Than Previously Thought

Archaeologists think some of the paintings may be less than 1,000 years old, even though the animals were thought to have disappeared from the continent roughly 3,000 years ago

Domino the warty frogfish is about the size of a pea.

Meet Domino, a Tiny, Bumpy Fish Making a Splash in Chicago

The warty frogfish, also known as a clown anglerfish, is believed to be the first of its kind born and raised in captivity

Purple martins are long-distance migrants that nest in human-provided boxes across North America.

Purple Martins Rely on Human ‘Landlords’ to Provide Nest Boxes Each Spring. Can That Dynamic Last?

The large swallows have nested alongside human settlements for centuries. Now, the birds’ breeding success depends on caretakers who are beginning to age out of the role

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Why Do So Few Mammals Go Through Menopause? And More Questions From Our Readers

You’ve got questions. We’ve got experts

Megachelicerax cousteaui and a close-up of one of its pincers, or chelicerae

This 500-Million-Year-Old Fossil of a Claw-Bearing Predator Uncovers the Origins of Spiders, Scorpions and Other Arthropods

A new analysis of a specimen found more than 40 years ago reveals the oldest known chelicerate, defined by its pair of pincer-like appendages

Scientists have discovered that each of the sea star’s tube feet is driven independently using local feedback from the environment.

Sea Stars Can Lose an Arm and Soldier On. What If Robots Could Do the Same?

Bioinspiration looks to nature for clues on how to build more efficient, resilient robots

Bruce Jayne, a biologist at the University of Cincinnati, co-authored the new paper, which examined the locomotive abilities of three brown tree snakes (like the one pictured here) and a scrub python.

How Do Snakes ‘Stand’ Upright Nearly Stick-Straight? New Research Points to How They Pull Off the Gravity-Defying Feat

These clever creatures seem to concentrate their muscle activity near their bases, which helps them cross gaps between tree branches in the wild

Ball pythons (shown), along with Burmese pythons, were studied in the new research.

Could Python Blood Lead to the Next Generation of Weight-Loss Drugs?

Researchers discovered an appetite-suppressing molecule in python blood. If one day turned into a medication, it might lack some of the common negative side effects of GLP-1s

Two researchers wore goggles, snorkels and wet suits while exploring the underground stream.

These Snorkeling Scientists Stumbled Upon a Surprising Trove of Fossils in a Texas Water Cave

They found remains of animals that have never been uncovered in Central Texas. The fossils hint that the region was warm, moist and forested 100,000 years ago

The archaeologist Jean Charles Loriquet created a copy of the mosaic.

New Research

Is This 1,800-Year-Old Mosaic the First Known Image of a Woman Fighting Wild Beasts in an Ancient Roman Arena?

The artwork was destroyed during World War I. But an archaeologist’s sketch may reveal a female figure wielding a whip and facing off against a leopard, a new study suggests

The sperm whales gathered around the mother before the delivery. 

Watch Unprecedented Footage of Sperm Whales Helping a Newborn Calf Take Its First Breaths

Unrelated animals worked with the mother and her relatives, marking the first known evidence of whales from multiple families assisting in a birth

Spinosaurus was the largest and most aquatic of the spinosaurs, a group of dinosaurs with crocodilian snouts.

Was Spinosaurus Really a ‘Hell Heron’? Digging Into the Star of Netflix’s ‘The Dinosaurs’

With an incredible sail and heavy bones that might have acted as ballast, Spinosaurus seems primed for snatching fish. The creature has long captivated the public, from its early mysteries to the recent discovery of a new species

Modern fish traps require pilings that are driven into the riverbed and netting that reaches across part of a river.

Fish Traps Have Been Banned on the Columbia River for Nearly a Century. Could Bringing Them Back Help Save Salmon?

A new experiment is testing the commercial success of fish traps in Washington and Oregon. Even as some conservationists embrace the technique, its return has reopened old wounds among local fishers

A sperm whale swimming near the Azores archipelago, off the coast of Portugal

Scientists Capture the First Known Footage of Sperm Whales Headbutting, a Long-Debated Behavior That Inspired ‘Moby-Dick’

Engaging in “rough play” might help young males practice for future headbutting contests in which they compete for mates

A regent honeyeater at the Taronga Zoo in Sydney, Australia, which is one of the study sites where the critically endangered birds are being bred

This Critically Endangered Bird’s Song Was About to Disappear. Scientists Saved It by Recruiting Some Wild Vocal Tutors

Wild-born male regent honeyeaters passed their cultural knowledge to young captive-born birds

Researchers recently discovered that platypuses are the only known mammals with hollow melanosomes, a pigment-filled structure that gives hair, fur, skin, feathers and eyes their color. 

Platypus Hair Shares a Puzzling Feature With Bird Feathers, Adding to the Egg-Laying Mammal’s List of Unusual Characteristics

The species’ melanosomes—tiny, pigment-filled structures inside hair cells—are hollow, a trait never before seen in mammals

3D rendering of an Eciton hamatum subsoldier ant

These Stunningly Detailed 3D Images of Ants Showcase the Remarkable Diversity Across Their Many Species

Scientists used a game-changing technique to scan about 2,200 preserved specimens in just one week to create the Antscan database

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