Skip to main content

Subscribe to Smithsonian magazine and get a FREE tote.

Animals

When they're alarmed, blue-lined octopuses display iridescent blue rings on their arms to ward off approaching predators.

These Male Octopuses Use Venom to Subdue Female Mates—and Avoid Being Eaten After Sex

Scientists observed male blue-lined octopuses injecting tetrodotoxin into females, which rendered them immobile for mating

A new study suggests that the lemon shark, pictured here, is a better analogue for the megalodon's size than a great white.

Megalodon Might Have Been Longer and Skinnier Than Previously Thought, Growing Up to 80 Feet

A new paper suggests the enormous, extinct shark looked less like a bulky great white and more like an elongated lemon shark

In one nest, researchers found a McDonald's McChicken container from 1996.

These Bird Nests Are Full of Trash, Including Some That’s 30 Years Old

Scientists studying Eurasian coots in Amsterdam found layers of decades-old garbage in their urban nests

Ice calves off the Breidamerkurjokull, a glacier in Iceland. Some scientists suggest prehistoric glaciers hold the answers to how life evolved on Earth.

How Enormous Glaciers on the Frozen ‘Snowball Earth’ Might Have Bulldozed the Path to Complex Life on Our Planet

A new study suggests glaciers carved metals out from the Earth’s surface 700 million years ago, leading to chemical reactions in the oceans that set the stage for early animal evolution

The iceberg A23a, seen in the South Atlantic Ocean near South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands in November 2024

The World’s Largest Iceberg Runs Aground, Potentially Averting a Collision With Penguin and Seal Breeding Areas

After months of floating, the “megaberg” known as A23a has finally come to a halt roughly 50 miles from South Georgia Island

Greenland sharks can live to be nearly 400 years old.

Greenland Sharks Can Live for 400 Years. Scientists Are Using DNA to Unravel Their Longevity Secrets

These large, mysterious creatures are the longest-living vertebrates on the planet—and their genomes could contain clues to how they prevent cancer and reach such an advanced age

A broadclub cuttlefish, the second largest cuttlefish species, blends into the ocean floor.

Watch Cuttlefish Use Camouflage to Confuse Crabs, Taking on the Appearance of Coral and Leaves

Scientists have captured footage of the sea creatures using four distinct color-shifting techniques to trick their prey

The mice were genetically engineered to have mammoth-like traits, such as thick, fluffy hair.

Biotech Company Creates ‘Woolly Mouse’ as a Step in Its Quest to Resurrect Woolly Mammoths Through Gene Editing

Colossal Biosciences leaders say the fluffy, golden-haired mice help validate their technique to “de-extinct” species, but outside scientists remain skeptical

The title page painting in Jay Matternes: Paleoartist and Wildlife Painter features a dynamic scene from the Pliocene.

See Stunning Illustrations of Prehistoric Life From One of the Most Renowned Paleoartists in the World

A new book highlights the beautiful work of Jay Matternes, an accomplished artist who drew everything from mammoths to early humans

Migrating sandhill cranes stop to rest and refuel in the Midwest as they make the long journey northward to their breeding grounds.

More Than 1,500 Sandhill Cranes Killed by Bird Flu in Indiana, Raising Concerns Among Biologists

The tall, slender grey birds are making their annual spring migration to northern breeding grounds. Experts say the virus could become a larger problem if it gets passed to endangered whooping cranes

The New Jersey Morning Call said Billy Possum had “a head that is likely to give a baby [a] nightmare.”

How a Stuffed Animal Named Billy Possum Tried—and Failed—to Replace the Teddy Bear as America’s National Toy

In 1909, wealthy widow Susie W. Allgood marketed a plush marsupial inspired by President William Howard Taft. But children thought the toy looked “too much like a rat,” and it sold poorly

In October 2024, scientists created dozens of man-made nests and deposited 300,000 Chinook salmon eggs. Now, those eggs are hatching.

Chinook Salmon Are Swimming in This California River for the First Time in More Than 80 Years

The juvenile fish recently hatched from eggs that scientists deposited in the gravelly riverbed of the North Yuba River last fall

Mother polar bears spend months inside snowy dens with their cubs. Then, the family emerges together in the spring.

Rare Footage Shows Baby Polar Bears Emerging From Their Den in the Arctic

In a new study, researchers used remote cameras and data from GPS tracking collars to learn more about this vulnerable period in the early lives of these marine mammals

Nutria have voracious appetites for vegetation, leading them to destroy wetland ecosystems.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Wants You to Eat These Giant, Invasive Rodents

As part of National Invasive Species Week, the agency is calling on Americans to “eat the invaders,” including swamp-dwelling nutria

A mosquito stuck in resin is on its way to becoming a fossil preserved in amber.

How a Fragile Insect Living 100 Million Years Ago Becomes a Fossil

A bug, a dinosaur and a tree intersect, creating the perfect conditions for resin to capture a moment in time

Field zoologist Andrew Rapp caught an adult female Appalachian grasshopper on the side of the road in Augusta County, Virginia.

Biologist Spots Rare, Flightless Grasshopper in Virginia for the First Time in Nearly 80 Years

The last time anyone in the state had officially documented the Appalachian grasshopper was in 1946, and the species was once thought to be extinct

A crocodile wears a satellite tracker in Queensland, Australia. Scientists monitored the reptiles for 15 years and recorded their body temperatures.

Crocodiles in Australia Are Shifting Their Behavior Because of Climate Change, and It Might Harm Their Ability to Hunt

A new study finds that as temperatures rise, the animals are getting hotter, spending less time diving and putting more effort into cooling off

Shadow (left) and Jackie (right) are incubating three eggs for the second year in a row. Their nest is perched 145 feet off the ground in a Jeffrey pine near Big Bear Lake in Southern California.

Watch California’s Internet-Famous Bald Eagles Tend to Three New Eggs, Expected to Hatch Soon

Last year, the mated pair Jackie and Shadow also incubated three eggs—but none of them hatched. This year’s “pipping period,” when chicks may break out of their shells, begins in early March

A new study suggests lab mice will open the mouths and pull on the tongues of their unconscious companions.

Lab Mice Appear to Offer ‘First Aid’ Care to Their Unconscious Companions, Even Pulling on Their Tongues

A new study finds that mice will sniff, lick and pull the tongue of other mice that are under anesthesia, serving to open their airways

Dolly was a female sheep—and the first mammal ever cloned from an adult cell. Her preserved remains are on display at the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh.

On This Day in History

Why Scientists Kept the Birth of Dolly, the World’s First Cloned Mammal, a Secret for Seven Months

The scientific breakthrough, announced on this day in 1997, proved that geneticists could clone an adult mammal, giving rise to a new era of ethical debate and experimentation

Page 33 of 229