Weird Animals

Web-Slinging Snails Discovered on Sunken Ship

Scientists worry that their presence spells trouble for threatened coral reefs

In times of desperation, female sawtooth sharks have been known to reproduce sans males. For other species, solo reproduction is downright vanilla.

Meet Eight Species That Are Bending the Rules of Reproduction

Spice up your mating life with relationship tips from rock lizards, sharks and water fleas

Nearly blind, Typhlomys cinereus thrives in the high forests of southeastern China and Vietnam—with a little help from another sense.

This Echolocating Dormouse Could Reveal the Origins of One of Nature’s Coolest Superpowers

Mice, moths and even humans use clicks and echoes to "see" the world around them

The notorious RPB: the rusty patched bumble bee.

The Bee That Breaks Your Heart

Insects are hard-pressed to get protection as endangered species. Can one fuzzy anomaly beat the odds?

The heroes of the movie Kong: Skull Island prepare to encounter the 104-foot-tall ape King Kong.

How Big Can a Land Animal Get?

King Kong's biggest enemy isn’t humans—it’s the laws of physics

Most regular visitors of Chicago's Field Museum are on a first-name basis with Sue, the Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton that adorns the museum's front hall.

From “T. Rex” to “Pantydraco": How Dinosaurs Get Their Names

The best monikers are “a way to link science and imagination.” Others are just obvious

A scanning electron microscope image of the water bear.

How the Remarkable Tardigrade Springs Back to Life after Drying Out

A particular protein helps these these tiny critters survive dehydration for over a decade at a time

Researchers Find the First Naturally Fluorescent Frog Species

The polka-dot tree frog emits a blue-green glow under UV light, which is an unusual feature for land-dwelling critters

A humpback supergroup off the coast of South Africa

Scientists Spot Hundreds of Humpback Whales Feeding in Massive Groups

The normally solitary creatures gathered off the southwestern coast of South Africa, puzzling researchers

Ecologists tend to think of mobbing behavior as primarily a way that smaller birds protect their nests and chicks from larger predators. Shown here, a Willie wagtail attacking an Australian raven.

Why Do Male Birds Take on Larger Predators? Maybe Just to Impress the Ladies

Some mobbing behavior may be less about survival, and more about sexual selection

Itchy and scratchy: When they see their peers scratching away, mice get the urge to itch.

Why Is Itching So Contagious?

Scientists figure out how compulsive scratching spreads in mice, and maybe humans

True's Beaked Whale

See the First Video of One of the World's Rarest Whales

The 46 second clip of several True's beaked whales was taken by students and teachers on a field trip in the Azore Islands in 2013

What Killed More Than Half a Dozen of the Bahamas' Swimming Pigs?

Drought and sand-tainted snacks might be the reason for the recent deaths

"I shall call him Squishy, and he shall be mine." No, wait, that's Finding Nemo.

Take a Peek at the Mesmerizing "Cosmic Jellyfish"

NOAA's research vessel Okeanos Explorer filmed this specimen of Rhopalonematid trachymedusa in the National Marine Sanctuary of American Samoa

An artist's rendition of Dinocephalosaurus carrying her baby through the ancient ocean.

This Ancient Reptile Gave Birth to Live Offspring

Rather than laying eggs like its modern bird and croc relatives this creature gave birth to live babies

The woolly arctic moth caterpillar produces alcohols that allow it to avoid freezing at temperatures reaching -70 degrees F.

What Do Insects Do in Winter?

When winter comes, most bugs either migrate or time travel. But some get far more creative

Several views of the beautiful Megistaspis hammondi samples, showing off the intricate details of its undercarriage.

These Spectacularly Preserved Trilobite Fossils Come Complete With Guts, Gills and Legs

The 478-million-year-old creatures could help explain a series of mysterious fossilized tracks

Geckolepis megalepis

New Species of Fish-Scaled Gecko Can (Literally) Jump Out of Its Skin

The creature sloughs its skin when predators attack, leaving it looking like a raw chicken tender

Peregrine falcons are found on every continent except Antarctica

Ten Fun Facts About Falcons, the Birds

As the Atlanta Falcons prepare to play in the Super Bowl, learn about the remarkable raptors behind the name

Gotcha! A frog's tongue can be five times faster than the blink of a human eye.

Inside Every Frog's Mouth Is a Sticky, Grabby Bullet

Investigating frog tongues—and some human ones!—in the name of science

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