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Weird Animals

Koala populations are expected to drop by 50 percent over the next 20 years

New Research

Newly Mapped Koala Genome Unlocks Secrets of Marsupial’s Diet, Susceptibility to Chlamydia

The cuddly creatures can survive on a diet of high-toxin eucalyptus leaves thanks to detoxifying genes

Anemonefish, also known as clownfish, are born androgynous and can shift from male to female in one lifetime.

Alternatives to Heterosexual Pairings, Brought to You By Non-Human Animals

No one quite has this sex thing figured out, but these non-binary animals have some good ideas

The early life stages of these oceanic behemoths are a mystery to researchers.

Cool Finds

Teeming Manta Ray Nursery Discovered in the Gulf of Mexico

Almost all of the rays in the area are rarely seen juveniles, which can reach wingspans of 23 feet when they grow up

A narwhal being capture and tagged for the study

New Research

Researchers Record the Sounds of the Elusive Narwhal

Skreee—-click——whirrr.

Don't judge a bat by its cover ... of Barry White.

New Research

Like Birds, Some Bats Warble to Woo Their Mates

They join an elite club of mammals—including mice, whales and humans—whose melodies convey complex information

Why Rattlesnakes Are Just as Dangerous Dead or Alive

After receiving bite from decapitated Western diamondback, Texas man required 26 doses of antivenom

Trending Today

DNA Survey of Life in Loch Ness Will Hunt for Its Monster Resident

The goal is to catalog the lake’s diversity of life—including any oversized, prehistoric reptiles

Who needs fuzz and pudge when you have this slimy smile?

Future of Conservation

The Adorable Chinese Giant Salamander Is Slithering Toward Extinction

The amphibians could actually be five separate species, some of which may already be extinct

New Research

These Lizards Evolved Toxic Green Blood

The strange trait has developed four separate times and may protect the skinks from certain malaria strains

A pelagic snail ensnares food with with a mucous web.

These Strange Ocean Creatures Trap Their Food In a Net of Mucus

Biologists are finding that these invertebrate grazers can actually be picky eaters—and their choices might influence ocean food webs

Everyone knows about shallow coral reefs like this one, which Shepherd captured during a decompression stop up from a mesophotic dive. Far fewer know about the deep reefs that lie just below them.

Illuminating the Ocean’s Teeming Twilight Zone, Before It Disappears

Like underwater islands, these deep reefs harbor countless creatures that scientists have never heard of, and many they never will

Cool Finds

Why This Elephant in India Is Blowing Smoke

It’s likely the puffing pachyderm is eating ash-covered charcoal as a form of self-medication to flush out toxins

The handbones seen in the whale model in the center of this image tell the curious story of how whales went from land to water.

Ask Smithsonian

What’s a “Missing Link”?

While some still use the term, experts abhor it because it implies that life is a linear hierarchy

The new species of tardigrade, Macrobiotus shonaicus found in the moss of a Japanese parking lot.

New Tardigrade Species Found in Parking Lot in Japan

The adorable microscopic critter has a unique leg fold and lays unusual eggs

Kinorhynchs (aka mud dragons) range in size from about 0.13 to one millimeter. Like other meiofauna species, they are integral parts of marine food chains in sediments throughout the world.

King of the Mud Dragons

Robert Higgins has spent his career dredging out tiny creatures from dirt and obscurity

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First Video of Baby Dumbo Octopus Shows They’re Fully Formed From Birth

The deep sea creatures, which are named after Disney’s floppy-eared elephant, use their giant fins for navigation

How Exploding Beetles Can Survive Being Eaten Alive

Bombardier beetles can escape the stomachs of toads by setting off a powerful chemical reaction

The flattie spider has the fastest-leg driven turn on the planet. Researchers say this finding has practical applications.

New Research

Meet the Spider With One of the Fastest Spins on the Planet

These spiders can twirl around faster than a blink of an eye to strike its prey

Once common along highland streams in Costa Rica and western Panama, the variable harlequin frog, Atelopus varius, is now endangered throughout its range, thanks in large part to a disease caused by the amphibian chytrid fungus.

These Captive-Bred Frogs Are Facing Predators and the Chytrid Fungus to Make It in the Wild

Scientists in Panama release 500 harlequin frogs, some wearing transmitters, in a first attempt to reintroduce the endangered species

Eriauchenius milajaneae is one of the 18 new species of pelican spiders from Madagascar described by the scientists. This species was named after Wood’s daughter, and is known only from one remote mountain in southeast Madagascar.

Madagascar’s Ancient ‘Pelican Spiders’ Are As Striking As They Are Strange

New research offers an in-depth look at the island’s fascinating spider scene

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