Weird Animals

The National Zoo's resident cassowary in 2010.

Behind the Scenes at the National Zoo With the World’s Most Dangerous Bird

The zoo's cassowary “still has that mysterious aura about her—that prehistoric, dinosaur-walking-through-the-rainforest-quality."

The rare green sea turtle, shown here on a volcanic beach in the Pacific, made a mysterious reappearance on Bermuda's shores in 2015.

The Strange Reappearance of the Once-Vanished Green Sea Turtle

It's a conservation biology riddle wrapped in a mystery inside a hard shell

Toughie

Adiós, Toughie: The Last Known Rabb’s Fringe-Limbed Tree Frog Dies in Atlanta

Since his discovery in 2005, Toughie the frog has been the face of amphibian extinction

A spotted hyena in South Africa's Kruger National Park.

North America Used to Have its Very Own Hyena

These giggly beasts didn’t just roam Africa and the Middle East. They were right here in our backyard

These are the creatures snakes have nightmares about.

The Animals That Venom Can’t Touch

Meet the creatures who look into the face of venomous death and say: Not today

Hello, I am goat.

What Living Like Goats and Badgers Can Teach Us About Ourselves

Two Englishmen won the Ig Nobel Prize for eating grass, earthworms and worse in the name of science

Scaly, ant-eating mammals, pangolins curl up when they're scared.

Over 180 Countries Just Approved a Ban on Pangolin Trafficking

It’s a big win for a weird little creature

Computer image of Triopticus skull overlaid on the field site where it was found.

Paleontologists Probe the Bonehead that Foreshadowed Domed Dinos

This striking skull shape evolved at least twice. But what was its purpose?

"Hey guys this sugar is great, but where can we find some morphine?"

Addict Ants Show That Insects Can Get Hooked on Drugs, Too

How researchers got a non-mammal hooked on drugs for the first time

The male brown widow spider may not be as unlucky in love as we once thought.

Male Widow Spiders Prefer Younger Ladies—So They Don’t Get Eaten

This strategy means they live to mate again, upending assumptions about these arachnids

Like humans, captive Komodo dragons tend to impose their microbes upon their environments.

Captive Komodo Dragons Share Their Teeming Microbiome with Their Environment, Just Like Us

Komodos could be the perfect model for studying host-microbe interactions

Twin puppies Cullen and Romulus

Identical Twin Puppies Confirmed for the First Time

Two Irish wolfhounds from South Africa shared the same placenta and have the same genetic makeup

These glow-in-the-dark roaches have the goods.

I Am Officially in Love With Cockroaches

And after you read this, you will be too

Adorable Stubby Squid Found Off the Coast of Southern California

Researchers aboard the E/V Nautilus happened across a particularly cute stubby squid

A nesting male with a female in his nest.

Give it Up, Sneaky Males: These Lady Fish Have You Outwitted

Female ocellated wrasses have developed a surprising trick to control who fathers their offspring

Move over, tortoises: These sharks take the prize for oldest living vertebrate.

These Ridiculously Long-Lived Sharks Are Older Than the United States, and Still Living It Up

The lifespans of these marine methuselahs may double those of oldest living tortoises, a creative dating method finds

A silverfish

Richer Homes Are Also Richer in Biodiversity

Scientists find that wealthier neighborhoods sport a greater diversity of bugs

Not always your friend.

A Neuroscientist Tells You What’s Wrong With Your Brain

Dean Burnett’s new book, Idiot Brain, explains why your mind evolved to thwart you

A pair of Scinax alcatraz frogs discreetly lay their eggs in a water-filled plant.

When Frogs Pull the Curtain: The Benefits of Mating in Secret

Smithsonian's new curator of frogs explains why some frogs seek privacy when they mate

Corvette Stingray

These Sleek, Sexy Cars Were All Inspired By Fish

You’ve heard about the Stingray, but what about the Bionic Boxfish?

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