Skip to main content

Subscribe to Smithsonian magazine and get a FREE tote.

Zoology

An artist's interpretation of what Chosha praecursor might have looked like while splitting its time between water and land 324 million years ago in what is now Texas.

This Ancient Insect Had 24 Legs—and Could Help Explain How the Ancestors of Modern-Day Bugs Took Over the Land

A previously undescribed critter that lived 324 million years ago appears to have been a transitional species that lived between land and sea. It could help researchers fill an 80-million-year gap in the fossil record of how crustaceans evolved into insects

A swarm of Chaoborus edulis flies over Lake Malawi

Why Don’t Insects Live in the Ocean? Scientists Just Ruled Out One Possible Explanation Thanks to Deep-Diving Fly Larvae

Researchers thought that insects might not live there because their respiratory systems would implode from water pressure. But certain fly larvae in East Africa make daily trips toward the bottom of Lake Malawi with the help of strong air sacs that contain a stretchy protein

A tufted gray langur strokes a grizzled giant squirrel in Yala National Park, Sri Lanka.

Do Monkeys Keep Pets? Study Finds Widespread Primate Interactions With Other Animal Species, From Mice to Deer

This social behavior might reveal the evolutionary roots of traits that underlie pet-keeping in humans, scientists say, from caregiving to tolerance and curiosity. But it’s not the same as a person keeping a cat or a dog

South America was home to the marsupial sabertooth, illustrated on the left, while North America was home to the smilodon, on the right. The species competed with each other after the Panamanian land bridge connected North and South America.

Ancient North American Mammals May Have Gathered in Mexico and Diversified Before Moving to South America, Priming Them to Thrive There

An analysis of fossils from the country hints that animals from the north stayed in a “holding pen” between seven million and ten million years ago. The timeline might help explain why so many South American mammals have North American ancestry, but not vice versa

Keepers and veterinarians are monitoring Milani around the clock.

A Premature Baby Giraffe Born Via C-Section Is Fighting for Her Life at a Zoo in Kansas

According to officials with the Tanganyika Wildlife Park, no known giraffe calf has ever survived the procedure. The youngster, who was recently named Milani, was born on July 11, likely three to seven weeks early

A mother floating belly-up next to her calf

Why Are These Whales Floating Upside-Down? They Might Just Be Moms Who Need a Break From Feeding Their Babies

Each year, southern right whales migrate thousands of miles from their feeding grounds to breed, give birth and raise their young. Taking rests and regulating their calves’ nursing schedules might help mothers conserve energy while they’re far from food

When they hatch, echidna puggles are about the size of a jellybean and weigh half as much as a mini marshmallow.

Good News

Double Puggles: See the Adorable ‘Twin’ Echidnas Born at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park

The two babies hatched this year to one mother during the same breeding season—an extremely rare occurrence, according to the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance

Commercial whalers hunted southern right whales to the brink of extinction. Though the species has rebounded, its recovery has been uneven.

Poop From Southern Right Whales Reveals That the Animals Might Be More Resilient to Climate Change Than We Thought

Scientists long believed that these whales, which swim throughout the Southern Hemisphere, mainly feasted on krill and small crustaceans called copepods, which are disappearing from the warming ocean. A new study suggests that the cetaceans have a more varied, flexible diet

Scientists first spotted the creatures in 2008.

Meet the Orange-Lipped ‘Likweli’ Monkey, a New Species That Was Discovered in the Congo Rainforest

The creatures, which weigh about the same as a small dog, have spiky black hair, orange-cream skin around their mouths and a white patch on their rear ends. Scientists say that they’re probably endangered

Researchers showed each giraffe the contents of several containers, which held varying numbers of carrots, then added extra pieces to one of them. Afterward, the animal would choose a container to get the treats inside.

Giraffes Might Be Even Smarter Than We Thought. Some Can Solve Simple Math Problems, a New Study Suggests

Two of four tested giraffes seemed to be able to mentally combine numbers to get one of their favorite treats: carrots. But all the animals failed at tasks involving subtraction or multiple calculations

Brown huntsman spiders live in eastern Australia.

Scientists Ranked Hundreds of Spider Species by Running Speed. Australia’s Huge, Hairy Brown Huntsman Came Out on Top

The brown huntsman can sprint at a maximum speed of eight miles per hour, although it can only maintain that pace for a fraction of a second. The research will lead to a better understanding of the evolution and biomechanics of arachnids

The 1611 oil painting Air

Scientists Just Learned That This Bat Eats Birds Midflight. A Renaissance Painter May Have Known About It Hundreds of Years Ago

Last fall, scientists reported the first known recordings of greater noctule bats hunting and feasting on songbirds during night flights. But a 17th-century artwork by Jan Brueghel the Elder seems to depict the species flying with feathered prey in its mouth

The spiders build spring-loaded, cone-shaped webs that catapult green tree ants.

This Newly Discovered Spider Builds a Unique Web That Catapults Ants Through the Air

Flung prey can reach speeds of up to 14.4 feet per second, or a little less than ten miles per hour. An insect will land in the spider’s main web about a foot above the spring-loaded trap

Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins live in the tropical waters of the Indian and western Pacific oceans.

Female Dolphins Seem to Remember Which Males Were Aggressive During Mating Season—and May Try to Avoid Them

When researchers played underwater recordings of pushy males, females that were capable of becoming pregnant swam away from the sounds

A male red fox (silver morph) with a playful kit on San Juan Island in Washington State, May 17, 2024

These Devoted Dads Across the Animal Kingdom Will Warm Your Heart This Father’s Day

From foxes that bring home dinner to fish that keep watch over their young, male animals across several species take an active role in building nests and caring for their babies

The new species is covered in spots and dashes.

Scientists Discover a New Species of ‘Walking’ Shark in Papua New Guinea. They Suspect It’s at Risk of Going Extinct

The creature belongs to a unique group of sharks whose members can use their strong pectoral fins like legs to get around

The adult male fox was evaluated by veterinarians and released three days later into the Laguna Colombia State Reserve, where conservationist Rafael Chacón snapped additional photos.

See the First-Ever Photographs of Cozumel’s Elusive Dwarf Fox, One of the Rarest Canids in the World

No one had seen the creatures in more than two decades, leading scientists to wonder whether they’d gone extinct. That changed in September 2023

Goblin sharks have elongated snouts and extendable jaws, which they use to snatch prey.

‘Ugliest Shark on the Planet’: See the Elusive Goblin Shark, Filmed for the First Time in Its Deep-Sea Habitat

Scientists spotted the enigmatic creatures in 2019 and again in 2024, marking the first times they’ve been observed alive in the wild. The sightings drastically expand the animals’ known geographic and depth range

Scientists explored a tiny portion of the site during more than 30 dives with a submersible.

Scientists Discover the World’s Largest, Deepest Whale Graveyard, Where Cetacean Remains Have Been Piling Up for Five Million Years

The massive necropolis, located deep in the southeastern Indian Ocean, is teeming with marine life supported by the whale carcasses, including many suspected new species

The bees had to roll the ball under a blue "flower," then stand atop the moved object to access a sweet treat.

Bumblebees Can Solve Problems on the Fly, Adding to the Insects’ List of Impressive Cognitive Abilities

In a series of experiments, the fuzzy pollinators figured out how to use a ball as a tool to access a sugary treat. The study further highlights that the critters are quite clever despite their tiny brains

Page 1 of 16