Move over, armadillos. There’s a new bone-plated mammal in town
Mammals are a bit odd when it comes to bones. Rather than the bony plates and scales of crocodiles, turtles,…
Butterfly tree of life reveals an origin in North America
About 100 million years ago, a group of trendsetting moths started flying during the day rather than at night, taking…
For birds, blending in may result in more diversity
The saying “Birds of a feather flock together” is being given new meaning by a study published in the Philosophical…
Family tree of ‘boring’ butterflies shows they’re anything but
Walk a short distance through the Amazon Rainforest, and you might witness what look like dead leaves launch from the…
What is it good for? Absolutely one thing. Luna moths use their tails solely for bat evasion
In a pair of complementary studies, researchers take a close look at Luna moth (Actias luna) tails through the eyes…
Scientists discover hidden crab diversity among coral reefs
The Indo-West Pacific is the largest, most biodiverse marine ecosystem on Earth, and many of the species it supports have…
Scientists uncover the unexpected identity of mezcal worms
Mezcal is a distilled alcohol made from the boiled and fermented sap of agave plants. Most mezcal beverages — including…
Shark bites tied for 10-year low in 2022 but spiked in regional hotspots
The number of unprovoked shark attacks worldwide decreased last year, tying with 2020 for the fewest number of reported incidents…
Non-native snakehead fish spotted for the first time along Florida’s Gulf Coast
A population of non-native aggressive, air-breathing fish known as the goldline snakehead (Channa aurolineata) was documented for the first time…
Rodent extinctions in Hispaniola may have been caused by humans
The island of Hispaniola once had among the highest rodent diversity in the Caribbean, supporting 11 species that coexisted for…