Butterflies and plants evolved in sync, but moth ‘ears’ predated bats
Butterflies and moths rank among the most diverse groups in the animal kingdom, with nearly 160,000 known species, ranging from…
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Seagrass meadows harbor wildlife for centuries, highlighting need for conservation
Seagrass meadows put down deep roots, persisting in the same spot for hundreds and possibly thousands of years, a new…
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Florida Museum scientists zoom in on DNA to save thorny skates
With toothlike spines and barbs, thorny skates are just as sharp as their name suggests. But these shark relatives are…
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Fingerprints of ancient forests offer rare look at Florida 16 million years ago
Along a bend in the Apalachicola River, 50 miles west of Tallahassee, Florida’s largest slice of visible bedrock towers more…
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Digital records of preserved plants and animals change how scientists explore the world
There’s a whole world behind the scenes at natural history museums that most people never see. Museum collections house millions…
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Extinct Caribbean bird yields DNA after 2,500 years in watery grave
Scientists have recovered the first genetic data from an extinct bird in the Caribbean, thanks to the remarkably preserved bones…
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25,000 moths from one Florida backyard show how insects change with the seasons
It may seem as though the same brown moths circle your porch light each night. But a two-year survey of…
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Cosmic pearls: Fossil clams contain evidence of ancient meteorite
Researchers picking through the contents of fossil clams from a Sarasota County quarry found dozens of tiny glass beads, likely…
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DNA from tooth in Florida man’s foot solves 25-year-old shark bite mystery
When Jeff Weakley tweezed open a blister-like bulge on his foot, he was not expecting to find a piece of…
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Egg-sucking sea slug from Florida’s Cedar Key named after Muppets creator Jim Henson
Feet from the raw bars and sherbet-colored condominiums of Florida’s Cedar Key, researchers discovered a new species of egg-sucking sea…
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