Here Be Dragons: Analysis Reveals New Species in Smaug Lizard Group
Smaug, the deadly dragon in J.R.R. Tolkien’s “The Hobbit,” has a few living relatives. With dense, alligator-like armor, these small, real-life dragon lizards are rock-crevice recluses mostly confined to mountaintops in southern Africa. Now, herpetologists Michael Bates, a curator at South Africa’s National Museum in Bloemfontein, and Edward Stanley of the Florida Museum of Natural […]
How Bird Flocks With Multiple Species Behave Like K-Pop Groups
Birds of a feather don’t always flock together: Peer into a forest canopy, and you will likely spot multiple bird species flying and feeding together, a phenomenon most spectacular in the Amazon where 50 species may travel as a unit. But are birds in these mixed flocks cooperating with one another or competing? A new […]
Shark Attacks Remained Low in 2019 – But Bites From the Elusive Cookiecutter Were Up
Shark attacks were unusually low for the second year running, with 64 unprovoked bites in 2019, according to the University of Florida’s International Shark Attack File. The total was roughly in line with 2018’s 62 bites and about 22% lower than the most recent five-year average of 82 incidents a year. While the number of […]
Walking Shark Are the Most Recently Evolved Shark on Earth
To some people, a walking shark may be their worst nightmare. Often imagining a 20-foot monster with razor-sharp teeth, they would be baffled to see that the species within Hemiscyllium are small (up to 42 inches or 107 centimeters in total length but average 28 in or 70cm) and that not much is known about […]
Scientists Sequence 1,100 Plants, Illuminating 1 Billion Years of Evolution
Plants are evolutionary champions, dominating Earth’s ecosystems for more than a billion years and making the planet habitable for countless other life forms, including us. Now, scientists have completed a nine-year genetic quest to shine a light on the long, complex history of land plants and green algae, revealing the plot twists and furious pace […]