Around 540 million years ago, Earth’s life underwent a burst of evolution that gave rise to the major groups of animals alive today, including those with backbones and those that hunt prey. This bonanza is known as the Cambrian explosion. Based on the fossil record, animal life appeared to be comparatively sparse and looked very
The Huallaga river basin, which carves its way through the Central Peruvian Andes, is home to a plethora of ecosystems. One such ecosystem is the Yungas, a biodiversity hotspot on the eastern slopes of the Andes that many endemic mammals, birds, and reptiles call home. The ecoregion has a multitude of microclimates amongst its steep
The biggest known eagle in history just got a bit more metal, thanks to new research. Modern species eat their food by ripping sections off into bite-sized pieces, but the extinct bird known as the Haast’s eagle or harpagornis ate more like a condor, sticking its whole head into the carcasses of larger creatures to
Where tropical rainforests meet the Panama Canal flits the White-necked Jacobin—a large, aggressive, and rather showy hummingbird. While females don olive green feathers and a mottled chest of white, gray, and black, the males captivate birdwatchers with deep iridescent blue plumage and brilliant white bellies and tails. However, about 20 to 30 percent of female
In the central Chinese province of Henan, a farmer discovered a black orb with a vaguely blue tint, about the size of a billiards ball. While he and initial researchers thought they had found a dinosaur egg, it turned out to be something much rarer: a huge fossilized turtle egg—with an intact turtle embryo still
Excerpt and photographs from Flamingo by Claudio Contreras Koob. Copyright © 2022 by Claudio Contreras Koob. Reprinted by permission of teNeues. As spring draws to a close, the long wait finally ends with the birth of thousands of flamingos. To document this sensitive process, I had to approach the sandy islet where the birds had
The túngara frog is a creature perhaps easily overlooked. Each measuring just around an inch, these frogs have rough brown skin that helps them disappear among the foliage of the forests and wetlands they call home in Central America and the shores of the Caribbean. Yet these diminutive amphibians have long fascinated scientists. While some
A fossil found in sandstone near the England-Scotland border contains the largest millipede ever found—and the discovery was completely by accident. In January 2018, Neil Davies, an Earth scientist at the University of Cambridge, had taken a group of PhD students on a “social trip” to Northumberland, England, where he had previously gone on holiday.
Romping around Waikato, New Zealand, a group of schoolchildren made an amazing discovery while fossil hunting as part of their natural history club summer trip. Accompanied by their club’s resident fossil expert, the kids kayaked to Kawhia Harbor and found an unusual skeleton set in stone. The unidentified fossil was excavated from the surrounding sandstone
There’s just a 1 in 3,700,000 chance a person will be killed by a shark in their lifetime, but the fear is still enough to have swimmers worrying about being perceived as prey. Now, new research supports the long-standing theory that when great whites do go in for a bite, it’s a case of “mistaken
