New giant flying frog discovered near city of 9 million
Helen's tree frog. Photo courtesy of Jodi Rowley. Jodi Rowley is no stranger to discovering new amphibians—she's helped describe over 10 in her short career thus far—but she was shocked…
Giant squid caught on video
Scientists come face-to-face with giant squid. Photo of a giant squid captured in 2004. Photo by: Dr Tsunemi Kubodera, of the National Science Museum in Tokyo, and Kyoichi Mori, of…
Botanists discover cave-dwelling plant
Flowers of a new species from the nettle family known only from caves, Pilea cavernicola, where it grows in very low light conditions. Photo by: Alex Monro. The South China…
Scientists: bizarre mammal could still roam Australia
Kristofer Helgen comes face to face with a long-beaked echidna in New Guinea. Photo by: Tim Laman. The continent of Australia is home to a wide variety of wonderfully weird…
Western scrub jay funerals…what’s all the ruckus?
The western scrub jay (Aphelocoma californica) is a common denizen of suburban neighborhoods in the U.S., loitering at bird feeders and amusing bird watchers with their entertaining antics. Known to…
Despite small brains, gray mouse lemurs use calls to avoid inbreeding
Gray mouse lemur in Madagascar. Photo by: Rhett A. Butler. As a small-brained and largely solitary primate, the gray mouse lemur (Microcebus murinus) wasn't supposed to have the capacity to…
New Guinea singing dog photographed in the wild for the first time
Cropped close-up of New Guinea singing dog. This is arguably the first time the dingo-like canine has been photographed in the wild. Photo by: Tom Hewitt. A rarely seen canine…
Long and thin with a big head: new snake adds diversity to a bizarre group (photo)
A live Imantodes chocoensis. Its head is about the size of an American penny. Photo by: Omar Torres-Carvajal et al. There's no question that blunt-headed vine snakes are an odd…
Photos: Chinese leopard wins camera trap contest
A young male leopard (Panthera pardus) in China's Shuishui River Reserve is this year's contest winner. Photo by: Zhou Zhefeng/BBC Wildlife Magazine. The third annual BBC Wildlife Magazine Camera Trap…
Mystery animal in Borneo not such a mystery after all, or is it?
Sunda Stink-badger captured on a camera trap in Segaliud Lokan Forest Reserve, in Sabah, Malaysia. Photo courtesy of Wilting & Mohamed, Sabah Wildlife Department, Sabah Forestry Department. An unknown mammal…
Great apes suffer mid-life crisis too
Wild male orangutan in Sumatra. Photo by: Rhett A. Butler. Homo sapiens are not alone in experiencing a dip in happiness during middle age (often referred to as a mid-life…
New species of bioluminescent cockroach possibly already extinct by volcanic eruption
Various reconstructions of Lucihormetica luckae. Images courtesy of Vršanský et al. While new species are discovered every day, Peter Vršanský and company's discovery of a light-producing cockroach, Lucihormetica luckae, in…
Whale only known from bones washes up on beach in New Zealand
The beaked whale family are among the world's least known mammals. This photo shows a Blainville's beaked whale (Mesoplodon densirostris). Photo by: NOAA. In 2010, a whale mother and male…
Artificial ‘misting system’ allows vanished toad to be released back into the wild
A captive Kihansi spray toad at the WCS Bronx Zoo. Photo by: Rhett A. Butler. In 1996 scientists discovered a new species of dwarf toad: the Kihansi spray toad (Nectophrynoides…
Happy Halloween: nine new species of tree-climbing tarantula discovered
Male specimen of new species: Iridopelma oliveirai. Photo courtesy of R. Bertani. If you suffer from acute arachnophobia, this is the perfect Halloween discovery for you: a spider expert has…
Photo: high-altitude bird rediscovered after 80 years
The world's first photo of a Sillem's mountain finch. This is a male taken at 5,000 meters above sea level. Photo by: Yann Muzika. In 1929 the U.S. Stock Market…
After seven year search, scientists film cryptic predator in Minas Gerais
Still from camera trap video. Bush dog on left side. Photo courtesy of WWF Brasil. South America's rare and little-known bush dog (Speothos venaticus) looks like a miniature dachshund who…
Picture of the day: a bizarre baby bird with oral ‘fingerprints’
A crested coua chick at the Wildlife Conservation Society’s Central Park Zoo showing off its unique oral markings. Photo by: Julie Larsen Maher. The crested coua (Coua cristata) is native…
By imitating human voices, beluga whale may have been attempting to communicate
Beluga whale. Photo by: Premier.gov.ru. Five years after the death of a captive beluga whale named NOC, researchers have discovered that the marine mammal may have been trying to communicate…
Picture of the day: the maned lioness
A maned lioness in Botswanna's Okavango Delta. Photo by: Deon de Villers. The title is not a typo. Sometimes lioness grow manes as rich and large as males, and there…
Endangered turtle urinates through its mouth
Chinese soft-shelled turtle in captivity. Photo by: Bastet78. One of China's most commonly farmed turtles for consumption, the Chinese soft-shelled turtle (Pelodiscus sinensis), has a unique ability: it urinates out…
Brainless slime mold uses slimy memory to navigate
The yellow slime mold Physarum polycephalum exploring a petri dish. Slime deposits to the left of the image tell the slime mold where it has previously explored. Photo by: Audrey…
Photos: new mammal menagerie uncovered in remote Peruvian cloud forest
Possible new species of night monkey in the Aotus genus. Photo by: Alexander Pari. Every year scientists describe around 18,000 new species, but mammals make up less than half a…
Mr. Darcy and the Manic Pixie Dream Girl: monkeys display distinct personality types
A gray-footed chacma baboon (Papio ursinus griseipes) in the Okavango Delta, Botswana. Photo by: Tiffany Roufs. Remember the 'man with no name' played by Clint Eastwood in A Fistful of…
Arachnopocalypse: with birds away, the spiders play in Guam
The accidental introduction of the brown tree snake on Guam has resulted in a loss of birds and a subsequent explosion of spiders. Photo by: Isaac Chellman. The island of…
Sacrificial squid has unique way of deterring predators
Squid drops arms when tapped by a bottle brush. Photo by: Stephanie Bush, MBARI. Octopoteuthis deletron—this deep-dwelling, unassuming little squid may appear plain and boring, but when threatened, it has…
Unidentified poodle moth takes Internet by storm
The now famous poodle moth, species unknown. Photo by: Arthur Anker. A white moth from Venezuela that bears a striking resemblance to a poodle has become an Internet sensation, after…
‘Monster larva’ turns into a shrimp
The larva known as Cerataspis monstrosa. Photo courtesy of Bracken-Grissom et al. With blue devil-shaped horns and red armor, the monster larva, or Cerataspis monstrosa, kept scientists guessing for nearly…
‘Penis-headed’ fish discovered in Vietnam
Freshly-collected specimens of Phallostethus cuulong. Photographed and retouched by L.X. Tran and K. Shibukawa, respectively. A bizarre penis-headed fish has been discovered in Vietnam, according to a new paper published…
Bizarre new rodent discovered in Indonesia has only 2 teeth
A rodent unlike any other: Paucidentomys vermidax. Photo from: Esselstyn et al. The Indonesian island of Sulawesi is a workshop of bizarre evolutionary experiments. Think of the babirusa, pig-like species…