Around 252 million years ago, a massive volcanic eruption spewed 100,000 billion tonnes of carbon into the atmosphere. This heated the planet and acidified the oceans, wiping out 95 percent of marine life in an extinction event that has come to be known as the Great Dying. Now, a study published in Science Thursday is warning […]
The Atolla is a common deep-sea crown jellyfish with a scarlet red bell and one tentacle that is longer than the others. Scientists have discovered a new species of Atolla that lives in the deep waters of Monterey Bay in a region called the “midnight zone,” where sunlight doesn’t reach. There are ten recognized species […]
Sir David Attenborough is a beloved broadcaster who has spent more than half a century bringing the wonders of the natural world into the homes and hearts of viewers. To celebrate his 70-year career, the UN Environment Programme awarded the 95-year-old with its Champions of the Earth Lifetime Achievement Award, the UN’s highest environmental honor. […]
In a balanced ecosystem, every living thing plays an important role. Take away one — trees, for instance — and things start to collapse. Trees provide habitat and food for insects, birds, mammals like koalas, reptiles and other animals, as well as shade and nutrients for the soil from fallen leaves and rotting bark, not […]
Orcas are fearsome predators that have taken on everything from blue whales to great white sharks. But one humpback whale named Valiant was able to turn the table on the aptly-named killer whales in an incident observed by whale watchers off of Canada’s Vancouver Island April 12. “There’s something happening in front of us that […]
Once found all the way from central Argentina to the Southwestern U.S., the powerful and elegant jaguar is the only big cat in the Americas and the third largest in the world after lions and tigers. These beautiful cats differ from leopards, who inhabit Asia and Africa, mainly in size — jaguars are bulkier and […]
Taylor Swift has a long list of pop music accolades. Now, one scientist has added to the “Blank Space” on her resume with a newly discovered millipede species named after her. Entomologist Derek Hennen, along with fellow scientists Jackson Means and Paul Marek of Virginia Tech, discovered the millipede, named Nannaria swiftae, along with 16 […]
Foxes are known for being fast and clever, but one species of fox has another, little-known trait that can help them survive alongside coyotes: gray foxes can climb trees. A new study has found that the presence of trees might help gray foxes survive alongside coyotes in the countryside, and that’s likely because of their […]
With their branches reaching up like knobby arms with tufts for fists, western Joshua trees are an iconic part of the California desert ecosystem, and environmental advocates want to make sure they stay that way in the face of development and the climate crisis. To that end, the Center for Biological Diversity (CBD) filed a […]