It turns out falcons in Morocco could be the ultimate bad guys. On the Essaouira archipelago, researchers witnessed a species of bird called the Eleonora’s falcon capturing smaller birds and holding them captive for days before killing them. In Alauda, a French ornithology journal, Abdeljebbar Qninba of Mohammed V University reported the predatory behavior he […] More
Sea turtles are specially designed for swimming: their flippers are incredibly good at dispersing water, propelling them through the water for miles at a time. However, those fingerless limbs typically don’t help much when it comes to handling their food … or so scientists thought until now. While they typically rely on just their mouths, […] More
Scientists have gained new insight into the evolutionary development of brain and nervous system tissue, after examining fossilized brain tissue from a Cambrian sea creature that lived in modern-day Greenland half a billion years ago. The extinct species, Kerygmachela kierkegaardi, was a predator with a long, spiny tail and front appendages used to grab prey. At […] More
Researchers in Myanmar have discovered specimens of Chimerarachne yingi, an ancient arachnid and cousin of the modern spider, perfectly preserved in amber. The little critters look a lot like spiders we’re familiar with today, with one big difference. The Chimerarachne yingi has a long tail, like an early version of the tail on modern scorpions. According to the research […] More
Paper money does exist on Makira, a small island in the eastern Solomon Islands. But the people there don’t always count their fortunes in bills and change; on Makira, bat teeth are more valuable than money, and people hunt the creatures – mostly for food, but often, for their teeth. There are two species of […] More
Researchers at the University of Kansas discovered that stonefish — a group of fish common in Indo-Pacific coastal waters — have a horrifying defense mechanism: a retractable switchblade in either cheek. Called “lachrymal sabers,” the blades are controlled by overdeveloped bones and muscles below the eyes and extend outwards from the cheek when activated. Though […] More
The Ganges river shark (scientific name Glyphis gangeticus) hasn’t been spotted for more than 10 years. In fact, the critically endangered freshwater carnivore is so elusive, researchers’ knowledge of it is limited to what they’ve been able to learn from three museum specimens preserved in the 1800s. But recently, the shark was rediscovered in the last place […] More
Think of the mammals that lived during the Age of Dinosaurs and tiny, shrew-like creatures scurrying around and hiding from larger reptilian predators probably come to mind. But newly-uncovered fossil specimens described in the journal Nature Communications paint a much different picture of a fearsome, fighting creature that would have been a threat not only to those smaller, […] More
Best of luck to any insect trying to sneak past this spider. This eight-legged predator will have its meal in the blink of an eye. Actually, less. According to a study in the Journal of Experimental Biology, “flattie spiders” from the family Selenopidae can use their long legs to spin around nearly three times faster than the human eye can […] More
Hummingbirds may have tiny brains, but they’re unusually powerful. A new study, published in Current Biology, says the way the tiny birds fly — flitting abruptly in every direction and using rapidly-beating wings to hover — requires a lot of brain power. Hummingbirds are the only species of bird that’s able to truly hover, and to do […] More
Researchers believe it was a crime of passion. But whatever the motivation, this is hard to stomach. Marine biologists at OrcaLab off the coast of Vancouver witnessed a horrifying scene: a mother-son pair teaming up to target and kill a newborn calf in the first documented case of infanticide among killer whales. Responding to strange calls […] More
Paleontologists in Patagonia have uncovered fossils of a terrifying, meat-eating dinosaur that roamed South America 85 million years ago. Tratayenia rosalesi, was nearly 30 feet long (about twice the size of a pickup truck) and had curved, 16-inch-long talons on each hand to catch and subdue prey. “Megaraptorid claws are the stuff of nightmares – razor-sharp […] More
