Biology

Mar 21st, 2026 - OSPREY, Fla. (WWSB) - The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) hosted a family-friendly festival Saturday at Oscar Scherer State Park to celebrate the Florida scrub-jay, a bird species found only in the Sunshine State. The March 21 event featured guided nature walks, educational exhibits, vendors, children's activities, live music and food trucks. Attendees also had opportunities to speak with wildlife biologists and conservation partners working to protect the federally ... [Read More]

Mar 21st, 2026 - Follow Earth on Google A new study has found that sharks fed on whales in the North Sea five million years ago, based on teeth fragments embedded inside fossilized whale skulls. The finding shows that some sharks scavenged dead whales while others attacked more directly, revealing how these predators interacted with large prey in that ancient sea. Shark teeth inside whale bones Two fossil whale skulls from northern Belgium preserved the kind of evidence fossil bite marks almost never keep: ... [Read More]

Mar 20th, 2026 - The insects covered its largest area since 2018, despite threats from habitat loss, climate crisis and pesticides The population of monarch butterflies in Mexico increased 64% this winter, compared with the same period in 2025, offering a glimmer of hope for an insect considered at risk of extinction. The figures, released this week by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) Mexico, showed that the area occupied by monarchs expanded to 2.93 hectares (7.24 acres) of forest from 1.79 hectares (4.42 acres) ... [Read More]

Mar 20th, 2026 - Follow Earth on Google Researchers have identified the giant fish, Xiphactinus , behind a fatal bite preserved in a Polycotylus plesiosaur fossil. The discovery comes from a broken tooth embedded in the throat of a 13-foot (4.0-meter) marine reptile from ancient Alabama. That single injury preserves direct evidence that top predators in Cretaceous seas could deliver fatal blows to each other. Xiphactinus vs. Polycotylus A four-meter-long marine reptile preserved in Alabama's Mooreville Chalk ... [Read More]

Mar 20th, 2026 - A key monarch butterfly population is showing signs of improvement this year, but scientists warn the species remains in long-term decline -- especially in the western United States. New data released by World Wildlife Fund-Mexico and conservation partners show the eastern monarch population, which overwinters in central Mexico, increased by 64 compared to last winter. Monarchs occupied 7.24 acres of forest during the 2025-26 season, up from 4.42 acres the year before. The annual survey ... [Read More]

Mar 20th, 2026 - Follow Earth on Google Scientists have identified a previously unknown mole species living in northern Vietnam's mountains. It is distinguished by an extremely reduced tail and clear genetic separation from its closest relatives. The discovery reveals that a small, isolated stretch of forest has preserved a distinct evolutionary lineage that remained hidden until now. Moles trapped on one slope High in Pu Luong, a reserve in northern Vietnam, five trapped animals came from one damp band of ... [Read More]

Mar 20th, 2026 - By The platypus has long been one of nature's most bewildering creatures. It lays eggs. It has a duck-like bill and a beaver-like body. Males carry venomous spurs on their hind legs, and the animal can sense electrical signals underwater to hunt prey. It even glows under ultraviolet light — and scientists still don't know why. Now, nearly 230 years after the platypus was first discovered, researchers have uncovered yet another characteristic that sets this animal apart from every other ... [Read More]

Mar 20th, 2026 - Follow Earth on Google A sea turtle carries more than just a shell on its back. That shell holds a story of its life, written layer by layer over many years. Scientists have now learned how to read this hidden story. A new study by researchers from the University of Florida and other organizations explains how turtle shells record details about travel, food, and ocean conditions. Turtle shells store life history Sea turtle shells are made of hard plates called scutes. These scutes grow in ... [Read More]

Mar 17th, 2026 - Hedgehogs are in trouble. We may have just found an important ally: their hearing. The European hedgehog lives much of its life close to the ground, under leaves, in or around gardens. It is one of those animals that seems built for stealth. Even so, it used to be a common sight around the continent. Recently, its numbers have been gravely declining, with traffic emerging as a major threat. Road traffic accidents kill up to one in three hedgehogs in local populations . It's not easy to deter ... [Read More]

Mar 17th, 2026 - It's quick and easy to access Live Science Plus, simply enter your email below. We'll send you a confirmation and sign you up for our daily newsletter, keeping you up to date with the latest science news. Facebook X Whatsapp Reddit Pinterest Flipboard Join the conversation Add us as a preferred source on Google Get the Live Science Newsletter Get the world's most fascinating discoveries delivered straight to your inbox. By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and ... [Read More]

Mar 17th, 2026 - Warming Oceans and Waterways Threaten a Key Human Protein Source Fish are adapting to hotter temperatures in ways that are problematic for people. Get your news from a source that's not owned and controlled by oligarchs. This story was originally published b y  Inside Climate News and is reproduced here as part of the  Climate Desk   collaboration. In the world's waters, fish are making a quiet, biological retreat. The once simple rules of the ocean—grow larger than ... [Read More]

Mar 17th, 2026 - T he blooming of a titan arum, or corpse plant, is a spectacle like none other in the plant world. A pale spike resembling the decaying finger of a buried giant pushes up from the earth until it towers 10 feet above the ground. A massive petal-like structure unfurls to form a blood-red cape around the finger. The smell of rotting flesh fills the air. Then, some 36 hours later, the bloom is over. Seven years or more may pass before it happens again. With its putrid stench, alien appearance and ... [Read More]

Mar 16th, 2026 - Recording of humpback whale from 1949 could also provide new understanding of how the huge animals communicate A haunting whale song discovered on decades-old audio equipment could open up a new understanding of how the huge animals communicate, according to researchers who say it is the oldest such recording known. The song is that of a humpback whale, a marine giant beloved by whale watchers for its docile nature and spectacular leaps from the water, and was recorded by scientists in March ... [Read More]

Mar 16th, 2026 - Plants changed the world. But first they had to make their way from the water to the land. Long before dinosaurs roamed the land, Earth looked very different from the planet we know today. Around 500 million years ago, most of Earth's surface was bare rock and dry soil. There were no trees, no grass and no flowers. Life existed almost entirely in the oceans. Then something amazing happened: Plants began to grow on land. This moment was one of the most important events in Earth's history because ... [Read More]

Mar 16th, 2026 - Paleontologists uncover a new Spinosaurus species by following a clue from a decades‑old book into the Sahara Desert My fixation on a small, desolate locale in the heart of the Sahara Desert started with a single line buried in a 630-page tome in French about the rocks of the central Sahara: "Dent de Carcharodontosaurus saharicus Depéret," which translates to "tooth of Carcharodontosaurus saharicus Depéret" – "Depéret" refers to the scientist who originally ... [Read More]

Mar 15th, 2026 - Create hedgehog havens – and seven other ways to help our prickly friends Hedgehogs' habitat is shrinking, they're vulnerable to cars, and pesticides are affecting their food supply. Here's how we can help them pull through W ith stumpy, speedy legs, questing snouts and a fierce quiver of needles, hedgehogs are enchantingly strange, like fantasy creatures from a medieval bestiary . "It's the nation's favourite wild animal – every time there's a vote or a poll, the hedgehog wins," ... [Read More]