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Hemiscyllium dudgeonae, male paratype, Nubwageta, Milne Bay province, Papua New Guinea. Image credit: M.V. Erdmann.

New Species of Walking Shark Discovered off Papua New Guinea

Jun 16, 2026 by Natali Anderson

Marine biologists have identified a new species of the shark genus Hemiscyllium in the waters of eastern Papua New Guinea, expanding a remarkable group...

To date, 14,232 millipede species have been described, with at least as many still awaiting discovery. Image credit: Vasquez-Valverde et al., doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2026.05.035.

Entomologists Reconstruct Evolutionary History of Millipedes

Jun 14, 2026 by Natali Anderson

Two elusive groups of millipedes, Siphoniulida and Siphonocryptida, were the last missing pieces in the evolutionary history of Earth’s oldest land animals,...

The short-eared dog (Atelocynus microtis) from a trap camera in Bolivia. Image credit: G. Ayala & M.E Viscarra.

Amazon’s Elusive Short-Eared Dog May Be More Common than Researchers Once Thought

Jun 11, 2026 by Natali Anderson

Hundreds of camera-trap records from Bolivia and Peru suggest the short-eared dog (Atelocynus microtis), one of the world’s least-known canids and one...

This image of a dwarf gray fox (Urocyon sp.) was captured on the island of Cozumel, Mexico: an adult male is shown partially concealed behind foliage before capture by the Fundación de Parques y Museos de Cozumel on September 14, 2023; this represents the first photograph ever taken of the species on the island and the first reported sighting since 2001. Image credit: Rafael Chacón.

Scientists Capture First-Ever Images of Cozumel Dwarf Fox

Jun 11, 2026 by Natali Anderson

Researchers have obtained the first-ever photographs of the Cozumel dwarf fox (Urocyon sp.), an elusive dwarf fox living on the Caribbean island of Cozumel,...

Cave lions painted in the Chauvet Cave, France.

Study: Cave Lions were Distinct Species that Occasionally Bred with Ancestors of Today’s Lions

Jun 10, 2026 by Sergio Prostak

The extinct Eurasian cave lion (Panthera spelaea) and today’s African and Asian lions (Panthera leo) belong to separate evolutionary lineages that diverged...

The Linnaeus’s two-toed sloth (Choloepus didactylus) at London Zoo. Image credit: Dick Culbert / CC BY 2.0.

Secret to Sloths’ Slow Life May Lie in Ancient ‘Jumping Genes’

Jun 10, 2026 by News Staff

Along with armadillos and anteaters, sloths are members of Xenarthra, the only clade of placental mammals to have originated in South America. In new research,...

The cheerful fantail (Rhipidura laguceria) in November 2022. Image credit: James A. Eaton.

Ornithologists Describe New Bird Species from Remote Indonesian Islands

Jun 8, 2026 by Natali Anderson

A small songbird inhabiting the Babar Islands, in the Banda Sea, Indonesia, has been identified as a new species after a duo of researchers discovered...

The Heaven Sword tree. Image credit: Chia-Chun Hsu et al., doi: 10.3389/ffgc.2026.1746112.

After Decade-Long Hunt, Scientists Find East Asia’s Tallest Tree

Jun 5, 2026 by Natali Anderson

Deep in the mountains of northern Taiwan, a towering Taiwania cryptomerioides — a large coniferous tree in the cypress family Cupressaceae whose...

Euplotes gigatrox. Image credit: Ben Larson & Samuel Lord.

When Food Runs Short, This Single-Celled Organism Turns into Giant Cannibal to Survive

Jun 3, 2026 by News Staff

Euplotes gigatrox, a new species of ciliate collected from a seawater filtration system on the Caribbean Island of Curaçao, can transform into a cannibalistic...

Lisowski et al. used physical, morphological, functional, and genomic assays to identify the presence of superparamagnetic macrophages in the liver of homing pigeons (Columba livia domestica). Image credit: Spanishguitar101 / CC BY-SA 4.0.

Pigeons May Sense Earth’s Magnetic Field Using Superparamagnetic Immune Cells in Their Livers

Jun 1, 2026 by Natali Anderson

An international research team led by scientists from the University of Bonn, the University Hospital Bonn and the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior...

Sigmops gracilis. Image credit: Wu Quancheng / Fisheries Research Institute, Council of Agriculture, Taiwan.

Bioluminescent Deep-Sea Fish Use Crystal ‘Prisms’ to Recycle Their Own Glow

May 27, 2026 by News Staff

A marine biologist studying the photophores of a bioluminescent fish species found needle-shaped guanine crystals that scatter and redirect light instead...

Microeledone galapagensis. Image credit: Voight et al., doi: 10.11646/zootaxa.5814.4.5.

New Species of Octopus Discovered in Deep Waters near Galapagos Islands

May 25, 2026 by Natali Anderson

A single female specimen, collected 1,773 m below the surface near Darwin Island, has been described as a new species of deep-sea octopus, and it doesn’t...

Amichaud et al. found that cows not only recognize human faces, but can connect them with familiar voices. Image credit: NeiFo.

Cows Can Recognize Familiar Human Faces, New Study Finds

May 25, 2026 by News Staff

New research led by scientists from the French National Institute for Agriculture, Food, and Environment (INRAE) suggests cows (Bos taurus taurus) can...

Manzi et al. tested house crickets (Acheta domesticus), among the most widely farmed insects on Earth, for what is thought a key behavioral hallmark of pain: flexible, site-directed self-protection. Image credit: Matthew Lindsey / CC BY 2.0.

Insects May Feel Pain, New Study Suggests

May 18, 2026 by Natali Anderson

When an antenna of the house cricket (Acheta domesticus) is touched with a heated probe, something curious happens: the insect turns its attention to the...

Analysis of Camponotus nicobarensis venom. Image credit: Koch et al., doi: 10.1126/sciadv.aed4078.

Formicine Ants Produce Hidden Arsenal of Venom Peptides, Study Finds

May 18, 2026 by News Staff

Entomologists have discovered that carpenter ants — the largest genus within the stingless ant subfamily Formicinae — produce dozens of previously...

Koungoulos et al. discovered for the first time clear links between fossils of the iconic Australian dingo and dogs from East Asia and New Guinea. Image credit: Sharkolot.

Most Australia’s ‘Wild Dogs’ Are Actually Dingoes, DNA Study Finds

May 14, 2026 by News Staff

A large genetic survey reveals that the country’s so-called ‘wild dogs’ remain predominantly dingo, reshaping debates over conservation and wildlife...

A foggy field in Pennsylvania has a little secret: its suspended water droplets form a habitat for helpful bacteria that eat air toxins. Image credit: Thi Thuong Thuong Cao.

Tiny Bacteria in the Fog May Be Helping Clean the Air

May 13, 2026 by News Staff

A study of radiation fog events over Pennsylvania has found that bacteria living inside fog droplets are actively growing and feeding on toxic chemicals...

Geographical distribution of yellow-eyed penguins. Image credit: Guhlin et al., doi: 10.1038/s41559-026-03062-w.

Rare New Zealand Penguins Are Three Distinct Subspecies, New Study Shows

May 12, 2026 by Natali Anderson

For decades, scientists treated the yellow-eyed penguin (Megadyptes antipodes) as a single species split into two broad populations. A new genomic study...

Geographic distribution of the four species of gentoo penguins around the Southern Ocean. Image credit: Noll et al., doi: 10.1038/s42003-026-10081-7.

Gentoo Penguins Aren’t One Species After All

May 11, 2026 by News Staff

Genetic evidence suggests the familiar seabird is actually four separate species — including one previously unknown to science — with three...