A new study has documented a unique behaviour in nocturnal spiders: they keep fireflies in their webs to lure victims, checking on the insects regularly for an hour. Experiments showed that the presence of bioluminescent beetles in leaf-rolling spider webs…
The sloth was spotted crossing a road in Costa Rica’s Alajuela province, where habitat fragmentation means it has to spend more time on the ground to reach the next tree. (Photo: Emmanuel Tardy/Wildlife Photographer of the Year) A poignant photograph…
Previously unseen footage has captured thousands of catfish climbing a waterfall in southern Brazil – the first detailed observation of the species’ migration. The bumblebee catfish (Rhyacoglanis paranesis) gets its name from its black spots on its orange body and…
15 dinosaur footprints dating back 115 million years have been found after a flood in Texas. (Photo: Kenneth Bader/UT Austin) Researchers say Texas flooding has revealed 15 dinosaur footprints dating back 115 million years. The tracks were discovered in northwest…
Blue whales sing less when food is scarce. (Image credit: Eco2drew via Getty Images) A recent study found that blue whales reduce their songs when hungry and increase them when food is plentiful. Scientists monitored the whales off the coast…
A Florida cougar explores Everglades National Park in 2006, 11 years after Texas cougars were relocated there to help restore the dwindling Florida cougar population, which suffers from genetic problems associated with inbreeding. (Photo courtesy of the National Park Service,…
(Image credit: NOAA/Alamy) QUICK FACTS Name: Headless Chicken Monster (Enypniastes eximia) Habitat: The depths of the world’s oceans. What it eats: Marine snow (organic matter that floats from the surface to the seabed). If you were to encounter this unusual…
There are many theories about why cats eat grass, including cleaning out parasites, getting essential micronutrients, and treating ailments, but the real reason remains unknown. (Image courtesy of Salima Senyavskaya via Getty Images) You may have noticed your dog or…
A devastating sea star disease has killed billions of the animals, with a particularly severe impact on sunflower starfish. (Photo courtesy of Grant Callegari/Hakai Institute) Scientists have identified the source of a mysterious marine plague that has turned billions of…
Satyrex ferox is one of four newly identified species of tarantula whose males have unusually long genitalia. (Image credit: Zamani et al. 2025 (License: Creative Commons CC BY 4.0)) Scientists have had to create an entirely new genus of spider…
An artistic reconstruction of the Jurassic sea monster Plesionectes longicollum. (Photo: Peter Nikolaus) New research confirms fossilised remains of Germany’s ‘most amazing’ Jurassic monster belong to a previously unknown species. This marine reptile, which lived in prehistoric oceans about 183…
A robot posing as a tough male crab recently challenged real crabs to a competition during breeding season – and the videos were pretty hilarious. A robot nicknamed “Wiggle Dave” invaded fiddler crab (Afruca tangeri) colonies on the mudflats of…