A multinational group of scientists headed by Dr Scott Gardner of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln has described four new species of burrowing rodents from the South American genus Ctenomys. Commonly called tuco-tucos, these rodents are members of the family Octodontidae, although they are sometimes classified in their own family – Ctenomyidae. Their name is derived from […]
Category: News
Monkeys use field scientists as human shields against predators
If you’re monkey—say a samango monkey in South Africa—probably the last thing you want is to be torn apart and eaten by a leopard or a caracal. In fact, you probably spend a lot of time and energy working to avoid such a grisly fate. Well, now there’s a simpler way: just stick close to […]
Rare bird paradise protected in war-torn Colombian mountain range (photos)
A coalition of conservation groups have established a new protected area in one of Latin America’s most neglected ecosystems: the Colombian-side of the Serranía de Perijá mountain range. Following decades of bloody conflict and rampant deforestation, experts say only five percent of rainforest is left on the Colombian side of this embattled mountain range, which […]
Face your fears: extreme creepy-crawly close-ups – in pictures
Wildlife photographer Yudy Sauw has captured close-ups of insects revealing their colourful and alien-like faces. In these images the insects have bulging eyes and sharp pincers and appear more grotesque than usual. Yudy photographed the bugs at his home studio in Banten, Indonesia, from 2-10cm away. This article was first published by The Guardian.
Bird-watchers flock to Breydon Water to see Great Knot
Hundreds of bird-watchers have flocked to the Norfolk coast in the hope of catching a rare glimpse of a migratory great knot in Britain. The elusive wading bird, more at home on the Australian coast, has only been seen in the UK on three occasions since 1989, experts said. Brian Egan, from the Norwich-based Rare […]
Fertilizer: one of the three major drivers of biodiversity loss this century
The world’s grasslands are being destabilized by fertilization, according to a paper recently published in the journal Nature. In a study of 41 grassland communities on five continents, researchers found that the presence of fertilizer weakened grassland species diversity. The researchers surveyed grasslands in countries around the world, such as China, the U.S., Switzerland, Tanzania […]
Rare yellow-legged tortoiseshell butterfly spotted in UK
A butterfly last seen in the UK more than 60 years ago has been spotted in parts of East Anglia. The yellow-legged tortoiseshell, also known as the scarce tortoiseshell, was seen at RSPB Minsmere, Suffolk. Additional sightings have since been reported in Norfolk, Suffolk and Essex, said Butterfly Conservation. Experts believe the butterflies, usually found […]
Changyuraptor yangi: New Feathered Dinosaur Discovered in China
A team of paleontologists from China, the United States and South Africa has described a new species of a feathered dinosaur that lived in what is now northeastern China during the Cretaceous period, about 125 million years ago. The new dinosaur, named Changyuraptor yangi, belongs to Microraptoria – a specific group of predatory four-winged raptorial […]