BirdLife is proud to announce that Volume 2 of the Illustrated Checklist of the Birds of the World is now available to purchase. Published by Lynx Edicions in association with HBW and BirdLife International, Volume 2 chronicles the world’s passerines (perching birds), and completes the most exhaustive illustrated checklist of birds ever compiled, with stunning, […]
Tag: Madagascar
Why is it important to conserve Madagascar’s largest carnivore?
Unfortunately for fosa, their first major big-screen appearance came in the form of the fictitious villains in the widely popular 2005 animated film, Madagascar. Most people don’t realise that these strange cat-like creatures are alive and living across Madagascar today, however. Cryptoprocta ferox, more commonly known as fosa (pronounced foo-sah), is Madagascar’s largest predator (fosa […]
Will mining company drive mass extinction of Madagascar’s wildlife?
Madagascar’s unique wildlife may be in serious trouble. An invasive poisonous toad, called the Asian toad (Duttaphrynus melanostictus), is rapidly spreading across the island country, threatening the survival of its rare and endemic species, scientists say. Currently, scientists estimate that there are about 4 million toads on the island. According to a recent report, the […]
Aphrodisiac for fish and frogs discovered
A supplement simply added to water has been shown to boost reproduction in nematodes (roundworms), molluscs, fish and frogs – and researchers believe it could work for humans too. Dr Keith Davies, senior lecturer at the University of Hertfordshire and his colleague Dr John Hart, CEO of Endocrine Pharmaceuticals Ltd, observed guppy fish (Poecilia reticulata) […]
New report connects human health to biodiversity protection
During February, the 14th World Congress on Public Health in Kolkata, India, revealed a new “ground-breaking” report entitled, Connecting Global Priorities: Biodiversity and Human Health, which demonstrates human health benefits yielded from protecting Earth’s biodiversity. It’s designed to be the new “flagship publication,” acting as a primary source of information that supports the upcoming 2015 […]
Chameleon crisis: extinction threatens 36% of world’s chameleons
Chameleons are an unmistakable family of wonderfully bizarre reptiles. They sport long, shooting tongues; oddly-shaped horns or crests; and a prehensile tail like a monkey’s. But, of course, chameleons are most known for their astonishing ability to change the color of their skin. Over millions of years, these Old World reptiles have used this evolutionary […]
New skeleton frog from Madagascar is already critically endangered
Sometimes all it takes is fewer clicks. Scientists have discovered a new species of frog from Madagascar that stuck out in part because it “clicked” less during calls than similar species. Unfortunately the scientists believe the new species—dubbed the Ankarafa skeleton frog (Boophis ankarafensis)—is regulated to a single patch of forest, which, despite protected status, […]
Panda lemur making a comeback
One of the world’s biggest populations of greater bamboo lemurs (Prolemur simus) – sometimes known as the panda lemur – has doubled in just three years, giving conservationists new hope that the species can be kept from extinction. With the recent arrival of twenty babies, a community conservation project run by the Aspinall Foundation has […]