Research has shown that a group of armadillos originally thought to be a single species may actually consist of four separate species. The nine-banded armadillo, the official small mammal of Texas, may actually be four different species, one of which is new to science, according to a new paper in the journal Systematic biology. This … Read more
More than 500 million years ago, something in the ocean changed. [–> Some creatures evolved to build their own hard-shelled exterior. Others grew to sizes never seen before as the amount of oxygen on the planet’s surface finally reached a level high enough for complex creatures to exist. [–> Most important, for about 10 million … Read more
Paleontologists have discovered a new species of ancient crocodilian reptile that once roamed the lands and waters of Brazil. The fossils, found in a fossil-rich locality called “Linha Várzea 2” in southern Brazil, are now called Parvosuchus aurelioi, a new ancient genus of small predatory reptiles dating back about 237 million years, according to an … Read more
Sea anemones catch small animals floating along the bottom. This species belongs to the order Actiniaria. Credit: SMARTEX/NHM/NOC Transparent sea cucumbers, pink sea pigs and bowl-shaped sponges are some of the fascinating animals discovered during a deep-sea expedition to the Pacific Ocean’s Abyssal Plains. A 45-day research expedition to the Clarion Clipperton Zone between Mexico … Read more