Ancient fish fossils highlight the strangeness of our vertebrate ancestors

My, what small teeth they had. A newfound treasure trove of ancient fish fossils unearthed in southern China is opening a window into the earliest history of jawed vertebrates —…

Save Our Sequoias Act Poses More Threat than Promise

By Susan Britting and Isabella Langone Giant sequoia (Sequoiadendron giganteum) at the Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoias; Image: Jeff Bisbee In the last two years, California’s leaders have allocated unprecedented…

‘Fen, Bog & Swamp’ reminds readers why peatlands matter

Fen, Bog & SwampAnnie ProulxSimon & Schuster, $26.99 A recent TV ad features three guys lost in the woods, debating whether they should’ve taken a turn at a pond, which…

A Caribbean island gets everyone involved in protecting beloved species

The coral reef, once bustling with more than 5,000 long-spined sea urchins, became a ghost town in a matter of days. White skeletons with dangling spines dotted the reef near…

A Caribbean island gets everyone involved in protecting beloved species

The coral reef, once bustling with more than 5,000 long-spined sea urchins, became a ghost town in a matter of days. White skeletons with dangling spines dotted the reef near…

A Caribbean island gets everyone involved in protecting beloved species

The coral reef, once bustling with more than 5,000 long-spined sea urchins, became a ghost town in a matter of days. White skeletons with dangling spines dotted the reef near…

A Caribbean island gets everyone involved in protecting beloved species

The coral reef, once bustling with more than 5,000 long-spined sea urchins, became a ghost town in a matter of days. White skeletons with dangling spines dotted the reef near…

After eons of isolation, these desert fish flub social cues

Getting out into society after a long isolation gets awkward. Ask the Pahrump poolfish, loners in a desert for some 10,000 years. This hold-in-your-hand-size fish (Empetrichthys latos) has a chubby,…

Drumming woodpeckers use similar brain regions as songbirds

Songbirds get a lot of love for their dulcet tones, but drummers may start to steal some of that spotlight. Woodpeckers, which don’t sing but do drum on trees, have…

Video shows the first fox known to fish for food

The fox froze. Inches from his paws, frenzied, spawning carp writhed in the shallow water along a reservoir’s shore. In a sudden flash of movement, the fox dove nose-first into…