Animals, features and articles | Educational Science

Jun 30, 2016

Facts About Clownfish

Best known for being featured in the movies “Finding Nemo” and “Finding Dory,” the clownfish has become a popular aquarium pet. Nemo and his dad, Marlin, are ocellaris clownfish, also called false clownfish or clown anemonefish. Anemonefish are so-named for the sea anemones in which they make their homes. There...

Jun 30, 2016

Vibrantly Colored 'Starburst' Scorpionfish Discovered in the Caribbean

A riotously colorful new species of scorpionfish has been found deep in the Caribbean near Curaçao. The fish is orange-red, with splashes of yellow and pink decorating its fins and face. Its scientific name is Scorpaenodes barrybrowni, after nature photographer Barry Brown, who works with the Smithsonian Institution mission that...

May 31, 2016

Airplane-Size Seabird Flew Above Antarctica 50 Million Years Ago

A prehistoric seabird that was the size of a small airplane and had a mouthful of sharp teeth once soared over ancient Antarctica, occasionally stopping to snag fish and squid, a new study finds. Researchers found a broken 3.3-inch-long (8.5 centimeters) piece of the bird's humerus (upper arm bone) on...

May 31, 2016

Facts About Otters

With long, sleek, streamlined bodies and webbed feet, otters are born swimmers. They are found in waterways on every continent except Australia and Antarctica. They are often seen floating on their backs. Their thick fur traps air and makes them buoyant. Unfortunately, the fur is highly coveted, and otters have...

Apr 30, 2016

6 Spectacular Species Named for David Attenborough

Inspiring science Sir David Attenborough in Beijing, holding a fossil of hadrocodium, as featured in the Smithsonian Channel series, “Rise of Animals – Triumph of the Vertebrates,” premiering Wednesday, May 13. (Image credit: Smithsonian Channel)Sir David Attenborough has pretty much seen it all (at least when it comes to the...

Mar 31, 2016

Why Hope Remains for Saving the World's Largest Gorillas (Op-Ed)

Andrew Plumptre is a senior conservationist in the Uganda Program at the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS). Stuart Nixon is a conservationist at Chester Zoo in the U.K. who was working with Fauna & Flora International at the time these surveys were made. Radar Nishuli is chief park warden for the...

Feb 29, 2016

Relax, Beached 'Sea Monster' Just a Whale's Head

A large, shapeless, gray mass that recently washed ashore on a Mexican beach had officials and observers alike scratching their heads over what in the world the thing could be. People guessed it might be a giant squid, a type of whale or perhaps some sort of unknown, monstrous creature....

Feb 29, 2016

Species Success Stories: 10 Animals Back from the Brink

Back from the brink (Image credit: Steve Hillebrand / USFWS)Conservation efforts can make a big difference for threatened and endangered species around the world, from bald eagles to sea turtles. By protecting vulnerable animal populations and helping them to recover, stabilize and even to grow — as seen in these...

Feb 29, 2016

8 Animals That Show Their Love in Painful Ways

8 Species That Mate Through the Pain (Image credit: Oliver Koemmerling / CC BY-SA 3.0)For humans and for certain other animals recreational sex can be highly enjoyable. Even procreative sex among primates and some mammals is thought to provide pleasure for the participants. But for many animal species that's just...

Jan 31, 2016

Groundhogs on the Menu? The Wild History of Punxsutawney Phil

Punxsutawney Phil may not know it, but groundhogs were part of the menu on Groundhog Day in the late 1800s. Apparently, groundhogs were the other white meat on that day. These days, Punxsutawney Phil doesn't have to worry about ending up on a dish. Revelers gather in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, where...

Jan 31, 2016

Tarantula in Black: Dark, Hairy Spider Named After Johnny Cash

A newly discovered tarantula sports a black coat that is as dark and brooding as its celebrity namesake: the renowned singer Johnny Cash. Tarantulas, the hairy spiders that stole movie scenes and won hearts in popular films like Home Alone, Raiders of the Lost Ark, and Dr. No, take a...

Jan 31, 2016

Shark Attacks at a Record High in 2015

Last year was the worst year on record for unprovoked shark attacks, with the predatory fish biting 98 people, according to a new analysis by the International Shark Attack File. That doesn't include an additional 66 attacks either provoked by a human or directed at boats or ships. The next...

Jan 31, 2016

Python Facts

Pythons are nonvenomous snakes found in Asia, Africa and Australia. Because they are not native to North or South America, they are considered Old World snakes. The word python can refer to both the family Pythonidae or the genus Python, found within Pythonidae. There are 41 species of python found...

Dec 31, 2015

122-Foot Titanosaur: Staggeringly Big Dino Barely Fits into Museum

An incredibly long-necked dinosaur, with leg bones the size of couches, is so massive that is has invaded not one, but two rooms at the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) in New York City. The enormous titanosaur — an herbivorous beast that weighed 70 tons (64 metric tons) when...

Dec 31, 2015

Animal 'Selfies' Reveal Amazing Biodiversity in Tropical Forests

Amid tropical reserves across the globe, a network of motion-activated cameras monitored by conservationists captured millions of photos of unsuspecting wildlife, helping scientists to glimpse the big picture of worldwide biodiversity in these protected areas. In a study published Jan. 19 in the journal PLOS Biology, scientists wove together threads...