Animals, features and articles | Educational Science

Nov 12, 2021

Outside of Earth's 'shell,' SpaceX's Crew-3 reveal turtle as zero-g indicator

The turtle-takeover of outer space has begun. Just moments after entering Earth orbit on Wednesday (Nov. 10), SpaceX Crew-3 astronaut Kayla Barron released a sparkling sea turtle to float above her head. The zero-g indicator, a doll used to show that she and her three crewmates' were in the microgravity...

Jan 25, 2022

190-year-old Jonathan is the oldest tortoise ever

A 190-year-old tortoise named Jonathan has become the oldest tortoise ever, adding to his list of age-defying accolades. Jonathan is estimated to have been born in 1832, which means he turned, or turns, 190 years old in 2022, Guinness World Records announced on Jan. 12. To put that into context,...

Jul 28, 2022

Ancient Transylvanian turtle survived the extinction of the dinosaurs

A 70 million-year-old fossil unearthed in Transylvania is a newfound species of freshwater turtle that likely survived the extinction event that wiped out the nonavian dinosaurs. Researchers initially found the reptilian fossil at a site called Haţeg Basin in Romania in the 1990s. The remains include near-complete sections of the...

Jul 31, 2022

Can turtles really breathe through their butts?

Everyone knows that most mammals breathe through the mouth and nose. Frogs, meanwhile, can breathe through their skin. But what about turtles? How do these hard-shelled critters get oxygen? You may have heard a strange rumor that turtles can breathe through their butts. But is this true? Technically, turtles do...

Aug 10, 2022

Most of Florida's newly-hatched sea turtles are female. Why?

Almost all sea turtle hatchlings are emerging from their eggs as females on some Florida beaches because of heat waves exacerbated by climate change, Reuters reported on Aug. 2. Five different sea turtle species are found in Florida, including loggerhead turtles (Caretta caretta) and green turtles (Chelonia mydas), according to...

May 5, 2023

Largest freshwater turtle species doomed to extinction after last female washes up dead

The Yangtze giant softshell turtle (Rafetus swinhoei), the world's largest freshwater turtle and one of the most endangered species on Earth, is now essentially doomed to extinction after the last known remaining female washed up dead in Vietnam. The female turtle, which was around 5 feet (1.5 meters) long and...

Feb 24, 2024

Mary River turtle: The green-haired oddball that can breathe through its butt for 72 hours

Name: Mary River turtle (Elusor macrurus) Where it lives: Mary /Moonaboola River, Queensland, Australia What it eats: Mostly aquatic plants, but sometimes seeds, fruits and insect larvae Why it's awesome: This turtle has a distinctive, punk-like appearance, thanks to green algae growing from its head and body that helps it...

Feb 17, 2017

World's Rarest Boa Snake Seen for 1st Time in 64 Years

Brazil's elusive tree boa, Corallus cropanii — also known as Cropan's boa — is one of the world's rarest boas, infrequently sighted and known from only a handful of dead specimens collected after the snake was first seen and described in 1953. However, the species is alive and well, scientists...

Mar 14, 2017

Blergh! Why a 13-Foot Python Puked Up an Impala (and How)

The video shows a 13-foot (4 meters) African rock python (Python sebae) being interrupted by a snake catcher as the snake attempts to down a young impala on a farm in South Africa. According to Maroela Media, the snake catcher, Arthur Roden, had been called to a farm in the...

Mar 15, 2017

'King of Snakes' Defeats Larger Serpents by Squeezing Them to Death

How does the mighty kingsnake overpower the even mightier rat snake? It uses its tremendous constriction power, a new study finds. It may not be the largest snake, but the king of snakes earned its name because it eats other snakes, including the rat snake. The latter kind of snake...

Mar 22, 2017

Shhh: A Gallery of Secretive Ground Snakes

Atractus dunni (Image credit: Alejandro Arteaga)Atractus dunni, an Ecuadorian ground snake first discovered in 1955. The Atractus genus has more species than any other genus of snakes. There are 140 different members, 33 of which were discovered in the last decade, according to herpetologist Alejandro Arteaga and colleagues. Snakes of...

Mar 22, 2017

Rare 'Snakes from Hell' Lurk Near Petrochemical Plant in Ecuador

The sprawling Refinería del Pacífico is an enormous industrial complex stamped out of the tropical forest in Ecuador. So, when herpetologists discovered a new species of snake outside the petrochemical plant's gates, their minds went immediately to the underworld. And thus, Atractus cerberus was born. The brown-and-yellow ground snake —...

Jun 2, 2017

14th Hole's a Killer: 2 Deadly Snakes Fight in Golf Course Video

It's not uncommon for animals to wander onto the lush grounds of golf courses, but a golfer in South Africa recently happened upon an unusual sight on the 14th hole: two of the world's deadliest snakes locked in a confrontation that resembled a spiraling dance. The venomous black mamba snakes...

Jun 6, 2017

Scary Snake Strategy: Cuban Boas Hunt in Packs

When cave-dwelling Cuban boas fancy a meal, they band together to hunt for bats by concealing themselves along the cave entrance and forming a wall of deadly snakes before launching their coordinated strikes, according to a new study on the rare occurrence of snakes hunting in packs. Though snakes are...

Aug 1, 2017

Pet Boa Bites Woman's Face in Unusual Attack

Firefighters in Ohio were forced to decapitate a pet boa constrictor last week that had latched its teeth onto a woman's nose and wound its serpentine body around her neck, according to news sources. The woman survived, but the incident raises the question: Do boas typically attack the faces and...