Life with latitude: The great puzzle of biogeography

Mention the tropics and you’ll likely imagine vast rainforests teeming with wildlife. With over 300 species of tree per hectare in Panama (there’s less than half of that in the whole of Canada!) and more than 1800 species of birds in Colombia, it’s clear the tropics are bursting at the seams with plant and animal … Continued

10 species we know almost absolutely nothing about

From giant canopy-dwelling stick insects, to a mysterious spiny anteater in the Cyclops Mountains, onto otherworldly tentacles in the deepest depths of the ocean buried; there are plenty of species that we know almost nothing about, despite our best efforts. In some cases, the species is almost certainly extinct and just a handful of remaining … Continued

Everything you ever wanted to know about nature's monster of the deep: the giant squid

The giant squid has some impressive stats. Measuring up to 18 metres (59ft) in length and weighing up to 900kg, it is the second largest invertebrate known to exist, second only to the even bigger Colossus Squid. Yet despite its huge size, the giant squid has rarely been sighted, with the first images of a live specimen being taken … Continued

It’s a virgin birth! Female snake produces offspring without help from a male, for the second year running

In a bizarre mash-up of biblical narratives, a female serpent in southeast Missouri gave ‘virgin birth’ to live offspring, all without any interaction from a member of the opposite sex. The yellow-bellied water-snake at Cape Girardeau Conservation Nature Centre has been alone and devoid of male companionship for around eight years. Nevertheless this is the … Continued

The world’s first ever Croc-Cow! Thai villagers mystified by ‘half buffalo, half crocodile hybrid’

It would be a touch melodramatic to say that onlookers in a remote Thai village were left terrified by the appearance of a weird-looking creature in their midsts. But they’re definitely intrigued and more than a little confused—as we all are—about how this abnormal creation came about. One glance at the video—taken in High Rock, Wang Hin—shows … Continued

Click here to watch the episode

Did our tooth enamel evolve from fish scales?

Researchers cut up a 415 million year old fish fossil searching for the origin of the hardest-vertebrate tissue out there Sometimes evolutionary concepts can be hard to come to terms with. Take for example, the fact that land vertebrates arose from fish. This isn’t new information, but there’s a lot about this linkage that remains unknown, … Continued