Weird Animals

An illustration of the spiky new dinosaur Zuul.

Introducing 'Zuul,' an Ankylosaur That Could Really Make Your Ankles Sore

A finely preserved fossil sheds new light on the curious tail of armored dinos

The deer holds the bones in its mouth "like a cigar," the researchers write in their paper.

Deer Caught Gnawing on Human Bones

For the first time, researchers spotted a white-tailed deer chewing on a rib bone at a body farm

How Glaciers Gave Us the Adorable, Handstanding Spotted Skunk

DNA tests suggest ancient changes in climate shaped the creatures' evolution

Stay back! A beached Portuguese man o’war

Urine Luck: Vinegar Is the Best Treatment for a Man O' War Sting

A new study suggests urine, sea water and lemon juice all do more harm than good on painful stings

The female cuttlefish and her two angry suitors

Watch Two Cuttlefish Fiercely Battle Over a Mate

This is the first time researchers caught the creatures locked in a vicious fight in the wild

Sirocco, currently MIA, has helped millions connect with the island’s endangered wildlife.

Seduced By a Rare Parrot

What can conservationists learn from New Zealand’s official “spokesbird,” a YouTube celebrity who tries to mate with people’s heads?

An artist's rendering of the new species Teleocrater rhadinus hunting a cynodont, a close relative of mammals.

Before There Were Dinosaurs, There Was This Weird Crocodile-Looking Thing

A new analysis of an ancient enigma offers clues as to how dino evolution unfolded

From Jellyfish to Crocodiles: Where to See Unusual Migrations

Butterflies and wildebeests aren't the only species you can find migrating en masse

Web-Slinging Snails Discovered on Sunken Ship

Scientists worry that their presence spells trouble for threatened coral reefs

In times of desperation, female sawtooth sharks have been known to reproduce sans males. For other species, solo reproduction is downright vanilla.

Meet Eight Species That Are Bending the Rules of Reproduction

Spice up your mating life with relationship tips from rock lizards, sharks and water fleas

Nearly blind, Typhlomys cinereus thrives in the high forests of southeastern China and Vietnam—with a little help from another sense.

This Echolocating Dormouse Could Reveal the Origins of One of Nature’s Coolest Superpowers

Mice, moths and even humans use clicks and echoes to "see" the world around them

The notorious RPB: the rusty patched bumble bee.

The Bee That Breaks Your Heart

Insects are hard-pressed to get protection as endangered species. Can one fuzzy anomaly beat the odds?

The heroes of the movie Kong: Skull Island prepare to encounter the 104-foot-tall ape King Kong.

How Big Can a Land Animal Get?

King Kong's biggest enemy isn’t humans—it’s the laws of physics

Most regular visitors of Chicago's Field Museum are on a first-name basis with Sue, the Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton that adorns the museum's front hall.

From “T. Rex” to “Pantydraco": How Dinosaurs Get Their Names

The best monikers are “a way to link science and imagination.” Others are just obvious

A scanning electron microscope image of the water bear.

How the Remarkable Tardigrade Springs Back to Life after Drying Out

A particular protein helps these these tiny critters survive dehydration for over a decade at a time

Researchers Find the First Naturally Fluorescent Frog Species

The polka-dot tree frog emits a blue-green glow under UV light, which is an unusual feature for land-dwelling critters

A humpback supergroup off the coast of South Africa

Scientists Spot Hundreds of Humpback Whales Feeding in Massive Groups

The normally solitary creatures gathered off the southwestern coast of South Africa, puzzling researchers

Ecologists tend to think of mobbing behavior as primarily a way that smaller birds protect their nests and chicks from larger predators. Shown here, a Willie wagtail attacking an Australian raven.

Why Do Male Birds Take on Larger Predators? Maybe Just to Impress the Ladies

Some mobbing behavior may be less about survival, and more about sexual selection

Itchy and scratchy: When they see their peers scratching away, mice get the urge to itch.

Why Is Itching So Contagious?

Scientists figure out how compulsive scratching spreads in mice, and maybe humans

True's Beaked Whale

See the First Video of One of the World's Rarest Whales

The 46 second clip of several True's beaked whales was taken by students and teachers on a field trip in the Azore Islands in 2013

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