Scientists discover first known animal that doesn't breathe By Brandon Specktor A genomic analysis of the creepy parasite H. salminicola reveals that the creature has no mitochondrial DNA and no way to breathe — two animal firsts.
46,000-year-old bird, frozen in Siberian permafrost, looks like it 'died a few days ago' By Laura Geggel A bird that lived during the last ice age is in "pristine condition."
Duck-billed dinosaur's tail had tumors found in children By Mindy Weisberger Paleontologists found peculiar cavities in the tailbones of a duck-billed dinosaur, suggesting that it suffered from tumors caused by Langerhans cell histiocytosis.
Florida officials cordon off park for annual snake orgy By Brandon Specktor Spring is the annual mating season for water snakes in Florida. This year, lakegoers saw so many coiled couples that the state's parks department had to shut down part of the area.
Neuroscientists discover 'engine of consciousness' hiding in monkeys' brains By Rafi Letzter No one knows how consciousness works in the brain, but a team of neuroscientists seems to have found an engine that keeps it going.
Rare pink manta ray caught courting lady friend Down Under By Laura Geggel Photos of a bright pink manta ray have gone viral after the Pepto-Bismol-colored creature was spotted swimming near Australia’s Great Barrier Reef.
Madagascar's bizarre aye-aye has 6 fingers on each hand, scientists discover By Adam Hartstone‐Rose Scientists studying Madagascar's aye-aye just discovered a sixth tiny digit called a pseudothumb on each of its hands.
Upside-down jellyfish release venom-filled 'bombs' in their snot By Nicoletta Lanese The water surrounding upside-down jellyfish often stings to the touch, and now scientists know why.
This may be the biggest turtle that ever lived By Laura Geggel Why did these male turtles have horned shells? Likely to protect their heads during fierce combat, a study finds.
Epic battle between 2 subway mice takes people's choice prize at wildlife photography competition By Brandon Specktor The epic photo 'station squabble,' which shows two mice grappling over a scrap of food, has won the people's choice award for London's Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition.
The last woolly mammoths on Earth had disastrous DNA By Laura Geggel The DNA in the woolly mammoths on Wrangel Island had a number of unfavorable variants.
Single lightning strike kills 4 endangered mountain gorillas By Nicoletta Lanese Lightning strikes kill wild animals relatively often, but the deaths of four rare gorillas represent a huge loss for the species.
'Reaper of death,' newfound cousin of T. rex, discovered in Canada By Laura Geggel This fearsome carnivore lived 12 million years before its cousin Tyrannosaurus rex.
Live Science podcast "Life's Little Mysteries" 4: Mysterious dogs By Live Science Staff In today's episode of Life's Little Mysteries, we'll take a closer look at some of the mysteries surrounding one of our closest animal companions: dogs.
5 reasons hyenas like Harley Quinn's 'Bruce' are amazing By Mindy Weisberger Harley Quinn has a hyena friend in the movie "Birds of Prey," but even without supervillain sidekicks, hyenas are super-awesome.
Megalodon: Facts about the long-gone, giant shark By Alina Bradford Megalodon was the largest shark and one of the largest fish on record. It went extinct about 2.6 million years ago.
Why are these sharks doing the 'pipi' dance? By Mindy Weisberger A group of sharks writhing in shallow water may have looked like they were beached, but they weren't injured or in distress.
Fearsome Triassic 'ocean lizard' was a tweezer-nosed weirdo By Mindy Weisberger A newfound species of thalattosaur, a Triassic marine reptile, had a dramatically pointy skull unlike any seen in reptiles alive today.
Jackass penguins have a jackass language not so different from English By Brandon Specktor The braying songs of African 'jackass' penguins follow two extremely common rules of human language, a new study confirms.
Live Science podcast "Life's Little Mysteries" 3: Mysterious cats By Live Science Staff In this episode of Life's Little Mysteries, we'll take a closer look at one of the most puzzling animals on our planet, and one that you may share your home with: cats.
