Latest articles by Lydia Smith
Hoatzin: The strange 'stinkbird' born with clawed wings that appears to be an evolutionary 'orphan'
This weird blue-faced, red-eyed bird smells so bad predators won't eat it.
9 surprising facts about David Attenborough as he turns 99
Happy birthday! British naturalist David Attenborough celebrates his 99th birthday on May 8, 2025. Here are some incredible facts about the iconic broadcaster.
Dracula parrot: The goth bird whose piercing screams echo through New Guinea forests
Pesquet's parrot, also known as a Dracula parrot, resembles a vulture and has a distinct scream — but its favorite food is figs.
Northern giant mouse lemur: The bug-eyed fluff ball with the biggest testicles of all known primates
If humans had a similar body ratio to the northern giant mouse lemur, their testicles would be the size of grapefruits.
Asian hermit spider: The arachnid that gets stronger after ejecting its own penis
Female Asian hermit spiders gobble up their partners after mating, so males detach their penises and sometimes offer up an amputated leg to escape.
Great potoo: The 'tree stump' bird with a haunting growl and can see with its eyes closed
Throughout the night, great potoos emit a loud, moaning growl that has earned the bird a mythical status, with some communities believing the sounds to be children calling for lost parents.
King of the cave centipede: The deadly, blind giant that evolved in the darkness of a Romanian cave
The venomous centipede crawled into the Movile Cave millions of years ago and adapted to live in the pitch black, surrounded by deadly gases.
Labord's chameleon: The color-changing lizard that drops dead in 4 months
Labord's chameleons are only found in Western Madagascar and have developed a live fast die young life cycle to cope with the extreme environmental conditions.
Mount Kaputar pink slug: The giant hot-pink mollusk found only on a single, extinct volcano
The 8-inch, bright pink slug has been isolated in a "sky island" for millions of years.
Giant phantom jelly: The 33-foot-long ocean giant that has babies out of its mouth
Giant phantom jellies were discovered in 1899 and since then have only been spotted around 120 times.
Common degu: Oversized hamsters with societies governed by pee
Common degus clean themselves and communicate with urine, and they can detach their own tails to escape predators.
Turkey vulture: The bird that vomits acid up to 10 feet and poops antiseptic onto its legs
Turkey vultures feed on dead carcasses, helping to lower greenhouse gas emissions.
James Webb Space Telescope quiz: How well do you know the world's most powerful telescope?
Quiz The James Webb Space Telescope can look deeper (and earlier) into the cosmos than any telescope before it. How much do you know about this wonder of technology and its incredible findings?
Hairy giant tarantula: The monster among mini tarantulas with 'feather duster' legs
The newly discovered tarantula Trichopelma grande has unusually hairy legs for a ground-dwelling species. It's also much bigger than its relatives — and scientists aren't sure why.
Conspiracy theory quiz: Test your knowledge of unfounded beliefs, from flat Earth to lizard people
Quiz How much do you know about conspiracy theories? Take our science quiz to find out.
Turuchan pika: The adorable ball of fluff that just loves to play
Turuchan pikas play all sorts of games, including swinging from branches, throwing food around and hiding them jumping out at each other.
Shark quiz: How much do you know about these iconic ocean superstars?
Quiz Sharks are formidable fish, having survived multiple mass extinction over hundreds of millions of years. But how much do you know about these misunderstood creatures? Take our science quiz to find out.
Cantor's giant softshell turtle: The frog-faced predator that spends 95% of its time completely motionless
These leathery turtles spend most of their lives buried motionless in river mud, but burst into action to catch their unsuspecting prey.
Babirusa: The prehistoric 'deer' pigs with huge antler teeth
Babirusas are believed to have diverged from their pig ancestors between 26 million and 12 million years ago after getting isolated on Sulawesi when sea levels rose at the end of the last ice age.
Short-horned lizard: The inflatable 'horny toad' that squirts toxic blood from its eyes
This little lizard can fire blood up to 5 feet from its face, has spiky horns and inflates itself to choke predators.
Siphonophores: The clonal colonies that can grow longer than a blue whale
Siphonophores are unusual animals made up of individual organisms called "zooids," which each have a distinct function — despite being genetically identical.
Angular roughshark: The pig-faced shark that grunts when captured
An angular roughshark pulled from the water near Elba, an Italian island near Tuscany.
Thorny devil: The spike-covered lizard that sucks water from sand through its skin
Thorny devils have a plethora of defenses against predators, including a fake head and a weird jerky walk.
