Siphonophores: The clonal colonies that can grow longer than a blue whale By Lydia Smith published 28 September 24 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 By Lydia Smith published 14 September 24 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 By Lydia Smith published 31 August 24 Thorny devils have a plethora of defenses against predators, including a fake head and a weird jerky walk.
Silky anteater: The tiny, boxing ball of fur By Lydia Smith published 17 August 24 The smallest species of anteater grows to just 14 inches, including its tail — but it packs a hefty punch when threatened.
Pacific geoduck: The large, phallic clam that can live longer than 165 years By Lydia Smith published 3 August 24 The Pacific geoduck is a clam that lives along the shore from Alaska to Mexico, can reach 9 pounds in weight and can outlive humans.
Sun bear: The little carnivores that look so similar to humans they've been mistaken for people wearing costumes By Lydia Smith published 27 July 24 Sun bears often stand upright like humans, and mothers even walk around cradling their babies in their arms.
Panda ant: The wasps whose black and white females have giant stingers and parasitic babies By Lydia Smith published 13 July 24 Panda ants are actually wasps masquerading as an adorable ant, with black and white females possessing stingers half as long as their entire bodies.
Tasselled wobbegong: The master of disguise that can eat a shark almost as big as itself By Lydia Smith published 29 June 24 Tasselled wobbegong sharks are so well camouflaged they can vanish on the seafloor, waiting for unsuspecting prey to pass before lunging forward to suck their victims into their giant mouths.
Jaguarundi: The little wildcat that looks like an otter and has 13 ways of 'talking' By Lydia Smith published 22 June 24 Jaguarundis are weird little felines that are about the size of domestic cats, have long bodies with short legs and round, flattened heads.
Qinling panda: The shrunken pandas that diverged 300,000 years ago and sometimes come out brown By Lydia Smith published 15 June 24 Qinling pandas were officially recognized as a subspecies in 2005, but the mystery of their brown fur was only resolved almost two decades later.
Is hippo milk really pink? By Lydia Smith published 10 May 24 Hippos don't produce pink milk, but they do produce a pink, sweat-like secretion.
Watch bizarre video of termites trapped in 'death spiral' By Lydia Smith published 19 March 24 Footage shows termites trapped inside a fungus in a death spiral, where they march until they die from exhaustion.
Prairie vole orgasms 'rewire' their brains for long-term love By Lydia Smith published 5 March 24 Researchers discover ejaculation in male prairie voles triggers a cascade of neural activity in both sexes that helps them form strong bonds and monogamous relationships.
East Coast cities are sinking at a shocking rate, NASA images show By Lydia Smith published 1 March 24 Satellite images reveal the rate that cities along the U.S. East Coast, including New York, Baltimore and Charleston, are sinking into the ground.
Bizarre jellyfish with bright red cross for a stomach discovered in volcanic caldera off Japan By Lydia Smith published 13 February 24 Newly described species of jellyfish with a red cross inside its translucent body is only found in the Sumisu caldera over 2,500 feet beneath the surface of the Pacific Ocean.
French bulldog puppy spontaneously regrows jaw after surgery in 1st known case of its kind By Lydia Smith published 7 February 24 Cornell veterinarians discovered a puppy whose jaw they had surgically removed because of a cancerous tumor had regrown it just eight weeks after the operation.
How fast can piranhas eat a dog? By Lydia Smith published 31 January 24 Piranhas have razor-sharp teeth and often travel in shoals, but can they really strip prey of its flesh in a matter of minutes?
A perfect storm of factors is causing major East Coast cities to sink. What are they, and can we do anything about it? By Lydia Smith published 30 January 24 Cities along the Atlantic coast — including New York, Boston, and Miami — are sinking into the ground.
Huge, complete mammoth tusk accidentally discovered by North Dakota coal miners By Lydia Smith published 9 January 24 A tusk scooped up my miners in North Dakota turned out to be one of the most complete skeletons of a mammoth ever discovered in the state.
Pinky-white leucistic alligator with blue eyes born in Florida is 1 of only 8 in the world By Lydia Smith published 12 December 23 An extremely rare leucistic alligator born in Gatorland, Orlando, is the result of a genetic condition that leads to the partial loss of skin pigmentation, resulting in white or translucent skin.
Pregnant megamouth shark seen for 1st time after female washes up dead with 7 pups By Lydia Smith published 12 December 23 A megamouth shark that was pregnant with seven pups when it washed ashore in the Philippines has revealed secrets about how this elusive species gives birth.
Huge mammoth jaw at least 10,000 years old pulled up from Florida river By Lydia Smith published 21 November 23 Fossil enthusiast John Kreatsoulas thought the artifact was a log, before he realized he was holding a bone from the last ice age.
Watch dolphins raid crab pots off Australia in never-before-seen footage By Lydia Smith published 17 November 23 Dolphins in Koombana Bay, Western Australia, have learned how to raid crab pots being used for bait and remove the hooks, footage has revealed.
200-pound 'monster' Burmese python finally captured in Florida after 5 men sit on it By Lydia Smith published 10 November 23 A huge Burmese python caught in Florida is the second-heaviest ever caught in the state, weighing in at 198 pounds.
Scientists have figured out when the biggest bull sharks are most active — and it's not when official advice suggests By Lydia Smith published 25 September 23 Researchers tracked more than 200 bull sharks off the coast of New South Wales to find out exactly when they were most active and posed the greatest risk to humans.