ENVIRONMENT & CLIMATESudan may appear as if he is just like any other Northern White Rhino, but in fact he is much more than that. Sudan is the last living male Northern White Rhino on the planet and conservationists need his help preventing his species from passing into oblivion. Because of his importance, he is kept under constant watch by armed guards that are there for his protection from poachers.
For several years now it has appeared that the climate in the West has been drastically changing. Naysayers might say that the illusion of “climate change” is all in our heads, but for those who had to ration water this past summer in California, the concept of climate change is certainly no longer a joke. But the conversation may not be entirely full of gloom and doom. In fact, thanks to our beloved Pacific Ocean and that nice coastal breeze that we love so dear, we may just see cooler temperatures after all, but we’re not like to get more rain.
In light of two deaths this week, Florida’s Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission is bringing attention to important conservation work along the Floridian shores and are asking the public to stay informed on critically endangered species in the area, whose lives may depend on the help of humans.
A story that should have celebrated the birth of another whale into the world ended in tragedy Monday, after the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission made the decision to put two sperm whales down. Though often rapid response units are able to successful push whales back out to shore after a brief beaching, the circumstances surrounding the beaching led local officials to make the life-or-death decision.
The catastrophic impact that ended the reign of dinosaurs on Earth has long been of interest to scientists around the world. In an attempt to learn more about what happened 65 million years ago, scientists plan to drill some 5,000 feet deep into the Chicxulub Crater, the lasting scar from this world changing event.
It’s no big surprise as to why we exited the Jurassic period. The dinosaurs and their lineage ended with a shocking crash when a catastrophic asteroid plummeted to Earth, and dust and debris blocked out the Sun. But now researchers are hoping that by going back to the site of the impact they may be able to learn a bit more about ancient biological and geological processes, and perhaps even what cosmic changes led to the asteroid’s impact.
A new study published in the journal Palaeontology has revealed some interesting new details about the process of reproduction in Mosasaurs, the large marine lizards that once populated the waters about 65 million years ago.
News this week revealed a frightening new addition to the fossil record—a “Terror Bird” species known more scientifically as Llallawavis scagliai (aka Scaglia’s Magnificent Bird). But in spite of its massive size and terrifying stance, this top-tier predatory may not have been the most well-adapted hunter that it could be… That is, unless it was hunting in packs.
Think that you don’t have what it takes to start a career in paleontology, even though your fascination with dinosaurs never ends? Well never fear, news this week reveals that you’re never too old, or too young, to start on the hunt for dinosaurs. And 4-year-old Wylie Brys, of Mansfield, Texas, is proving this sentiment true.
Think that we’ve found just about every prehistoric species that there is to find? You’d be terrifyingly wrong if you said yes. In fact, adding a new view on the diversity of some unlikely large predators that predate humans, a new fossil this week revealed another species of South American “terror birds” known as Llallawavis scagliai.
Scientists have discovered tombs filled with up to 40 mummies, each around a 1,200 year old ceremonial site in Peru's Cotahuasi Valley. Thus far, archaeologists have excavated seven tombs containing at least 171 mummies in an area now called Tenahaha.
When it comes to ecological modeling, often the devil is in the details. But with so many complex theories at play, and so many realistic, natural variants it becomes an almost impossible task to decipher exactly it is that the researchers are trying to show us. This time the researchers made it easy for us.
Any paleontologist that is worth anything will tell you that there is no such thing as a brontosaurus. But a new paper published in PeerJ hopes to change that.
Just when we thought that scientists have found all the species they were going to, a new species of lizard dubbed the dwarf dragon has been discovered in the Andes Mountains of South America.