Biology

On an ordinary walk around Big Bend National Park, a park ranger and volunteer made a rare scientific discovery: an entirely new kind of plant.

This tiny, fuzzy sunflower relative has been hiding in plain sight—it represents the first new genus identified in a U.S. national park in nearly 50 years.

Researchers hauled bins of fish carcasses through bear country to learn how salmon affects plants and pollinators.

The small-winged stick mantis is found throughout South America's grasslands. But in Uruguay, the population is entirely female.

Along the Pacific Coast, fast and furious sunflower sea stars are vicious hunters as adults—and they're even hungrier when young.

From penis dueling to pee potions to switching sexes, there’s no one right way of getting it on in the ocean.

This Giant Sequoia contains California history, Civil War history, and a whole lot of wonder, all within its ultra-thick bark.

In Ecuador, Satanas the tarantula—named for his feisty attitude—became both teacher and friend to researchers.

At warm, deep sea springs off Costa Rica's Pacific Coast, throngs of octopus "balls" gather to tend their brood.

These mollusks evolved to mosey along at a particularly ponderous pace—the reasons why may surprise you.

The Monterey Bay Aquarium displays vibrant jellies, fascinating fishes, and the largest crab in the world.

A red velvet worm, jeweled corpse flower, and other rare species were found while retracing the route of the bloody 1911-12 Abor Expedition.

These isolated, pocket-sized silky anteaters live among the mangroves of Brazil’s Atlantic coast.

Lightning and other environmental electricity may jumpstart reproduction for the Amazon Basin fish.

The butterfly defends itself using milkweed, just one of several plants packed with heart-stopping toxins that may also be in your medicine cabinet.