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44+ min ago (649+ words) This discovery threw a wrench into what scientists thought they knew. For years, everyone assumed Australopithecus afarensis was the only game in town around 3.4 million years ago. But these foot bones told a different story. So the team did what any determined researchers would do'they kept digging. Year after year, they returned to the Woranso-Mille site, carefully excavating the same area. Their persistence paid off. Fast forward to November 2025. The team made several pivotal discoveries during their most recent visit: fragments of pelvic bones and, crucially, a skull and a jawbone with 12 teeth. When they examined these new finds, the pieces of the puzzle finally clicked into place. The researchers also found a juvenile jaw complete with baby teeth and developing adult teeth, with CT scans showing growth patterns similar to other early australopiths. With 13 new tooth and jaw fragments…...

55+ min ago (999+ words) (CNN) " Scientists say they have solved the mystery of the Burtele foot, a set of 3.4 million-year-old bones found in Ethiopia in 2009. The fossils, along with others unearthed more recently, have now been linked to a little-known species that was a contemporary of the celebrated Australopithecus afarensis skeleton Lucy. The foot bones and a jawbone with teeth still attached belonged to an ancient human relative called Australopithecus deyiremeda, a more primitive species than Lucy, according to a study published November 26 in the journal Nature. Should they hold up to further scrutiny, the findings could knock Lucy, one of the most recognizable names in human evolution, from her important spot in the family tree. In 2009, a team led by paleoanthropologist Yohannes Haile-Selassie, a professor at Arizona State University and the study's lead author, found the eight foot bones within 3.4 million-year-old sediments at…...

1+ hour, 44+ min ago (453+ words) 66 million years ago, a giant asteroid hit the earth at a whopping 45,000 miles per hour and changed the course of life on our planet. Today, the American Museum of Natural History is telling the story in a fascinating and educational new exhibit called "Impact: The End of the Age of Dinosaurs." Impact transports visitors to a time before, during and after the catastrophic event occurred via interactive installments, immersive videos and realistic displays." The exhibit features life-size models of a 27-foot mosasaur, a 30-foot long-necked plesiosaur, and other extinct species such as Triceratops. Visitors can explore touchable displays, including a cast of a mosasaur tooth, a real Triceratops toe fossil, a cast of Triceratops skin, and a fossil ammonite." A stunning diorama showcases the diversity of Cretaceous life in what is now the western United States, while an immersive panoramic…...

1+ hour, 55+ min ago (521+ words) A major new study has revealed that a group of people in southern Africa lived in partial isolation for hundreds of thousands of years'offering powerful new insights into how modern humans evolved. Researchers analyzed the genomes of 28 individuals who lived between 10,200 and 150 years ago and found evidence that southern Africa played a central role in shaping Homo sapiens. The study, the largest ever conducted on ancient African DNA, was published in Nature. Modern humans have existed for at least 300,000 years, but exactly where our species first emerged has been debated. Many earlier theories suggested that humans evolved in eastern Africa and only moved south much later. The new findings challenge this idea. According to lead researcher Mattias Jakobsson of Uppsala University, the DNA clearly shows that Homo sapiens lived and evolved in southern Africa for a very long time, making…...

2+ hour, 25+ min ago (551+ words) This 120-million-year-old bird swallowed 800 stones and choked to death, here's why! 120-million-year-old bird fossil has raised a perplexing mystery: how did it come to swallow over 800 stones, causing its death? This newly identified species, called Chromeornis funkyi, was discovered with a throat full of tiny stones, a discovery that has baffled paleontologists. The question remains: why would this ancient bird ingest such an unusual and fatal collection of materials? The fossil was unearthed by Dr. Jingmai O'Connor, an associate curator at Chicago's Field Museum, who quickly realized the bird was a new species. But while its appearance was intriguing, the true shock came when she found a mass of stones lodged in the bird's esophagus. When Dr. Jingmai O'Connor first examined the Chromeornis funkyi fossil, she noticed the bird's throat was filled with a large mass of tiny stones. At…...

2+ hour, 37+ min ago (665+ words) By the early 20th century, the takah" had seemingly disappeared forever. It was considered a lost relic of New Zealand's prehistoric avifauna, remembered only in museum specimens and fossil bones " until it reappeared almost half a century later. On November 20th, 1948, there came an extraordinary moment in conservation history. During a four-person expedition, led by Dr. Geoffrey Orbell, the team rediscovered a surviving population of takah" in a remote alpine valley in the Murchison Mountains, within what is today Fiordland National Park. This is what turned the 1948 expedition into a once-in-a-millennium discovery: a bird that had officially declared extinct was now confirmed to be alive and surviving undetected in one of New Zealand's wildest and most forbidding landscapes. It was this rediscovery that laid the foundation for what would become one of the most sustained and unique species-recovery programs in world history....

3+ hour, 19+ min ago (186+ words) Home " News " Meet The Surprisingly Largest Rodent In The World Yes, capybaras are indeed rodents, but not your typical squeaky companions. These colossal creatures boast an average weight of 108 pounds, comparable to a fully-grown wolf. As the last representatives of a lineage of massive grass-eating rodents in South America, capybaras stand out as remarkable survivors in the evolving tapestry of the animal kingdom. In the peculiar morning routine of capybaras, a unique habit emerges'they snack on their own feces. This seemingly unappetizing behavior, known as coprophagy, serves a purpose. By re-digesting their food, capybaras maximize nutrient absorption, extracting every bit of sustenance from their plant-based diet. It's a recycling mechanism that showcases the resourcefulness of these colossal rodents. Despite their resilience, capybaras face significant challenges from human activities. Evidently, deforestation, driven by the conversion of natural habitats into crop fields…...

3+ hour, 39+ min ago (1232+ words) Chris is the co-founder of 'Animals Around The Globe' and a fervent wildlife enthusiast with extensive travels across diverse ecosystems worldwide. From exploring the marine wonders in the Azores and witnessing the vast savannas of Kenya, to delving deep into the rich biodiversity of South Africa and traversing iconic landscapes in Australia and the US like Yellowstone, Chris's experiences are vast. With a penchant for diving alongside sharks, the ocean holds a special place in his heart. Through his academic insights, he champions wildlife conservation, striving with 'Animals Around The Globe' to cultivate a profound connection between humans and animals, enhancing our mutual appreciation. Connect with him at [email protected]. In the frigid waters of the Arctic, a mystical creature that seems plucked from fairy tales actually exists. The narwhal, often called the "unicorn of the sea," captivates our imagination with…...

4+ hour, 39+ min ago (422+ words) In May 1925, a strange decaying corpse washed ashore on Moore's Beach, now known as Natural Bridges State Beach, in Santa Cruz. Locals who swarmed out to investigate the specimen described elephantine legs, a fish-like tail and a long neck stretched across the sand. It was quickly dubbed a sea monster. The Santa Cruz sea monster shows how decay can mislead even careful observers. Decomposing whales can form a tubular shape known as a "whale sock," said Moe Flannery, ornithology and mammalogy collections manager at the California Academy of Sciences. The collection includes bones from two Baird's beaked whales that washed onto the San Francisco and Point Reyes coasts in 2003 and 2016. Although the more recent carcasses were more complete when they were found, only a few bones were collected. The species can grow to 35 feet long and weigh over 26,000 pounds, making…...

4+ hour, 39+ min ago (422+ words) In May 1925, a strange decaying corpse washed ashore on Moore's Beach, now known as Natural Bridges State Beach, in Santa Cruz. Locals who swarmed out to investigate the specimen described elephantine legs, a fish-like tail and a long neck stretched across the sand. It was quickly dubbed a sea monster. The Santa Cruz sea monster shows how decay can mislead even careful observers. Decomposing whales can form a tubular shape known as a "whale sock," said Moe Flannery, ornithology and mammalogy collections manager at the California Academy of Sciences. The collection includes bones from two Baird's beaked whales that washed onto the San Francisco and Point Reyes coasts in 2003 and 2016. Although the more recent carcasses were more complete when they were found, only a few bones were collected. The species can grow to 35 feet long and weigh over 26,000 pounds, making…...