A hammerhead shark less than one meter long swims frantically in a plastic container aboard a boat in the Sanquianga National Natural Park, off Colombia’s Pacific coast. It is a delicate female Sphyrna corona, the world’s smallest hammerhead species, and goes by the local name cornuda amarilla — yellow hammerhead — because of the color of its fins and the edges of its splendid curved head, which is full of sensors to perceive the movement of its prey.Marine biologist Diego Cardeñosa of ...read more
The far side of the moon has been shrouded in mystery for years, and questions have piled up about its differences from the near side, which we see nearly every night here on Earth. In a push to ascertain the moon’s uncharted secrets, progress on exploring the far side has accelerated in recent years. In early June 2024, China made the news as its newest space probe, Chang’e 6, landed on the moon’s far side, marking a bold direction for future lunar exploration. What Is the Chang’e 6 Mi ...read more
It would seem obvious that rising sea levels that cut off the last population of woolly mammoths on Wrangel Island from the Siberian coast 10,000 years ago caused in-breeding, leading to their eventual extinction. But a new genetic analysis, reported in Cell, counters that claim.That result was unexpected, since an earlier report indicated that the mammoth population likely built up harmful genetic mutations, according to Love Dalén, a scientist with the Centre for Palaeogenetics of Sweden, and ...read more
Axolotls are perhaps the most instantly recognizable amphibians in the world. At once cute, curious, and infinitely fascinating due to their unique biological traits, these ever-young creatures capture the imagination. Axolotls are a type of salamander, endemic to Mexico and only found in two places; the waterways and canals of Lake Xochimilco and Lake Chalco around Mexico City. They are often photographed as seemingly grumpy or with a joyful, childlike grin. Their infinite likability aside, the ...read more
When Sydney hosted the 2000 Summer Olympics, an unlikely hero emerged: an unofficial mascot known as Fatso the Fat-Arsed Wombat. Introduced by comedians, it helped to kick off a wave of love for a critter not always adored by human Australians. Over the centuries, the native marsupial has been eaten in stew and maligned as a pest. Now, it’s a focus of conservation and animal welfare efforts.Wombats are closely related to koalas and nurture their young in pouches like other marsupials. Of the t ...read more
Author Vishay SinghPosted on Categories Discover Magazine