Posts in tag

species


The original electric eel, Electrophorus electricus. Getty The first electric eel was discovered by Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus, well before the invention of the light bulb. In fact, the discovery of the electric eel is credited, in part with stimulating research on electricity. Now, researchers in Brazil have discovered not one, but two new species …

CHIEF JOSEPH DAM, Douglas County – Standing above the point where Chief Joseph Dam prevents thousands of chinook salmon each year from migrating upstream in the Columbia River, Darnell Sam praised new technology that could restore salmon runs all the way to Canada and beyond. “The salmon spirit gives up its life to feed our …

A new kind of dinosaur has been unearthed in Japan, and it’s the largest dinosaur skeleton ever found in the country. Researchers believe the bones help to explain the origin and evolution of dinosaurs in the region.  The dinosaur is a completely new genus and species of the plant-eating hadrosaur, which roamed the Earth in …

Image copyright Arterra/Getty Image caption The cuckoo has the fastest declining population in five of 11 regions of England Cuckoo numbers are in steep decline across almost half of England because of climate change but buzzards are up, according to a new study. The British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) has looked at which species are …

Image copyright ZSL Image caption The Cuban greater funnel-eared bat (Natalus primus) has only one known home in the world One of the world’s rarest bats is now confined to a single cave in Western Cuba with less than 750 remaining, according to a population survey. Scientists are highlighting the plight of the animal, saying …

Image copyright Getty Images The US federal government has announced an overhaul of the way it enforces the Endangered Species Act, a law credited with preventing countless extinctions. Trump officials say the new plan will reduce regulations, but environmental groups warn it will “crash a bulldozer” through the landmark 1973 legislation. The plan removes automatic …

WASHINGTON — The Trump administration on Monday announced that it would change the way the Endangered Species Act is applied, significantly weakening the nation’s bedrock conservation law credited with rescuing the bald eagle, the grizzly bear and the American alligator from extinction. The changes could clear the way for new mining, oil and gas drilling, …

At least eight North Atlantic right whales have died this summer — about 2% of the endangered marine mammal‘s total population. All of the animals have been found in Canadian waters, and alarmed scientists are working to confirm the causes of the deaths.  While eight deaths have been confirmed, three more whales are currently entangled …

Image copyright Chong Chen Image caption The scaly-foot snail lives only at hydrothermal vent sites A deep-sea snail, many of Europe’s fungi and half the freshwater fish in Japan are just some obscure additions to a list of threatened species. The Red List, a conservation status catalogue of more than 100,000 species, is compiled by …

Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Deforestation in Sumatra Almost 600 plant species have been lost from the wild in the last 250 years, according to a comprehensive new study. The number is based on actual extinctions rather than estimates, and is twice that of all bird, mammal and amphibian extinctions combined. Scientists say plant …