New Species News

September 25, 2023

Top Headlines

Caribbean Parrots Thought to Be Endemic Are Actually Relicts of Millennial-Scale Extinction

Sep. 25, 2023 — For the first time, researchers have extracted ancient DNA from Caribbean parrot fossils and archaeological specimens, showing that species thought to be endemic to particular islands were ...

Understanding the Sex Life of Coral Gives Hope of Clawing It Back from the Path to Extinction

Sep. 21, 2023 — Scientists have mapped the reproductive strategies and life cycle of an endangered coral species, the purple cauliflower soft coral Dendronephthya australis. Lab-grown larvae have been successfully ...

Colorful Primates Don't Have Better Color Vision, Study Finds

Sep. 22, 2023 — Primate species with better color vision are not more likely to have red skin or fur coloration, as previously ...

16 Strange New Parasitoid Wasp Species Discovered in Vietnam

Sep. 19, 2023 — Researchers have discovered 16 new species of strange-looking parasitoid wasps from the Loboscelidia group. The study also revealed for the first time the unique parasitic behavior of a captive female from one species, who after parasitizing her ...

Latest Headlines

updated 11:08pm EDT

Researchers Discover a New Species of Larger Benthic Foraminifer from the Ryukyu Islands

Sep. 19, 2023 — An international group of researchers have discovered a previously unknown species of large foraminifer, shedding new light on the ecological ...

Unlocking the Genetic Code of Peppers: New Study Reveals Insights Into Domestication and Diversity

Sep. 12, 2023 — Peppers are a versatile, flavorful, and widely popular crop, used not only as a healthy food source but also for their medicinal properties. ...

Nature's Great Survivors: Flowering Plants Survived the Mass Extinction That Killed the Dinosaurs

Sep. 12, 2023 — A new study by researchers from the University of Bath (UK) and Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (Mexico) shows that flowering plants ...

Protected Nature Reserves Alone Are Insufficient for Reversing Biodiversity Loss

Sep. 13, 2023 — Protected nature areas are considered fundamental for maintaining biodiversity and countering its loss. But how effectively do established protected ...

Invasive Species Are Animals, Too: Considering a Humane Approach

Sep. 5, 2023 — Invasive alien species are animals that may pose a threat to biodiversity, but it's time to deal with that threat in a more ethical ...

Most Species Are Rare, but Not Very Rare

Sep. 4, 2023 — More than 100 years of observations in nature have revealed a universal pattern of species abundances: Most species are rare but not very rare, and only a few species are very common. These so-called ...

New Species of Marine Bacteria Isolated from a Deep-Sea Cold Seep

Aug. 29, 2023 — Researchers have isolated a new strain of marine bacteria with unique characteristics from the ocean ...

Curious and Cryptic: New Leaf Insects Discovered

Aug. 28, 2023 — An international research team has described seven previously unknown species of leaf insects, also known as walking leaves. The insects belong to the stick and leaf insect order, which are known for ...

Wastewater Pipe Dig Reveals 'Fossil Treasure Trove'

Aug. 28, 2023 — A new article describes the 266 fossil species as one of the richest and most diverse groups of three-million-year-old fauna ever found in New Zealand. At least ten previously unknown species will be ...

Small Urban Greening Projects Can Dramatically Increase Number of Insect Species in Cities

Aug. 22, 2023 — By increasing the diversity of indigenous plants in urban areas, researchers have seen a seven times increase in the number of insect species in just ...

Earlier Headlines

Summaries
Headlines

Bats Feast as Insects Migrate Through Pyrenees

Aug. 16, 2023 — Bats gather to feast as nocturnal insects fly through mountain passes in the Pyrenees each autumn, new research ...

Hidden Moles in Hidden Holes

Aug. 11, 2023 — An international team of scientists has for the first time identified two new underground mammals that could have been living, undetected, in eastern Turkey for up to 3 million years. They say it is ...

Biologists Find What Colors a Butterfly's World

Aug. 10, 2023 — As butterflies flit among flowers, they don't all view blossoms the same way. In a phenomenon called sexually dimorphic vision, females of some butterfly species perceive ultraviolet color while ...

Tropical Trees Use Social Distancing to Maintain Biodiversity

Aug. 3, 2023 — Tropical forests can harbor hundreds of species of trees in one square mile. Researchers reveal key factors in the spatial distribution of adult ...

When Cheating Pays -- Survival Strategy of Insect Uncovered

July 31, 2023 — Researchers have revealed the unique 'cheating' strategy a New Zealand insect has developed to avoid being eaten -- mimicking a highly toxic ...

Discovery of Key Genetic Sequence Essential for Plant Reproduction

July 31, 2023 — Researchers have identified a genetic sequence that is essential for plant reproduction. As this region is found in all plant species, it is expected to contribute to future crossbreeding initiatives ...

From Down Under to Underground: Surprising Daddy Long-Legs Spiders Discovered in Australia and Réunion

July 28, 2023 — A new spider species, a blind daddy long-legs, has been discovered in boreholes in Australia's Pilbara region. In addition, a new-to-science daddy long-legs species was found on Réunion island, ...

Climate Change Threatens 771 Endangered Plant and Lichen Species

July 26, 2023 — All plants and lichens listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act are sensitive to climate change but there are few plans in place to address this threat directly, according to new ...

Forgotten Tropical Plants Rediscovered After 100-Plus Years With the Help of Community Science

July 25, 2023 — Deep in the tropical Andes, a genus called Nasa harbored elusive and forgotten plant species. Through the collaborative efforts of botanists and citizen scientists on iNaturalist, these plants have ...

Scientists Discover New Isopod Species in the Florida Keys

July 24, 2023 — Scientists have discovered a new species of marine cryptofauna in the Florida Keys. Cryptofauna are the tiny, hidden, organisms that make up the majority of biodiversity in the ocean. The tiny ...

Fueled by New Chemistry, Algorithm Mines Fungi for Useful Molecules

July 21, 2023 — A newly described type of chemistry in fungi is both surprisingly common and likely to involve highly reactive enzymes, two traits that make the genes involved useful signposts pointing to a ...

Gut Bacteria Linked to Fatty Deposits in Heart Arteries

July 12, 2023 — In a major study, researchers have discovered a link between the levels of certain bacteria living in the gut and coronary atherosclerotic plaques. Such atherosclerotic plaques, which are formed by ...

Deciphering Fish Species Interactions for Climate Change Insights

July 11, 2023 — A team has developed a technique to study how different fish species interact with each other in a coastal region, a breakthrough that helps explain the complex relationships among marine species and ...

Using AI to Save Species from Extinction Cascades

July 11, 2023 — Algorithms can predict what movies or songs you might like, but they can also predict which species a predator would most likely eat. Researchers have been using machine learning to identify species ...

Hedging Strategy for Coral Restoration Balances Diversity, Ecosystem Benefits

July 3, 2023 — An international team of researchers developed an innovative new strategy for choosing a set of key coral species that will best maintain ecosystem functions critical for reef health. Their hedging ...

Virus-Like Transposons Wage War on the Species Barrier

June 29, 2023 — Scientists have known for decades that genes can be transferred from one species to another, both in animals and plants. However, the mechanism of how such an unlikely event occurs remained unknown. ...

A New Species of Mosquitoes Found in Finland -- Official Count of Species Now at 44

June 29, 2023 — The mosquito species Culex modestus has been found in Finland for the first time. In Southern Europe it is known to spread West Nile virus, but it is highly unlikely for the disease to occur in ...

European Bird Communities Move to Cooler Areas, but Mountain Ranges and Coastlines 'Control the Traffic'

June 27, 2023 — A recent study shows that European bird communities have shifted northeastward in the past 30 years. These shifts are faced with obstacles such as mountain ranges and coastlines. Overall, bird ...

Some Black Truffles Grown in Eastern U.S. May Be Less Valuable Lookalike Species, Study Finds

June 26, 2023 — Black truffle growers are unintentionally growing less-expensive winter truffles, which may lead to mix-ups in the market as ...

Extinct Warbler's Genome Sequenced from Museum Specimens

June 23, 2023 — The Bachman's warbler, a songbird that was last seen in North America nearly 40 years ago, was a distinct species and not a hybrid of its two living sister species, according a new study in ...

Wednesday, August 16, 2023