Rewriting History – The First Full-Length Genomes for Homosporous Ferns
A new study reveals ferns’ history of DNA hoarding and kleptomania. Ferns are infamous for having an enormous number of chromosomes and massive amounts of…
Florida Museum of Natural History News
North America’s Rarest Snake Found Dead
The snake was recently spotted for the first time in four years. After a four-year absence, the rarest snake in North America, the Tantilla oolitica…
New DNA Evidence Rewrites Ancient American History
Ancient DNA from an American domesticated horse lends credence to shipwreck folklore. An abandoned Caribbean colony discovered centuries later and a case of mistaken identity…
Student’s Invention Enables Researchers To Easily Track Elusive Insects
With some home security software and a little ingenuity, researchers have developed an inexpensive device that will allow them to study the behavior and activity…
DNA Hoarders: Genetic Duplication Linked to the Origin and Evolution of Pine Trees and Their Relatives
Plants are DNA hoarders. Adhering to the maxim of never throwing anything out that might be useful later, they often duplicate their entire genome and…
New Species of Bizarre, Extinct Lizard – So Strange It Was Misidentified as a Hummingbird-Sized Dinosaur
An international research team has described a new species of Oculudentavis, providing further evidence that the animal first identified as a hummingbird-sized dinosaur was actually…
Massive Predator: School Lesson Gone Wrong Leads to New, Bigger Megalodon Size Estimate
A more reliable way of estimating the size of megalodon shows the extinct shark may have been bigger than previously thought, measuring up to 65…
Taking a Bite Out of Oddball Tooth Evolution: Frogs Lost Teeth More Than 20 Times
Scientists have long known that frogs are oddballs when it comes to teeth. Some have tiny teeth on their upper jaws and the roof of…
Rise of Marine Predators Transformed Ocean Life on Scale of Sudden Mass Extinctions
Evolutionary arms races between marine animals overhauled ocean ecosystems on scales similar to the mass extinctions triggered by global disasters, a new study shows. Scientists…
A Fortunate Mistake Leads to Discovery of Bizarre Amphibian With Rapid-Fire Tongue
Fossils of bizarre, armored amphibians known as albanerpetontids provide the oldest evidence of a slingshot-style tongue, a new Science study shows. Despite having lizardlike claws,…
Coquí Fossil Takes Title of Oldest Caribbean Frog – “Pride of Puerto Rico”
The bright chirp of the coquí frog, the national symbol of Puerto Rico, has likely resounded through Caribbean forests for at least 29 million years….
Skulls Gone Wild: Secrets of How and Why Frogs Evolved Extreme Heads
Many frogs look like a water balloon with legs, but don’t be fooled. Beneath slick skin, some species sport spines, spikes, and other skeletal secrets….
Previously Dismissed As Myths, New Study Boosts Credibility of Columbus’ Cannibal Claims
Christopher Columbus’ accounts of the Caribbean include harrowing descriptions of fierce raiders who abducted women and cannibalized men – stories long dismissed as myths. But…
True Identity of Mystery Invader in Florida Waters Uncovered After 20 Years – “Sometimes Scientists Make Mistakes”
Sometimes scientists make mistakes. Case in point is the chanchita, a South American freshwater fish that has been swimming in Florida’s waters for at least…
1 Billion Years of Evolution Illuminated by Genetic Sequencing of 1,100 Plants
Plants are evolutionary champions, dominating Earth’s ecosystems for more than a billion years and making the planet habitable for countless other life forms, including us….
Amber Fossils Provide Earliest Direct Evidence of Frogs
About 99 million years ago, a tiny juvenile frog in present-day Myanmar was suddenly trapped in sap with a beetle, perhaps its intended next meal….
