Ancient Time Capsule: Scientists Discover DNA in 6-Million-Year-Old Turtle Shell
There are seven existing species of sea turtles, with the genus Lepidochelys comprising two of them: the olive ridley and the Kemp’s ridley. Despite being…
Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute News
Ancestors of Whale Sharks in Panama May Come From Distant Waters Around the World
The world’s largest fish, the whale shark (Rhincodon typus), is a plankton-loving giant that can be found alone or in groups in all tropical oceans….
Is It Cheaper To Be Bigger? Evolutionary Lessons From the Extreme Weapons of Giraffe Weevil Warriors
Nepalese craftsman, Chandra Bahadur Dangi, holds the record as the world’s shortest adult, at 54.6 cm (1 ft 9 ½ inches). The tallest human is…
How the Giant Asteroid That Wiped Out the Dinosaurs Gave Rise to Modern Rainforests
About 66 million years ago, a huge asteroid crashed into what is now the Yucatan, plunging the Earth into darkness. The impact transformed tropical rainforests,…
Poop Is Full of Secrets: DNA in Fringe-Lipped Bat Poop Reveals Unexpected Eating Habits
Poop is full of secrets. For scientists, digging into feces provides insights into animal diets and is particularly useful for understanding nocturnal or rare species….
Dramatic Tale of Environmental Change Told by Ancient Fossil Trees on Peru’s Central Andean Plateau
On an expedition to the Central Andean Plateau, researchers from the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI) and colleagues were astounded to find a huge fossil…
Similar to Humans, Mother Bats Use “Baby Talk” to Communicate With Their Pups
When talking to babies, humans slow down their speech, raise their pitch and change the “color” of their voice. This “baby talk,” as people know…
Temperature Tipping Point for Tropical Forests Identified – Scientists Recommend Immediate Steps
All living things have tipping points: points of no return, beyond which they cannot thrive. A new report in Science shows that maximum daily temperatures…
Pac-Man-Like Protists Thrive on the Skin of the Earth
Pac-Man, the open-mouthed face of the most successful arcade game ever, is much more well-known than any of the one-celled organisms called protists, at least…
Is Evolution Predictable? Important Implications for the Way We Undertand Life on Earth
An international team of scientists working with Heliconius butterflies at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI) in Panama was faced with a mystery: How do…
New Deep-Water Coral Discovered in Part of Unexplored Marine Ecosystem
Pax, Latin for ‘peace’ made its way into the scientific name of a new coral discovered off Pacific Panama and described in the journal Bulletin…
Bats Hunt Their Prey Using Private and Social Information
In the arms race between predators and prey, each evolves more and more sophisticated ways of catching or escaping from the other. Rachel Page, staff…
New Blood-Red Species of Octocoral Discovered in Panama
A study in the journal Bulletin of Marine Science describes a new, blood-red species of octocoral found in Panama. The species in the genus Thesea…
Researchers Discover Ancient Corn in Peru
A recent discovery shows that people living along the coast of Peru were eating corn in several fashions, including popcorn and flour corn, before ceramic…
Tiny Spider Brains Overflow Into the Body and Legs
According to Smithsonian researchers, the brains of tiny spiders are so large that they fill their body cavities and even overflow into their legs. They…