Currently, only seven species of sea turtles exist. Among them are two in the genus Lepidochelys: the olive ridley and the Kemp's ridley. Despite being among the most common sea turtles in much of the Caribbean Sea and elsewhere, ...
Paleontology & Fossils
Sep 28, 2023
0
326
Between 6.4 and 5.8 million years ago, most of the land bridge that connects North and South America had already emerged and the channels connecting both Pacific and Atlantic oceans were shallow. Recent fossil discoveries ...
Paleontology & Fossils
Jul 13, 2023
0
46
Male peacocks shake elaborate trains—a dazzling mating display—and male peacock spiders also dance, showing off brightly-colored abdomens. Nature's most bizarre and conspicuous displays often evolved to attract mates. ...
Evolution
Feb 6, 2023
0
13
On any given day between 2016 and 2019, Heather Stewart could be found snorkeling in between mangroves in the Bocas del Toro archipelago along Panama's Caribbean coast. For years she visited these forests at the interface ...
Plants & Animals
Jun 15, 2022
0
251
Sleeping in a car may be a necessity for scientists conducting fieldwork. In 2020, a team of young researchers spent two nights sleeping in their car in the mountains of western Panama. The second time it was not intentional: ...
Ecology
Mar 25, 2022
0
600
The mysteries of underwater life have long been a source of inspiration for writers, filmmakers, and marine biologists. But scientists interested in understanding the biological diversity of the oceans are often limited by ...
Ecology
Mar 4, 2022
0
538
One afternoon, during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic in Panama, a bored teenager with a slingshot and a clay ball accidentally shot entry and exit holes in a Cecropia tree trunk. These are "ant-plant" trees, which ...
Plants & Animals
Jan 3, 2022
1
2194
New research, published in Scientific Reports by Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI) postdoctoral fellow Karina Chavarria and colleagues, shows that bacterial communities in streams adjacent to young secondary ...
Environment
Nov 5, 2021
2
905
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. However, despite being a highly migratory species, little is known about ...
Plants & Animals
Oct 28, 2021
0
63
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 Sultan Kösen, a Turkish farmer, almost five times taller at 2.52 meters (8 feet ...
Plants & Animals
Aug 14, 2021
0
556
