Artist's impression of a washed-up Ichthyotitan severnensis carcass on the beach. Sergey Krasovskiy, CC BY-SA It may be difficult to imagine, but the county of Somerset in south-west England was once home to what may have been the largest marine reptiles that ever lived, my team’s new study reveals. A strange and enormous jawbone was discovered on the English coastline eight years ago, but my team was hesitant to identify it as a new species until more specimens came to light. Now, with the discovery of a second giant jawbone several years later, we have named a new species of ichthy ..read more

A tawny-crowned honeyeater in an artificial refuge Author provided Australia is home to some of the most spectacular and enigmatic wildlife on Earth. Much of it, however, is being eaten by two incredibly damaging invasive predators: the feral cat and the red fox. Each year in Australia, cats and foxes kill an estimated 697 million reptiles, 510 million birds, and 1.4 billion mammals, totalling a staggering 2.6 billion animals. Since the predators were introduced more than 150 years ago, they have contributed to the extinction of more than 25 species – and are pushing many more to the brink. Re ..read more

The Tridentinosaurus counterfeit Valentina Rossi, CC BY-NC-ND Fake fossils are among us, passing almost undetected under the eye of experts all over the world. This is a serious problem – counterfeited specimens can mislead palaeontologists into studying an ancient past that never existed. In a new study, my colleagues and I reveal a surprising truth about a fossil celebrated for decades as one of the best preserved fossils from the Alps. The Tridentinosaurus antiquus was a small lizard-like reptile that lived during the Permian period (299-252 million years ago), where the Alps are today. Dis ..read more

Rattana/Shutterstock All human beings age. It is part of our biology and limits our lifespan to slightly over 120 years. Not all animals experience ageing during their lives. Some animals’ bodies do not gradually degenerate as they get older the way our bodies do. But for humans once they reach about age 30 their chance of dying doubles roughly every eight years. So even if you are fortunate enough to become a centenarian, your chance of dying each year will be high. This high mortality reflects numerous other health problems, such as loss of muscle mass and general frailty, cognitive decline ..read more

The author handling a boomslang as part of her work with a conservation organisation. Chris Cooke, Author provided We are so fortunate to share the world with a huge diversity of creatures. For me, some of the most fascinating are reptiles and amphibians. Collectively called herpetofauna, reptiles and amphibians are ectotherms; they rely on external sources to regulate their body temperature. A person like me who works with these groups of animals is called a herpetologist. Among the reptiles and amphibians, my special interest is in snakes. I’ve always been interested in reptiles, from the da ..read more

The devastating tsunami that hit Japan in March 2011 set off a series of events which have long fascinated scientists like me. It was so powerful that it caused 5 million tonnes of debris to wash into the Pacific – 1.5 million tonnes remained afloat and started drifting with the currents. One year later, and half a world away, debris began washing ashore on the west coast of North America. More than 280 Japanese coastal species such as mussels, barnacles and even some species of fish, had hitched a ride on the debris and made an incredible journey across the ocean. These species were still ali ..read more

Shutterstock On January 4 this year, a three-metre saltwater crocodile heaved itself out of the water and up the beach. Nothing unusual about that – except this croc was on Legian Beach, one of Bali’s most popular spots. The emaciated reptile later died. Only four months later, a large crocodile killed a man who was spearfishing with friends in Lombok’s Awang Bay, about 100 kilometres east of Bali. Authorities caught it and transferred it to captivity. You might not associate crocodiles with Bali. But the saltwater crocodile once roamed most of Indonesia’s waters, and attacks are still c ..read more

Smuggled rare Mexican box turtles intercepted by U.S. officials at the Port of Memphis. USFWS Hatchling turtles are cute, small and inexpensive. Handled improperly, they also can make you sick. Turtles are well-known carriers of salmonella, a common bacterial disease that causes fever, stomach cramps and dehydration and can lead to severe illness, especially in young children and elderly people. In August 2023, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released an advisory about an 11-state outbreak of salmonella bacteria linked to pet turtles. “Don’t kiss or snuggle your turtle, and don ..read more

Three 3D views of _Bradysaurus baini_ specimen. Scale bar equals 50 cm. Credit: Fabio Manucci and Marco Romano Around 262 million years ago, during the middle Permian Period, a new family of reptiles emerged. Pareiasaurs – meaning “cheek lizards”, a reference to the flat flanges of bone that make up their cheeks – had skulls covered in bony growths and bumps, and bony plates on their bodies. They were among the first large terrestrial animals to evolve and did so rapidly, quickly becoming some of the most abundant plant-eating animals worldwide. At least 21 separate species evolved before all ..read more

An eastern box turtle crossing a rural Pennsylvania road. Julian Avery, CC BY-ND For anyone who enjoys nature, summer is a fascinating time to be outside. Animals are on the move: Turtles are nesting, baby birds are testing their wings, snakes are foraging and young mammals are emerging. In central Pennsylvania, where I live, last year’s hatchling painted turtles have overwintered in their nests and emerged looking like tiny helpless snacks for raccoons and ravens. I’ve already rescued a baby killdeer – a shorebird that nests in parking lots – that ran off the road and got stuck in a grate. An ..read more