An octopus already looks like an animal designed by a very imaginative engineer: eight flexible arms, hundreds of suckers, remarkable camouflage, and a nervous system unlike our own. But some …
An octopus can rest against a pale patch of sand, move toward a reef, and suddenly appear mottled with browns, creams, and dark patches. This extraordinary octopus camouflage is not …
On a damp forest floor, a springtail moves through a landscape that, at its scale, is enormous. Moss stems rise around it. Fungal threads cross fragments of decomposing leaves, and …
Beneath Antarctic sea ice, seawater hovers close to its freezing point. Light filters through cracks in the ice, illuminating a world of sponges, crustaceans, and fishes whose bodies have been …
In damp leaf litter on a forest floor, a small arthropod begins to move. Nearby, a velvet worm advances on dozens of soft, stubby legs. It is not built for …
Across an Arctic winter landscape, snow can dominate almost everything the human eye sees. Hills, frozen ground, and wind-shaped drifts merge into a bright environment where objects may appear to …
In a Madagascar forest after dark, an aye-aye moves deliberately along a branch. Its large ears stand forward while its hands explore the wood. Then one remarkably thin finger begins …
For nearly two centuries, a pangolin specimen collected in Nepal sat in a natural-history collection carrying evidence that scientists could not fully read when it was collected. Modern analysis of …
Bats present biologists with a remarkable puzzle. Many species are tiny, maintain demanding metabolisms, encounter numerous pathogens, and yet can live far longer than similarly sized mammals. New research on …
Knowing when to pick figs can make the difference between fruit that is rich, soft and intensely sweet and one that tastes disappointingly bland. Unlike fruits that can continue changing …