Meet the 125-million-year-old pollinator “Jeholopsyche liaoningensis”
Jeholopsyche liaoningensis is a new genus and species of flying insect from northeastern China, recently revealed in two new fossil specimens.
Science Spotlight
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Extremely rare Guam rails hatch at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo
A baby boom is underway at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo. Two Guam rail (Gallirallus owstoni) chicks hatched March 3 and 4; they join six others in the Zoo’s collection—three of which live at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute in Front Royal, Va.
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Natural History Museum curator Nick Pyenson explains how scientists know what dinosaurs and other extinct animals ate
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New invasive species database allows public to ID marine invaders with a home computer
The Smithsonian Environmental Research Center has created NEMESIS–National Estuarine and Marine Exotic Species Information System–an online public database that provides key information about the non-native marine species throughout the United States.
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Learn about the ash that comes from volcanoes with Dr. Liz Cottrell, a geologist from the National Museum of Natural History
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X-Class flares released by the Sun, March 6, captured by Atmospheric Imaging Assembly
The Sun’s Active Region 1429 has been shooting off flares and coronal mass ejections since it rotated into Earth’s view on March 2, 2012. Two X-class flares have been released overnight, an X1.3 and an X5.4.
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New species of deep-sea catshark described from the Galapagos
Scientists conducting deep-sea research in the Galapagos have described a new species of catshark. The new shark is approximately a foot long and has a chocolate-brown coloration with pale, irregularly distributed spots on its body. The spotted patterns appear to be unique to each individual.
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New fossil whale species raises mystery regarding why narwhals and belugas live only in cold water
A newly described species of toothed whale that lived some 3-4 million years ago during the Pliocene, is causing scientists to reconsider what is known about its living cold-water relatives: narwhals and belugas.
