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225 results for "reptiles"
With fewer than 20 individuals discovered in a remote NSW park, the kungaka skink has been confirmed as a distinct species and Australia's rarest reptile. Scientists and traditional landowners are racing to protect the "hidden one" from extinction.
Observant Australians spotted sick snakes and lizards in time for scientists to identify three emerging fungal threats before they spread. Their quick action is giving researchers a fighting chance to protect the country's extraordinary reptile diversity.
Advanced scanning technology just cracked a puzzle that stumped paleontologists for generations: how ancient reptiles evolved their protective bone armor. The answer reveals evolution works in surprising and flexible ways.
A Sydney man received Australia's longest-ever wildlife trafficking sentence for smuggling native lizards in popcorn bags and cookie tins. The crackdown shows authorities are getting serious about protecting Australia's unique reptiles, 90% of which exist nowhere else on Earth.
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Scientists discovered a poodle-sized reptile that crawled on four legs as a baby but switched to walking upright on two legs as it matured 215 million years ago. The rare find in Arizona reveals new insights into how some creatures evolved to stand tall.
Scientists discovered a crocodile relative from 215 million years ago that started life on four legs, then switched to two as it grew up. The finding reveals that crocodile ancestors were far more diverse and innovative than we imagined.
Scientists just solved a mystery that's puzzled researchers for over a century: reptile armor didn't evolve just once, and Australian goannas pulled off evolution's ultimate comeback by regrowing their armor millions of years after losing it.
A fossilized skull discovered in Mexico 25 years ago has finally been identified as a brand new species of prehistoric marine reptile. Scientists named the 20-foot ocean predator Prognathodon cipactli after an Aztec mythological creature.
A young fossil hunter on a beach walk in England just helped scientists discover a marine reptile as big as a blue whale that ruled the oceans 202 million years ago. The finding proves that giants thrived in Earth's ancient seas far earlier than anyone knew.
A young girl scanning a beach during lockdown discovered fossils from a 202-million-year-old marine reptile as long as a blue whale. Ruby Reynolds is now a co-author on the scientific study naming the new species.
DNA from museum specimens reveals that Seychelles' vanished crocodiles swam over 3,000 kilometers across the Indian Ocean to reach the remote islands. The discovery solves a centuries-old puzzle about how these massive reptiles arrived and confirms their incredible ocean-crossing abilities.
Scientists in France have discovered a tiny jawbone that rewrites the history of an ancient lizard family whose only living relative is on the brink of extinction. The 83-million-year-old fossil pushes back the European presence of these rare reptiles by 30 million years.
Scientists discovered Vietnam's 12th gecko species in a threatened karst forest, proving these overlooked landscapes hold hidden biodiversity treasures. The find suggests many more species are waiting to be discovered in the region's unique limestone habitats.
Three new species of rock monitor lizards have been discovered hiding in plain sight in Far North Queensland's remote savanna. The vibrant reptiles reveal a previously unknown evolutionary lineage spanning millions of years.
A Massachusetts family has saved more than 12,000 exotic animals over three decades, working alongside law enforcement to rescue abandoned and illegally kept reptiles. Their new digital platform will help them reach even more communities in need.
Hong Kong customs officers intercepted 760 endangered reptiles hidden in a truck at the Shenzhen Bay checkpoint, preventing them from entering the illegal wildlife trade. The rescue included 106 turtles and 654 lizards protected under international endangered species laws.
A police officer in remote Western Australia captured a freshwater crocodile from a resident's front porch using a forked metal tool and his bare hands. Senior Sergeant Mark Howes relocated the snappy reptile back to the river after no wildlife experts were available to help.
When record cold temperatures paralyzed thousands of invasive iguanas across South Florida, residents and officials teamed up to tackle an environmental problem in the most unexpected way. In just two days, a coordinated effort removed over 5,000 of the destructive reptiles that have plagued the state for decades.
A 212-million-year-old reptile discovered in New Mexico looked almost exactly like a small dinosaur, but it was actually a crocodile relative that evolved the same body plan over 100 million years earlier. This "witch croc" shows how nature can arrive at the same brilliant solution twice.
A boy who kept snakes in homemade terrariums grew up to change how India sees reptiles. His work now saves thousands of lives every year.
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