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A Giant Tortoise Species Unknown to Science Has Been Discovered in Galapagos

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A new species of giant tortoise has been discovered in the Galapagos after DNA testing found animals living on one island had not yet been recorded, Ecuador’s environment ministry said.   Researchers compared the genetic material of tortoises currently living on San Cristobal with bones and shells collected in 1906 from a cave in the … Read more

The Tongan Volcano Is a Reminder of Island Nations’ Vulnerabilities

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On January 15 the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai volcano erupted in the South Pacific kingdom of Tonga, generating ashfall and a tsunami that affected 84 percent of the country’s population. A few days later, amid heat and humidity, scores of people all over Tonga came out to clean up debris and ash, even sweeping airport runways … Read more

Tonga Eruption Was Equivalent to ‘100s of Hiroshima Bombs’, Says NASA

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The volcanic eruption in the South Pacific Kingdom of Tonga peaked on January 15 with more explosive force than 100 simultaneous Hiroshima bombs, NASA scientists reported on Monday 24 January.   Using a combination of satellite and surface-based surveys, researchers calculated the explosive power of the volcano based on the amount of rock that was removed during the blast from the … Read more

Antarctic ‘Megaberg’ Released 152 Billion Tons of Freshwater Just Before Melting

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Scientists have been keeping a close eye on the ‘megaberg’ designated as A68a since it split off from Antarctica back in July 2017 – and new research highlights just how much freshwater it’s released into the ocean during its late melting process.   Satellite monitoring systems indicate that for three months at the end of its … Read more

Remote North Atlantic Islands Were Inhabited Centuries Earlier Than Previously Thought

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The picturesque and remote Faroe Islands sit in the North Atlantic, between Norway and Iceland, around 200 miles (322 kilometers) northwest of Scotland. Today, almost 54,000 people live on the archipelago, but it seems the first inhabitants arrived a lot earlier than previously thought.   From the earliest archaeological structures on the Faroes, we know … Read more

Fourteen new species of shrew discovered on an Indonesian island

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By Chen Ly Crocidura caudipilosa, one of the newly discovered species of shrew Kevin Rowe Fourteen new species of shrew have been discovered during a decade-long survey of small mammals on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi. Shrews are a diverse group of small mammals that can be found almost anywhere in the world. Despite their … Read more

The Largest Discovery of New Mammals in 90 Years Has Just Been Revealed

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After a decade of documenting and observing Indonesian shrews on the island of Sulawesi, researchers have published their findings and detailed 14 new species – the biggest discovery of new mammals listed in a single paper since 1931.   Specifically, we’re talking about 14 new endemic species of the shrew genus Crocidura. Using genetic and … Read more

Archaeologists Found a Truly Bizarre Burial in an Isolated Medieval Graveyard

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A three-week archaeological dig in the English Channel took a bizarre, inexplicable turn, after researchers chanced upon a carefully cut grave hidden in the soil – the contents of which were definitely not human.   The discovery, made on the small island of Chapelle Dom Hue off the coast of Guernsey in September 2017, revealed … Read more