Researchers have identified a new plant species in western Thailand whose unusual appearance inspired the dramatic name Thismia daemona, or the “devil flower.” A nearly black flower with horn-like projections and flashes of reddish orange has been discovered beneath leaf litter in a mountain forest in western Thailand. The plant cannot photosynthesize, spends most of [...]

The Galápagos snapdragon, once close to disappearing, is showing encouraging signs of recovery through a long-term partnership between the Charles Darwin Foundation and the Galápagos National Park Directorate. For decades, the Galápagos snapdragon was known from little more than a specimen pressed into an herbarium collection. It had been gathered near Caleta Tagus in 1962, [...]

Scientists have discovered China’s first known freshwater cave snail, an eyeless species so rare that only three living adults have been found. Deep inside a mountain cave in southwestern China, scientists found an animal that appears built for a world where sunlight never reaches. The tiny freshwater snail has no eyes, almost no color, and [...]

Scientists and citizen volunteers discovered two new snail species in northwestern Montenegro, revealing the region’s hidden biodiversity and strengthening calls to protect Komarnica Canyon within the Durmitor World Heritage Site rather than build a hydropower plant. Two previously unknown snails have been added to Europe’s documented wildlife. Named Cochlostoma komarnica and Cochlostoma dobrido, the species [...]

A confirmed sighting of the critically endangered Cozumel dwarf fox has renewed calls for urgent research and conservation to prevent the disappearance of this unique island species. For more than two decades, the Cozumel dwarf fox existed almost as a biological ghost. Known primarily from ancient subfossil remains and a handful of unconfirmed reports, the [...]

Camera traps are revealing that the Amazon’s “ghost dog” is less rare than feared but still depends on protected forests. For decades, the short-eared dog (Atelocynus microtis) has ranked among the least understood carnivores in Latin America, and perhaps among the least understood canids anywhere. Its secretive behavior, sharp hearing, and powerful sense of smell [...]

A sesame-seed-sized sea slug discovered in Taiwan is revealing a hidden world of tiny ocean life. A newly identified species of sea slug, so small that it is barely larger than a sesame seed, has been discovered in the coastal waters of Keelung, Taiwan. The tiny marine animal, named Thecacera sesama, features a translucent body [...]