All Stories by John Pickrell
- Animals
A year after Australia’s wildfires, extinction threatens hundreds of species
As experts piece together a fuller picture of the scale of damage to wildlife, more than 500 species may need to be listed as endangered.
- Life
A newfound feathered dinosaur sported fuzz and weird rods on its shoulders
A Brazilian dinosaur with stiffened pairs of ribbonlike feathers emerging from the shoulders is unlike any found before.
- Paleontology
Deep caves are a rich source of dinosaur prints for this paleontologist
Several deep caves in France are proving to be a surprising source of dinosaur tracks.
- Animals
Dancing peacock spiders turned an arachnophobe into an arachnologist
Just 22, Joseph Schubert has described 12 of 86 peacock spider species. One with a blue and yellow abdomen is named after Van Gogh’s Starry Night.
- Life
The Great Barrier Reef is suffering its most widespread bleaching ever recorded
Major bleaching events are recurring with increasing frequency on the Great Barrier Reef, hindering its recovery.
- Ecosystems
Will Australia’s forests bounce back after devastating fires?
Intense bushfires that have blazed down Australia’s eastern coast could have long-lasting effects on the continent’s unique plants and animals.
- Paleontology
A squid fossil offers a rare record of pterosaur feeding behavior
150 million years ago, a pterosaur attempted to snatch a squid from the ocean surface and lost a tooth in the process.
- Animals
Australian fires have incinerated the habitats of up to 100 threatened species
Hundreds of fires that are blazing across the continent’s southeast have created an unprecedented ecological disaster, scientists say.
- Life
Remarkable fossils capture mammals’ recovery after the dino-killing asteroid
A fossil-rich site in Colorado is revealing how mammals rebounded and flourished after an asteroid strike 66 million years ago.
- Paleontology
Fossils reveal saber-toothed cats may have pierced rivals’ skulls
Two Smilodon fossil skulls from Argentina have puncture holes likely left by the teeth of rival cats.
- Paleontology
This early sauropod went from walking on four legs to two as it grew
A new computer analysis shows how Mussaurus patagonicus' center of gravity changed as the dinosaur grew.
- Paleontology
Saber-toothed cats were fierce and family-oriented
New details shift the debate on whether Smilodon lived and hunted in packs, and answer questions about other behaviors and abilities.
