The Vegetable Lamb of Tartary, also called Borametz and Polypodium Borametz, or “Chinese polypody,” is a plant shaped like a lamb, covered in golden fluff. It stands on four or five roots; the plants around it die, yet it remains lush; when cut, it releases a bloody juice (…) In other monsters, species or animal […]
Animals
Posted inScience
Which came first the chicken or the egg? Scientists have found the answer in a species discovered in 2017
The classic question, “What came first, the egg or the chicken?” has intrigued philosophers and scientists for centuries. A recent discovery, however, may finally provide some clarity on this ancient dilemma. In 2017, researchers identified a unicellular species known as Chromosphaera perkinsii, found in oceanic sediments near Hawaii, which could hold the answer. Chromosphaera perkinsii […]
Posted inScience
Fossil of an Extinct Animal That Lacked Eyes Found Petrified in Pyrite in an Exceptionally Well-Preserved State
Paleontologists have made a fascinating discovery in New York State: fossil remains of an ancient species of arthropod that existed approximately 450 million years ago, whose preservation is exceptional thanks to a unique fossilization process that involved the infiltration of pyrite, commonly known as “fool’s gold”. This new species, named Lomankus edgecombei, belongs to an […]
Posted inArchaeology, Science
Search for the Skull and Extraction of the Complete Skeleton of the Heaviest Animal to Have Ever Existed on Earth Begins in Peru
The vast Ica desert in Peru, a remote and difficult-to-access region, captured the scientific world’s attention in 2023 thanks to a colossal discovery: the first remains of Perucetus colossus, an ancient cetacean that lived approximately 40 million years ago and has been classified as the heaviest animal ever to have existed on Earth. Now, a […]
Posted inScience
“Brittle Stars” Help Identify a New Climatic Period in Earth’s History, Lasting from 50 to 450 AD
A group of researchers from the Department of Earth Sciences at the University of Pisa has identified a new climatic period on our planet, named the Ophiuroid Optimum, which spanned from 50 to 450 A.D. The study, published in the journal Scientific Reports, was conducted in collaboration with Ca’ Foscari University of Venice and the […]
Posted inScience
Queen ants eat their infected offspring to contain the spread of disease
In a surprising twist from the natural world, queen ants are taking extreme measures to protect their colonies from disease by eating their own infected offspring. According to a new study led by Oxford University and published in Current Biology, instead of caring for sick larvae, queen ants devour their infected young at the first […]
Posted inModern Era
Bothie, the Only and Last Dog to Have Set Foot on Both Poles of the Earth
The 1983 Pet of the Year award in Great Britain went to a dog that entered the Guinness Book of World Records, whose popularity led to the commercialization of stuffed animals, posters, and toys featuring his image, and who became the subject of a story about the great adventure that earned him all those honors: […]
Posted inAntiquity, Middle Ages
The Tribute of the Three Cows, the oldest treaty still in force in Europe, may have started as a sanction for supporting the invasion of the Cimbri in 125 BC
For six and a half centuries, a peculiar ceremony has been held every July 13 at the Ernaz pass and the San Martín stone, a mountain pass in the Pyrenees that serves as a border point between the Foral Community of Navarra (Spain) and the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department (France). The event consists of the delivery of […]
Posted inScience
Terror Birds, the Superpredators of Prehistoric South America
In the vast plains of ancient South America, millions of years ago, a menacing shadow loomed over the grasslands. It wasn’t a dinosaur or a mammalian predator, but a colossal bird that dominated the food chain. These creatures, scientifically known as Phorusrhacidae (terror birds), were one of the most formidable groups of predators to have […]
Posted inScience
A Tiny Creature Discovered in a California Lake is the Closest Living Relative of All Animals
Mono Lake, nestled in California’s Eastern Sierra Nevada, is famous for its towering tufa formations, brine shrimp, and dense clouds of alkali flies that have uniquely adapted to its salty waters, which also contain traces of arsenic and cyanide. Researchers from the University of California, Berkeley, have now discovered another unusual inhabitant of the lake: […]
