Watch rare sea creatures appear off Thailand and four other animal encounters
Unique creatures, odd animals and new species are discovered across the planet. Some are found lurking in remote corners of the world, while others have been hiding right under our noses.
Learn more about some recent discoveries:
Venomous creature — armed with neurotoxin — found in Oman for first time. See it
In the rocky terrain of the Arabian peninsula, researchers have discovered the black desert cobra, Walterinnesia aegyptia, in Oman for the first time. This venomous snake, previously thought to be confined to Saudi Arabia, was found in the Dhofar region, raising questions about its dispersal routes. | Published April 18 | Read More |
Whale seen 'singing his heart out' in Caribbean, underwater footage shows
A male humpback whale was observed 'singing his heart out' off the coast of the Turks and Caicos Islands in the Caribbean Sea. This enchanting performance, captured by divers, is believed to be part of the whale's mating behavior. The whale, identified as TCI-847, was also seen engaging in a courtship ritual earlier that day. | Published April 22 | Read More |
Odd-colored critter found at high school in India turns out to be 'rare' sight
In eastern India, at Government Diakkawn High School, researchers spotted a leucistic hoary-bellied Himalayan squirrel, a rare sight due to its almost complete loss of pigmentation. This unique squirrel, with its bright white coloring, was observed in Mizoram, contributing to the understanding of color aberrations in small mammals. | Published April 22 | Read More |
Elusive 'praying' females seen for first time 150 years after species' discovery
In the tree canopies of French Guiana, citizen scientists have finally observed female Microphotina viridescens, a praying mantis species, for the first time since its discovery 150 years ago. These females were found in Trésor Regional Nature Reserve, offering new insights into their behavior and ecology. | Published April 24 | Read More |
Rarely seen sea creatures spotted swimming and foraging off Thailand, video shows
A pair of Bryde's whales were recently seen off the coast of Thailand in Mu Ko Chumphon National Park, showcasing the health of the marine ecosystem. These sightings, captured on video, highlight the presence of this vulnerable species in the Gulf of Thailand. The Thai government lists Bryde's whales as protected under the Marine Mammal Protection Act. | Published April 24 | Read More |
McClatchy News continues to follow the discovery and sightings of the most unusual and intriguing species. Check back for the latest stories.
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Miami Herald
4 hours ago
- Miami Herald
Creature found on ‘rainy night' in Panama may be oldest ever known. See ‘Nelson'
On a 'very rainy night' in western Panama, herpetologists searching a forest reserve saw something in the darkness. It was a small, brownish frog hopping across the road, and the reptile and amphibian researchers captured the animal for a closer look. It was a known species — Ctenophryne aterrima — but this find marked the first time the frog was spotted in Panama, previously making appearances in Costa Rica and Colombia. The day was July 24, 1987, and when the frog was entered into the scientific record, the researchers couldn't have known that it would go on to be one of the longest living tropical frogs ever recorded. 'It is generally understood that (frogs and toads) inhabiting cool or temperate regions, whether latitudinally or altitudinally, tend to reach higher ages than those living in warm and hot areas,' Karl-Heinz Jungfer, one of the herpetologists who collected the frog, wrote in an Aug. 15 correspondence published in the peer-reviewed journal Salamandra. The male frog, measuring about 2.2 inches long from snout to legs, would have been preserved, but due to time constraints, it was instead taken to Germany alive and placed in a moist terrarium, according to the paper. Researchers fed it crickets and fruit flies. Before long, it was part of the lab. The frog was called Nelson, the 'only frog ever to have a nickname at our lab,' Jungfer told McClatchy News in an email. Nelson was already an adult when he was collected, but in the next four years of his life, he grew a few more millimeters before stopping at 2.3 inches long, according to the paper. The researchers learned more about Nelson over the next few decades. 'No advertisement call was ever heard, but this is no surprise, for no 'rainy season' was ever induced by artificial 'rain' that could have simulated a breeding season,' Jungfer wrote. Nelson gladly took food, typically gobbling it up with his tongue instead of holding it in his mouth, according to the paper. He had favorites, preferring light-colored prey to darker colors. Seven years after Nelson was first collected, he was put in an outdoor terrarium, Jungfer wrote. Then, the temperatures outside reached lower than 50 degrees Fahrenheit, and he became 'so stiff and hardly able to move,' which caused him to be 'promptly' moved back inside. Ten years after Nelson joined the lab, the researchers found a lesion on his skin that they successfully treated with antibiotics, according to the paper. In July 2016, Nelson had been living in captivity for 29 years, Jungfer wrote, and researchers noticed that his right eye was missing. The other eye, Nelson's left, became severely swollen in 2024, rendering him blind as far as the researchers could tell. 'For feeding, (Nelson) had to be placed in a small plastic box, where it caught prey when it made contact with the frog's fingers,' Jungfer wrote. 'Nonetheless, it was able to locate its usual hiding places after feeding.' In June 2024, Nelson was found dead in his terrarium, making him 38 years old at the time of death, according to the paper. He spent a total of 36 years and 11 months in captivity, researchers said. Nelson is believed to be 'among the oldest (frogs and toads) known, and among tropical species, by far the most long-lived one,' according to the paper. 'In contrast to frogs in the wild, numerous individual frogs living under captive conditions are more long-lived than those recorded in the wild,' Jungfer wrote. 'This increased longevity can be explained by the absence of predation, stable environmental conditions and food supply, as long as the husbandry requirements are adequately met.' Previous reports say a Bufo bufo frog once lived to be 36 years old, an Anaxyrus americanus lived to 30 years old and a Bombina variegata was 29 years old at the time of its death, according to the paper. But 38-year-old Nelson, according to academic reports, has now taken the record. Nelson was found in Provincia de Chiriquí along Panama's southwestern coast.
Miami Herald
5 hours ago
- Miami Herald
Melting ice reveals fragments of ‘extraordinary' Viking cargo net in Norway
As the late summer sun beat down on a national park in Norway, archaeologists trekked across the glacial landscape, scouring the surfaces exposed by melting ice. Something tucked between the rocks caught their attention. They carefully pulled the items out — and realized they'd found part of a Viking cargo net. Two teams of archaeologists headed into Jotunheimen National Park in mid-August as part of an annual project to systematically survey the area's melting glaciers for ancient artifacts, Secrets of the Ice wrote in an Aug. 18 Facebook post. 'We last worked here back in 2012, but heavy snow kept our finds to a minimum then,' the group said. 'Still, we know the area contains exciting finds… This year, with lighter snow, we are hopeful for more discoveries!' The expedition's first stop was a site where, in 2011, 'our colleague Jostein Bergstøl made an unbelievable discovery: the only known Viking Age packhorse net,' or cargo net, the group said in another Facebook post. They hoped more sections of the net had melted out of the ice. Sure enough, archaeologists found several leather fragments tucked amid the rocks and identified them as 'more pieces of the world's only Viking Age packhorse net.' A photo shows the leather loops of the net. Some fragments have knots. All of them look worn but relatively well-preserved. Generally, artifacts made from leather, wood or fabric are rare finds for archaeologists because these organic materials disintegrate quickly in most environments. Glaciers, waterways and mud are exceptions to the norm. In these low-oxygen environments, delicate artifacts are much more likely to be preserved and only begin to deteriorate after being reexposed to the air. 'The Viking Age packhorse net is a unique find — nothing like it has ever been recovered elsewhere in the Viking world,' Lars Holger Pilø, the project's co-director, told McClatchy News via email. 'Similar nets were used in recent times here in Norway, so we know its purpose: It would have contained goods and been strapped on to a packhorse for transport,' Secrets of the Ice wrote in a 2023 Facebook post. Photos show the roughly 1,000-year-old cargo net found in 2011. 'The newly discovered net fragments were found at the same site and are very similar to the pieces recovered earlier,' Pilø said. 'They almost certainly belong to the same Viking Age packhorse net.' 'Since we knew the original discovery was incomplete, every additional fragment we can rescue brings us closer to fully reconstructing this extraordinary artefact.' Pilø said. 'We could not be more excited – history is literally unfolding before our eyes,' Secrets of the Ice said. Archaeological surveys at Jotunheimen National Park are ongoing. The park is in southern Norway and a roughly 160-mile drive northwest from Oslo.
Miami Herald
7 days ago
- Miami Herald
Whales and dolphins have an ‘intriguing' relationship, study finds. What to know
The relationship between whales and dolphins has long been shrouded in mystery. But, new research reveals that — despite their vast difference in size — these marine mammals often enjoy playful interactions, much like a Great Dane romping with a Chihuahua. Scientists at Griffith University in Australia came to this conclusion by analyzing dozens of interspecies encounters from around the world, according to a study published on Aug. 12 in the peer-reviewed journal Discover Animals. 'It is clear such interactions happen much more often than we previously thought,' Olaf Meynecke, one of the study authors, told McClatchy News. 'These interactions cannot be underestimated and may well play a part in the well-being of whales and dolphins.' The study reviewed 199 separate exchanges between 19 different species of dolphins and baleen whales captured in videos and photos. These interchanges took place off the coast of 17 countries, including the U.S., the U.K. and Australia. They were then categorized by behavior, including jumps, belly rolls, tail slaps, bow riding and even petting. Humpback whales were involved in the majority of the encounters, participating in 68% of them, while bottlenose dolphins took part in 51%. In both types of marine mammals, adults accounted for most of the activity. 'There were a number of surprising interactions,' Meynecke said. The most frequent interactions involved dolphins positioning themselves near whales' heads — a behavior similar to bow riding — which could be understood as an efficient and playful mode of movement for dolphins. Each whale species also tended to interact with dolphins in their own unique way. For example, humpbacks gestured with their pectoral fins toward dolphins on 172 occasions. They also showed off their undersides 141 times. Meanwhile, grey whales rolled in the presence of dolphins 56 times, and southern right whales slapped their pectoral fins on five occasions. Researchers also obtained two videos recorded from cameras situated on the animals, which revealed some noteworthy encounters. In both instances, dolphins could be seen accompanying whales to the bottom of the ocean, paying close attention to each other and maintaining eye contact. Meynecke said it 'certainly was very interesting to see that dolphins continue their behaviour below the surface, following the whales all the way to the bottom in close proximity with the head turned towards the whales head.' In total, 25% of the interactions were described as positive and mutual exchanges. 'There have been enough events documented that showed positive interaction on both sides, that we can say there is a something both species get out of this,' Meynecke said. Play behavior could allow for sensory stimulation, help the animals develop relationships and contribute to their well-being. Creativity — a characteristic of intelligent species — could also be driving this behavior. Still, though, not all of the interactions were positive. 'Whales (clearly) show avoidance behaviour such as tail slaps or moving away from the dolphins if they don't want the interaction,' Meynecke said. Further study is required to better understand the complex interspecies dynamics between whales and dolphins, researchers concluded. 'Having the opportunity to document these observations and observe some of the behavioural patterns like bow riding by dolphins and close touches was intriguing,' Olivia Crawley, the other study author, said in a university news release. 'I hope that this study can serve as a foundation for future studies.'
