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A healthy frog has been spotted with a tiny mushroom sprouting from the side of its body, the first time such a growth on live animal tissue has been observed. Naturally, it completely stunned scientists. While fungi invasions are fairly common in the small-animal world, this growth appeared to be very different to the zombie parasitic types that spell bad news for their hijacked hosts. The fungus-accessorizing Rao's Intermediate Golden-backed Frog (Hylarana inter-media) was discovered by scientists out on a nature walk at the foothills of the Kudremukh Range in India's Western Ghats mountains. Despite this species being on the...

We present to you, the rare pointy long boi Somali sharp-snouted worm lizard. Image courtesy of Mark Spicer ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Being elusive might seem exclusively the realm of spies and space stuff, but animals are pretty good at it too, and one that takes the trait to heart is the Somali sharp-snouted worm lizard. Having not been officially seen in over 90 years, the odd-looking creature has now made a reappearance. The Somali sharp-snouted worm lizard (Ancylocranium somalicum) was first reported back in 1931, when scientists discovered a subspecies of the reptile in what’s now the unrecognized state of Somaliland. It...

An aquarium and shark lab in Hendersonville is expecting a miracle birth any day -- with some exciting new additions. The Aquarium and Shark Lab by Team ECCO in downtown Hendersonville has an expectant stingray named Charlotte. But this pregnancy isn't just any normal pregnancy -- and because of that, staff thought the swelling they started to see in Charlotte in September might be cancer. Why? Because there was no possible way for her to have become pregnant -- or so they thought -- as there were no male sting rays in the tank. 'Miraculous birth' expected from stingray with...

One of the most famous ‘proofs’ of Nessie Credit: Marmaduke Arundel "Duke" Wetherell/Creative Commons The latest sighting of the famously illusive Loch Ness Monster was recorded on January 24, 2024, and the tourist who saw it claims he was most surprised by the colour. Jarod Strong was close to Urquhart Castle on the banks of the loch, near Inverness, Scotland when he says he spotted the mysterious monster. However, although being surprised at the sight of old Nessie, he reveals the thing that shocked him most was that it wasn’t green! Jarod said: “I was near the castle with my...

A walk on a northeastern Prince Edward Island beach has turned into a quest for answers for an Island man and his friends. Ron Howse spotted a bin full of bones when he was finishing up a walk along the beach in Souris in August 2023. The town had placed the bin there for people to throw debris into, and someone had tossed in the bones. These were not just any bones, though: Their darkening colour indicated that they were in the process of fossilizing, or turning into rock-hard minerals, and there were at least 50 of them. Howse was...

Japanese scientists took a video illustrating how plants communicate with each other. They created a device that vents chemicals from plants being damaged by insects directly into a healthy plant. In response, the video shows the living one producing calcium through its leaves, which indicates the plant senses danger. We don’t see plants prowling in the wild, hunting prey, and making sounds, so it’s easy to assume they don’t communicate with each other. However, this experiment proves that plants can convey messages to each other for survival. As a result, it becomes an eye-opener that expands our understanding of the...

The solitary swan lost its mate last yearA widowed swan has been crossing a road every day so it can stare at its own reflection in the windows of a Telford school following the death of its mate last year. The solitary swan was snapped waddling across Grange Avenue outside Telford Park School in Stirchley on Thursday [Jan 11] by construction worker Spencer Clayton. Commuters sat bemused and watched as the wildfowl stopped traffic and used the zebra crossing to make it safely to the other side. But locals in Stirchley have said that the swan has been making the...

In the vast depths of the ocean, scientists have made an amazing discovery in a seemingly unassuming creature: the sea squirt. Researchers from the Institute of Science and Technology Austria have uncovered how sea squirt oocytes (immature egg cells) utilize friction within their interior compartments to trigger developmental changes after conception. This revelation opens a new chapter in our understanding of the forces that shape life.

Lord Howe Island Stick Insect (Dryococelus australis) (Zoos Victoria) Only 20 to 30 'tree lobsters' remain in the wild. This single fragile population was rediscovered in 2001 after the insects were presumed extinct for 80 years. These wild Lord Howe Island stick insects (Dryococelus australis) currently cling to their precarious existence on a near-vertical volcanic outcrop called Ball's Pyramid. Now, San Diego Zoo is inviting visitors to see the extraordinary, extinction-defying Australian animals in person. Prone to catastrophic weather events and landslides, Ball's Pyramid is not exactly a safe place for a critically endangered species. Here there's only one species...

An artist's impression of Gigantopithecus blacki, the giant ape from southern China. Illustration: Garcia/Joannes-Boyau (Southern Cross University) An ancient mega ape's massive size — clocking in at 10 feet tall and around 550 pounds — turned into an evolutionary disadvantage as it went extinct more than 200,000 years ago, according to new study published in Nature on Wednesday. Why it matters: The new research helps scientists resolve a longstanding mystery surrounding the legendary Gigantopithecus blacki's disappearance from what's now China. What's happening: Gigantopithecus blacki, the largest known primate to roam Earth, went extinct between 295,000 and 215,000 years ago because...

The footprint, which measured around 9 inches in width, was found in a patch of mud in Ritchie County. There are few cryptozoological creatures that have generated as much debate and intrigue over the years as Bigfoot - a large hairy hominid said to roam the remote forests of North America. For many, Bigfoot is little more than a myth, while for others, its existence is undisputed - often due to a personal experience that has left little doubt in that person's mind that the creature is the real deal. One individual who would seem to fall firmly into the...

A blind golden mole that can swim through sand has been discovered in South Africa after being thought to be extinct for 87 years. A group of experts from the Endangered Wildlife Trust (EWT) and the University of Pretoria used DNA and a sniffer dog in a two-year search. They rediscovered the De Winton’s golden mole in the sand dunes of northwest South Africa. The rare De Winton’s golden mole hadn’t been seen since 1936. Before that, it was only found in a small area in Port Nolloth in the Northern Cape. These creatures, about the size of a mouse...

Locals in Oshawa, Ont., have been left searching for answers and marsupials after a kangaroo appeared to have been spotted in the city. A local pet search group shared a video on Friday morning, suggesting a Kangaroo had been seen on Winchester Road in Oshawa just before 8 a.m. The video posted by pet group, Team Chelsea, was one of several apparent sightings of the Australian animal. Another video submitted by a viewer to Global News shows what appears to be a kangaroo standing at the end of a driveway. The five-second video is shot from a passenger side window....

TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — A massive crocodile that has been given the nickname “Croczilla” was spotted in the Florida Everglades. The video was posted to social media, but it’s unclear what date the video of the encounter was taken. The croc was taking in the sunshine. The massive croc has appeared several times on Kymberly Clark’s Instagram account, which features wildlife and nature photography.

It may be the most bizarre claim about the Loch Ness monster yet – that she is an ‘algae-based creature’. That is the conclusion filmmakers have come to after using an innovative testing method following a sighting during the biggest hunt for Nessie in 50 years. On the August bank holiday, hundreds of volunteers descended on the loch to help track down the elusive beast once and for all. Among that number were Matty Wiles, 49 and Aga Balinska, 42. Before the official search kicked off, the pair went for an early morning swim at 6.30am, and saw two humps...

The endangered southern cassowary, a giant flightless bird native to Australia and New Guinea, was spotted by onlookers on Oct. 31 along the shores of Bingil Bay in the Australian state of Queensland, according to the local government. Beachgoers in Australia last month initially thought it was a turtle or a shark’s dorsal fin in the ocean. But upon closer inspection, they were stunned to see a cassowary – sometimes dubbed "the world’s most dangerous bird" – emerge from the ocean and shake itself off. The endangered southern cassowary, a giant flightless bird native to Australia and New Guinea, was...

Arkansas may be the Razorback state, but Miller County residents live under the hairy shadow of a different beast. For decades, locals in the small town of Fouke and its surrounding area have said that something inhuman stalks the deep, dark swamps in their region...the Fouke Monster. Reba Killian was a little girl when she says she first saw the creature on a late-night drive. "Seven and a half to eight feet tall. And we just started screaming, we were banging on the truck trying to get our parents to stop because we were kids, nobody was going to believe...

Scientists in South America have made a remarkable discovery just in time for the spooky season. They have identified a new species of wasp that possesses a rather macabre method of hunting and feeding. These vampiric vespids inject their larvae beneath the skin of their prey, causing a slow and agonizing demise from the inside out.

unters in Brazil claim to have killed an elusive Chupacabra, also known as the "Goat Sucker" that is reported to have been a problem for local farmers. Knewz.com has learned that the hunters filmed the deceased creature and shared the footage online. Video appears to show a creature with human-like hands, razor-sharp teeth and a body roughly the size of a large monkey, according to the Daily Star. Hunters explained that they encountered the Chupacabra while hunting wild boar on the outskirts of town.

A Cheyenne couple says they spotted Bigfoot while on a train ride in Colorado over the weekend. The video, of course, has gone viral and the media has gone bonkers over it. A Cheyenne couple might be among those to finally answer the age-old question of whether Bigfoot exits. Shannon Parker told Cowboy State Daily that she, her husband and another passenger aboard a train they were riding in Colorado on Sunday saw what very well could have been a specimen of the legendary creature. “From our perspective, it seemed pretty legit,” she said of the apparently huge, bipedal creature...