Biodiversity

The yak is an imposing animal that lives in one of the most inhospitable regions on the planet: the Himalayas. How can it withstand the extreme cold? The post The yak is an imposing giant of the high mountains first appeared on EarthSky.

Learn about the extinct species of "dirt ant" that was found in 16-million-year-old Dominican amber, adding an important piece to an evolutionary puzzle.

Crocodylians are surviving members of a 230-million-year lineage called crocodylomorphs, a group that includes living crocodylians (i.e. crocodiles, alligators and gharials) and their many extinct relatives.

Places like Maui and Asheville, North Carolina, rebuilding after wildfires and hurricanes, are doing so with a mind to sustainable tourism

Welcome to the Critical Zone.

Scientists have found a way to sample DNA out of the air on a nationwide scale -- making it possible to one day track the health and well being of species around the globe.

Scientists have unveiled the oldest woolly mammoth specimen ever discovered in North America as part of a major DNA study spanning a million years of mammoth evolution.

Even the hardy eucalypts are finding their limits as we experience more frequent bushfires, heatwaves and droughts

As the impacts of climate change and other threats mount, conservationists are racing to preserve endangered plant species in botanical garden "metacollections" in the hope of eventually returning them to the wild. But what happens when there is no suitable habitat to return them to?

Currently a harsh, arid sandscape, it's hard to believe the Sahara was once studded with sparkling water bodies that nourished lush green savannas.

The number of dinosaurs may have been stable before the asteroid impact, despite evidence that species were getting less diverse

Tonka bean trees survive lightning strikes — and use the powerful electric shocks to kill their competitors.

Overall, "space miso" tastes just like regular miso—but slight differences in its microbial profile suggest that extraterrestrial conditions affect how microbes grow and flourish

At the viral chatter stage of an outbreak, pathogens are just starting to infect people in sporadic bursts. It's a sign that a pandemic may be on the horizon.

The sweeping levies announced Wednesday will reach unexpected corners of the world.

Tools were once thought to have arisen out of Africa and Europe, then spread eastward. New findings challenge that assumption.

The Saya de Malha Bank is one of the world's largest seagrass fields and the planet's most important carbon sinks. It faces incalculable risks that threaten the future of humanity.

Costa Rica's eco-resorts are rewriting the rules of luxury travel

A new species of dinosaur named Duonychus tsogtbaatari has been discovered by scientists, and unlike other therizinosaurs, this species has only two clawed fingers instead of three.

A calving iceberg exposed a region that never before had been seen by human eyes, revealing a vibrant, thriving ecosystem