2024

New research has revealed how birds changed from rigid raptors to flexible fowl.

This is the first mainland European bird declared extinct in 500 years.

A breakthrough fossil discovery is changing what we know about some of the largest mammals to ever walk the Earth.

Rising temperatures are pushing many species to the brink, alongside disease, pollution and unsustainable fishing.

A remarkable fossil could transform our understanding of how the intelligence of modern birds evolved.

Even the most blurry photo can be consequential.

Nations are meeting in Azerbaijan to discuss the future of our changing Earth.

The story of how animals first set foot out of the water and onto land just became more complex.

A mystery beginning in the South Atlantic, and ending in South Kensington, has finally been solved.

While some progress was made, crucial decisions on protecting nature will be left until next year after the meeting ran out of time.

Even the world’s most successful wild animal isn’t safe from rising temperatures.

Lomankus edgecombei has been preserved in fool's gold.

An evolutionary ‘air race’ may have been taking place in forests during the age of dinosaurs.

Algae and coral have lived together for over 380 million years.

The risk of wildfires is rising, and it’s only likely to get worse.

New research is now mapping where these vital regions are.

Tests on 11 dolphins in the USA revealed every one had tiny pieces of plastic in their breath.

Worms and snails are living in cavities under the bottom of the sea.

The WWF’s Living Planet Report comes with a stark warning that we are reaching a point of no return for nature. 

Arthropleura's head reveals that millipedes and centipedes are closely related.

Passing 1.5⁰C of warming is a step that cannot easily be undone.

Shane Gross awarded the Grand Title for Wildlife Photographer of the Year 60.

Climate change is putting the future of the biggest fish in the world at risk.

School grounds are one of the most under-recorded urban environments in the UK.

Every species extinction is bad, but the impacts are worse when we consider the ecosystem functions that are also lost.

A new species of moth has been discovered 7,000 kilometres from home.

Some seabirds might have a ‘sixth sense’ at the end of their beak, new research reveals.

Fossils discovered in northern Australia mark the beginning of a 25-million-year-old family.

Researchers have proposed changing the common name of the flesh-footed shearwater.

Each year, 52 million tonnes of plastic waste enters the environment.

Food security and biodiversity are threatened by the chemicals contaminating our soils.

The power of machine learning could be used to protect threatened fishes.

Celebrate the wonder of the natural world with some of the most extraordinary images of our planet.

Some of Earth’s most successful herbivores may have had hundreds of thousands of teeth in their lifetime.

More and more land will be shared between people and wildlife by 2070.

Humans are having a devastating effect on biodiversity, but the impacts might be worse than we thought.

Despite their fame, astonishingly little is known about these large, flightless birds.

The prime suspect in the extinction of the dinosaurs was no ordinary asteroid.

Northern Scotland is among the quarter of Europe that could be suitable for rewilding.

The jawbone of Ontocetus posti helps to reveal how the animals became specialised suction feeders.

The social skinks are helping scientists answer fundamental questions about evolution.

Tiny teeth are revealing the roots of the modern mammal lifestyle.

Ferganoceratodus edwardsi suggests that many ancient lungfish are more closely related than first thought.

Plant infections can now be detected in our crops before they’re even visible.

Genetically removing the prickles from crops could have huge benefits for agriculture.

We’ve been underestimating the importance of partially logged forests.

A three-dimensional preserved fossil larva has been found to contain traces of internal organs.

The North Sea’s oil and gas rigs impact more than the atmosphere.

A molar found in sand from south London could shed light on the last days of an ancient mammal.

Iron-rich enamel helps the world’s largest living lizard to keep its teeth sharp.

Scientists are studying microbial structures in extreme environments to learn more about early life.

Ancient DNA has been reconstructed in three dimensions for the first time ever using a 52,000-year-old mammoth.

Comptonatus chasei is the newest member of the Iguanodon family.

The past year has been more than 1.5⁰C hotter than it was over than a century ago.

The rib bone suggests that the Denisovans may have been living in eastern Asia as recently as 32,000 years ago.

Some of the best three-dimensionally preserved fossil trilobites have been revealed from Morocco.

Only 1,000 Bornean elephants are thought to be left in the wild.

The iconic marine molluscs might be alive today had Earth not been struck by a meteorite.

Artificial hotspots might be able to help frogs fight off chytridiomycosis.

A new species of 237-million-year-old reptile has been uncovered in Brazil. 

Some leeches aren’t just passive parasites but might actively hunt for food.

Scientists are trying to unravel the mysteries of an extinction event that occured in North America at the end of the Jurassic.

One of the world’s largest migrations is made by some of its smallest inhabitants.

The newly described Myloplus sauron highlights how little we know about South America’s biodiversity.

Amalophyllon miraculum reveals that the region’s biodiversity may not have suffered as badly as first feared.

By sequencing airborne eDNA, a new project hopes to find out more about the UK’s wildlife.

While the researchers describing Buronius manfredschmidi claim it is a new species, not all scientists are convinced.

A vast colony of breeding seabirds experienced “unprecedented” mortality.

After more than a century of searching, the head of one of the largest ever birds has been found.

Musankwa sanyatiensis is just the fourth dinosaur species ever found from Zimbabwe.

Dandelions, buttercups and brambles might help to answer some of the biggest questions in botany.

Seal diversity is just a snapshot of the species that used to exist. 

An ancient worm may have dragged itself along the sea floor, consuming whatever prey it could find.

New research into the Sun's magnetism could make solar storms easier to predict.

Some of the UK’s most recognisable birds are vanishing before our eyes.

The first animal communities could have impacted on how complex life evolved over 550 million years ago.

A new project to kickstart conservation for some of the world’s rarest fishes is making a splash.

New research suggests that Europe hasn’t had as warm a summer since the time of the Romans.

Protections for the world’s oceans need strengthening, a new report suggests.

It is the first time a wild animal has been seen applying a medicinal plant to an injury.

Making our gardens earthworm friendly could help urban spaces become more resilient.

Every year thousands of elephants are still killed for their ivory.

Scientists now know more about how the three-metre-long Oncorhynchus rastrosus might have looked.

A fossil jawbone, which may belong to the largest marine reptile ever discovered, has been found in Somerset.

The largest urban rewilding project in the UK is happening on an old golf course.

The lesser flamingo is in danger of losing its feeding and breeding grounds.

For the first time in 100 years, Atlantic salmon are once again spawning in the upper waters of the River Derwent. 

Since 2020, millions of birds have been struck down by avian influenza, but Oceania remains virus free.

It proposes an entirely new group of birds that connects the smallest flying birds to the largest.

Taking part in the UK’s Big Butterfly Count has been found to reduce anxiety by almost 10%.

The melting of the polar ice caps is affecting how fast our planet spins.

An international team of scientists have spent the last few weeks finding out what is living 4,000 metres beneath the surface.

Kermitops gratus highlights the number of specimens waiting to be described in the world’s museums.

The spectacled cormorant went extinct almost 200 years ago – but almost nothing is known about its life.

This rare find gives scientists an insight into how trees shaped life on land 390 million years ago.

We now know more about the threats affecting birds than ever before.

A select group of toothed whales may have doubled their lifespan to become better grandparents.

New research is cutting male mammals down to size.

Some of the world’s largest and most unusual fishes could be wiped out.

Royal Mail is releasing a trove of new palaeontological-themed stamps.

The orcas have learnt to catch and eat young great white sharks in less than two minutes.

As many as 100 new species of deep-sea animals may have been discovered living on undersea mountains.

Giving communities a greater say over mining could help to speed up the transition to net zero.

They might not have legs, but snakes are outpacing their relatives in the race to evolve.

The cacophony in the oceans is preventing whales from making themselves heard.

A new study of Tridentinosaurus suggests that preserved skin is just black paint.

Named in honour of two dedicated conservationists, the discovery of the spiders could help to protect at-risk forests on St Helena.

Satellite images have revealed a missing 64,000 square kilometres of coral cover, an area similar to the size of Ireland.

The first State of the World’s Migratory Species report found that countries aren’t doing enough to save threatened species.

A new study has allowed scientists to see how populations of fish differ through their DNA. 

Nima Sarikhani’s stunning picture of a sleeping polar bear was crowned 2023's People's Choice.

Discovered in Scotland, Ceoptera evansae has been named as a new species of pterosaur. 

Has the world already passed a critical level of global warming? A new paper claims so.

Seaweeds play a vital role in the modern world, but their existence is under threat.

The fishing of sandeels in the UK’s portion of the North Sea will be banned from April.

The first modern humans to live in northern Europe arrived more than 45,000 years ago.

Invasive ants are reducing tree cover on the savannah, causing lions to hunt buffalo over zebra.

Wells, streams and springs are in danger of going dry as we take water out of the ground faster than it can be replaced.

Scientists have successfully managed to perform IVF on a rhino for the first time.

The private collections of Sir Hans Sloane formed the basis of the British Museum, the Natural History Museum and the British Library.