Ethan Freedman

To biologists, a "species" is the fundamental unit of categorization for life on Earth and a key tool for protecting living creatures.

A newly discovered species of sea spider was pulled up from more than 1,800 feet below the surface of Antarctica's Ross Sea.

"It's crazy to think that we don't have a complete map of our planet," one researcher involved in a project to map the entire seafloor by 2030 told Live Science.

Despite humans living with cats for thousands of years, scientists still don’t quite know how they make purring sounds. But new research appears to be edging us closer.

A snake in France had a lucky escape after attempting to eat a fish with a spiny dorsal fin that had gotten lodged into the reptile's esophagus.

Some of these aquatic reptiles of the dinosaur era had dozens of individual bones running down their long necks.

In camera trap footage captured in the Alaskan wilderness, the moose appears to try to fight off the bear, as the wolf goes after the calf.

The bees were preserved well enough for researchers to make out small features, like their legs and antennae.

When times get lean, male spiders may cheat more when wooing females by offering them worthless gifts of leftovers or dry leaves, rather than tasty food.

Although usually solitary animals, two juvenile great whites, nicknamed Simon and Jekyll, have been tracked traveling more than 4,000 miles together along the U.S. east coast.

More great white sharks are stranding on Canadian beaches than usual, which could be a sign that the population of this threatened species is rising.

The fossil was hidden in a museum drawer for decades before researchers reexamined it to uncover a story about prehistoric life — and death.

Researchers believe that one of the new species may be a relic from an ancient ecosystem in Australia.

Nile crocodiles seemed to respond more strongly to intense crying from human and ape infants, compared to calmer, quiet cries.

One marine mammal has been documented diving as deep as 9,816 feet — equivalent to the depth of over 30 Statues of Liberty stacked on top of one another.

Lion manes are generally there to impress and intimidate — but not all males have them, and in some circumstances, lionesses are also known to sprout fuzzy facial hair.

The 1992 storm destroyed a python breeding facility, potentially setting hundreds of pythons free. But it's likely the invasive species had gained a foothold in the Everglades long before the hurricane hit.

Bones from the two ancient predatory species were found in the La Brea tar pits in what is now West Hollywood and showed signs of bone disease not normally seen in wild animals.

The huge chunk of ambergris was found lodged inside the sperm whale — and scientists believe it ruptured its intestine, causing its death and subsequent beaching in La Palma.

Spiders in the Uloboridae family wrap their prey in copious amounts of silk and cover them in toxic fluids before starting their feast.

Scientist claims elephants' cancer-preventing genes may have evolved to protect their sperm from the scorching hot habitats they live in.

Mice had previously been seen attacking seabird chicks — but in April researchers found eight dead adults. And this new development is concerning conservationists.

The nine Type D orcas were found on a beach in Chile, with a necropsy of one female showing it was a healthy adult, with no signs of human involvement in its death.

The world's biggest shark species usually filter feeds, passively gathering krill and other plankton while swimming through the water. But new footage shows something entirely different.

"Fifty years from now, will there be Masai giraffes? I don't know. I think it's a 50/50 proposition," Douglas Cavener, who has published a new study on the risks facing the species, told Live Science.