Good News Notes: “Australian scientists discovered a new species of tree frog in a swampy rainforest in New Guinea. Details: Tree frogs are known for their green skin, but researchers encountered a species that had brown coloring, nicknaming it the “chocolate frog.” The team named the species “mira” — which translate to “surprised” in Latin — because they…
Tag: discovered
Extinct? Dead wrong! Galapagos turtle species rediscovered 115 years after ‘dying out’
Good News Notes: “A tortoise found in the Galapagos Islands in 2019 has been determined to belong to a species that scientists believed was extinct. DNA testing has confirmed that the female tortoise found on Fernandina Island is a member of the species Chelonoidis phantasticus. It had been “presumed extinct since 1906,” according to the Turtle…
Florida scuba divers discover 50-pound Ice Age mammoth bone in river
Good News Notes: “Two Florida scuba divers uncovered a mammoth bone possibly dating back to the Ice Age while diving in a local river, according to reports. Derek Demeter and Henry Sadler found the four-foot, 50-pound bone in the Peace River near Acadia last Sunday, calling it an “amazing” discovery. “Henry is my dive buddy,” Demeter, Seminole State Planetarium’s director, told FOX…
Great white-shark-sized ancient fish discovered by accident from fossilized lung
Good News Notes: “A 66 million-year-old fossilized lung from a previously unknown species of ancient fish, as large as a great white shark, has recently been uncovered in Morocco. Researchers believe the fish was a much larger member of the coelacanths, an Order of fish nicknamed the ‘living fossils that were thought to be extinct…
New chameleon species may be world’s smallest reptile
Good News Notes: “Scientists have discovered a tiny new species of chameleon in a patch of rainforest in northern Madagascar. This so-called nano-chameleon is about the size of a sunflower seed, fits on the tip of a finger, and may be the smallest reptile on Earth. Officially known as Brookesia nana, or B. nana for short, the new…
Ultra-rare whale washed up off Florida is a new species, scientists say
Good News Notes: “The animal formerly known as the Gulf of Mexico Bryde’s whale could need a new name. The endangered whale may — upon confirmation — be an entirely new species, according to research from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Scientists have long puzzled over the whales, with fewer than 100 estimated in existence, perhaps…
6,500 medieval coins and rare gold rings unearthed in Polish cornfield
Good News Notes: “A medieval hoard brimming with silver ingots, gold rings and thousands of silver coins was recently discovered in a Polish cornfield by an archaeologist, with the help of a priest and local firefighters. The nearly 900-year-old hoard, found in Słuszków, a village in west-central Poland, held a one-of-a-kind treasure — a gold…
Discovery of new praying mantis species from the time of the dinosaurs
Good News Notes: “A McGill-led research team has identified a new species of praying mantis thanks to imprints of its fossilized wings. It lived in Labrador, in the Canadian Subarctic around 100 million years ago, during the time of the dinosaurs, in the Late Cretaceous period. The researchers believe that the fossils of the new…
Researchers discover life in deep ocean sediments at or above water’s boiling point
Good News Notes: “An international research team that included three scientists from the University of Rhode Island’s Graduate School of Oceanography has discovered single-celled microorganisms in a location where they didn’t expect to find them. ‘Water boils on the (Earth’s) surface at 100 degrees Celsius, and we found organisms living in sediments at 120 degrees Celsius,’ said…
Sprawling 8-mile-long ‘canvas’ of ice age beasts discovered hidden in Amazon rainforest
Good News Notes: “An 8-mile-long ‘canvas’ filled with ice age drawings of mastodons, giant sloths and other extinct beasts has been discovered in the Amazon rainforest. The gorgeous art, drawn with ochre — a red pigment frequently used as paint in the ancient world — spans nearly 8 miles (13 kilometers) of rock on the hills above…