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When the sexually reproducing grasshopper species Warramaba whitei (left) and Warramaba flavolineata (right) mated around 250,000 years ago, they made Warramaba virgo (center), which has been cloning itself ever since.
How a Grasshopper Gave Up Sex, Took Up Cloning
Meet the grasshopper that has reproduced asexually for a quarter of a million years—without acquiring undue numbers of harmful mutations.
How a Grasshopper Gave Up Sex, Took Up Cloning
How a Grasshopper Gave Up Sex, Took Up Cloning

Meet the grasshopper that has reproduced asexually for a quarter of a million years—without acquiring undue numbers of harmful mutations.

Meet the grasshopper that has reproduced asexually for a quarter of a million years—without acquiring undue numbers of harmful mutations.

new species

Image showing diatom fluorescence
Caught on Camera
The Scientist | Feb 14, 2022 | 1 min read
Selected images from the-scientist.com
Vector drawing of a tropical rainforest with diverse trees
More Than 9,000 Tree Species Await Scientific Description
Christie Wilcox, PhD | Feb 1, 2022 | 2 min read
A new study of tree biodiversity estimates that Earth boasts 14 percent more tree species than previous efforts have identified.
SLIDESHOW
Photo of a long-tongued fly
Researchers Identify Novel Long-Tongued Fly Species
Nick Dall | Feb 1, 2022 | 4 min read
The discovery that what was long believed to be one fly species is actually two deepens researchers’ understanding of plant-pollinator relationships in a unique habitat in southern Africa.
shrew
Researchers Identify 14 New Shrew Species 
Chloe Tenn | Jan 5, 2022 | 2 min read
The discovery, made on the island of Sulawesi in Indonesia, constitutes an exceptionally high number of new mammals to be described in a single paper.
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An artist's depiction of a new species of Homo, H. longi
“Dragon Man” May Replace Neanderthal as Our Closest Relative
Amanda Heidt | Jun 25, 2021 | 8 min read
A massive, well-preserved skull discovered in China in the 1930s belongs to a new species called Homo longi, researchers report, but experts remain skeptical about the evidence.
Newly named jellyfish Tima nigroannulata swimming in Japan’s Kamo Aquarium.
Aquarium Jellyfish Turns Out to Be Undescribed Species
Lisa Winter | Jun 18, 2021 | 2 min read
The newly characterized “elegant jellyfish,” roughly the size of a human hand, had been on display in two aquariums in Japan for more than a decade.
Previously Unknown Beaked Whale Species Spotted off Mexico
Max Kozlov | Dec 12, 2020 | 2 min read
A team of scientists searching for a rare species of whale instead found a species of whale they say has never been recorded.
Ten Bird Species Newly Identified on Indonesian Islands
Emily Makowski | Jan 10, 2020 | 1 min read
Flycatchers, warblers, and more were spotted in a biodiverse region known as Wallacea.
How Underwater Photography Propels Marine Biology
Richard Smith | Nov 1, 2019 | 3 min read
Marine photographers are helping scientists to document the diversity of coral reefs before the imperiled ecosystems disappear.
Proposed Deep-Sea Mining Zone Harbors Previously Unknown Species
Catherine Offord | Oct 17, 2019 | 5 min read
The discovery of ancient clades of brittle stars at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean adds to concerns that commercial exploitation of the area could destroy numerous taxa before they’ve even been identified.
Image of the Day: Single-Cell Surprises
Jef Akst | Nov 15, 2018 | 1 min read
Researchers identify a new species of Hemimastigophora protist, and suggest the group should be promoted from a phylum to a supra-kingdom.

Image of the Day: New Tiny Frog
Jef Akst | Oct 23, 2018 | 1 min read
A newly described amphibian has such a small range in southern Brazil that it’s already critically endangered.
Image of the Day: As Slippery As
Sukanya Charuchandra | Sep 25, 2018 | 1 min read
A new species of swamp eel has been discovered in India.
Image of the Day: Velvet Worm
Sukanya Charuchandra | Aug 14, 2018 | 1 min read
Researchers have recently identified a many-legged invertebrate from the Silurian period.
Image of the Day: Protector
Sukanya Charuchandra | Jun 29, 2018 | 1 min read
A newly described parasitic wasp is named after Daenerys Targaryen from the book series A Song of Ice and Fire and TV show Game of Thrones.
Image of the Day: Snacking on Snails
Sukanya Charuchandra | Jun 20, 2018 | 1 min read
Five newly identified species of snakes suck the mollusks right out of their shells.  
Image of the Day: Hirsute and How
Sukanya Charuchandra | Jun 11, 2018 | 1 min read
A newly described species of shrimp, Odontonia bagginsi, has been named after Bilbo Baggins. 
China’s Flowers, 1922-1949
Ashley Yeager | Jun 1, 2018 | 2 min read
Austrian-American botanist Joseph Rock collected thousands of plant samples in his 27 years in the Middle Kingdom, leaving after the Communist Party’s takeover.
Image of the Day: Bird-of-Paradise
The Scientist and The Scientist Staff | Apr 25, 2018 | 1 min read
A unique courtship dance clued researchers in to the fact that they had a new species on their hands.
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