Our Spectacular Planet

Scientists have discovered seven new glow-in-the-dark mushroom species, increasing the number of known luminescent fungi species from 64 to 71. The discoveries also shed light on the evolution of luminescence, adding to the number of known lineages in the fungi 'family tree' where luminescence has been reported. San Francisco State University Biology Professor Dennis Desjardin and colleagues discovered the fungi in Belize, Brazil, Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Japan, Malaysia and Puerto Rico. The ...

Buried a thousand feet (300 meters) below Naica mountain in the Chihuahuan Desert, the cave was discovered by two miners excavating a new tunnel for the Industrias Peñoles company in 2000. The cave contains some of the largest natural crystals ever found: translucent gypsum beams measuring up to 36 feet (11 meters) long and weighing up to 55 tons. "It's a natural marvel," said García-Ruiz, of the University of Granada in Spain. To ...

Surinam toads (Pipa pipa) are well-known for their amazing reproductive habits. The female releases 3-10 eggs, which get embedded in the skin on her back by the male's movements. After 24 hours the skin starts to swell around the eggs, which become embedded in little pouches after about 10 days,  eventually taking on the appearance of an irregular honeycomb. The larvae develop through the tadpole stage inside these pockets, eventually emerging from the mother's ...