Ancient Greek myths of dragons, krakens, and other legendary creatures were inspired by real animals and fossils alike.

Across the world, humans have told stories of creatures so strange and powerful they blur the line between myth and reality. Some may be echoes of ancient animals long extinct, while others reflect ...

A close-up view of the Malaysian giant turtle, or Orlitia borneensis, seen on Belitung Island. Photo from Hasan, Rahmawati, Guntoro, South, Valen, Tamam, Hardian, Andriyono, Nurjirana and Kamarudin ...

In an age of exhausting AI-generated videos and manipulated images purporting to showcase real marine life that have never been seen by human eyes, it's easy to forget that there are actually ...

Some of the wildest legends may actually be rooted in reality. Ancient people didn’t have science textbooks, just bones in the dirt and stories passed around the fire, and sometimes, those stories ...

Ancient sloths lived in trees, on mountains, in deserts, in boreal forests and on open savannas. Some grew as large as elephants. Illustration by Diego Barletta The largest sloth of all time was the ...

The summaries below were drafted with the help of AI tools and edited by journalists in our News division. All linked stories were reported, written and edited by McClatchy journalists. Unique ...

A creature not seen since the 1800s reappeared in the net of artisanal fishers in Chile, and was one of the most read species stories of 2024. Alfredo Garcés via Unsplash The summaries below were ...