Jake Buehler

Jake Buehler is a freelance science writer, covering natural history, wildlife conservation and Earth's splendid biodiversity, from salamanders to sequoias. He has a master's degree in zoology from the University of Hawaii at Manoa.

All Stories by Jake Buehler

  1. Fossils

    T. rex may have hidden its teeth behind lips

    Dinosaurs like Tyrannosaurus have long been portrayed with their big teeth bared. But new research suggests this wasn’t so.

  2. Animals

    This parasite makes wolves more likely to become leaders

    Gray wolves infected with Toxoplasma gondii make riskier decisions. This makes them more likely to become pack leaders or strike out on their own.

  3. Fossils

    Armored dinos may have used tail clubs to bash each other

    Broken spikes on a fossil dino’s sides are consistent with the armored beast having received a mighty blow from another ankylosaur’s tail club.

  4. Fossils

    Dinosaur ‘mummies’ may not be as rare as once thought

    Bite marks found on a fossilized dino show that skin can be preserved even when a carcass is not immediately smothered by sediment.

  5. Animals

    When bees are away, moths come out to pollinate

    Camera footage reveals that moths make roughly a third of the visits to red clover, working under the cover of night.

  6. Animals

    Butterfly ‘tails’ might be part of an escape tactic

    Slender, tail-like extensions on their wings may help some butterflies survive attacks by hungry predators.

  7. Animals

    Infected caterpillars become zombies that climb to their deaths

    By tampering with genes involved in vision, a virus can send caterpillars on a doomed quest for sunlight.

  8. Animals

    Mysterious kunga is the oldest known human-bred hybrid animal

    People bred these animals — part donkey, part wild ass — some 4,500 years ago, probably for use in fighting wars.

  9. Animals

    World’s biggest colony of nesting fish lives beneath Antarctic ice

    Totally unexpected, it’s far, far larger than any other known community of nesting fish — fully one-third larger than the area of Washington, D.C.

  10. Animals

    Some beetles walk along the underside of the water’s surface

    Their upside-down scurrying is a rare method of getting around.

  11. Plants

    These ferns may be first plants known to work together as ants do

    Staghorn ferns grow in massive colonies where individual plants contribute different jobs. This may make them “eusocial,” like ants or termites.

  12. Animals

    Urchin mobs can literally dis-arm a predator

    Urchins are important herbivores — but not strict vegetarians. When hungry enough, they may even rip apart their predators for lunch.