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Defector

Animals

Creaturefector

Science


<p>charismatic megafauna (they/them)</p>


Sabrina Imbler

a giant red-eyed tree frog sculpture at the rainforest cafe

Life's Rich Pageant

Who Lives At The Rainforest Cafe?

a small shelled cephalopod known as a paper nautilus or an argonaut drifting in the dark ocean on a little yellow piece of litter

The Argonaut Octopus Has Mastered The Free Ride

A gelatinous organism called a ctenophore with two rear ends

When Two Rear Ends Are Better Than One

one male yellow desert locust sitting on top of a brown female desert locust

Get Yourself A Mate Who Will Be Your Sex Umbrella

an adult Taiwanese tree frog inside a bamboo chute

Have You Considered Just Not Pooping?

a red fish called a sea robin, which has big fins and six stick-like "legs" that it uses to walk on the seafloor

This Fish Has A Leg Up On The Competition

Moo Deng, a two-month-old female pygmy hippo who has recently become a viral internet sensation, reacts to a zookeeper at Khao Kheow Open Zoo in Chonburi province on September 15, 2024. (Photo by Lillian SUWANRUMPHA / AFP) (Photo by LILLIAN SUWANRUMPHA/AFP via Getty Images)

Tiny Hippo Went Extinct Because It Was Not As Cute As Moo Deng, Probably

three photos of subadult male northern elephant seals, one named Brian, one named Dennis, and one named Carl

The Gang’s All Here!

a close-up of a green skink with its tongue out

Skink Outside The Box

two small brown hexapods called globular springtails jump. off a white surface and spin into the air, against a purple background.

Meet The Round Little Gymnasts In Your Backyard

two penguins stand in front of an inflatable rainbow arch in a penguin enclosure

Sphen The Gay Penguin Broke The Ice

A yellowish lizard called the Jamaican giant galliwasp curled up in a jar of preservative

How A 170-Year-Old Lizard Finally Came Home To Jamaica

a mother cape fur seal screaming in front of some pups

How To Eavesdrop On A Seal In A Crowd Of 90,000

<p>A. Frog is a freelance writer living in Japan.</p>


A. Frog

A female green and gold bell frog eating the leg and holding the leg of a male frog

I’ve Never Messed Up So Bad

Close up view of the face of a blue shark showing details of the eye, mouth and sensors in it's snout. This image was taken on a baited shark dive 50 kms offshore past Western Cape.

Frankly It Would Be Surprising If No Sharks Were On Cocaine

150-million-year-old fossil of Stegosaurus specimen is on display at Sotheby's in New York on July 10, 2024.

No One Person Should Be Able To Own A Dinosaur

a close-up of a male common noctule bat against a dark background. the wings week logo is in the leftmost corner

Wings Week

Bat Boy Summer Goals: Hang With The Bros, Chow Down, And Make A Lot Of Sperm

How I Learned To Moth And Embrace The Dark

a Japanese honeybee slapping an ant off a ledge with its fluttering wing

Watch As Honeybee SLAPS Ant In Heated Exchange

A crowd of ants, in which an ant in the middle is receiving an amputation from another ant

Make A ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ Spin-Off But This Time It’s Ants

A round stingray (Urolophus halleri) I photographed in shallow water at Bolsa Chica wetlands (Southern California). The clouds of sand around the eyes and and body were formed as the stingray flapped and positioned deeper in the sand, expelling water. You can see the spiracles behind the eyes.

Charlotte, The Stingray At The Heart Of Scandal, Has Died

A photo of a brown rat fluorescing white and blue under UV light

Does A Rat Need A Reason To Glow Ethereally?

Close up of Tiger leech hanging off the edge of a leaf in Danum Valley rain forest

A Slimy New Contender For The Olympic Diving Team?

a yellow and blue striped joro spider in a web