Newly discovered spider has happy face on its back
- Animals, Biology, Conservation, Environment, Evolution, SCIENCE, Spiders, Wildlife
- May 19, 2026

Get the Popular Science daily newsletterđź’ˇ Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent six days a week. The happy-face spider (Theridion grallator) is famous for the particularly cheery looking patterns on top of its abdomen. Ecologists in Hawaii first described the tiny, vibrantly green arachnids in 1900, and have long assumed them to be unique to
READ MORE
Get the Popular Science daily newsletterđź’ˇ Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent six days a week. Humans have contended with crocodiles for a really long time. The recent discovery of an ancient crocodilian species sporting a strange snout indicates the reptiles may have even preyed on our earliest known hominin ancestor. The species detailed in
READ MORE
Get the Popular Science daily newsletterđź’ˇ Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent six days a week. Primates of all stripes really love their crystals. Archeologists have found the shiny rocks at dig sites dating back as long as 780,000 years ago. Although, we are still not sure if our ancestors used them as tools, weapons,
READ MORE
Get the Popular Science daily newsletter💡 Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent six days a week. There are quite a few animals considered “living fossils” in today’s world. Once thought extinct, the prehistoric coelacanth has continuously swam through Earth’s oceans since the time of the dinosaurs. Horseshoe crabs exist in fossil records dating back hundreds
READ MORE