The species may have been carried to the Sacramento–San Joaquin Delta in ballast water on ships

The pachyderm, named Kamala, was suffering from osteoarthritis when zoo staff chose to euthanize her

This brief chapter of art history is often overlooked. Now, an exhibition in New York City makes a strong argument for the integral role played by four artists in the city of Siena

The votive plaque was found amid the ruins of an ancient Roman fortress. Researchers think a temple dedicated to the mysterious deity may have stood nearby

The farthest spacecraft in the universe went momentarily rogue, but scientists breathed a sigh of relief when it reconnected at an unexpected radio frequency

Thousands of years ago, our ancestors used symbols to track the sale of textile and agricultural products. New research suggests that these markings informed the development of writing

Born October 30 to parents Gloria and Otto at the Edinburgh Zoo in Scotland, the hippo is already gaining popularity, following in the footsteps of viral sensation Moo Deng

When the war ended, Allied soldiers tracked down Nicolas de Largillierre's "Portrait de femme à mi-corps" with the help of a savvy French curator who had been working for the resistance

Antonia, a cloned black-footed ferret at the Smithsonian's National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute, has produced two healthy offspring that will help build genetic diversity in their recovering population

In a rare technique among mammals, the bats burn proteins from blood, rather than carbs or fat, to power their pursuits of prey, according to a new study

Steve Lazarides' personal collection of prints, original works, handwritten press releases and burner phones sold at auction for around $1.4 million

The 3,800-year-old site near the city of Luxor holds the remains of 11 individuals, who may have been members of the same family. Researchers think the tomb was used for several generations

The beloved reptile in Australia died last weekend and was thought to be up to 120 years old, though that age is only an estimate. Research on his bones might reveal a more exact number

The 4,500-year-old pyramids of Giza are the backdrop for "Forever Is Now," which features sculptures, installations and immersive artworks that explore the relationship between the past and present

The robbers only made away with two of the screen prints, which they swiped from a gallery in the Netherlands. They abandoned the other artworks on the street

The viral king penguin chick at Sea Life Melbourne Aquarium is beginning to lose his youthful down, a process that will give him his distinctive and waterproof adult plumage

Found in a cremation cemetery in Belgium, the skeleton includes bones dating to the Neolithic period and a Roman-era skull, according to a new study

While testing the "infinite monkey theorem," mathematicians found that the odds of a chimpanzee typing even a short phrase like "I chimp, therefore I am" before the death of the universe are 1 in 10 million billion billion

Once the first primate made a break, the 42 others followed suit in a simple case of monkey-see, monkey-do

It's not the first time savvy entrepreneurs have marketed canned air to tourists. Similar products have been sold at vacation destinations for decades

Make what's perfect more human

Lula the bear and Simba the lion have been evacuated to a wildlife shelter in Jordan

An investigation by David D. Kirkpatrick of the New York Times revealed the buyer's identity

The Whitney Museum has been gifted 400 works by the famed pop artist, while the Smithsonian Archives of American Art will receive half a million documents

The actress becomes the first wheelchair user ever to take home the coveted prize at the 73rd annual award show

On this day in 1912, a team found the remains of Robert Falcon Scott and the crew of the "Terra Nova" expedition. A would-be rescuer said he was forever haunted by the "horrible nightmare"

A new study has shattered historians' long-held assumptions about some of the people who died in Mount Vesuvius' eruption in 79 C.E.

During a release of captive-bred snails in September, researchers discovered wild-born individuals from the Partula tohiveana species—which had been considered extinct in the wild—marking a huge milestone in a global effort to save them

Sławomir and Szymon Milewski were searching for a Roman road when they stumbled upon the cache of coins, which is worth more than $120,000

Mary, a 54-year-old Asian elephant at the Berlin Zoo, is the “queen of showering,” but her companion Anchali seems to have figured out how to exploit that habit to play pranks

The 1951 artwork, "La Grande Dame (The Cat Woman)," stands over six feet tall and features paintings of "hybrid creatures and lush dreamscapes"

These shots from the Smithsonian Magazine Photo Contest show why it’s one of the most-visited nations on earth

The team traveled from New Zealand to Tonga along a humpback highway to collect environmental DNA and raise awareness of the plight of the marine mammals

Cenotes in the Yucatán Peninsula are time capsules preserving remnants of Maya culture and fossils of extinct megafauna

From Scotland to Japan, these multiday treks offer adventure and a truly immersive experience

From Setsubun in Japan to Fèt Gede in Haiti, these festivals relish in the macabre

These images from the Smithsonian Magazine Photo Contest capture quintessentially Cuban scenes

In the late 19th century, city officials turned the final resting place for 10,000 souls into what's now Greenwich Village’s James J. Walker Park

Pedestrians in Montreal, Grand Rapids and other locations can time-travel thanks to installations that map historical scenes directly onto the cityscapes

These amazing images from the Smithsonian Magazine Photo Contest show the Arctic animals at their fierce but adorable best

You asked, we answered

Get acquainted with the Big Apple’s major sights by browsing through these remarkable travel photos submitted to our photo contest

Getting the perfect shot requires great timing, the right equipment and nerves of steel

These grounded planes in the Congo have captured the imagination of these children

See images of the American flag captured by our readers.

Michelle Frankfurter tells the stories of these young migrants and also those of the thousands who jump aboard “the death train”

From swirling aurora borealis to bioluminescent beaches, these award-winning photographs capture rare views of our world at night

In the 1960s, a vaccine for chlamydia made patients more susceptible to chlamydia. Now scientists know why

It's curtains for the NASA mission's close relationship with the satellite

The tongues of bird-like dinosaurs and pterosaurs, however, may have been more mobile