A Galápagos Island tortoise thought to be extinct since the 1800s may not be gone after all, researchers said.

The yellow-nosed reptile, discovered in the central Fiji Islands, is named after the Fijian word for "hello."

A giant shaking platform in a warehouse-size Japanese lab simulates earthquakes on full-size models of buildings, and it's a smashing success.

Excessive groundwater extraction in Iran is resulting in some of the fastest sinking land in the world, according to new satellite image analysis.

Ancient frozen soil did not easily melt during past periods of global warming, suggesting that modern permafrost may not thaw and release as much carbon as previously thought, a new study says.

In Kenya researchers are using satellite technology to track the rare green turtle's migratory patterns in an attempt to save the species.

A skinny saw shark, a swell shark that looks like it swallowed a Frisbee, and a river shark are among the oddities that have surfacing in a new study.

Identified by DNA evidence, the newly named fish increase Australia's known shark and ray species by a third.

Horses fight, Hurricane Ike stirs up a storm of memories, Baghdad turns red, painted soldiers celebrate, and more in the week's best news photos.

A recent survey has found scores of previously unknown marine animals in popular dive areas. "People have been swimming past these big, showy animals for years," said one marine scientist.

Light-emitting comb jellies, squat lobsters, and shrimp that can kill with sound are among hundreds of new species discovered along reefs off Australia.

Dramatic scenes of destruction along Texas' Bolivar Peninsula have many state officials reconsidering the risks of coastal development in low-lying beach towns.

Scientists discover a tiny "ant from Mars" in the Amazon, a one-horned rhino is recaptured, and more in our weekly update of animal photos.

Watch as some Hurricane Ike victims in Texas get their first glimpses of the storm damage in their communities.

NASA animations show dramatic Arctic ice melt again in 2008, which saw the second smallest Arctic sea ice cover on record, scientists announced this week.