August 2026– date –

The shrubs beside a footpath and the grass at the edge of a park are full of living things that we may see without truly noticing. A tiny insect or an easily overlooked plant may have a scientific name, a particular way of life, and a hi...

What is taxonomy, and why does it matter? Taxonomy is the science of naming, describing and classifying organisms. It helps scientists organise the vast diversity of life by comparing shared features and investigating evolutionary relati...

What is your country's national animal? And do you know how it earned that title — through an act of parliament, a scientific vote, or simply generations of shared affection? Japan offers a particularly interesting case. The Green Pheasa...

One Family. One Genus. One Species. Imagine a branch of the mammal family tree reduced to a single living twig. Most mammal families include many species, but a few are represented today by just one genus—and that genus by one living spe...

When you see the word “eco” in this blog’s name, eco-life-planet, what comes to mind? Perhaps you think of ecology, or of the familiar idea of being “eco-friendly”. Those meanings are certainly related, but they are not quite the whole s...