Scott Travers

Scott Travers

Contributor|Science

I am an American evolutionary biologist, based at Rutgers University, where I specialize in biodiversity, evolution, and genomics. Drop me a note, here. Thanks for your readership and support.

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226 views18 hours ago

A Herpetologist Lists 2 Deadly Rattlesnakes You Might Find In Your Neighborhood This Spring

With spring comes warmth and greenery, but it also welcomes some of the deadliest rattlesnakes in the world — ready to make the most of the season.

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74 viewsApr 2, 2025

3 Extreme Facts About The ‘Inland Taipan’ — Toxicity, Mammal Specialization And Elusiveness

Australia’s inland taipan might be the most venomous snake in the world, but that is not the only thing about this snake that makes it so paralyzing.

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291 viewsApr 1, 2025

Meet The Clever Arctic ‘Wildcat’ That Preys On A Single Food Source. Hint: The Prey Is A Close Relative Of The Rabbit

Some species in the animal kingdom will eat just about anything. Others have much stricter diets. This arctic predator falls into the latter category, subsisting on a single, protein-rich food source.

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2,087 viewsMar 31, 2025

Rare Frog Thought To Be Extinct Rediscovered After A 130-Year-Long Search — A Biologist Explains

Alsodes vittatus had disappeared from scientific records and proven elusive for more than a century before its recent rediscovery.

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3,264 viewsMar 30, 2025

The ‘Great Blue Hole’ Mystery — How Jacques Cousteau’s 1971 Expedition Took It Mainstream

In the heart of the Caribbean, off the coast of Belize, lies a near-perfect underwater sinkhole. In 1971, Jacques Cousteau’s expedition mapped its depths, uncovering clues to its ancient origins.

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7,119 viewsMar 30, 2025

The ‘Boring Billion’ Was A Geological Power Move — And It Changed Life Forever

Scientists once called it an uneventful stretch of history. In reality, it was quietly shaping the future of life itself. Here’s why the world’s most “boring” billion years were also its most important.

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57,428 viewsMar 29, 2025

3 Nightmarish Facts About The ‘Black Mamba’ — Blistering Agility, Fast-Acting Venom And Relentless Strikes

A bite from a black mamba in the wilds of Africa is almost always a death sentence without swift medical intervention. Here are three reasons why.

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5,543 viewsMar 29, 2025

This Freshwater Fish Can Live Over 100 Years And Defies Aging — A Biologist Explains Why

With some populations aged in their 70s on average and new generations being added every few decades, the bigmouth buffalo has a take on life and aging unlike any other creature.

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275 viewsMar 28, 2025

This Tiny Marsupial Was Known Only From Ice Age Fossils — Until 1966, When It Was Found In A Ski Lodge

The mountain pygmy possum, a tiny nocturnal marsupial, was once known only from Ice Age fossils. Today, we know where its 2,000 remaining individuals are holding on.

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92,405 viewsMar 27, 2025

A Herpetologist Explores ‘Snake Island’ — Home To The World’s Largest Concentration Of Venomous Snakes

Few places in the world are more dangerous than Ilha da Queimada Grande — the Brazilian island where venomous vipers rule the land and only a few researchers are ever allowed.