Genetic Analysis Shows Crocodile Evolution Was Rebooted by Ice Age Glaciations
Researchers discover impacts of Ice Age sea level changes in the genomes of Caribbean and Pacific crocodiles in Panama. Crocodiles are resilient animals from a…
Paleontology
Rise of Marine Predators Transformed Ocean Life on Scale of Sudden Mass Extinctions
Evolutionary arms races between marine animals overhauled ocean ecosystems on scales similar to the mass extinctions triggered by global disasters, a new study shows. Scientists…
Newly Discovered Fossils of Fish From Multiple Life Stages May “Rewrite Textbooks”
Long-accepted theory of vertebrate origin upended by lamprey fossils. A new study out of the University of Chicago, the Canadian Museum of Nature and the…
Ancient DNA Reveals Arctic Was Once Lush and Green, Could Be Again
Imagine not a white, but a green Arctic, with woody shrubs as far north as the Canadian coast of the Arctic Ocean. This is what…
Discovery of a Bizarre, Winged “Eagle Shark” in the Cretaceous Seas
93 million years ago, bizarre, winged sharks swam in the waters of the Gulf of Mexico. This newly described fossil species, called Aquilolamna milarcae, has…
“Pompeii of Prehistoric Plants” Unlocks Evolutionary Secret – Spectacular Fossil Plants Preserved Within a Volcanic Ash Fall
Spectacular fossil plants preserved within a volcanic ash fall in China have shed light on an evolutionary race 300 million years ago, which was eventually…
World’s First: Dinosaur Discovered Sitting on Nest of Eggs With Fossilized Babies
The fossil in question is that of an oviraptorosaur, a group of bird-like theropod dinosaurs that thrived during the Cretaceous Period, the third and final…
Younger Tyrannosaurus Rex Were Incapable of Delivering the Ferocious Bone-Crunching Bites of Adults
By closely examining the jaw mechanics of juvenile and adult tyrannosaurids, some of the fiercest dinosaurs to inhabit Earth, scientists led by the University of…
Fossilized Fish Larvae Discovery Challenges Long-Accepted Theory of Vertebrate Origin
Long considered a relic of deep evolutionary history, new fossils indicate that modern lamprey larvae are actually a relatively recent innovation. A new study out…
Researchers Overturn Long-Standing Hypothesis: Mammal Ancestors Actually Moved in Their Own Unique Way
Researchers overturn the long-standing hypothesis that mammal ancestors moved like modern lizards and discover there is much more to the evolution of the mammal backbone….
260-Million-Year-Old Killing Machine Exposed
Previously thought of as heavy, slow and sluggish, the 260-million-year-old predator, Anteosaurus, was a ferocious hunter-killer. Judging by its massive, bone-crushing teeth, gigantic skull, and…
Paleontologists Solve 150-Year-Old Mystery – And Discover New Insect Group
SFU-led research team uncovers how fossil dragonfly relatives have been misclassified due to their striking similarity. For more than 150 years, scientists have been incorrectly…
First Humans in New England May Have Shared the Landscape With Woolly Mammoths
Researchers trace the age of a rib fragment of the Mount Holly mammoth. Woolly mammoths may have walked the landscape at the same time as…
Enormous Ancient Fish Discovered by Accident – Bizarre-Looking and “Absolutely Massive!”
A serendipitous discovery of a fossilized bony lung reveals a massive ancient fish. Fossilized remains of a fish that grew as big as a great…
Fuel for Earliest Life Forms: Organic Molecules Discovered in 3.5 Billion-Year-Old Rocks
A research team including the geobiologist Dr. Helge Missbach from the University of Cologne has detected organic molecules and gases trapped in 3.5 billion-year-old rocks….
Crystals Discovered in the Stomach of Fossil Bird Complicates the Mystery of Its Diet
It’s hard to know what prehistoric animals’ lives were like—even answering seemingly simple questions, like what they ate, can be a challenge. Sometimes, paleontologists get…
Do Teenage “Tyrants” – Carnivorous Dinosaur Offspring – Explain Lack of Dinosaur Diversity?
UNM researchers examine how carnivorous dinosaur offspring reduced species diversity. Paleo-ecologists from The University of New Mexico and at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln have demonstrated…
42,000-Year-Old Trees Enable Accurate Analysis of Earth’s Last Magnetic Field Reversal
Radiocarbon measurements on the remains of 42,000-year-old New Zealand kauri trees provide the basis for better calibration of geological archives of this period. The last…