Climate Change Propelled Dinosaurs’ Rise to Dominance
Climate change, rather than competition, played a key role in the ascendancy of dinosaurs through the Late Triassic and Early Jurassic periods. According to new…
Paleontology News
“Exceptionally” Wide and Flat-Headed – New Species of Dinosaur Discovered
An international team of scientists have discovered a previously unknown species of dinosaur in Romania and named it after its unusually flat head — and…
Landmark Study: Dinosaurs Were in Their Prime When Asteroid Hit Earth
Landmark study reveals that dinosaurs dominated the world right up until a deadly asteroid hit Earth, leading to their mass extinction, around 66 million years…
Scientists Warn of Insects Damaging Plants at Unprecedented Levels
Insects today are causing unprecedented levels of damage to plants, even as insect numbers decline, according to new research led by scientists from the University…
Glowing Fossils: Fluorescent Color Patterns Found in 240 Million-Year-Old Shells
A geobiologist from Göttingen University has found a diversity of patterns in 240 million-year-old seashells. UV light allows you to view intricate structures in fossils…
Complex Behavior of Armored Dinosaurs: Ankylosaurs Battled Each Other As Much as They Fought Off T. rex
Zuul shows that ankylosaurs may have also used their tail clubs for social dominance. Scientists have found new evidence for how armored dinosaurs used their…
Prehistoric Superpredator: Weird Whatcheeria Was the “T. rex of Its Time”
Ancient Iowan superpredator got big by front-loading its growth in its youth. Fossils found only at the Field Museum reveal the growth history of Whatcheeria….
Science Textbooks Wrong? 525-Million-Year-Old Fossil Defies Common Explanation for Brain Evolution
According to a new study, fossils of a tiny sea creature with a delicately preserved nervous system solve a century-old debate over how the brain…
Earth Might Be Experiencing 7th Mass Extinction, Not 6th – “A True Decrease in the Abundance of Organisms”
550-million-year-old creatures’ message to the present. Earth is currently in the midst of a mass extinction, losing thousands of species each year. New research suggests…
New Discovery Reveals That Giant Four-Legged Kangaroo Existed As Early as 20,000 Years Ago
The reign of Papua New Guinea’s megafauna continued long after humans arrived. A new study suggests that a giant kangaroo that formerly traversed the Papua…
500 Million Year-Old Fossils Solve a Centuries-Old Riddle in the Evolution of Life on Earth
Scientists have finally solved a centuries-old riddle in the evolution of life on earth, revealing what the first animals to make skeletons looked like. This…
Shocking 439-Million-Year-Old “Shark” Forces Scientists To Rethink the Timeline of Evolution
The ancient shark was found in China and is humans’ oldest jawed ancestor. The apex predators of the ocean are often shown as living sharks….
New Findings Rewrite the Evolutionary Story of “Fish to Human”
The discovery of a fossil “treasure hoard” illuminates the rise of fishes. Researchers from the Chinese Academy of Sciences‘ Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology…
439-Million-Year-Old Fossil Teeth Overturn Long-Held Views About Evolution
Rare Chinese fossil teeth have changed scientists’ beliefs about the evolution of vertebrates. An international team of scientists has found toothed fish remains that date…
Dinosaur “Mummies” Might Not Be Unusual – Unhealed Carnivore Damage on Dinosaur Skin
Data from fossils and modern carcasses indicates a simple path to preserving dinosaur skin. Dinosaur “mummies” aren’t as exceptional as we might expect. That’s because…
A Century After Its Discovery: Triassic Specimen Found To Be Early Relative of Pterosaurs
Over 100 years ago a tiny Triassic fossil reptile was first discovered in the northeast of Scotland. Now, a new analysis has revealed it to…
Ancestry of Three Major Animal Groups Revealed by 518-Million-Year-Old Armored Worm
A well-preserved fossilized worm dating from 518-million-years-ago resembles the ancestor of three major groups of living animals. An international team of scientists has discovered that…
Over 200 Million Years Old – Scientists Discover Africa’s Oldest Known Dinosaur
During two digs in Zimbabwe in 2017 and 2019, a graduate student from Virginia Tech discovered and unearthed the fossil with the assistance of other…
