Study Traces Evolution of Acoustic Communication Back to 350 Million Years Ago
A study tracing acoustic communication across the tree of life of land-living vertebrates reveals that the ability to vocalize goes back hundreds of millions of…
Paleontology
Scientists Find 550 Million-Year-Old Fossilized Digestive Tract – Solving a Mystery of Primordial Evolution
A 550 million-year-old fossilized digestive tract found in the Nevada desert could be a key find in understanding the early history of animals on Earth….
Researchers Discover “Ghost Worms” Mostly Unchanged Since the Age of Dinosaurs, Despite 140 Million Years of Evolution
That size, shape and structure of organisms can evolve at different speeds is well known, ranging from fast-evolving adaptive radiations to living fossils such as…
Growing Up Tyrannosaurus Rex: Researchers Learn More About Teen-Age T.Rex
A study of two juvenile T.rex skeletons show how the large predator grew up. Without a doubt, Tyrannosaurus rex is the most famous dinosaur in…
New Discovery of 96-Million-Year Old Turtle Species and Hints at Intercontinental Migrations
New 96-million-year old turtles from Texas connect North America with Asia and the Southern Hemisphere, suggesting vast intercontinental migrations during this time. The Arlington Archosaur…
Ancient Wasp-Mimicking Fly Discovered – Named After PSY’s ‘Gangnam Style’
A newly discovered species of ancient wasp-mimicking flies was named Buccinatormyia gangnami, after a famous hit by a South Korean singer PSY. It was described…
This Ancient “Giant Spider” Fossil Surprised Paleontologists – Detective Work Revealed a Hoax
A ‘Jackalope’ of an Ancient Spider Fossil Deemed a Hoax Earlier this year, a remarkable new fossil specimen was unearthed in the Lower Cretaceous Yixian…
Global Mercury Contamination and Warming When Dinosaurs Perished
The impact of an asteroid or comet is acknowledged as the principal cause of the mass extinction that killed off most dinosaurs and about three-quarters…
Dinosaur Footprints Suggest That Jurassic Beasts Trotted Between Africa and Europe
Dinosaur footprints found in several European countries, very similar to others in Morocco, suggest that they could have been dispersed between the two continents by…
Global Warming, Ocean Acidification: Earth Was Stressed Before Dinosaur Extinction
Fossilized seashells show signs of global warming, ocean acidification leading up to asteroid impact. Shells’ chemistry shifted to respond to influx of carbon into the…
Paleontologists Discover Odd Shrimp That Fills Hole in Fossil Record
Tiny Fossils, Big Findings: Paleontologists Discover Odd Mid-Cretaceous Shrimp Hundreds of tiny well-preserved fossils shed new light on one of the poorest fossil records of…
New Fossils of Ancient Snake With Hind Legs Reveals Tantalizing Details of Evolution
New fossils of an ancient legged snake, called Najash, shed light on the origin of the slithering reptiles, including how snakes got their bite and…
New Group of Ancient Flying Reptiles Identified by Paleontologists
Study describes new group of pterosaurs, identifies crustacean-heavy diet. New research suggests that ancient flying reptiles known as pterosaurs were much more diverse than originally…
Mutated Ferns Show Poisonous Factor in Ancient Mass Extinction
Most researchers believe that the mass extinction 201 million years ago was caused by release of CO2 by volcanism with global warming as a consequence….
What Came First, the Animal or the Embryo? New Research Has Answer
Animal embryos evolved before animals. Animals evolved from single-celled ancestors, before diversifying into 30 or 40 distinct anatomical designs. When and how animal ancestors made…
This Bone-Crunching Dinosaur Regrew All Its Teeth Every Few Months
New study shows a carnivorous dinosaur species regrew all its teeth every few months. Majungasaurus lived in Madagascar some 70 million years ago. Talk about…
Asymmetrical Dinosaur Skull Discovery Turns Paleontology Assumptions on Their Head
University of Alberta paleontologists uncover spiky skull—and overturn long-standing assumptions in identifying horned dinosaurs. A team of researchers at the University of Alberta has unearthed…
This 100 Million-Year-Old Snake Had Legs, but Cheekbone Provides Critical Insight Into Evolution
An ancient snake’s cheekbone sheds light on evolution of modern snake skull: 100-million-year old legged snake fossil provides critical insight into how the heads of…