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….
Paleontology News
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…
Extinct Prehistoric Reptile That Lived Among Dinosaurs Discovered by Smithsonian Researchers
Discovery sheds light on the tuatara, the last living member of a once-diverse group of reptiles that has almost entirely been supplanted by lizards. A…
Remarkable 380-Million-Year-Old Heart Discovered – Shedding New Light on Evolution
Paleontologists have discovered a 380-million-year-old heart – the oldest ever found – alongside a separate fossilized liver, stomach, and intestine in an ancient jawed fish,…
Evolution and Diversity of Reptiles Driven by 60 Million Years of Climate Change
Reptiles had one heck of a coming-out party just over 250 million years ago during the end of the Permian period and the start of…
Mystery Solved: How Did Dinosaurs Support Their Gigantic Bodies?
A study reveals how dinosaurs carried their massive weight. Researchers have solved a long-standing mystery by figuring out how sauropod dinosaurs, such as the Brontosaurus…
The Southern Arc: Vast Genetic Study Reveals Insights Into Migration Patterns and Language Development
Vast paleogenetic study reveals insights on migration patterns, the expansion of farming, and language development from the Caucasus over western Asia and Southern Europe from…
Researchers Unravel the Secret of a 45 Million-Year-Old Death Trap
For fossil frogs, an ancient swamp is a sex death trap. Paleontologists at University College Cork (UCC) have determined why hundreds of fossil frogs in a…
