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Paleontology & Fossils news
Isle of Wight fossil Europe's first known long-clawed megaraptoran dinosaur
A new species of dinosaur—a long-clawed predator the size of a large tiger—has been discovered by a UCL-led team from a fossil found on the Isle of Wight. The dinosaur, described in a new paper in the journal Royal Society ...
Paleontology & Fossils
4 hours ago
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Winged insect evolution: New evidence sheds light on century-old debate
A new study combining genomic analyses and fossil evidence sheds light on the century-old "Palaeoptera Problem," a longstanding debate over the evolutionary relationships among major groups of winged insects.
Evolution
9 hours ago
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Baby tooth places macaques in northern Germany more than 300,000 years ago
A research team from the Senckenberg Centre for Human Evolution and Palaeoenvironment at the University of Tübingen and Leiden University in the Netherlands has examined a tooth from the Schöningen archaeological site in ...
Evolution
Oct 12, 2026
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Tiny fossils reveal a missing chapter of ocean life after Snowball Earth
A rare assemblage of micro- and macro-fossils found in a roadside outcrop in South China, featuring thin ribbons, branching shapes and a tiny balloon on a stalk, offers a glimpse of marine life after one of Earth's most extreme ...
New Jurassic crocodile species had unusually slender teeth, suggesting it fed on shrimp and tiny fish
A new species of ancient crocodile relative that lived around 170 million years ago has been discovered by scientists at the University of Portsmouth and Hassan II University of Casablanca, Morocco.
Paleontology & Fossils
Oct 12, 2026
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Jurassic fossil reveals ancient origins of how mammals drink milk
An international team of researchers has uncovered new evidence illuminating the evolutionary origins of one of the defining features of mammals: the ability to suckle and consume milk during infancy. Their findings, published ...
Evolution
Oct 11, 2026
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Zimbabwe's dinosaurs were different from South Africa's: New species offers clues
Africa boasts up to 25% of Earth's animal and plant species. This diversity is driven by varied habitats: harsh deserts, vast grasslands, dense forests, towering mountains, lush coastlines and teeming seas. It is also due ...
Paleontology & Fossils
Oct 10, 2026
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Fossil bite marks suggest first evidence of a small raptor feeding on an apex predator
A prehistoric cold case near Drumheller reveals either a small-time raptor scavenged on an apex predator, or a baby Albertosaurus engaged in a shocking act of cannibalism. These two possible explanations for what happened ...
Paleontology & Fossils
Oct 8, 2026
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One ancient swimming mammal fossil and two evolutionary surprises, including a third set of teeth
What may have looked like a cross between a platypus and a beaverlike rodent and lived around 120 million years ago? Dongoconodon platycauda, a newly discovered fossil mammal from northeastern China. Beyond its unusual features, ...
Puerto Rico specimen reveals new giant isopod species that went unrecognized for decades
A giant isopod from Puerto Rico, rediscovered in the depository of the University of Tübingen's Paleontological Collection, has turned out to be a previously unknown species.
Evolution
Oct 8, 2026
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700,000-year-old elephant tooth reveals a lost ecosystem shared by early humans in the Levant
A remarkably preserved elephant tooth previously recovered from Gesher Benot Ya'aqov (GBY-NBA)—a prehistoric site in northern Israel where early humans made stone tools some 700,000 years ago—has now enabled researchers to ...
Ecology
Oct 8, 2026
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Rise of collagen-eating microbes may help explain gaps in the fossil record
Researchers may have uncovered the reason why some of Earth's earliest animals were commonly preserved as fossils—even though they were essentially fragile "bags of goo"—while later soft-bodied creatures have largely disappeared ...
Cell & Microbiology
Oct 8, 2026
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Flexible tails could boost ancient sea predators' ambush speeds, fossil-based models suggest
Some of the giant marine reptiles that ruled the seas during the age of dinosaurs were better built for surprise attacks, while their relatives were better suited to chasing prey through open water, according to a Rutgers-led ...
Paleontology & Fossils
Oct 7, 2026
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Ancient spotted bat samples help researchers understand present-day population dynamics
Understanding changes in North American bat populations is critical to measuring the risk of extinction from emerging threats such as habitat loss, climate change, white-nose syndrome and other disturbances. A study published ...
Ecology
Oct 7, 2026
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'Classic example' of sexual dimorphism in fossil record actually shows nuance between males and females
For decades, paleontologists have held up uintatheres as a prime illustration of sexual dimorphism, or the tendency for males and females of a species to be physically different. Notable for their large size, prominent horns ...
Plants & Animals
Oct 7, 2026
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'Top predator' from the Jurassic measures just half a meter
The "top predator" from the Jurassic is relatively small: Megacauda sungei measures just half a meter (1.6 feet) from its nose to the tip of its tail. The furry ancestor of today's mammals hunted its prey in water 165 million ...
Evolution
Oct 7, 2026
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New crocodile species discovered in rocks used to build the Great Sphinx
A new species of extinct crocodile from Egypt has been discovered, sharing more than just its home with the Great Sphinx. Herugavialis cairensis was found in the very same rocks used to build the iconic monument. And, just ...
Paleontology & Fossils
Oct 6, 2026
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Rare insect discovery reveals a new species from the dinosaur age
Some 99 million years ago, during the age of the dinosaurs, a tiny insect belonging to a species previously unknown to science became trapped in tree resin. The resin hardened and turned into amber, and the fossil preserved ...
Plants & Animals
Oct 5, 2026
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New saber-toothed predator from Argentina suggests its lineage survived longer than believed
In 2014, members of a local museum found fragments of an ancient fossil dating to the end of the Pliocene or early Pleistocene epoch in a seaside cliff on the Argentine pampas. They belonged to a large predator, but the only ...
Pollen study reveals the hidden history of grasses
Scientists used machine learning and super-resolution microscopy to overcome a challenge that has stymied research into the natural history of grasses for decades. Their method allowed them to detect subtle differences among ...
Ecology
Oct 5, 2026
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More news
Fossil long known as world's oldest reptile dethroned
8-million-year-old rhino skull found in Crete
An ancient human face emerges from pieced together Moroccan fossil remains
New species of proto-amphibian described by students, named in honor of their mothers
A treasure map to search for past marine life
Bizarre new dinosaur with giant claws discovered in China
Queasy plesiosaurs swam to shore to vomit, Jurassic fossils reveal
Tyrannosaurus rex teeth reveal a body temperature close to the human average
Other news
Mushroom-derived peptides boost saltiness by up to 70%, offering a path to low-sodium foods
Quantum physicists trace a century of controlling spin
Newly discovered antiviral system in bacteria is 'strangest of its kind'
3D map of rice development charts gene activity across plant's entire life cycle
Ultrashort laser pulses offer a new way to probe electrons' quantum geometry
Natural RNA modifications in archaea mirror those used in medicine
Well-preserved tooth from Pacific mastodon found in a creek in San Francisco Bay Area
First confirmed Diplodocus outside North America reshapes Late Jurassic migration picture
Ancient armored fish evolved two distinct ways to crush prey 385 million years ago
New solar model maps sun more accurately by checking far-side activity
DNA 'flight recorder' traces embryonic development cell by cell
Optical skyrmions can control the motion of magnetic skyrmions
