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Paleontology & Fossils news
Small populations of Stone Age people drove dwarf hippos and elephants to extinction on Cyprus
Imagine growing up beside the eastern Mediterranean Sea 14,000 years ago. You're an accomplished sailor of the small watercraft you and your fellow villagers make, and you live off both the sea and the land.
Ecology
10 hours ago
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Early dingoes are related to dogs from New Guinea and East Asia, 3D fossil scanning study finds
New archaeological research by the University of Sydney has discovered for the first time clear links between fossils of the iconic Australian dingo, and dogs from East Asia and New Guinea.
Evolution
14 hours ago
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52
New evidence suggests allergies were partly to blame for demise of woolly mammoth
A team of chemists and zoologists from Israel, Italy and Russia, has found evidence suggesting that part of the reason woolly mammoths went extinct was the onset of allergies that made it difficult for them to find mates.
Unraveling an ancient European extinction mystery: Disappearance of dwarf megafauna on paleolithic Cyprus
Scientists have unraveled a mystery about the disappearance of dwarf hippos and elephants that once roamed the picturesque landscape on the Mediterranean island of Cyprus before paleolithic humans arrived.
Paleontology & Fossils
Sep 17, 2024
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Are kiwi and moa recent immigrants from Australia? Neither fossils nor genetic evidence support the story
Aotearoa New Zealand is a land of birds, from the smallest of wrens to the mightiest of moa. The ancestors of some species have been here for tens of millions of years, while others arrived only a few million years ago.
Molecular & Computational biology
Sep 17, 2024
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The mammalian inner ear is a striking example of convergent evolution, new study reveals
A new study reveals the surprisingly convergent evolution in the inner ear of mammals. An international research team led by Nicole Grunstra from the University of Vienna and Anne Le Maître from the Konrad Lorenz Institute ...
Evolution
Sep 17, 2024
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116
Paleontologists find omnivorous ancestor of the giant panda, revealing it was not always just a bamboo eater
The Hammerschmiede fossil site in southern Germany has yielded finds from about 11.5 million years ago that have rewritten evolutionary history. The sole species of bear discovered to date at the site was a relative of the ...
Paleontology & Fossils
Sep 16, 2024
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Exceptional new fish fossil sparks a rethink of how Earth's geology drives evolution
Coelacanths are deep-sea fish that live off the coasts of southern Africa and Indonesia and can reach up to two meters in length. For a long time, scientists believed they were extinct.
Evolution
Sep 15, 2024
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187
A 149 million-year-old pterosaur is Britain's largest flying animal—scientists prove it from a finger bone
Scientists have estimated the size of an extinct flying reptile called a pterosaur, based on fragments of a fossil finger bone discovered in southern England in June 2022. These results reveal it to be the largest British ...
Paleontology & Fossils
Sep 12, 2024
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New fossil fish species scales up evidence of Earth's evolutionary march
Climate change and asteroids are linked with animal origin and extinction—and plate tectonics also seems to play a key evolutionary role, "groundbreaking" new fossil research reveals.
Evolution
Sep 12, 2024
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155
Trilobite fossils from upstate New York reveal 'extra' set of legs
A new study finds that a trilobite species with exceptionally well-preserved fossils from upstate New York has an additional set of legs underneath its head. The research, led by the American Museum of Natural History and ...
Paleontology & Fossils
Sep 12, 2024
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360
AI-based technique speeds up the analysis of fossils
Queensland Museum and James Cook University scientists are using AI to unlock the mysteries of our fossil past. The scientists have developed an AI-based technique that has sped up the analysis of fossils, taking a months-long ...
Molecular & Computational biology
Sep 11, 2024
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154
Multiple ways to evolve tiny knee bone could have helped humans walk upright
The evolution of bones in primates' knees could have implications for how humans evolved to walk upright, a new study has found.
Evolution
Sep 10, 2024
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115
Paleontologists discover fossil birds with teeth had seeds in their stomachs, indicating that they ate fruit
For paleontologists who study animals that lived long ago, fossilized remains tell only part of the story of an animal's life. While a well-preserved skeleton can provide hints at what an ancient animal ate or how it moved, ...
Paleontology & Fossils
Sep 10, 2024
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359
Large theropod dinosaurs thrived near South Pole, Australian tracks show
A discovery of dinosaur tracks on Australia's southern coast—dating back to the Early Cretaceous when Australia was still connected to Antarctica—indicates that large theropod dinosaurs thrived in this polar environment, ...
Paleontology & Fossils
Sep 9, 2024
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147
Three new ancestors added to Tasmanian tiger's storyline
Eighty-eight years ago today, the last of the Tasmanian tigers, also known as the Thylacine, died in the Beaumaris Zoo in Hobart. Now scientists are adding three of its oldest ancestors to its evolutionary tree.
Paleontology & Fossils
Sep 9, 2024
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215
Mysterious 50-million-year-old fish to get a new genus
A pair of paleontologists, one with the Museum für Naturkunde, in Germany, the other from the Università degli Studi di Torino, in Italy, has found new evidence that an ancient fish, which has defied categorization for ...
'Some pterosaurs would flap, others would soar'—new study confirms flight capability of these giants of the skies
Some species of pterosaurs flew by flapping their wings while others soared like vultures, demonstrates a new study published in the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology.
Paleontology & Fossils
Sep 6, 2024
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417
Domesticating horses had a huge impact on human society—new science rewrites where and when it first happened
Across human history, no single animal has had a deeper impact on human societies than the horse. But when and how people domesticated horses has been an ongoing scientific mystery.
Paleontology & Fossils
Sep 4, 2024
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What fur development can tell us about our ancient ancestors
When the hot summer weather kicks in you may find yourself feeling concerned about furry pets and other animals we live close by to. But fur and hair are ancient adaptations that allowed human ancestors to develop more active ...
Paleontology & Fossils
Sep 4, 2024
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More news
Qunkasaura: New sauropod dinosaur from the Cretaceous discovered in the Iberian Peninsula
A tiny relative of the Triceratops: International team discovers a new horned dinosaur
Chemists explain why dinosaur collagen may have survived for millions of years
Tropical plants discovered in Tasmania's ancient Polar Forest
Kākāpō, not kiwi, are the true ancient species of Aotearoa, say paleontologists
Matching dinosaur footprints found on opposite sides of the Atlantic Ocean
Paleontologists discover new predatory dinosaur with a distinctive 'eyebrow'
In Mississippi, discovery of elephant fossil from the ice age provides window into the past
Other news
Why petting your cat leads to static electricity
Another new wasp species discovered by researchers
Can toddlers help explain the origins of our bias for wealth?
Ocean waves grow way beyond known limits, new research finds
Discovery of tiny bone sheds light on mysterious 'hobbit' humans
135-million-year-old marine crocodile sheds light on Cretaceous life
Giant fossil seeds from Borneo record ancient plant migration
Fossil hunter discovers new species of 210-million-year-old lungfish
