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Paleontology & Fossils news
Fossil ribs reveal new secrets about ichthyosaur swimming technique
Ichthyosaurs ruled the oceans for 150 million years during the Mesozoic Era. Their fish-shaped bodies were built for high speeds. In that context, it is normally an advantage to be as light as possible.
Evolution
3 hours ago
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Fossils from embryo to adult suggest how an enigmatic, bird-like troodontid dinosaur grew
Analysis of fossilized remains from dinosaurs known as troodontids reveals how one species' hip and leg bones may have developed over its lifespan, from embryo to adult—with potential implications for resolving longstanding ...
Paleontology & Fossils
5 hours ago
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The surprising place where giant dinosaurs incubated their eggs
Finding a fossilized dinosaur egg is exceptionally rare, but finding a stash of more than 250 shell fragments in the chilly southern reaches of the planet is even more surprising. The discoveries come from southernmost Patagonia ...
First Denisovan forearm bone discovered in southwest China
Scientists have discovered various Denisovan remains in Southwest China dating to the late Middle Pleistocene, including the first Denisovan radius—one of two long bones in the forearm.
Paleontology & Fossils
8 hours ago
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A 66.5-million-year-old trackway captures adult T. rex at walking pace
Scientists from the Denver Museum of Nature & Science and Liverpool John Moores University in England have discovered the first adult T. rex trackway, providing insights into how this emblematic predator moved. The findings ...
Paleontology & Fossils
9 hours ago
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179
Ancient DNA reveals 1,000 years of human-environment interactions at Crawford Lake
An international team of scientists has recreated a 1,000-year timeline documenting ecological changes and human impact on the area surrounding Crawford Lake, the famed location of the proposed Anthropocene.
Ecology
9 hours ago
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One of the oldest known 3D animal fossils found in Norwegian sheep field
One of the oldest known 3D fossils of an animal has been discovered in a sheep field in the Norwegian Arctic, the first new major site of its kind anywhere in Europe in decades.
Paleontology & Fossils
23 hours ago
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270
The extinct American 'cheetah' was not a cheetah after all
With their slender bodies and long front legs, Miracinonyx trumani—often nicknamed the "American cheetah"—was long thought to be a North American analog of the African big cat. But in a new study published in the journal ...
Evolution
Sep 6, 2026
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151
Not a cheetah: Ancient DNA reveals the surprising Arctic life of extinct North American cat
A new study led by researchers at the University of California, Santa Cruz, has overturned decades of assumptions about Miracinonyx trumani, the extinct predator popularly known as the American cheetah. By analyzing nuclear ...
Evolution
Sep 4, 2026
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258
Tiny fossils reveal big insights about ant ancestors
Two tiny ant fossils recovered in southern Saskatchewan are helping scientists better understand the evolutionary history of modern ants. Ant fossils dating from 72–56 million years ago are rare. What happened to insects ...
Evolution
Sep 3, 2026
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Early mammals weren't all loners—some may have lived in pairs alongside the dinosaurs
About 200 million years ago, furry, little egg-laying creatures evolved the ability to feed their offspring with a secretion from special glands: milk. Their evolutionary journey continued, and by about 160 million years ...
Evolution
Sep 3, 2026
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Neutron bone imaging brings T. rex to life
A broken rib from Scotty, the largest T. rex skeleton discovered, is helping scientists uncover new information about life on Earth 66 million years ago. Scotty's rib preserves something rarely seen in the fossil record: ...
Biotechnology
Sep 3, 2026
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150
Ancient fossil from China reveals animal‑microbe partnerships dating back 550 million years
We often think of microbes as organisms that live around us, like the Salmonella bacteria and flu viruses that cause illness. But some of our most intimate relationships are with the microbes living inside us.
Evolution
Sep 2, 2026
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Animal-bone records reveal how cattle and sheep fueled medieval England's changing economy
As populations expanded in medieval England, key changes occurred in the uses of cattle and sheep to produce food and materials, according to a study published Sept. 2, 2026, in the journal PLOS One by Matilda Holmes of the ...
Paleontology & Fossils
Sep 2, 2026
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Iguanodon shinbone growth may be first evidence of an infected skin ulcer in a dinosaur
Fossilized bones can reveal a wealth of details about animals, including their size, appearance, what they ate and any injuries they may have suffered. In a paper published in the journal Royal Society Open Science, researchers ...
Q&A: What dinosaur teeth reveal about diet and evolution
What did dinosaurs eat? Teeth provide important clues to understanding the ecology of dinosaurs, which became extinct approximately 66 million years ago. Their shape, structure and patterns of wear can help scientists reconstruct ...
Evolution
Aug 31, 2026
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A Permian fossil may reveal the oldest known flowering-plant structure
Despite the importance and dominance of angiosperms ("flowering plants") in the current ecosystem, it is rather surprising that we know so little about their origin and early evolution. Paleobotanists have been making efforts ...
Not tiger, not wolf: Australian thylacine skull reveals a far different hunting style
A new study led by Flinders University has flipped the historical narrative about Australia's thylacine, finding the native apex predator known as the "Tasmanian tiger" was significantly different from the wolves and wild ...
Paleontology & Fossils
Aug 31, 2026
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Tracks and tooth marks reveal bone-crushing dogs at Nebraska supervolcano ashfall site
Thirty-five years on—well, 12 million, technically—Ashfall Fossil Beds State Historical Park continues to offer important glimpses of prehistoric life in Nebraska.
Paleontology & Fossils
Aug 28, 2026
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Texas fossil reveals early insects kept aquatic limbs during move onto land
The formation of complex terrestrial ecosystems was a significant innovation in the evolutionary history of life on Earth. This event signified the expansion of life beyond marine environments and marked the beginning of ...
Evolution
Aug 27, 2026
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153
More news
Egypt's deserts were once home to a diverse shark community
Twenty years and 7,500 fossils reveal what blurs Earth's marine fossil record
Were Denisovans tall compared to other ancient humans? We should be skeptical
Crocodiles can't fly. Birds can. Scientists have finally figured out why
Arctic fossil abandoned in 1948 proves to be record-size Triassic hunter
Other news
These bacteria can change their diet to survive inside the body
3D magnetic-field control reveals new way to tune spin textures
Dodos probably weren't as stupid as historians made them out to be: new research
Small dinosaur fossil suggests Fukushima coast hosted iguanodontians of different sizes
One of the world's only two complete dodo skulls reveals new clues about the extinct bird
JWST discovers that Chariklo's invisible rings are changing
AI reveals new class of cellular 'off switch' linked to cancer pathways
Could quantum protocols make electronic voting more secure?
Asian elephants can resist impulsive behavior, researchers find
Decades-old DNA mystery solved after strands are captured zipping together for the first time
