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Paleontology & Fossils news
'Peculiar' crocodile ancestor started life on four legs before learning to walk on two
A "peculiar" ancient relative of the crocodile which experts believe began life on four legs before, in adulthood, it learned how to walk on just two has been revealed in a new study. Named Sonselasuchus cedrus, this archaic ...
Evolution
Mar 9, 2026
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New fossil reveals the weird 'tooth cushions' of an apex predator from 425 million years ago
Roughly 425 million years ago, in the warm seas over what is now southern China, there lived a meter-long bony fish with jaws full of clusters of spiky teeth.
Paleontology & Fossils
Mar 8, 2026
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Largest known Mesozoic crocodyliform egg clutch discovered in Brazil
In a study published in the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, researchers Dr. Giovanna M. X. Paixão and her colleagues analyzed the fossilized remains of three Upper Cretaceous egg clutches. One of these clutches, totaling ...
New species of ancient mollusk found in South Korean waters
Scientists have discovered a new species of chiton, an ancient marine mollusk that has remained virtually unchanged for the last 300 million years. Chitons have an elongated oval shape with a shell composed of eight interlocking ...
Paleontologists challenge use of bone growth rings to age crocodiles, dinosaurs
Do the bones of all Nile crocodiles have the same number of growth marks as their age? And can such growth rings be counted to accurately gauge the age of these reptiles? Is this also an accurate method to use when trying ...
Paleontology & Fossils
Mar 5, 2026
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The Black Death's counterintuitive effect: As human numbers fell, so did plant diversity
Between 1347 and 1353, Europe was gripped by the most catastrophic pandemic in its history: the Black Death. Killing many millions, the plague wiped out between one-third and a half of Europe's population.
Ecology
Mar 5, 2026
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Newfound terrestrial crocodile fossil redraws the map of Europe in the age of the dinosaurs
A research team led by Dr. Márton Rabi from the Biogeology Department of the University of Tübingen, together with Máté Szegszárdi and Professor Attila Ősi from the Hungarian Eötvös Loránd University, is challenging ...
Ecology
Mar 5, 2026
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Black Death 'rewilding' did not boost biodiversity, study suggests
The bubonic plague, which swept across Europe between 1347 and 1353, is estimated to have killed up to one half of the continent's population. The sudden loss of life led to the abandonment of farms, villages and fields, ...
Ecology
Mar 5, 2026
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A new face for 'Little Foot,' the most complete Australopithecus skeleton to date
What did the face of our ancestors look like three million years ago? Our international team has answered this question by virtually reconstructing the facial fragments of Little Foot, the most complete Australopithecus skeleton ...
Biotechnology
Mar 4, 2026
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Oldest known bony fish fossils uncover early vertebrate evolution
A research team led by Profs. Zhu Min, Lu Jing, and Zhu You'an from the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology (IVPP) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences published two back-to-back cover stories in the ...
Evolution
Mar 4, 2026
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Did the first human ancestor originate in the Balkans? New fossil shows evidence of bipedalism
Walking on two legs has long been considered a milestone in human evolution and one of our most defining characteristics. Until now, researchers assumed that the first humans originated in Africa and that bipedalism developed ...
Evolution
Mar 4, 2026
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Ancient plant-eater with a twisted jaw and sideways-facing teeth was a 'living fossil' in its own time
In a dry riverbed in Brazil, in a dense forest near the Amazon, a team of paleontologists found a fossilized jawbone from an ancient animal. Over the course of their fieldwork, they found eight similar bones, each around ...
Paleontology & Fossils
Mar 3, 2026
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Late scientist's notebooks help finish study of rare 55-million-year-old tarpon fossil
Recently-revealed notebooks belonging to a late paleontologist contain the missing information needed to help researchers finish their study of a remarkable fossil discovered nearly three decades ago.
Paleontology & Fossils
Mar 3, 2026
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Rewilding could fill gap left by Panama's lost giants
Many large herbivores that once roamed modern-day Panama have declined or died out—including the 6-meter-long giant ground sloth and elephant-related creatures called Cuvieronius. New research suggests that introducing ...
Ecology
Mar 3, 2026
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Brazilian fossil site yields smallest rhynchosaur fossil ever recorded
A study published in the Journal of Systematic Palaeontology describes the smallest rhynchosaur fossil ever recorded from the Brazilian Triassic, with the reconstructed skull only measuring around 2.5 cm (~1 inch). Additionally, ...
Tiny Purgatorius fossils in Denver Basin hint at early primate spread southward
New minuscule fossils of Purgatorius, the earliest-known relative of all primates—including humans—have been unearthed in a more southern region of North America than ever before, and the breakthrough is providing paleontologists ...
Evolution
Mar 3, 2026
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Large land predators were hunting big plant-eaters more than 280 million years ago, study finds
A study examining fossil evidence shows that large land predators were already hunting big plant-eating animals more than 280 million years ago. University of Toronto Mississauga researchers Jordan M. Young, Tea Maho, and ...
Ecology
Mar 2, 2026
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Dense, dark forests in Europe are a modern phenomenon
For over 20 million years, the landscape of Europe has been a tree-rich mosaic of grasslands, scrubs and more or less open woodlands with an abundance of wildflowers. This is the conclusion of a new and comprehensive study ...
Ecology
Mar 2, 2026
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First 3D reconstruction of the face of 'Little Foot' completed
Identified as the most complete Australopithecus fossil discovered to date, "Little Foot" was buried in sediments whose movement and weight caused fractures and deformations, making analysis of its skull—and more particularly ...
Paleontology & Fossils
Mar 2, 2026
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Paleontologists investigate how life entered and adapted to the deep sea
The deep sea is a dark, cold place. It's just a few degrees above freezing, subject to immense pressure, and beyond the reach of the sunlight needed for photosynthesis. The life that does survive in such a hostile place must ...
Evolution
Mar 2, 2026
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More news
Exceptionally preserved 551-million-year-old site suggests Avalon biota lasted longer
Forget flatfooted lumbering T. rex. New research shows it walked on tiptoes
First plesiosaurian fossil discovered in Algeria fills a Cretaceous gap
'Tiny' dinosaur, big impact: A 90-million-year-old fossil rewrites history
Vertebrate paleontology has a numbers problem. Computer vision can help
Rare fossil at Montana museum records Tyrannosaurus attack
Japan's ancient 'tigers' were actually cave lions, DNA evidence shows
New species of ancient crocodile named in honor of Welsh school teacher
Costa Rica digs up mastodon, giant sloth bones in major archaeological find
Other news
Camera captures first video of a red fox attacking a wolf pup
Raccoons solve puzzles for the fun of it, new study finds
Evaluating landing sites for China's manned moon mission
Deep ocean microbes may already be prepared to tackle climate change
Gene edit makes probiotic safer for immunocompromised patients
Nanosecond light-by-light switching achieved in liquid crystal droplet
How an ancient seafloor turned Arkansas into 'Sharkansas,' a shark fossil hotspot
Turtle fossil narrows timeline of Cretaceous species migration
Five-minute test spots PFAS down to parts-per-trillion
Key protein SYFO2 enables 'self-fertilization' of leguminous plants
Ultrafast light pulses make molecules rotate on quantum materials
