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Paleontology & Fossils news
Understanding of early life ecosystems sheds light on evolution of life on Earth
With a new understanding of past life on the planet through fossils, a Mississippi State biological sciences faculty member is helping researchers better predict Earth's future.
Evolution
3 hours ago
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Review of 400 years of scientific literature corrects the Dodo extinction record
Researchers are setting out to challenge our misconceptions about the Dodo, one of the most well-known but poorly understood species of bird.
Plants & Animals
Aug 16, 2024
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In Mississippi, discovery of elephant fossil from the ice age provides window into the past
Fossil hunter Eddie Templeton was out exploring in Mississippi when he came across a remarkable find in a steep embankment. It appeared to be part of an ice-age elephant tusk.
Paleontology & Fossils
Aug 15, 2024
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Characterizing the impact of 700 years of Inuvialuit subsistence hunting on beluga whales
An international team of researchers, led by scientists from the University of Copenhagen and University of Toronto, analyzed beluga whale bones retrieved from archaeological sites in the Mackenzie Delta, Northwest Territories, ...
Ecology
Aug 14, 2024
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New technology offers a better look at tardigrade fossils embedded in amber
A trio of evolutionary biologists at Harvard University's Museum of Comparative Zoology has learned more about the evolutionary history of tardigrades by studying two fossils embedded in amber. In their study, published in ...
Findings reveal eurypterids evolved giant size independently at least nine times
Sea scorpions, ancient predators that patrolled Earth's marine and freshwater habitats hundreds of millions of years ago, are the focus of a sizable scientific mystery.
Evolution
Aug 13, 2024
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New species of extinct walrus-like mammal discovered in the North Atlantic
A new discovery by a team of paleontologists, led by Dr. Mathieu Boisville (University of Tsukuba, Japan), has uncovered a new species of the extinct genus Ontocetus from the Lower Pleistocene deposits in the North Atlantic. ...
Plants & Animals
Aug 13, 2024
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Discovery of tiny bone sheds light on mysterious 'hobbit' humans
The discovery of a tiny arm bone suggests that an ancient human dubbed "hobbits" only shrank down to their diminutive size after they arrived on an Indonesian island a million years ago, scientists said on Tuesday.
Paleontology & Fossils
Aug 10, 2024
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135-million-year-old marine crocodile sheds light on Cretaceous life
An international team of scientists, including researchers from Germany and the UK, have described a new species of ancient marine crocodile, Enalioetes schroederi. Enalioetes lived in the shallow seas that covered much of ...
Paleontology & Fossils
Aug 9, 2024
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When mammoths roamed Vancouver Island: Paleontologists delve into beasts' history in the region
Mammoths, the massive pre-historic ice age cousins of the modern-day elephant, have always been understood to have inhabited parts of British Columbia, but the question of when has always been a bit woolly.
Paleontology & Fossils
Aug 8, 2024
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Giant fossil seeds from Borneo record ancient plant migration
Ancient fossil beans about the size of modern limes, and among the largest seeds in the fossil record, may provide new insight into the evolution of today's diverse Southeast Asian and Australian rainforests, according to ...
Paleontology & Fossils
Aug 8, 2024
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Using dental growth rings scientists reveal differences in growth patterns between ancient and modern mammals
A study published in Science Advances reveals how early mammals grew and developed during their pivotal Jurassic radiation. Using a technique called synchrotron X-ray tomography to image growth rings in fossilized tooth roots, ...
Plants & Animals
Aug 7, 2024
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Giant prehistoric flying reptile took off using similar method to bats, study finds
Findings of a study, published in PeerJ, provide new insights into how pterosaurs managed to take flight despite reaching sizes far larger than modern animals. The research sheds new light on the flight initiating jumping ...
Plants & Animals
Aug 7, 2024
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Smallest arm bone in the human fossil record sheds light on the dawn of Homo floresiensis
A paper appearing today in Nature Communications reports the discovery of extremely rare early human fossils from the Indonesian island of Flores, including an astonishingly small adult limb bone.
Evolution
Aug 6, 2024
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Fossil hunter discovers new species of 210-million-year-old lungfish
An extinct species of lungfish discovered in Zimbabwe could mark the beginnings of a sea change in our understanding of the animals.
Paleontology & Fossils
Aug 6, 2024
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Researchers uncover 500 million-year-old mollusk ancestor
A team of researchers including scientists from the University of Oxford have made an astonishing discovery of a new species of mollusk that lived 500 million years ago. The new fossil, called Shishania aculeata, reveals ...
Plants & Animals
Aug 1, 2024
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Sea level changes shaped early life on Earth, fossils show
A newly developed timeline of early animal fossils reveals a link between sea levels, changes in marine oxygen, and the appearance of the earliest ancestors of present-day animals.
Evolution
Aug 1, 2024
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New insights into one of Europe's oldest dinosaurs
A comprehensive new description of Plateosaurus trossingensis provides valuable information on the evolution, lifestyle and family tree of early dinosaurs. During this analysis, bone injuries were discovered, which paleontologists ...
Paleontology & Fossils
Aug 1, 2024
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Penguin wing fossil shows importance of Zealandia in penguin evolution
Three small fossil penguin bones, collected in South Canterbury in 1987, are now shedding new light on how penguin wings have evolved. A new study, published in the Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand, describes a ...
Evolution
Aug 1, 2024
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Mass extinction 66 million years ago triggered rapid evolution of bird genomes, study finds
Shortly after an asteroid slammed into Earth 66 million years ago, life for non-avian dinosaurs ended, but the evolutionary story for the early ancestors of birds began.
Evolution
Jul 31, 2024
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More news
New species of tyrannosaurid dinosaur identified in China
AI-assisted analysis suggests elephant-like species extinction rates grew when humans arrived
Scientists assess how large dinosaurs could really get
New fossil snake species provides insight into reptile social behavior and development
Stegosaurus fossil fetches nearly $45M, setting record for dinosaur auctions
Evidence for butchery of giant armadillo-like mammals in Argentina 21,000 years ago
Brazilian researchers discover dinosaur fossil after heavy rains in Rio Grande do Sul
How old are South African fossils like the Taung Child? Study offers an answer
Other news
Study explains why laws are written in an incomprehensible style
Mapping Martian meteorites: Tracing origins on the red planet
Printed electronics material can store 1,000 times more charge than current forms
Scientists uncover exciton behavior in van der Waals magnets
Spider exploits firefly's flashing signals to lure more prey
Gnatalie is the only green-boned dinosaur found on the planet. She will be on display in LA
3D genome extracted from 'freeze-dried' woolly mammoth
First ever 3D reconstruction of 52,000-year-old woolly mammoth chromosomes thanks to serendipitously freeze-dried skin
Stegosaurus skeleton to fetch millions at New York auction
A new species of extinct crocodile relative rewrites life on the Triassic coastline
Research reveals the most complete dinosaur discovered in the UK in a century
Australian amber has revealed 'living fossils' traced back to Gondwana 42 million years ago
Life underground suited newly discovered dinosaur, study finds
Mining the microbiome: Uncovering new antibiotics inside the human gut
