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Paleontology & Fossils news
Fossil teeth suggest a long childhood is the prelude to the evolution of a large brain
Compared to the great apes, humans have an exceptionally long childhood, during which parents, grandparents and other adults contribute to their physical and cognitive development. This is a key developmental period for acquiring ...
Evolution
11 hours ago
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Bird brain from the age of dinosaurs reveals roots of avian intelligence
A 'one of a kind' fossil discovery could transform our understanding of how the unique brains and intelligence of modern birds evolved, one of the most enduring mysteries of vertebrate evolution.
Evolution
15 hours ago
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Particle accelerator helps discover new fossil species of coelacanth
Coelacanths are strange fish that are currently only known from two species found along the East African coast and in Indonesia. A team from the Natural History Museum (MHNG) and the University of Geneva (UNIGE) has succeeded ...
Evolution
Nov 12, 2024
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How did the division of labor emerge in animals and humans? Little-known organisms hold clues
Human societies have long depended on the division of labor to thrive—walk into any town, and you can probably find bakers baking bread, truck drivers driving that bread to market and grocers selling it.
Evolution
Nov 12, 2024
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37
Hypercarnivores study reveals unique adaptations of jaw function and tooth wear
A new study led by Dr. Jack Tseng, published in PeerJ, has shed light on the intricate relationship between tooth wear and jaw mechanics in highly carnivorous mammals, known as hypercarnivores.
Evolution
Nov 11, 2024
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52
Woolly rhino discovered in Siberia in 2020 has a fatty hump on its neck
A team of geologists, paleontologists, and mammoth fauna studies specialists, affiliated with several institutions in Russia, has found evidence that a woolly rhino found in the Siberian ice back in 2020 had a fatty hump ...
Whales in Wembley: Origins of mysterious blue whale bones uncovered
A mystery beginning in the South Atlantic and ending in South Kensington has finally been solved. The century-long story of two blue whale vertebrae can now be told for the first time, revealing their part in helping to ban ...
Paleontology & Fossils
Nov 8, 2024
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Reconstructing plesiosaur swimming styles with a bio-inspired control system
A research group may have unraveled the mystery behind the locomotion of the ancient marine reptile, the plesiosaur, by recreating a bio-inspired control system that accounts for motion adjustment.
Biotechnology
Nov 5, 2024
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Archaic dolphin could hear high frequency sounds
A team of researchers led by SNSB paleontologist Gertrud Rößner has discovered a new prehistoric dolphin species. Analyses of its inner ear confirm that this dolphin had excellent hearing abilities in the high-frequency ...
Paleontology & Fossils
Nov 5, 2024
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218
Tracing the journey from Egyptian cat mummies to modern house pets
EU researchers are testing DNA from archaeological cat remains to help unravel the tale of cat domestication. It probably will not surprise cat owners, familiar with the enigmatic and independent nature of their beloved pets, ...
Molecular & Computational biology
Nov 4, 2024
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69
Did the world's best-preserved dinosaurs really die in 'Pompeii-type' events?
Between about 120 million and 130 million years ago, during the age of dinosaurs, temperate forests and lakes hosted a lively ecosystem in what is now northeast China. Diverse fossils from that time remained pretty much undisturbed ...
Paleontology & Fossils
Nov 4, 2024
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142
Fossil of huge terror bird offers new information about wildlife in South America 12 million years ago
Researchers including a Johns Hopkins University evolutionary biologist report they have analyzed a fossil of an extinct giant meat-eating bird—which they say could be the largest known member of its kind—providing new ...
Paleontology & Fossils
Nov 4, 2024
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194
Ancient mud reveals Australia's burning history over the past 130,000 years—and a way forward in current fire crisis
Increased land management by Aboriginal people in southeastern Australia around 6,000 years ago cut forest shrub cover in half, according to our new study published in Science of fossil pollen trapped in ancient mud.
Ecology
Nov 3, 2024
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The mortality rate of bats at modern-day swimming pools is comparable to that at Messel 47 million years ago
More than 500 bat fossils have been discovered at the Messel Pit UNESCO World Heritage Site over 42 years. A new study, published today in the journal Palaeobiodiversity and Palaeoenvironments, investigates whether the high ...
Paleontology & Fossils
Oct 31, 2024
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Research reveals delayed evolutionary origin of Asteriidae sea stars
A study published in PeerJ has reshaped our understanding of the evolutionary history of sea stars, particularly the family Asteriidae. The study, titled "Phylogenetic and taxonomic revisions of Jurassic sea stars support ...
Evolution
Oct 31, 2024
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74
A remarkable fossil assemblage gets a new interpretation
A team of paleontologists recently discovered that an ancient seascape known for its diverse assemblage of exceptionally preserved fossils represents an unexpected oceanic setting, placing the fossils in an environmental ...
Paleontology & Fossils
Oct 30, 2024
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Preserved dung suggests large herbivores have lived in Yellowstone National Park for more than 2,000 years
Large herbivores like bison or elk have continuously lived in the Yellowstone National Park region for about 2,300 years, according to a new analysis of chemicals preserved in lake sediments. John Wendt of Oklahoma State ...
Ecology
Oct 30, 2024
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This ancient tadpole fossil is the oldest ever discovered
Scientists have discovered the oldest-known fossil of a giant tadpole that wriggled around over 160 million years ago.
Paleontology & Fossils
Oct 30, 2024
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203
Ancient DNA brings to life the history of the iconic aurochs
Geneticists from Trinity College Dublin, together with an international team of researchers, have deciphered the prehistory of aurochs—the animals that were the focus of some of the most iconic early human art—by analyzing ...
Molecular & Computational biology
Oct 30, 2024
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340
Sinuses prevented prehistoric crocodile relatives from deep diving, paleobiologists suggest
An international team of paleobiologists have found that the sinuses of ocean-dwelling relatives of modern-day crocodiles prevented them from evolving into deep divers like whales and dolphins.
Evolution
Oct 29, 2024
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More news
New ancient species of cockroach discovered in the UK
Gold bugs: New fossil arthropod preserved in fool's gold
Researchers piece together 66-million-year-old dinosaur fossils found in South Dakota
Biologists discover a new fossil species of prehistoric fish
Paleontologists discover Colorado 'swamp dweller' mammal that lived alongside dinosaurs
Fossilized stomach contents provide insights into the diet of Early Jurassic pterosaurs
Hong Kong discovers dinosaur fossils for the first time
Tracks left by a bird-sized dinosaur suggest it used wings to run faster
Smallest dinosaur egg ever found confirmed in China
Fossil unearthed in Brazil is 237-million-year-old sister-group to Dinosauria
New venomous reptile species from the Late Triassic unearthed in Arizona
Other news
Meteorite contains evidence of liquid water on Mars 742 million years ago
Experiment supports existence of a new type of superconductor
MassiveFold: Customizable version of AlphaFold reduces protein structure prediction time from months to hours
Barley pangenome study reveals diversity can arise after domestication
How 'clean' does a quantum computing test facility need to be?
Scientists recreate the head of this ancient 9-foot-long bug
Male or Female? AI enables sex determination of sheep based on their talus bone
New book brings prehistoric mammals to life
Squishy microgels in granular biomaterials confine and direct cell behavior
Robot identifies plants by 'touching' their leaves
Linking data on genetics, traits and environment gives crop breeders a wider lens
