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Paleontology & Fossils news
Unusual desert rocks suggest unknown microorganism that uses marble and limestone as a habitat
In the desert areas of Namibia, Oman, and Saudi Arabia, research work has revealed unusual structures that are probably due to the activity of an unknown microbiological life form. Unusually small burrows, i.e., tiny tubes ...
Cell & Microbiology
8 hours ago
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New report calls for return of human remains—but UK museums lack the resources to act
The display of human remains in museums has long been a contentious issue. Last week, the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Afrikan Reparations (APPG-AR) published a report on the African human remains collected by British ...
Paleontology & Fossils
9 hours ago
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Vulture fossil discovery reveals how volcanic deposits can preserve the microscopic details of animal tissues
An analysis of a 30,000-year-old fossil vulture from Central Italy has revealed for the first time that volcanic rock can preserve microscopic details in feathers—the first ever record of such a preservation.
Paleontology & Fossils
Mar 18, 2025
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Ancient seafloor creature grew like modern marine invertebrates, study suggests
The growth and lifespan of Parvancorina minchami, small anchor-shaped animals that lived on the seafloor about 550 million years ago, resemble that of current marine invertebrates like golden shrimp and Baltic clam.
Paleontology & Fossils
Mar 18, 2025
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Oldest cerapodan ornithischian dinosaur discovered in Morocco
A team of paleontologists from the Natural History Museum in the U.K., the University of Birmingham, also in the U.K., and Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdellah University, in Morocco, has unearthed the oldest known cerapodan ornithischian ...
Discovery of a new species of fossil tree helps paint picture of ancient African forest
Recent research by scientists at the Botanical Research Institute of Texas (BRIT), Texas Tech University, and several other collaborating institutions have identified ancient fossils of a newly described tree species named ...
Ecology
Mar 18, 2025
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A 15-million-year-old fossilized freshwater fish with preserved stomach contents is a newly discovered species
In an Australian first, researchers have described a new species of 15-million-year-old fossilized freshwater fish, Ferruaspis brocksi, that shows preserved stomach contents as well as the pattern of coloration.
Paleontology & Fossils
Mar 17, 2025
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How big brains and flexible skulls led to the evolution of modern birds
Modern birds are the living relatives of dinosaurs. Take a look at the features of flightless birds like chickens and ostriches that walk upright on two hind legs, or predators like eagles and hawks with their sharp talons ...
Evolution
Mar 17, 2025
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Museums have tons of data, and AI could make it more accessible
Ice cores in freezers, dinosaurs on display, fish in jars, birds in boxes, human remains and ancient artifacts from long-gone civilizations that few people ever see—museum collections are filled with all this and more.
Paleontology & Fossils
Mar 17, 2025
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The first fossil thrips in Africa: this tiny insect pest met its end in a volcanic lake 90 million years ago
Thrips are tiny insects—their sizes range between 0.5mm and 15mm in length and many are shorter than 5mm. But the damage they cause to crops is anything but small. A 2021 research paper found that in Indonesia "the damage ...
Paleontology & Fossils
Mar 17, 2025
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Western Europe's oldest human face discovered in Spain
The research team at the Atapuerca archaeological sites in Burgos, Spain, has just broken its own record by discovering, for the third time, the oldest human in Western Europe.
Paleontology & Fossils
Mar 16, 2025
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Melanosome patterns in Mesozoic mammals suggest they had dark, uniformly dull fur coloring
An international team of paleontologists, geoscientists and biologists has found via analysis of melanosome patterns in fossilized Mesozoic mammals, that they most likely had dark, uniformly dull fur coloring. In their paper ...
Dinosaur tracks, made 140 million years ago, have been found for the first time in South Africa's Western Cape
Dinosaurs have captured people's imagination ever since their bones and teeth were first scientifically described in 1822 by geologist and paleontologist Gideon Mantell in England.
Paleontology & Fossils
Mar 13, 2025
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DNA and 90 million-year-old pollen fossils reveal new insights into evolution of Asian tropics
In a new study published today in Science, researchers from the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (RBG Kew), together with global partners, combine results from two newly discovered prehistoric palm fossils with DNA from global ...
Evolution
Mar 13, 2025
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We modeled how early human ancestors ran—and found they were surprisingly slow
Imagine the scene, around 3 million years ago in what is now east Africa. By the side of a river, an injured antelope keels over and draws its last breath. The carcass is soon set on by hyenas, who tussle with a crocodile. ...
Evolution
Mar 13, 2025
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Rare aardvark trace fossils discovered in South Africa
A recent study published in Quaternary Research describes the discovery and identification of possible aardvark tracks and burrow sites in Pleistocene aeolianites on the South African Cape coast.
Terrestrial 'life oasis' from end-Permian mass extinction period discovered in China
A new study reveals that a region in China's Turpan-Hami Basin served as a refugium, or "life oasis," for terrestrial plants during the end-Permian mass extinction, the most severe biological crisis since the Cambrian period.
Paleontology & Fossils
Mar 12, 2025
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Archaeologists uncover the oldest known partial face fossil of a human ancestor in western Europe
A fossil of a partial face from a human ancestor is the oldest in western Europe, archaeologists reported Wednesday.
Paleontology & Fossils
Mar 12, 2025
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Wind turbine remains may be among 'most surprising' fossils for far future generations, paleontologists say
Many of today's everyday items are destined to become fossils after millions of years, but scientists have suggested that some of the most surprising of them might be wind turbine blades.
Paleontology & Fossils
Mar 12, 2025
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'Old stump' spotted by deer hunter is actually a mammoth tusk, Texas researchers say
Will Juett had doubts when a hunter told him they'd found something on the 02 Ranch even more rare than a trophy buck. An ancient fossil, the hunter said, a piece of a long-dead beast.
Paleontology & Fossils
Mar 12, 2025
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More news
Unnoticed for decades, dinosaur footprints at Australian school reveal ancient secrets
A 62-million-year-old skeleton sheds light on an enigmatic mammal
Fossil evidence found of humans domesticating avocados 7,500 years ago
Eocene mudflat fossils reveal ancient waterbird foraging behaviors and four new species
Digitization as the key to processing colonial natural history collections
Utah dig site reveals increased diversity of fossilized eggshells
How paleontologists are uncovering dinosaur behavior
Other news
Unveiling bacteria's viral defense: Nine genes that could aid phage therapy
Scientists see the first steps of DNA unwinding
Experimental antifungal compound kills multidrug-resistant fungi
The changing sky that plants see: Numerical tool predicts sunlight patterns to improve agriculture
A 380-million-year-old fossil 'fish' from Scotland has been discovered in Australia
New sauropod species from Romania transforms understanding of dinosaur island life in Europe
The origin of feathers remains a mystery
Carnivorous dinosaurs thrived in Australia 120 million years ago, new fossils show
New Australian dinosaurs and the oldest megaraptorid fossils in the world
Cations found to be culprit behind degraded platinum electrodes
Quantum heat dynamics toggled by magnetic fields in semimetal ZrTe₅
Novel porous material separates deuterium at elevated temperatures efficiently
