Before the oldest dinosaur, before animals or even plants had expanded onto dry land, ancient relatives of starfish called crinoids, resembling stalked sea flowers, were among the first creatures to flourish in Earth's earliest ...
Paleontology & Fossils
Jul 6, 2026
1
4837
A new study, published July 6, 2026, in the journal Nature Communications, suggests that two of the best-known trends in human evolution—brain growth and the reduction in the size of the face and jaw—may be far less attributable ...
Evolution
Jul 6, 2026
1
1406
Arguably one of the most curious ancient human relatives is Homo floresiensis, a 3-foot-tall species that lived on the Indonesian island of Flores and has been nicknamed "hobbit" for its diminutive stature. Even though they ...
An associated set of gigantic vertebrae belonging to the iconic extinct megalodon, or megatooth shark, that had been missing in action since the 1980s was discovered, providing new information about the shark's lifestyle. ...
Paleontology & Fossils
Jun 28, 2026
0
141
Scientists have extracted and analyzed the first-ever ancient proteins from the fossils of Homo naledi, revealing a potential all-female burial site. The study, published in the journal Cell, raises the possibility that South ...
Evolution
Jun 24, 2026
0
64
Echinoderms, such as starfish, sea urchins and sea lilies, use small, flexible, tubular projections called "tube feet" for locomotion, feeding, respiration and sensory perception. Crinoids, a subgroup of echinoderms, are ...
Life on our planet began in the water. Eventually, one branch of the fish family tree developed legs and came up on land. These early four-legged animals, the tetrapods, were the forebears of today's mammals, birds, reptiles ...
Evolution
Jun 18, 2026
0
235
An international study led by Curtin University has revealed new insights into how an ancient flying reptile was preserved in extraordinary detail for 113 million years, offering a rare glimpse into a vanished world.
Paleontology & Fossils
Jun 18, 2026
0
528
An international study of infant remains from 50,000–75,000 years ago has provided new evidence about the developmental trajectory of our evolutionary "cousins," Neanderthals.
Evolution
Jun 17, 2026
0
76
Many animals exhibit fascinating collective behaviors, which allow them to move, search for food, reproduce and avoid threats more effectively than they would alone. One of these behaviors is queuing migration, which essentially ...
