The Cretaceous is a geologic period spanning approximately 145 to 66 million years ago, forming the final period of the Mesozoic Era. It is characterized by high eustatic sea levels, extensive epicontinental seas, and a warm greenhouse climate with minimal polar ice. Tectonically, it saw continued breakup of Pangea, expansion of the Atlantic Ocean, and major episodes of oceanic plateau and large igneous province formation. Biologically, it is marked by diversification of angiosperms, complex marine plankton communities, and dominant non-avian dinosaurs, and it terminates at the Cretaceous–Paleogene boundary, defined globally by a mass extinction horizon and an iridium-rich layer.
One of the world's most complete Tyrannosaurus rex skeletons, nicknamed "Gus," was showcased Wednesday at Sotheby's auction house in New York ahead of its sale later this month.
Paleontology & Fossils
Jul 2, 2026
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The first dinosaur fossil found on the Antarctic continent has been described scientifically. The fossil, a vertebra, was found on a British Antarctic Survey (BAS) expedition in 1985 but has only recently been recognized ...
Paleontology & Fossils
Jun 29, 2026
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Traces or perforations caused by living organisms after an animal's death can be found on various dinosaur bone remains. These perforations, known as bioerosion structures, provide information that helps us understand relationships ...
Ecology
Jun 26, 2026
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A new study published in Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society describes, for the first time in detail, the soft tissues preserved in Montsecosuchus depereti, a Lower Cretaceous crocodylomorph from the Pedrera de Meià ...
Paleontology & Fossils
Jun 17, 2026
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When an asteroid struck Earth about 66 million years ago, it ended the age of dinosaurs and transformed life across the planet. The effects of that catastrophe are visible in the fossil record on land, but scientists know ...
Paleontology & Fossils
Jun 4, 2026
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A fossil bed in northwestern China is littered with the remains of hundreds of prehistoric birds—including some whose broken bones were crushed into pellets, similar to those coughed up by modern owls. For years, scientists ...
Paleontology & Fossils
Jun 4, 2026
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A fossil mammal tooth smaller than a grain of rice does not announce itself loudly. It must be hard won from sediment and stone. Then, under a microscope, it reveals itself—no longer just a speck of blackness but a surface ...
Evolution
Jun 2, 2026
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In the Triassic, the modern animals we know were just beginning to diversify into a menagerie of forms and body plans that rhyme with the lifestyles of extinct and living animals better known to the public, but nested in ...
Evolution
May 26, 2026
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There's a new T. rex in the fossil record, only this one terrorized the ancient seas. New research led by scientists at the American Museum of Natural History, the Perot Museum of Nature and Science in Dallas, and Southern ...
Paleontology & Fossils
May 21, 2026
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Today's Arctic may feel remote and desolate, but more than 70 million years ago, it was a surprisingly lively place for some of Earth's ancient mammals.
Ecology
May 18, 2026
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