Invertebrate paleontology is the scientific discipline within paleontology that investigates the fossil record of animals lacking a vertebral column, including groups such as mollusks, arthropods, echinoderms, cnidarians, and brachiopods. It focuses on the morphology, taxonomy, phylogenetic relationships, and evolutionary patterns of these organisms, using skeletal hard parts (e.g., shells, exoskeletons, ossicles) preserved in sedimentary rocks. Invertebrate paleontologists employ stratigraphic distribution, paleoecological reconstruction, and quantitative methods to infer biodiversity trends, biogeographic patterns, and environmental change through geologic time, and to refine biostratigraphic frameworks critical for correlating and dating sedimentary sequences.
Scientists have uncovered what may be the earliest evidence of "right-handedness" in the animal kingdom, dating back more than half a billion years. The discovery comes from the fossil record of Spriggina floundersi, an organism ...
Evolution
Jul 9, 2026
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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
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Whether mussels, crustaceans or fish, marine animals have been responding to environmental crises with a reduction in body size for hundreds of millions of years. A new study by Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg ...
Evolution
Jul 3, 2026
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The earliest evidence of spiders' fangs has been identified in a 518-million-year-old fossil by scientists at the University of Leicester and Yunnan University.
Evolution
Jul 1, 2026
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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 ...
An international team of scientists led by Dr. Graciela Delvene of the Geological and Mining Institute of Spain (CSIC) has uncovered the oldest known evidence of maternal care in shellfish, revealing that some freshwater ...
Evolution
Jun 22, 2026
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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 ...
Fossil fragments found in the U.K. have been identified as remains of the largest scorpions ever. Measuring more than a meter in length, Praearcturus gigas was among the first large predators to ever stalk the land.
Evolution
Jun 3, 2026
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2524
New research published in BMC Biology helps to fill in questions about the so-called "Furongian gap" from about 497 million to 485 million years ago, when paleontologists previously thought there were far fewer fossils than ...
Evolution
May 28, 2026
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From butterflies to blue whales, corals and worms, Earth is home to an incredible diversity of animals. How all of these animals evolved from earlier, simpler ancestors is one of the most exciting stories in the history book ...
Evolution
May 21, 2026
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