https://phys.org/biology-news/paleontology/ en-us News about paleontology, important paleontological discoveries and fossil studies It is one of the strangest puzzles in human evolution. About 90% of people across every human culture favor their right hand—with no other primate species showing a population-level preference on this scale. Despite decades of research into the brains, genes and development behind handedness, why humans ended up so overwhelmingly right-handed has remained an evolutionary enigma. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-why-is-almost-everyone-right.html Evolution Fri, 15 May 2026 13:00:06 EDT news698068021 A new type of long-necked plant-eating dinosaur—the largest ever found in Southeast Asia—has been revealed in a study led by researchers at University College London (UCL), Mahasarakham University, Suranaree University of Technology and Sirindhorn Museum in Thailand. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-titan-southeast-asia-biggest-dinosaur.html Paleontology & Fossils Thu, 14 May 2026 05:00:01 EDT news697882826 Scientists from the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology (IVPP) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences have uncovered new information suggesting a potential connection between Homo erectus and modern humans, while also developing new, less invasive paleoproteomics methods of fossil research. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-fossil-teeth-china-uncover-year.html Evolution Wed, 13 May 2026 11:00:01 EDT news697822390 More than 500 million years ago, during what is known as the Cambrian period, the seas and oceans on Earth were filled with a myriad of marine animals, many of which have now become extinct. This evolutionary burst in new forms of life, referred to as the Cambrian explosion, paved the way for the evolution of many major animal groups that still populate our planet today. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-strange-million-year-marine-fossils.html Evolution Wed, 13 May 2026 08:00:02 EDT news697721762 A reexamination of microfossils found in the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso do Sul shows that the marks previously interpreted as traces of worms or other small oceanic animals are actually communities of fossilized microscopic bacteria and algae. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-brazilian-microfossils-animal-algae-bacteria.html Cell & Microbiology Mon, 11 May 2026 19:20:03 EDT news697736042 A great Tyrannosaurus rex strides through the conifer trees of her territory, sniffing the air. She picks up the scent from the carcass of a dead horned dinosaur, Triceratops, that she was feeding on yesterday. She walks over and strips off some more shreds of meat, but the smell is foul even for her. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-dinosaurkilling-asteroid-armageddon-blowbyblow-account.html Paleontology & Fossils Mon, 11 May 2026 18:00:01 EDT news697724041 Baby dinosaurs were likely fed more nutritious food than their adult counterparts, a finding that could offer insights into their social evolution, suggests a new study. Paleontologists uncovered this finding by studying wear on the fossilized teeth of Maiasaura peeblesorum, a duck-billed dinosaur species that lived about 75 to 80 million years ago during the Late Cretaceous. First discovered in Montana, these large, herbivorous dinosaurs lived in herds and were thought to have been highly social creatures, especially in contrast to those that may have had different reproductive strategies. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-dinosaur-dental-fossils-reveal-bird.html Paleontology & Fossils Fri, 08 May 2026 11:40:03 EDT news697458061 The myriapoda group of arthropods includes the many-legged centipedes and millipedes that most people are familiar with. Although myriapods are all terrestrial creatures, researchers are unclear about when and how they evolved their many legs. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-ancient-sea-fossils-millipede-centipede.html Evolution Thu, 07 May 2026 10:40:03 EDT news697292388 A study published in the Journal of Systematic Palaeontology describes a new species of dinosaur discovered during construction of a road-rail terminal in the city of Davinópolis in the state of Maranhão, in the Northeast of Brazil. The animal, named Dasosaurus tocantinensis, was approximately 20 meters long and lived about 120 million years ago. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-necked-dinosaur-northeast-brazil-european.html Evolution Wed, 06 May 2026 16:40:03 EDT news697300165 In 2024, the Western Australian Museum received a donation. It was a koala skull collected from Moondyne Cave in Margaret River by Lindsay Hatcher, an avid caver. There was something a bit odd about this skull, and we were able to put our finger in it. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-lost-koala-fossil-species-plain.html Paleontology & Fossils Wed, 06 May 2026 10:40:01 EDT news697281782 A new study in Proceedings of the Royal Society B reveals the surprising neurological landscape of fish brains. Harvard researchers map the internal structures of ray-finned fishes' brains in 3D detail, discovering brain size and shape, as well as the endocasts, vary far more than expected. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-skull-full-evolutionary-secrets-fish.html Evolution Tue, 05 May 2026 19:10:08 EDT news697096082 Approximately 145 million: That's the number of specimens—including plants, animals, minerals, and human artifacts—curators estimate are held in the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History. However, these estimates do not reflect the billions of tiny individual specimens contained on microscope slides—thin pieces of glass that fix objects in place for observation—each representing a record of a species at a specific place and time. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-digitizing-microscope-uncover-billions-fossils.html Biotechnology Tue, 05 May 2026 17:30:01 EDT news697216081 Some of the most beautiful creatures to grace the ancient seas, the ammonites, disappeared in the end-Cretaceous mass extinction that finished off the dinosaurs 65.5 million years ago. "It's a tragic story, because this incredibly diverse group made it through multiple mass extinctions, including the most dramatic mass extinction event in history," the Permian-Triassic extinction, which killed off 96% of marine species about 252 million years ago, says Michael Schmutzer, an evolutionary biologist at the University of Oxford in England. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-tiny-eggs-ammonites-nautiloids-survived.html Evolution Tue, 05 May 2026 15:40:05 EDT news697200661 On a fateful day 210 million years ago, two crocodile cousins about the size of jackals stood side-by-side amid the low ferns of a humid riverbank that would one day become northern New Mexico. One of the crocs, Hesperosuchus agilis, had a long snout, large back legs, and smaller, thinner arms. A land dweller, Hesperosuchus was speedy and liked to hunt for food near rivers and streams. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-stone-million-years-newly-crocodile.html Paleontology & Fossils Sat, 02 May 2026 12:50:01 EDT news695476152 Dinosaurs are among the most majestic and iconic animals to have ever walked on our planet. While they are now extinct, they are estimated to have inhabited Earth for over 165 million years. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-dinosaurs-million-years-earlier-fossils.html Evolution Fri, 01 May 2026 08:00:01 EDT news696675541 New research led by Flinders University argues thick tooth enamel helped kangaroos chart an unconventional evolution story, compared to the animals of other continents. A 50-million-year natural "experiment" among Australia's marsupials suggests that the outcomes of evolution are far from certain. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-kangaroos-upside-evolution.html Evolution Thu, 30 Apr 2026 14:00:05 EDT news696757141 Tropical ecosystems rely on the infrastructure provided by termites. These insects supply plants with vital nutrients by breaking down organic waste, bringing water to the roots by aerating the soil through tunneling, and sustaining the food chain, as they make up an estimated 10–20% of the total biomass of rainforests. But termites were not always the backbone of tropical ecosystems. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-mass-extinctions-termites-essential-today.html Ecology Thu, 30 Apr 2026 11:00:11 EDT news696763382 A research team from the Institut Català de Paleontologia Miquel Crusafont (ICP-CERCA) has led the paleohistological study of Ampelomeryx ginsburgi, a giraffomorph ruminant from the Middle Miocene recovered at the Els Casots site (Catalonia, Spain). Through microscopic analysis of bone tissues, the researchers were able to determine that this peculiar animal reached skeletal maturity at three years of age, while reproductive maturity began around the second year. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-ampelomeryx-grew-life-history-giraffe.html Paleontology & Fossils Wed, 29 Apr 2026 13:40:07 EDT news696681781 Dogs have long been known to have smaller brains than the wolves they descended from. But when they started to shrink has been a matter of some debate. New research published in the journal Royal Society Open Science, which compared ancient and modern canid skulls, puts the date at around 5,000 years ago. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-tail-dog-brain-reveals-began.html Evolution Wed, 29 Apr 2026 11:20:04 EDT news696675845 Between 50,000 and 10,000 years ago, many of the world's largest mammals disappeared. Picture creatures like saber-toothed cats with 7-inch fangs and elephant-sized sloths. Woolly mammoths whose curved tusks grew longer than 12 feet. Even a three-ton wombat the size of a car. After roaming Earth for millions of years, most large-bodied mammals—especially those weighing over a ton—were wiped out. Vanished. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-giants-years-triggered-ripple-effects.html Ecology Mon, 27 Apr 2026 15:00:11 EDT news696242881 Mammals and dinosaurs coexisted on Earth until a catastrophic event 66 million years ago killed 75% of life on the planet. Despite the devastation, some animals survived, including rodent-like mammals in the Cimolodon genus. These creatures are part of the multituberculates, a group that arose during the Jurassic Period and survived over 100 million years before going extinct. Studying these animals helps researchers better understand how mammals survived the mass extinction event and then diversified into the variety of mammals around today. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-dinosaurs-hamster-sized-mammal-survived.html Evolution Sat, 25 Apr 2026 14:00:04 EDT news696179114 As Earth shifts to climates not seen for several hundred thousand years, we may need to look at ancient environments for clues about what could happen next. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-seas-great-white-sharks-north.html Ecology Fri, 24 Apr 2026 10:20:03 EDT news696244442 A fossil discovery in Mistelgau, Northern Bavaria, Germany, reveals that the last representatives of the giant ichthyosaurs of the genus Temnodontosaurus survived longer in the Southwest German Basin than previously thought. The Early Jurassic marine reptile is exceptionally well-preserved. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-battered-jurassic-sea-giant-held.html Paleontology & Fossils Fri, 24 Apr 2026 09:20:04 EDT news696239221 Today's octopuses are intelligent, remarkably flexible animals that lurk in reefs, hide in crevices, or drift through the deep sea. But new research suggests that their earliest relatives may have played a far more predatory role in ocean ecosystems. A study led by researchers at Hokkaido University has found that the earliest known octopuses were giant predators that hunted at the very top of the food web, alongside large marine vertebrates. The study is published in Science. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-giant-octopuses-oceans-million-years.html Evolution Thu, 23 Apr 2026 18:30:02 EDT news696182161 Flinders University researchers have taken a revealing look inside the head of one of the first animals to crawl from the water to live on land more than 380 million years ago. Using high-tech neutron imaging, they scanned the skull and braincase of the only known specimen of Koharalepis jarviki, a large fossil fish found in freshwater rivers in the vast Lashly Mountains region of Antarctica which lived during the Devonian Period or "Age of Fishes." https://phys.org/news/2026-04-skull-devonian-fish-gondwana-revealed.html Biotechnology Thu, 23 Apr 2026 17:20:07 EDT news696170303 Paleontologists from the Federal University of Santa Maria (UFSM) have published a new study in the scientific journal Royal Society Open Science, in which they describe a new species based on a fossil skull approximately 230 million years old. The specimen was discovered within the Quarta Colônia UNESCO Global Geopark, in southern Brazil, at a fossil site that has already yielded some of the oldest dinosaurs in the world. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-brazil-unearths-bizarre-beaked-reptile.html Paleontology & Fossils Thu, 23 Apr 2026 14:40:02 EDT news696164521 Amber from the Kachin region of Myanmar has preserved a wealth of fossils, offering insights into the diversity of the Cretaceous fauna of a 100-million-year-old forest ecosystem. The site continues to yield previously unknown species. LMU researchers have now discovered the fossil of a true bug (Heteroptera) with an unusual morphological feature for insects—large claws on its front legs which recall the grasping appendages of crabs. These so-called chelae, which function like pincers or forceps, are extremely rare in insects. The finding is reported in the journal Insects. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-ancient-amber-reveals-true-bug.html Evolution Wed, 22 Apr 2026 17:30:03 EDT news696093481 For more than 270 million years, trilobites were among the most successful and diverse creatures on Earth, with over 22,000 known species spanning the Paleozoic Era. Yet, despite their abundance in the fossil record and their presence on every continent, one of the most fundamental questions about their survival has remained a subject of intense scientific debate: how did they breathe? https://phys.org/news/2026-04-life-ancient-mystery-trilobite-respiratory.html Evolution Tue, 21 Apr 2026 19:00:12 EDT news695979862 A new species of coelacanth has been identified from a 150-year-old fossil housed at London's Natural History Museum. Former University of Portsmouth paleontology student Jack L. Norton located the coelacanth, which provides a crucial missing piece in the evolutionary history of one of the world's most iconic fish lineages. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-link-evolution-ancient-fish-year.html Evolution Tue, 21 Apr 2026 13:40:04 EDT news695990042 Scientists have uncovered the earliest fossil evidence of annelids (ringed worms) in Cambrian microfossils dating back approximately 535 million years ago. This discovery offers fresh insights into the origin and early evolution of the annelids, a group of animals that includes bristle worms, earthworms, leeches, and peanut worms. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-cambrian-microfossils-reveal-earliest-worms.html Evolution Mon, 20 Apr 2026 17:00:08 EDT news695918636