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Paleontology & Fossils news
Cretaceous fireflies reveal early evolution of insect bioluminescence
Bioluminescence, the ability of living organisms to emit light, is a fascinating phenomenon observed in various life forms, including deep-sea fish, glowing mushrooms, and fireflies. Fireflies have long captivated people ...
Evolution
21 hours ago
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Study shows that ancient reef-building stromatoporoids dodged extinction—at least temporarily
Will modern coral reefs go extinct? The answer is uncertain, but some of their ancient counterparts managed to dodge a bullet—for a while, at least.
Ecology
Sep 25, 2024
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Fossils from the Adriatic Sea show a recent and worrying reversal of fortunes
If you'd stopped monitoring the Adriatic Sea's marine life in the mid-20th century, the outlook would have been promising. Snails and the clams they hunt for food increased in abundance for several decades during the late ...
Ecology
Sep 25, 2024
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Brazilian fossils reveal early evolution of mammalian jaw and middle ear
Newly discovered fossils, belonging to the mammal-precursor species Brasilodon quadrangularis and Riograndia guaibensis, offer critical insights into the development of the mammalian jaw and middle ear, revealing evolutionary ...
Evolution
Sep 25, 2024
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Unveiling ancient life: New method sheds light on early cellular and metabolic evolution
Fossils don't always come in large, dinosaur-sized packages. Microfossils refer to a type of fossil that is so small, it can only be perceived with a microscope. These microfossils can help us understand when and how early ...
Evolution
Sep 24, 2024
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Rare Florida fossil finally ends debate about how porcupine jaws and tails evolved
A rare, nearly complete fossil of an extinct North American porcupine helped me and my colleagues solve a decades-long debate about how the modern North American porcupine evolved from its ancestors.
Paleontology & Fossils
Sep 23, 2024
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Fossil site in Massachusetts reveals 320-million-year-old ecosystem
Researchers have discovered an exceptionally preserved fossil site in Massachusetts that provides a rare glimpse into terrestrial life from over 300 million years ago. The findings, published in Nature Communications, reveal ...
Ecology
Sep 19, 2024
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103
Small populations of Stone Age people drove dwarf hippos and elephants to extinction on Cyprus
Imagine growing up beside the eastern Mediterranean Sea 14,000 years ago. You're an accomplished sailor of the small watercraft you and your fellow villagers make, and you live off both the sea and the land.
Ecology
Sep 18, 2024
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Early dingoes are related to dogs from New Guinea and East Asia, 3D fossil scanning study finds
New archaeological research by the University of Sydney has discovered for the first time clear links between fossils of the iconic Australian dingo, and dogs from East Asia and New Guinea.
Evolution
Sep 18, 2024
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150
New evidence suggests allergies were partly to blame for demise of woolly mammoth
A team of chemists and zoologists from Israel, Italy and Russia, has found evidence suggesting that part of the reason woolly mammoths went extinct was the onset of allergies that made it difficult for them to find mates.
Unraveling an ancient European extinction mystery: Disappearance of dwarf megafauna on paleolithic Cyprus
Scientists have unraveled a mystery about the disappearance of dwarf hippos and elephants that once roamed the picturesque landscape on the Mediterranean island of Cyprus before paleolithic humans arrived.
Paleontology & Fossils
Sep 17, 2024
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Are kiwi and moa recent immigrants from Australia? Neither fossils nor genetic evidence support the story
Aotearoa New Zealand is a land of birds, from the smallest of wrens to the mightiest of moa. The ancestors of some species have been here for tens of millions of years, while others arrived only a few million years ago.
Molecular & Computational biology
Sep 17, 2024
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The mammalian inner ear is a striking example of convergent evolution, new study reveals
A new study reveals the surprisingly convergent evolution in the inner ear of mammals. An international research team led by Nicole Grunstra from the University of Vienna and Anne Le Maître from the Konrad Lorenz Institute ...
Evolution
Sep 17, 2024
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178
Paleontologists find omnivorous ancestor of the giant panda, revealing it was not always just a bamboo eater
The Hammerschmiede fossil site in southern Germany has yielded finds from about 11.5 million years ago that have rewritten evolutionary history. The sole species of bear discovered to date at the site was a relative of the ...
Paleontology & Fossils
Sep 16, 2024
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Exceptional new fish fossil sparks a rethink of how Earth's geology drives evolution
Coelacanths are deep-sea fish that live off the coasts of southern Africa and Indonesia and can reach up to two meters in length. For a long time, scientists believed they were extinct.
Evolution
Sep 15, 2024
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A 149 million-year-old pterosaur is Britain's largest flying animal—scientists prove it from a finger bone
Scientists have estimated the size of an extinct flying reptile called a pterosaur, based on fragments of a fossil finger bone discovered in southern England in June 2022. These results reveal it to be the largest British ...
Paleontology & Fossils
Sep 12, 2024
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New fossil fish species scales up evidence of Earth's evolutionary march
Climate change and asteroids are linked with animal origin and extinction—and plate tectonics also seems to play a key evolutionary role, "groundbreaking" new fossil research reveals.
Evolution
Sep 12, 2024
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155
Trilobite fossils from upstate New York reveal 'extra' set of legs
A new study finds that a trilobite species with exceptionally well-preserved fossils from upstate New York has an additional set of legs underneath its head. The research, led by the American Museum of Natural History and ...
Paleontology & Fossils
Sep 12, 2024
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AI-based technique speeds up the analysis of fossils
Queensland Museum and James Cook University scientists are using AI to unlock the mysteries of our fossil past. The scientists have developed an AI-based technique that has sped up the analysis of fossils, taking a months-long ...
Molecular & Computational biology
Sep 11, 2024
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154
Multiple ways to evolve tiny knee bone could have helped humans walk upright
The evolution of bones in primates' knees could have implications for how humans evolved to walk upright, a new study has found.
Evolution
Sep 10, 2024
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115
More news
Three new ancestors added to Tasmanian tiger's storyline
Large theropod dinosaurs thrived near South Pole, Australian tracks show
Mysterious 50-million-year-old fish to get a new genus
Qunkasaura: New sauropod dinosaur from the Cretaceous discovered in the Iberian Peninsula
A tiny relative of the Triceratops: International team discovers a new horned dinosaur
Chemists explain why dinosaur collagen may have survived for millions of years
What fur development can tell us about our ancient ancestors
Tropical plants discovered in Tasmania's ancient Polar Forest
Kākāpō, not kiwi, are the true ancient species of Aotearoa, say paleontologists
Matching dinosaur footprints found on opposite sides of the Atlantic Ocean
Paleontologists discover new predatory dinosaur with a distinctive 'eyebrow'
Other news
Shedding light on a decades-old protein sorting mystery
New research could extend the lifetime of key carbon-capture materials
The unexpected role of magnetic microbes in deep-sea mining
A new AI model can predict substrate movement into and out of cells
Aliphatic hydrocarbons on Ceres' surface found to have short lifetimes
In Mississippi, discovery of elephant fossil from the ice age provides window into the past
Discovery of tiny bone sheds light on mysterious 'hobbit' humans
135-million-year-old marine crocodile sheds light on Cretaceous life
Scientists discover 'pause button' in human development
Study unveils a novel protective mechanism in bacterial cell walls
