Ancient ferns turned Triassic Europe into a wildfire inferno
Ancient fern savannahs may have transformed parts of Europe into a wildfire-prone inferno during the end-Triassic mass extinction. New fossil evidence suggests the ferns repeatedly regrew after fires,...
Danish fish fossil cliffs set to gain UNESCO status
Two Danish coastal cliffs where paleontologists have uncovered 55-million-year-old fossils of prehistoric wildlife are likely to gain World Heritage status as UNESCO's committee meets in South Korea.
The Oldest Known Right-Handed Animal May Have Lived 550 Million Years Ago
New research suggests that the ancient animal Spriggina floundersi tended to bend to the right, making it the oldest known example of lateralized behavior. More than 550 million years ago, a small, fl...
A thorny evolution: first Triassic ammonoid with a ventral apertural elongated rostrum
Papers in Palaeontology, Volume 12, Issue 4, July/August 2026.
Researchers Narrow Down the Type of Meteorite that Killed the Dinosaurs
An international team of Earth scientists has narrowed down the class of impactor that caused the Cretaceous-Paleogene extinction event. According to their findings, it was a rare type of rock that or...
New web tool maps fossil locations across ancient continents in seconds
Calculating a fossil's position throughout geological history is a complex process. In paleontology and other disciplines, determining a location in the past is a challenge that requires refined compu...
Some dinosaurs could rise like giants until they grew too big
Two elephant-sized South American sauropods were unusually well built for standing on their hind legs. Digital tests showed that their robust femurs handled the enormous forces better than those of la...
Mystery Bones Found in Japan Belong to a Giant Salamander Unlike Any Known
Three bones unearthed in Japan have revealed a lost giant salamander species that prowled ancient wetlands 3.5 million years ago. Three isolated bones discovered in Japan nearly 30 years ago have turn...
Researchers identify class of 'oddball' meteorite that killed the dinosaurs
A rare CO chondrite meteorite was the probable impacter that struck Earth 66 million years ago, wiping out 75% of Earth's species, including nonavian dinosaurs. These findings are published in Science...
Reptile fossil found in Brazil helps shed light on the common origins of dinosaurs and crocodiles
Long before dinosaurs ruled the continents and modern crocodiles first appeared, their ancestors were already going through a decisive phase in their evolutionary history. It was in this ancient world...
The genus Coryphodon in Europe: contribution of new exceptional material from Le Quesnoy (northern France, early Eocene, MP7)
Papers in Palaeontology, Volume 12, Issue 4, July/August 2026.
Living alligators expose why juvenile fossils can fool classification methods
Fossil finds are exciting moments that sometimes introduce the world to an ancient mammal or dinosaur that existed millions of years ago. But a longstanding problem in paleontology is that fossils are...
A new record holder for the world's oldest amber discovered in China
Paleontologists in China have discovered the oldest chemically verified amber ever found, dating to 385 million years ago. That's approximately 140 million years before dinosaurs roamed Earth. The pre...
'Another dinosaur has entered the luxury collectibles market': Gus the T. rex just sold for $50 million. Here's what its loss means to science.
Gus, a Tyrannosaurus rex unearthed in South Dakota, just sold for $50 million at auction. But it's unknown if the specimen will ever be made available to science.
What science loses when T. rex becomes a trophy
On July 14, 2026, "Gus," one of the most complete specimens of Tyrannosaurus rex, went to an as-yet-unidentified buyer for $50.1 million. This auction at Sotheby's set a record for the most valuable f...
A T. rex named Gus is now the most expensive fossil ever sold
Some scientists opposed the sale on the grounds that it hinders paleontological research
T. rex was likely responsible for some tooth marks on fossil bones from Cretaceous era
A collection of fossilized dinosaur bones from Wyoming features tooth marks that provide evidence that some bites were likely made by Tyrannosaurus rex, according to a study published July 15, 2026, i...
Ultraviolet light uncovers the first known juveniles of a mysterious Jurassic fish family
For more than 150 years, fossils of Jurassic fish scattered across Europe's museums were studied and drawn by generations of scientists. However, when a paleontologist decided to shine an ultraviolet ...
567-Million-Year-Old Fossils Suggest Animals Evolved Earlier Than We Thought
The story of Earth’s first animals may need rewriting after ancient fossils revealed an earlier start to complex life. From butterflies to blue whales, corals, and worms, Earth is home to an inc...
'Gus' the T. rex fetches record $50.1 mn at US auction
A Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton nicknamed "Gus" sold Tuesday for $50.1 million at Sotheby's in New York, making it the most valuable dinosaur fossil bought at auction after a 10-minute battle between sev...