520-Million-Year-Old Fossils Solve One of Evolution’s Biggest Mysteries
Exceptionally preserved fossils from China reveal that bryozoans were already thriving during the Cambrian explosion. More than half a billion years ago, the Cambrian explosion reshaped life on Earth,...
Tooth fossil analysis suggests 'brawn before bite' in early Asian mammals
An analysis of fossil teeth from mammals that lived in China following the most recent major mass extinction suggests size came before both shape and function as diets diversified.
Antarctica's first dinosaur fossil belonged to a group of the largest land animals ever
Researchers have identified the first-ever dinosaur fossil discovered on Antarctica, revealing it belonged to a titanosaur.
Himalayan pangolin emerges as distinct species, confirmed with DNA from 19th-century specimen
The pangolin is a midsize mammal found only in Africa and Asia. The pangolins' scales make them unique, but these scales have become their undoing. Pangolins are poached for their scales, making them ...
17-Million-Year-Old Ape Fossil in Egypt Could Change What We Know About Human Origins
Researchers have identified a previously unknown fossil ape from Egypt that could alter long-held ideas about the origins of modern apes. The evolutionary story of apes has long contained a major geog...
A rare dinosaur fossil from Antarctica is found tucked away in a drawer
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Deep inside crocodile skulls, 100 million years of brain evolution barely registers
Although modern crocodiles, alligators, caimans and gharials are restricted to the tropics, their fossil record tells a very different story. Ancient crocodylians once inhabited much of the globe and ...
No life strategy guarantees survival when the environment changes, a 500-million-year study of coral evolution reveals. While algae symbiosis allowed modern corals to dominate, fossil data shows this trait makes them uniquely vulnerable to rapid warming compared to deep-sea species.
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New fossil site suggests flowering plants were already thriving 10 million years before the dinosaur extinction
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Lost megalodon vertebrae resurface, confirming 80-foot size estimate
An associated set of gigantic vertebrae belonging to the iconic extinct megalodon, or megatooth shark, that had been missing in action since the 1980s was discovered, providing new information about t...
Beetle-like borings in 70-million-year-old titanosaur fossils reshape Lo Hueco fossil story
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 he...
Scientists Discover the Oldest Known Fossils of Humans’ Closest Invertebrate Relatives
New fossils hint that the roots of complex animal life stretch further back than previously believed. Animal life today is remarkably varied and complex, and animals have spread into nearly every envi...
Fossil fish tooth chemistry uncovers Southern Hemisphere role in Earth's ice age shift
To understand where Earth might be headed, it's important to know where it has been. Throughout its existence, especially over the past couple of million years, Earth has experienced periodic cold and...
Why were mysterious ancient humans found in an African cave all female?
Analysis of fossil proteins deepens mystery of the enigmatic Homo naledi
Oldest example of preserved tube feet reveals clues about the lives of 452-million-year-old sea lilies
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...
The Long-Lived Chicxulub Hydrothermal System Lasted 8 Million Years
The asteroid that caused the extinction of the dinosaurs also created an underground environment suited to supporting new life, and new research suggests it lasted for millions of years longer than pr...
500-million-year fossil record reveals corals' symbiotic advantage shifted with changing environments
Coral reef ecosystems, widely seen as a climate change bellwether, are more complex than previously understood. A new international study by the universities of Bristol, Wuhan in China, and Erlangen-N...
This four-winged dinosaur may have terrorized Earth's earliest birds
A newly discovered feathered dinosaur called Jian changmaensis may be the missing predator responsible for mysterious piles of crushed prehistoric bird bones in China. The four-winged glider, a close ...
Newly identified fossil sheds light on evolutionary history of saber-toothed cats
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125-million-year-old fossil reveals 'pregnant' shellfish
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 ...