Ancient 'weirdo' reptile graduated from 4 legs to 2 in adolescence
Sonselasuchus cedrus, discovered in fossils from Arizona, was a crocodile relative from the Triassic period that grew into an ostrich-like adult
A new Middle Jurassic marine reptile from Gondwana clarifies the origin of Cryptoclidia, the most successful group of plesiosaurs
Papers in Palaeontology, Volume 12, Issue 2, March/April 2026.
Lower Ordovician (Floian) conodonts from the Western Puna Magmatic Belt in northwestern Argentina: palaeobiogeographic significance and implications
Papers in Palaeontology, Volume 12, Issue 2, March/April 2026.
New fossil reveals the weird 'tooth cushions' of an apex predator from 425 million years ago
Roughly 425 million years ago, in the warm seas over what is now southern China, there lived a meter-long bony fish with jaws full of clusters of spiky teeth.
These Tiny Teeth Could Change What We Know About Human Origins
Tiny fossil teeth from Colorado are revealing new clues about the very first relatives of primates, including humans. Scientists have discovered tiny fossils of Purgatorius, the earliest known relativ...
Largest known Mesozoic crocodyliform egg clutch discovered in Brazil
In a study published in the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, researchers Dr. Giovanna M. X. Paixão and her colleagues analyzed the fossilized remains of three Upper Cretaceous egg clutches. One of ...
Strange 90-Million-Year-Old Dinosaur Fossil Rewrites History
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T. rex took 40 years to reach full size, study finds
Tyrannosaurus rex may have taken far longer to grow up than scientists once thought. By analyzing growth rings in fossilized leg bones from 17 tyrannosaur specimens and using new statistical methods, ...
Paleontologists challenge use of bone growth rings to age crocodiles, dinosaurs
Do the bones of all Nile crocodiles have the same number of growth marks as their age? And can such growth rings be counted to accurately gauge the age of these reptiles? Is this also an accurate meth...
Largest Silurian fish illuminates the origin of osteichthyan characters
Osteichthyans (bony fishes and tetrapods) encompass 98% of modern vertebrate species. However, our understanding of the sequence of character evolution among stem osteichthyans has been substantially ...
The oldest articulated bony fish from the early Silurian period
Carboniferous fossils enlighten the systematics and evolution of Hemiptera
Papers in Palaeontology, Volume 12, Issue 2, March/April 2026.
Prehistoric water-dwelling weirdo with sideways teeth and a twisted jaw was already a 'living fossil' 275 million years ago
Scientists have described Tanyka amnicola, a newly identified species of prehistoric creature that lived 275 million years ago and had a bizarre twisted jaw with sideways-facing teeth.
Scientists compared dinosaurs to mammals for decades but missed this key difference
Baby dinosaurs weren’t coddled like lion cubs or elephant calves—they were more like prehistoric latchkey kids. New research suggests that young dinosaurs quickly struck out on their own, forming kid-...
Fossil amber reveals the secret lives of Cretaceous ants
Tiny insects trapped in amber could tell us a great deal about their roles in past ecosystems: pollinators, parasites, predators, and prey. But how many of the insects preserved alongside each other r...
Geochronological insights of middle miocene primates and vertebrate fauna of Ramnagar (J&K, India): Integrating litho- and magnetostratigraphy
The Middle Miocene site of Ramnagar (Jammu and Kashmir), India is well-known for its fossil primates including Sivapithecus indicus, Kapi ramnagarensis, and Ramadapis sahnii. Although always suggested...
Vertebrate paleontology has a numbers problem. Computer vision can help
How many fossils does it take to accurately train an image-based AI algorithm? According to a new study co-authored by Bruce MacFadden, UF Distinguished Professor Emeritus and retired curator of verte...
First plesiosaurian fossil discovered in Algeria fills a Cretaceous gap
In a study published in Historical Biology, Dr. Mohammed Naimi and his colleagues report the discovery of the first plesiosaurian remains from Algeria. Additionally, the fossil, dated to the Late Coni...
Tiny predatory dinosaur weighed less than a chicken
The alvarezsaurs were thought to have evolved a smaller stature because of their diet of ants and termites, but a new fossil found in Argentina casts doubt on that theory
Forget flatfooted lumbering T. rex. New research shows it walked on tiptoes
Powerful, fierce and the king of the Cretaceous world, Tyrannosaurus rex was the ultimate apex predator. But it was also surprisingly dainty on its feet, according to new research. Findings published ...