Paleontology News

New Species of Early Koala Relative Discovered in Australia

Reconstruction of early marsupials (left to right): the wallaby-sized herbivore Muramura williamsi, extinct koala relative Madakoala devisi and the calf-sized ilariid Ilaria lawsone. Image credit: Peter Schouten.
Sep 6, 2023 by News Staff

The newly-discovered species, Lumakoala blackae, was comparable in size to the smallest-known members of the koala family (Phascolarctidae), with body-mass estimates of 2.2-2.6 kg. The discovery helps fill a 30 million gap in the evolution of Australia’s marsupials. Reconstruction of early marsupials (left to right): the wallaby-sized herbivore Muramura williamsi, extinct koala relative Madakoala devisi and the calf-sized ilariid Ilaria lawsone....

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Fast rates of plesiosaur evolution. Image credit: Qi-Ling Liu.

Plesiosaurs Gained Their Long Necks Very Rapidly, Paleontologists Say

Sep 4, 2023 by News Staff

Paleontologists have identified a new species of plesiosaur ancestor based on two new specimens from the Early Triassic Nanzhang-Yuan’an Fauna of China....

The red-billed tropicbird (Phaethon aethereus subsp. mesonauta) in the waters around Trinidad and Tobago. Image credit: Dominic Sherony / CC BY-SA 2.0.

Paleocene Fossil Illuminates Early Evolutionary History of Tropicbirds

Sep 1, 2023 by Enrico de Lazaro

Paleontologists have described a new genus and species of tropicbird from a fossilized partial skeleton found in New Zealand. The fossil represents the...

Dicreosaurid dinosaurs, from larger to smaller: Dicraeosaurus hansemanni, Amargasaurus cazaui, and Brachytrachelopan mesai. Image credit: Sci.News / Nobu Tamura, http://spinops.blogspot.com / Bing Image Creator.

New Sauropod Dinosaur Unearthed in India

Aug 31, 2023 by Enrico de Lazaro

Paleontologists from the Indian Institute of Technology and the Geological Survey of India have described a new genus and species of dicraeosaurid sauropod...

Inhabitants of the ‘Island of the Dwarf Dinosaurs’ in the Cretaceous Transylvania: Transylvanosaurus platycephalus (front right), as well as turtles, crocodiles, giant pterosaurs, and dwarf dinosaurs. Image credit: Peter Nickolaus.

European Rhabdodontids were Amongst Last Non-Avian Dinosaurs, Paleontologists Say

Aug 30, 2023 by Enrico de Lazaro

A family of medium-sized iguanodontian dinosaurs called the Rhabdodontidae was one of the most important dinosaur groups inhabiting the ancient European...

Life reconstruction of Kylinxia zhangi. Image credit: X. Wang.

Cambrian Marine Arthropod Had Three Eyes and Four Pairs of Biramous Head Limbs

Aug 29, 2023 by Enrico de Lazaro

Paleontologists from Yunnan University, the University of Leicester and the Natural History Museum, London have conducted a microtomographic study of new...

The 3,000-year-old long-horned bee. Image credit: Andrea Baucon.

3,000-Year-Old Fossilized Bees Found in Portugal

Aug 28, 2023 by Enrico de Lazaro

The 100-million-year extensive fossil record of bee brood nests and cells in sedimentary deposits, or paleosols, is usually devoid of the presence of their...

Graecopithecus freybergi lived 7.2 million years ago in the dust-laden savannah of the Athens Basin. This view from Graecopithecus freybergi’ place of discovery, Pyrgos Vassilissis, to the southeast over the plain of Athens and under a reddish cloud of Sahara dust; in the background: Mount Hymettos and Mount Lykabettos. Image credit: Velizar Simeonovski.

8.7-Million-Year-Old Fossil Suggests Ancestors of Humans and African Apes Evolved in Europe

Aug 24, 2023 by News Staff

The fossilized remains of the Miocene-period ape species Anadoluvius turkae have been unearthed at the paleotological site of Çorakyerler in central Anatolia,...

Fossils have been found of several types of abelisaur showing the diversity of dinosaurs in Morocco at the end of the Cretaceous period. Image credit: Andrey Atuchin.

Fossils of Two New Abelisaurid Dinosaurs Uncovered in Morocco

Aug 23, 2023 by News Staff

Paleontologists have unearthed the fossilized remains of two T. rex cousins in the Ouled Abdoun Basin, northern Morocco. Fossils have been found of several...

Smilodon fatalis. Image credit: Adam Hartstone-Rose.

Could Saber-Toothed Cats and American Lions Roar?

Aug 22, 2023 by News Staff

The American lion (Panthera atrox) may have roared, while the saber-toothed cat Smilodon fatalis may have produced vocalizations similar to living purring...

Skull and life reconstruction of Saurosuchus galilei. Image credit: Jordan Bestwick, University of Birmingham.

Triassic Apex Predator Had Much Weaker Bite than Previously Thought

Aug 21, 2023 by News Staff

Saurosuchus galilei, a large loricatan pseudosuchian archosaur that lived in South America 230 million years ago (Late Triassic epoch), was thought to...

Life reconstruction of Potamotherium valletoni. Image credit: Gabriel Ugueto.

Early Seal Had Otter-Like Appearance, May Have Used Its Whiskers to Forage for Food

Aug 21, 2023 by News Staff

Seals, sea lions and walruses (Pinnipedia) use their whiskers (vibrissae) to explore their environment and locate their prey. Today they live mostly in...

Life reconstruction of Venetoraptor gassenae. Image credit: Caio Fantini.

Triassic Pterosaur Relative Had Raptorial-Like Beak and Long Hands with Scimitar-Like Claws

Aug 17, 2023 by Enrico de Lazaro

A new genus and species of pterosaur precursor has been described from a 230-million-year-old partial skeleton found in southern Brazil. Life reconstruction...

Palaeopycnogonides gracilis. Scale bars - 5 mm. Image credit: Sabroux et al., doi: 10.1002/spp2.1515.

New Research Sheds More Light on Evolution of Sea Spiders

Aug 17, 2023 by News Staff

Paleontologists have examined a collection of 160-million-year-old sea spider fossils from Southern France. The rare specimens show that the diversity...

Life reconstruction of Arenaerpeton supinatus preying on Cleithrolepis granulata. Image credit: José Vitor Silva.

Paleontologists Identify New Triassic Amphibian Species in Australia

Aug 16, 2023 by Enrico de Lazaro

Arenaerpeton supinatus is the fourth species of chigutisaurid temnospondyl amphibian from Australia and the first from the Sydney Basin. Life reconstruction...

The hadrosaur footprints at the Coliseum site. Image credit: Patrick Druckenmiller.

Paleontologists Discover Largest Known Dinosaur Track Site in Alaska

Aug 15, 2023 by News Staff

Dubbed the Coliseum, the newly-discovered paleontological site contains ornithopod, ceratopsid, and large and small-bodied avian and non-avian theropod...

Life reconstruction of Prosaurosphargis yingzishanensis depicted in the Early Triassic shallow marine environment of the Nanzhang-Yuan’an region, Hubei Province, South China. Image credit: Wolniewicz et al., doi: 10.7554/eLife.83163.

Triassic Armored Marine Reptile Unearthed in China

Aug 14, 2023 by Enrico de Lazaro

The newly-described saurosphargid reptile Prosaurosphargis yingzishanensis represents the earliest known occurrence of its clade. Life reconstruction of...

Life reconstruction of Tutcetus rayanensis swimming in the Tethys Ocean 41 million years ago. Image credit: Ahmed Morsi / Hesham Sallam / Mansoura University Vertebrate Paleontology Center.

Miniature Basilosaurid Whale from Eocene Was Just 8 Feet Long

Aug 10, 2023 by News Staff

The newly-identified species of basilosaurid whale has been named Tutcetus rayanensis after the ancient Egyptian pharaoh Tutankhamun. This new species...

Life reconstruction of the Alaskan saurornitholestine dinosaur in its environment. Image credit: Andrey Atuchin.

Tiny Shrew-Like Mammal Lived in Arctic 73 Million Years Ago

Aug 10, 2023 by News Staff

A new genus and species of eutherian mammal has been described from a handful of tiny teeth found in the Prince Creek Formation in northern Alaska, the...

Parasites found in the vertebrate coprolite from Thailand. Image credit: Nonsrirach et al., 10.1371/journal.pone.0287891.

Triassic Crocodile-Like Reptile Was Infected by Multiple Parasite Species

Aug 10, 2023 by News Staff

Paleontologists have found several species of parasites, including Ascaridida eggs, in a 200-million-year-old coprolite probably produced by a crocodile-like...

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