Paleontology News

Extinct Monkey Lemurs Had a Varied Omnivorous Diet

Monkey lemurs likely ate tough and hard fruits, small vertebrates, and crustaceans. Image credit: Smokeybjb / CC BY-SA 3.0.
Dec 28, 2022 by News Staff

Scientists from the University of Otago, Saint Michael’s College and Duke University have examined 447 permanent teeth from two species of monkey lemurs in the extinct genus Archaeolemur. Monkey lemurs likely ate tough and hard fruits, small vertebrates, and crustaceans. Image credit: Smokeybjb / CC BY-SA 3.0. Archaeolemur is an extinct genus of lemurs that is often compared to some Old World monkeys, especially baboons. The genus is composed of...

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Life reconstruction of Baurubatrachus santosdoroi. Image credit: Lautaro R. Blanco.

New Species of Dinosaur-Era Frog Identified in Brazil

Dec 27, 2022 by Enrico de Lazaro

Paleontologists have identified a new species of the extinct frog genus Baurubatrachus from fossils found in the state of São Paulo, Brazil. Life reconstruction...

Life reconstruction of Titanochampsa iorii. Image credit: Julia d’Oliveira.

Enormous Crocodile Lived alongside Titanosaurs and Abelisaurid Dinosaurs

Dec 26, 2022 by Enrico de Lazaro

In the Monte Alto region in the Brazilian state of São Paulo, paleontologists have unearthed the fossilized remains of a new crocodyliform species that...

An artist’s impression of an enantiornithine bird. Image credit: Tiny Longwing / CC BY-SA 4.0.

Paleontologists Discover New Species of Dinosaur-Era Bird

Dec 22, 2022 by Enrico de Lazaro

A new genus and species of enantiornithine bird has been described from a partial right humerus found in southern Patagonia, Argentina. An artist’s impression...

Adult individuals of Europasaurus holgeri watch over the newly-hatched chicks which are leaving the nest to join their herd. Image credit: Davide Bonadonna.

Jurassic Sauropod Dinosaur was Likely Precocial, New Study Suggests

Dec 22, 2022 by Enrico de Lazaro

Paleontologists have, for the first time, described the neuroanatomy of Europasaurus holgeri, a remarkable macronarian dinosaur from the Jurassic period...

Life reconstruction of Microraptor zhaoianus eating the foot of a small mammal. Image credit: Ralph Attanasia III.

Diet of Cretaceous Feathered Dinosaur Included Mammals

Dec 21, 2022 by Enrico de Lazaro

Paleontologists have found the fossilized remains of a small mammal foot preserved inside the body cavity of the holotype specimen of Microraptor zhaoianus,...

Early dinosaurs and their diets: Lesothosaurus is an omnivore, Buriolestes is a carnivore, and Thecodontosaurus is an herbivore. Image credit: Gabriel Ugueto.

New Research Shines Light on Feeding Habits of Early Dinosaurs

Dec 21, 2022 by News Staff

Dinosaurs evolved a remarkable diversity of dietary adaptations throughout the Mesozoic era, but the origins of different feeding modes are uncertain....

An artist’s impression of a sauropod dinosaur. Image credit: Levi Bernardo / CC BY-SA 3.0.

New Sauropod Dinosaur Unearthed in China

Dec 20, 2022 by Enrico de Lazaro

A new genus and species of titanosauriform sauropod dinosaur with an unusual tail has been identified from a partial skeleton found in northeastern China. An...

Brasilodon quadrangularis was approximately 12 cm (8 inches) long and weighed about 20 grams. The animal existed at the same time as the earliest known dinosaurs and probably lived in burrows like the shrews today. Image credit: Anatomical Society / Wiley.

Marsupial and Placental Mammals Evolved in Gondwana, Paleontologists Say

Dec 19, 2022 by News Staff

Australian Museum’s Professor Tim Flannery and colleagues argue that the ancestors of Theria (placental and marsupial mammals) evolved in the supercontinent...

Adult and young individuals of Shonisaurus popularis chase ammonoid prey 230 million years ago, in what is now Berlin-Ichthyosaur State Park, Nevada, the United States. Image credit: Gabriel Ugueto.

Paleontologists Identify Birthing Grounds of Triassic Ichthyosaurs

Dec 19, 2022 by News Staff

The renowned Berlin-Ichthyosaur State Park, part of Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest in the Shoshone Mountains of west-central Nevada, the United States,...

Reconstruction of a Fezouata Shale seafloor. Image credit: Beraaouz et al., doi: 10.1007/s12371-017-0256-x.

Giant Arthropods Dominated Early Ordovician Seas, Paleontologists Say

Dec 14, 2022 by News Staff

Paleontologists have discovered a new marine fossil-bearing locality — part of the Early Ordovician Fezouata Biota — at Taichoute in Morocco....

Life reconstruction of Ramsayia magna. Image credit: Eleanor Pease.

Giant Wombat Species with Large, Fleshy Nose Once Lived in Australia

Dec 13, 2022 by Enrico de Lazaro

Paleontologists have discovered and examined the fossilized craniodental remains of Ramsayia magna, an extinct large-bodied wombat species that lived in...

Life reconstruction of Rinconsaurus, a sister species of Caieiria allocaudata. Image credit: Steveoc 86 / CC BY-SA 3.0.

New Titanosaur Species Identified in Brazil

Dec 12, 2022 by Enrico de Lazaro

Paleontologists have identified a new genus and species of titanosaurian dinosaur from the fossilized remains found in the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais. Life...

Small primitive mammals live alongside a Triceratops; a softshell turtle climbs up a log, unaware that its freshwater surroundings will shelter it from the asteroid. Image credit: Henry Sharpe.

Study: Non-Avian Dinosaurs Were Not in Decline before Chicxulub Asteroid Impact Wiped Them Out

Dec 9, 2022 by News Staff

Paleontologists have long debated why groups such as non-avian dinosaurs became extinct whereas mammals and other lineages survived the end-Cretaceous...

Zuul crurivastator in battle. Image credit: Henry Sharpe.

Ankylosaurs Used Their Club-Like Weapons Primarily for Intraspecific Combat, Study Says

Dec 9, 2022 by News Staff

Ankylosaurid dinosaurs were heavily armored herbivores with tails modified into club-like weapons. These tail clubs have widely been considered defensive...

Reconstruction of the Kap København Formation ecosystem 2 million years ago. Image credit: Beth Zaiken.

Scientists Reconstruct 2-Million-Year-Old Ecosystem from Environmental DNA

Dec 8, 2022 by Enrico de Lazaro

Researchers have analyzed microscopic fragments of 2-million-year-old environmental DNA from of the Kap København Formation in Greenland. The DNA record...

Spinosaurus aegyptiacus was adapted for hunting along shorelines instead of venturing deep underwater. Image credit: James Gurney.

Spinosaurus aegyptiacus Is Not a Specialized Aquatic Dinosaur: Study

Dec 7, 2022 by News Staff

Spinosaurus aegyptiacus, a sail-backed theropod dinosaur that lived in what is now North Africa during the Cretaceous period, about 95 million years ago,...

Hypothetical life restoration of a mawsoniid coelacanth from the Kimmeridge Clay Formation. Image credit: S. Gausden.

Fossil of Large Jurassic Coelacanth Found in England

Dec 6, 2022 by Sergio Prostak

Fossilized remains of an enigmatic mawsoniid coelacanth that grew over 1 m long have been discovered by an international team of paleontologists from the...

The new specimen and silhouette of Eromangasaurus australis. Image credit: Queensland Museum.

Australian Paleontologists Unearth 100-Million-Year-Old Elasmosaur Fossil

Dec 6, 2022 by News Staff

Paleontologists in Australia have unearthed the country’s first head and associated body of a long-necked marine reptile called Eromangasaurus australis. The...

Life reconstruction of Patagopelta cristata. Image credit: Gabriel Díaz Yalten.

New Small-Bodied Ankylosaur Species Unearthed in Argentina

Dec 5, 2022 by Enrico de Lazaro

A new genus and species of nodosaurid ankylosaur has been identified from fossils found in Patagonia, Argentina. Life reconstruction of Patagopelta cristata....

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