Paleontology News

An artist’s impression of Mukupirna nambensis living in central Australia that was much greener 25 million years ago. Image credit: Peter Schouten.

Strange Wombat Relative Once Lived in Australia

Mar 30, 2023 by Enrico de Lazaro

Mukupirna fortidentata looked a bit like a modern wombat crossed with a marsupial lion (Thylacoleo carnifex). An artist’s impression of Mukupirna nambensis...

Life reconstruction of Ektopodon serratus (top left), a relative of Chunia pledgei, and the marsupial lion Wakaleo oldfieldi (right). Image credit: Peter Schouten / CC BY-SA.

Bizarre Possum Species Lived in Australia 25 Million Years Ago

Mar 29, 2023 by Enrico de Lazaro

A new species of ektopodontid possum has been described from Oligocene-age fossils found in central Australia. Life reconstruction of Ektopodon serratus...

A partial skull fossil from the ancient beaver Anchitheriomys buceei (right) alongside a skull reconstruction. Image credit: Matthew Brown / Jackson School Museum of Earth History, the University of Texas at Austin.

Fossils of Large Beaver Species Unearthed in Texas

Mar 28, 2023 by Enrico de Lazaro

Paleontologists from the University of Texas at Austin have identified a new species of ancient beaver from the fossilized remains found at several sites...

Selaginella bryopteris in Royal Botanical Garden of Madrid, Spain. Image credit: Luis Fernández García / CC BY-SA 2.1 ES.

Earth’s Earliest Land Plants Were Branched, New Research Suggests

Mar 28, 2023 by News Staff

Diverse branching forms have evolved multiple times across the tree of life to facilitate resource acquisition and exchange with the environment. As an...

Life reconstruction of Dama celiae in the Manzanares valley, Spain; other species present are Anas platyrhynchos, Equus ferus, Elephas antiquus, Mauremys leprosa, Bison sp., Bos primigenius, and Stephanorhinus hemitoechus. Image credit: J. Gamarra.

Fallow Deer with Two-Pointed Antlers Lived alongside Neanderthals

Mar 27, 2023 by Enrico de Lazaro

Paleontologists have described an extinct species of the fallow deer genus Dama from fossils found in Spain. Life reconstruction of Dama celiae in the...

Life reconstruction of Thylacosmilus atrox. Image credit: Jorge Blanco.

Study: Thylacosmilus atrox Adapted to View the World in Unique Way

Mar 22, 2023 by News Staff

Paleontologists from the American Museum of Natural History, the Instituto Argentino de Nivología, Glaciología y Ciencias Ambientales and CONICET investigated...

Compound (a-d) and median (e-p) eyes of trilobites. Image credit: B. Schoenemann & E.N.K. Clarkson, doi: 10.1038/s41598-023-31089-7.

Median Eyes Were Really Present in Trilobites, Paleontologists Say

Mar 21, 2023 by Enrico de Lazaro

Arthropods typically possess two types of eyes: compound eyes, and the ocellar, so-called median eyes. Only trilobites, an important group of arthropods...

Life reconstruction of Alienopterix santonicus with hypothetical greenish-reddish coloration. Image credit: Márton Zsoldos.

Enigmatic Metallic Cockroach Lived alongside Dinosaurs

Mar 20, 2023 by Sergio Prostak

Alienopterix santonicus was found preserved in a piece of ajkaite, a unique Late Cretaceous type of amber from western Hungary. Life reconstruction of...

The Haast’s eagle (Hieraaetus moorei) attacking two moas. Image credit: John Megahan / PLoS Biology, doi: 10.1371/journal.pbio.0030020.

Giant Eagle Species Lived in Australia More Than 50,000 Years Ago

Mar 16, 2023 by Enrico de Lazaro

A new genus and species of giant accipitrid bird being named Dynatoaetus gaffae has been identified from fossil remains found South Australia. The Haast’s...

A rendering of Mamenchisaurus sinocanadorum. Image credit: Júlia d’Oliveira.

Jurassic Sauropod Dinosaur Had 15-Meter-Long Neck

Mar 15, 2023 by News Staff

Mamenchisaurus sinocanadorum lived 162 million year ago (Late Jurassic epoch) in what is now China. A rendering of Mamenchisaurus sinocanadorum. Image...

Triassic terrestrial larva Protoanisolarva juarezi. Scale bars - 1 mm in (A), 0.05 mm in (C-E, G), 0.1 mm in (F). Image credit: Peñalver et al., doi: 10.1002/spp2.1472.

Earliest Known Gnat Fossil Sheds Light on Evolutionary History of True Flies

Mar 14, 2023 by News Staff

Protoanisolarva juarezi, a new genus and species described from a 247-million-year-old larva, shares key features with Anisopodidae, a small cosmopolitan...

Reconstruction of the earliest ichthyosaur and the 250-million-year-old ecosystem found on Spitsbergen. Image credit: Esther van Hulsen.

Earliest Triassic Ichthyosaur Fossils Unearthed on Spitsbergen

Mar 13, 2023 by Enrico de Lazaro

Paleontologists from Uppsala University and the University of Oslo have found the 250-million-year-old fossilized ichthyosaur remains in the Vikinghøgda...

Reconstruction of the largest known specimen of Dunkleosteus terrelli, compared to one of the largest reliably measured specimens of Carcharodon carcharias; a 1.75-m-tall human for scale. Image credit: Russell Engelman, doi: 10.3390/d15030318 / Sci.News.

Earth’s First Vertebrate Superpredator Was Shorter and Stouter than Previously Thought

Mar 13, 2023 by News Staff

Dunkleosteus terrelli, an armor-plated fish that lived in the shallow subtropical waters of the Devonian period, about 360 million years ago, is one of...

Life reconstruction of Edowa zuniensis. Image credit: Brenton Adrian.

Dinosaur-Era Fossil Bridges Gap in Evolution of Extinct Baenid Turtles

Mar 10, 2023 by Enrico de Lazaro

Edowa zuniensis is the first species of baenid turtle described from the Turonian age of North America. Life reconstruction of Edowa zuniensis. Image credit:...

Life reconstruction of a phytosaur species called Protome batalaria. Image credit: Smokeybjb / CC BY-SA 3.0.

Fossils of Giant Phytosaur Unearthed in India

Mar 7, 2023 by Enrico de Lazaro

Paleontologists at the Indian Institute of Technology have described a surprising new genus and species of crocodile-like reptile from fossils found in...

Environmental reconstruction of the Solnhofen Archipelago, showing Protospinax annectans in association with the Late Jurassic ray Asterodermus platypterus. Image credit: Jambura et al., doi: 10.3390/d15030311.

Paleontologists Redescribe Enigmatic Jurassic Shark Species

Mar 1, 2023 by Enrico de Lazaro

Paleontologists from the University of Vienna and elsewhere have revised a controversial species of the elasmobranch Protospinax annectans based on new...

An artist’s impression of elephant birds in their natural habitat, Madagascar. Image credit: Bonnie Koopmans.

1,000-Year-Old Fossil Eggshells Provide Rare Glimpse into Evolution of Madagascar’s Elephant Birds

Mar 1, 2023 by News Staff

Paleontologists from Curtin University and elsewhere have examined ancient fossil eggshells of Madagascar’s extinct elephant birds and found that genetic...

Life reconstruction of Paralitherizinosaurus japonicus. Image credit: Masato Hattori.

Study: Giant Therizinosaurs Used Their Meter-Long, Sickle-Like Claws for Display

Feb 28, 2023 by News Staff

The dinosaur clade Maniraptora includes the ancestors of birds, and most maniraptoran dinosaurs used their hands for grasping and in flight, but early...

An artistic reconstruction of Macronectes tinae in its paleoenvironment; a darker plumage was chosen for the reconstruction because a darker coloration in giant petrels seems to be related to warmer regions, as Taranaki had warmer temperatures during the Pliocene period. Image credit: Simone Giovanardi / Te Papa.

Giant Petrels Lived in New Zealand 3 Million Years Ago

Feb 27, 2023 by Enrico de Lazaro

Macronectes tinae lived approximately 3 million years ago (Pliocene period), and belongs to the extant genus Macronectes. An artistic reconstruction of...