Paleontology News

Life restoration of Palaeospondylus gunni. Scale bar - 1 mm. Image credit: Hirasawa et al., doi: 10.1038/s41586-022-04781-3.

Palaeospondylus Was Bizarre Lobe-Finned Fish, Paleontologists Say

May 26, 2022 by News Staff

Palaeospondylus gunni, a small creature with an eel-like body that lived 390 million years ago, is one of the most enigmatic fossil vertebrates, and its...

Life reconstruction of Thanatosdrakon amaru. Image credit: Universidad Nacional de Cuyo.

New Species of Azhdarchid Pterosaur Unearthed in Argentina

May 25, 2022 by Sergio Prostak

Thanatosdrakon amaru had a wingspan of nearly 9 m (29.5 feet) and lived in what is now Argentina during the Cretaceous period. Life reconstruction of Thanatosdrakon...

Illustration of Genyornis newtoni being hunted by a giant lizard in Australia about 50,000 years ago. Image credit: Peter Trusler, Monash University.

Australia’s First People Consumed Eggs of Giant Birds: Study

May 25, 2022 by News Staff

Burn marks discovered on the 50,000-year-old eggshell fragments several years ago suggested the first Australians cooked and ate large eggs from extinct...

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

New Dinosaur Species Identified in Japan

May 23, 2022 by Enrico de Lazaro

A new genus and species of therizinosaurid dinosaur that lived during the Cretaceous period has been identified from the fossilized remains unearthed on...

An artist’s rendition of Quetzalcoatlus northropi. Image credit: James Kuether.

Quetzalcoatlus and Other Giant Pterosaurs were Short-Range Flyers, Study Suggests

May 20, 2022 by News Staff

With a 11 to 12-m wingspan, Quetzalcoatlus is the largest flying organism ever known and one of the most familiar pterosaurs to the public. First discovered...

Life restoration of the dolphins from the Upper Marine Molasse chasing a group of eurhinodelphinids: Kentriodon (foreground), a squalodelphinid (background, left) and a physeterid (background, right). Image credit: Jaime Chirinos.

20-Million-Year-Old Fossils Reveal Two New Cetacean Species

May 19, 2022 by Enrico de Lazaro

Two new species of ancient cetaceans related to modern dolphins and sperm whales have been identified from the 20-million-year-old fossilized ear bones...

830-Million-Year-Old Microorganisms Found in Australian Halite

May 11, 2022 by Enrico de Lazaro

Scientists from West Virginia University have found ancient cells of prokaryotes and eukaryotes within fluid inclusions in halite crystals from the Neoproterozoic...

Moa browsed trees and shrubs within the forest understorey. Image credit: Heinrich Harder.

Eastern Moa Altered Their Distribution as Climate Changed, Ancient DNA Study Shows

May 11, 2022 by Natali Anderson

To test their hypothesis that the eastern moa (Emeus crassus), an extinct flightless bird from New Zealand, survived the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) in...

Reconstruction of Pandanus estellae. Image credit: Alison Douglas.

30-Million-Year-Old Screw Palm Fossil Identified as New Species

May 6, 2022 by Enrico de Lazaro

The newly-identified species of screw palm, named Pandanus estellae, is significant because it provides credible pre-Pleistocene evidence of the genus...

(A) location map of the Linha São Luiz site in Brazil and the surface distribution of the geologic units in the area; (B) general view of the Linha São Luiz site; (C) hypothetical reconstruction of the skeleton of Faxinalipterus minimus depicting in orange the preserved elements; (D) hypothetical reconstruction of the skull of Maehary bonapartei depicting some of the preserved elements. Image credit: Kellner et al., doi: 10.7717/peerj.13276.

New Triassic Reptile Species Identified in Brazil

May 5, 2022 by Enrico de Lazaro

Maehary bonapartei is considered to be the most basal of the evolutionary lineage that gave rise to pterosaurs. (A) location map of the Linha São Luiz...

Retinosaurus hkamtiensis, which was approximately 3.5 cm (1.4 inches) in length, prior to being trapped in tree resin 110 million years ago. Image credit: Stephanie Abramowicz.

Lizards, Snakes, and Their Relatives Diverged 50 Million Years Earlier than Previously Thought

May 3, 2022 by News Staff

The squamates (lizards, snakes, and relatives) today comprise more than 10,000 species, and yet their sister group, the Rhynchocephalia, is represented...

Life reconstruction of Maip macrothorax. Image credit: Agustín Ozán.

New Carnivorous Dinosaur Unearthed in Argentina

May 2, 2022 by Enrico de Lazaro

Paleontologists have described a new species of large-bodied megaraptoran dinosaur from fossilized remains found in Patagonia, Argentina. Life reconstruction...

Palm bruchine tunnels in a fossil coconut fruit of the Cerrejón Formation, Colombia. Image credit: Penn State.

60-Million-Year-Old Fossil Reveals Evidence of Seed Beetle Predation on Coconuts

May 2, 2022 by News Staff

Paleontologists have found insect borings in a fruit fossil of the genus Cocos (coconuts) from the Paleocene Cerrejón Formation of Colombia. Their findings...

The habitat and animals that were found together with the giant ichthyosaurs in the Kössen Formation, Switzerland. Image credit: Heinz Furrer.

Fossils of Three Giant Ichthyosaurs Unearthed High in Swiss Alps

Apr 28, 2022 by News Staff

Unearthed in the Swiss Alps between 1976 and 1990, the fossils include the largest ichthyosaur tooth ever found. The habitat and animals that were found...

Asgard archaeon. Scale bar - 500 nm. Image credit: Imachi et al., doi: 10.1038/s41586-019-1916-6.

Eukaryotic Cells Emerged in Anoxic Environment, New Study Suggests

Apr 27, 2022 by News Staff

Since the 1960s, many scientists have argued that the emergence of eukaryotes — cells containing a clearly defined nucleus — happened in response...

An artist’s reconstruction of Tupandactylus imperator, showing the feather types along the bottom of the headcrest: dark monofilaments and lighter-colored branched feathers. Image credit: Bob Nicholls.

Pterosaurs Could Control Their Color Using Melanin Pigments

Apr 20, 2022 by News Staff

Paleontologists have examined the fossilized headcrest of Tupandactylus imperator, a species of tapejarid pterosaur that lived in north-eastern Brazil...

Hematite tubes from the NSB hydrothermal vent deposits that represent the oldest microfossils and evidence for life on Earth. Image credit: Matthew Dodd, University College London.

Diverse Microbial Life Forms Existed At Least 3.75 Billion Years Ago, Study Confirms

Apr 14, 2022 by News Staff

In 2017, paleontologists found 3.75- to 4.28-billion-year-old microscopic filaments and tubes, which appeared to have been made by iron-loving bacteria,...

Thanatotheristes degrootorum. Image credit: Julius Scotonyi, Royal Tyrrell Museum.

Mystery of Missing Apex Predators in Cretaceous North American and Asian Ecosystems Solved

Apr 13, 2022 by The Conversation

The top predator of the Jurassic and Cretaceous landscapes was usually a species of carnivorous dinosaur. These predators walked on two legs, had powerful...

The complete restored skeleton of the Triceratops horridus Big John; the fenestra analyzed by D’Anastasio et al. is indicated by the white circle. Image credit: A. Ferrara / I. Briano / D’Anastasio et al., doi: 10.1038/s41598-022-08033-2.

Cretaceous-Period Horned Dinosaur Had Combat Injuries

Apr 11, 2022 by News Staff

New research confirms the existence of intraspecific fighting in Triceratops horridus, a species of horned dinosaur that lived in North America some 69...