Paleontology News

Hatzegopteryx, depicted here as a short-necked, powerful predator, consumes the dwarf dinosaur Zalmoxes in Late Cretaceous Romania. Image credit: Mark Witton, University of Portsmouth.

Giant Pterosaurs Ruled Late Cretaceous Romania, Says New Study

Feb 17, 2017 by News Staff

Hatzegopteryx, a flying reptile with a 10-m wingspan and a mass of 220 kg, was the dominant predator in what is now Romania between 72-66 million years...

Reconstruction of Euchambersia mirabilis; oblique ventro-lateral view showing the ridged dentition. Image credit: Alex Bernardini.

Proto-Mammals were First Terrestrial Vertebrates to Produce Venom, Paleontologists Say

Feb 16, 2017 by News Staff

When you’re a small pre-mammalian creature, sometimes the only way to protect yourself against fearsome predators like saber-toothed carnivores is to...

Artist’s reconstruction of Dinocephalosaurus. Image credit: Dinghua Yang.

Triassic Fossil Reveals First Evidence of Live Birth in Archosauromorphs

Feb 15, 2017 by News Staff

The first ever evidence of live birth in a group of animals previously thought only to lay eggs has been discovered by an international team of paleontologists...

Calvapilosa kroegeri from the Lower Ordovician epoch (Tremadocian age) Fezouata Formation, near Zagora, Morocco: part, imaged and illuminated from north west (left), interpretative drawing (right). Image credit: Jakob Vinther et al, doi: 10.1038/nature21055.

Ordovician Fossil Sheds New Light on Early Evolution of Mollusks

Feb 6, 2017 by News Staff

Paleontologists have unearthed the remains of a previously unknown slug-like creature that lived during the Early Ordovician epoch, 478 million years ago....

Reconstruction of Saccorhytus coronaries. Image credit: Jian Han et al, doi: 10.1038/nature21072.

Meet Saccorhytus coronarius, Humans’ Earliest-Known Ancestor

Jan 31, 2017 by News Staff

A microscopic, bag-like marine creature that lived approximately 540 million years ago (Fortunian stage of the Cambrian period) has been identified from...

Eggs of the Ordovician trilobite Triarthrus eatoni. Image credit: Thomas A. Hegna et al, doi: 10.1130/G38773.1.

Paleontologists Find 450-Million-Year-Old Fossilized Trilobite Eggs

Jan 27, 2017 by Natali Anderson

A research team led by Western Illinois University scientist Thomas Hegna has announced the discovery of two pyritized, egg-bearing specimens of the Ordovician...

Head of Aethiocarenus burmanicus. Image credit: G. Poinar Jr. / A.E. Brown.

Mid-Cretaceous Burmese Amber Preserves Alien-Looking Insect

Jan 26, 2017 by News Staff

In a paper published in the journal Cretaceous Research, Oregon State University researchers described a never-before-seen insect species found in a piece...

This is a Brachylophosaur canadensis fossil femur in field jacket, showing area of sampling for molecular analyses. Image credit: Mary Schweitzer.

Paleontologists Find Collagen in 80-Million-Year-Old Brachylophosaurus Fossil

Jan 24, 2017 by News Staff

A team of paleontologists led by North Carolina State University researchers has isolated collagen peptides from the fossilized femur of Brachylophosaurus...

Two individuals of Siamogale melilutra. Image credit: Mauricio Anton.

Siamogale melilutra: Giant Otter Fossils Reveal New Species

Jan 23, 2017 by News Staff

An international team of paleontologists has identified a new species of giant otter that lived in what is now China during the latest Miocene, approximately...

A range of now extinct megafauna that was present when humans first arrived in Australia. Image credit: Peter Trusler, Monash University.

Humans Caused Extinction of Australia’s Prehistoric Giant Animals: New Evidence

Jan 23, 2017 by News Staff

New evidence indicates the primary cause of megafaunal extinction in Australia 45,000 years ago was likely a result of humans, not climate change. A paper...

Reconstruction of the hyolith Haplophrentis on the Cambrian sea floor. Image credit: D. Dufault / Royal Ontario Museum.

Hyoliths: Mysterious Cambrian Animals Classified as Lophophorates

Jan 12, 2017 by News Staff

Paleontologists have finally determined what hyoliths — a group of extinct marine creatures — actually are. Reconstruction of the hyolith Haplophrentis...

Reconstruction of the early chimaera Dwykaselachus oosthuizeni. Image credit: Kristen Tietjen.

Dwykaselachus oosthuizeni: Permian Fossil Reveals Origins of Chimaeras

Jan 4, 2017 by News Staff

CT scans of the fossilized skull of Dwykaselachus oosthuizeni — a shark-like fish that lived during the Permian period, around 280 million years...

Herds of female titanosaurs gathered at traditional nesting grounds 80 million years ago in what is now Patagonia, Argentina. Image credit: Luis Rey / Yale University.

Eggs of Non-Avian Dinosaurs Took 3-6 Months to Hatch

Jan 3, 2017 by News Staff

Non-avian dinosaur eggs took a long time to hatch — between 3 and 6 months, according to new research on the teeth of fossilized dinosaur embryos. Herds...

Limusaurus inextricabilis is the only known reptile to lose its teeth and form a beak after birth. Image credit: Yu Chen.

Limusaurus: Beaked, Bird-Like Dinosaur Species Had Teeth as Juveniles, Lost Them as They Grew

Dec 23, 2016 by News Staff

An international team of paleontologists has discovered that Limusaurus inextricabilis, a species of Jurassic dinosaur, lost its teeth in adolescence and...

An artist’s conception of Tingmiatornis arctica’s possible environment 90 million years ago, characterized by volcanic activity, a freshwater bay, turtles, fish, and champsosaurs. Image credit: Michael Osadciw, University of Rochester.

Tingmiatornis arctica: Large, Toothed Water Bird Lived in High Arctic 90 Million Years Ago

Dec 20, 2016 by News Staff

A team of paleontologists has found the remains of a prehistoric bird that lived 90 million years ago (Cretaceous period) in the Canadian Arctic. An artist’s...

The feathered tail of a coelurosaur preserved in mid-Cretaceous amber from Kachin State, Myanmar. Image credit: Lida Xing et al, doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2016.10.008.

Feathered Dinosaur Tail Found Encased in Mid-Cretaceous Burmese Amber

Dec 9, 2016 by News Staff

An international team of paleontologists from China, Canada and the United Kingdom has discovered the tail of a non-avian theropod dinosaur (likely a coelurosaur)...

Fossils of the left and right elytra of the Ball’s Antarctic tundra beetle (Antarctotrechus balli): the left elytron, 2.36 mm in length, is designated as the paratype. A small part of the right elytron of the same individual is attached along the suture near the apex. The siltstone matrix is visible along the outer margin near the apex. The small rhomb-shaped crystals on the surface are authigenic calcite; the right elytron is designated as the holotype; the elytron is 2.40 mm in length; the base is deformed by a crack and concealed by sediment grains; a small part of the left elytron of the same individual is still attached along the suture near the base. Image credit: A.C. Ashworth / T.L. Erwin.

Miocene Ground Beetle Fossils Found in Antarctica

Dec 5, 2016 by News Staff

Fossilized forewings (elytra) from two individuals, discovered at the Oliver Bluffs on the Beardmore Glacier, revealed the first ground beetle species...

Eoconfuciusornis zhengi. Image credit: Nobu Tamura / CC BY 3.0.

Ancient Melanosomes, Beta-Keratin Found in Fossilized Feathers of Early Cretaceous Bird

Nov 25, 2016 by News Staff

An international team of paleontologists has found evidence of beta-keratin and melanosome preservation in a 130-million-year-old specimen of the Early...

Ventral view of the new bohaiornithid specimen. Left: photograph of the primary slab. Right: interpretive drawing. Abbreviations: co - coracoid; cv - cervical vertebrae; fe - femur; fu - furcula; hu - humerus; il - ilium; mcI-III – metacarpals I–III; mt - metatarsals; pd I–IV - pedal digits I–IV; phI-1 - first phalanx of digit I; phII/III-1/2 - first/second phalanx of digit II/III; pu -pubis; py - pygostyle; ra - radius; sc - scapula; sk - skull; sml - semilunate carpal; st - sternum; sy - synsacrum; th - thoracic vertebrae; ti - tibia; ul - ulna; uln - ulnare. Scale bar - 1 cm. Image credit: Jennifer A. Peteya et al, doi: 10.1111/pala.12270.

Dinosaur-Era Bird Had Iridescent Feathers

Nov 16, 2016 by Enrico de Lazaro

A group of paleontologists led by University of Akron researcher Jennifer Peteya has discovered a new bohaiornithid bird specimen from the Cretaceous period...