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Heavy elements dominate the mass of the Neptune-sized exoplanet TOI-1853b. Image credit: Luca Naponiello.

Supermassive Neptune-Sized Exoplanet Has Density Higher than Steel

Sep 4, 2023 by Enrico de Lazaro

Astronomers believe the peculiar composition of the Neptune-sized planet TOI-1853b is the result of a giant planetary clash. Heavy elements dominate 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...

An artist’s rendition of the two exoplanets and their parent star in the TOI-4600 system. Image credit: Tedi Vick.

Two Long-Period Giant Exoplanets Found Orbiting TOI-4600

Aug 31, 2023 by Natali Anderson

Astronomers report the discovery and validation of two long-period giant exoplanets orbiting the K-dwarf star TOI-4600, first detected using observations...

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...

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...

This image from Webb’s NIRCam instrument shows the Ring Nebula. The nebula’s inner cavity hosts shades of blue and green, while the detailed ring transitions through shades of orange in the inner regions and pink in the outer region. The ring’s inner region has distinct filament elements. Image credit: NASA / ESA / CSA / Webb / M. Barlow / N. Cox / R. Wesson.

Webb Team Releases New Photos of Ring Nebula

Aug 21, 2023 by News Staff

The new image of the famous Ring Nebula from Webb’s Near-InfraRed Camera (NIRCam) shows the intricate details of the filament structure of the nebula’s...

The African wildcat (Felis lybica) by John Anderson in Zoology of Egypt.

How Cats Evolved from the Savanna to Your Sofa

Aug 21, 2023 by The Conversation

The African wildcat (Felis silvestris lybica) is the ancestor of our beloved household pets. And despite changing very little, their descendants have become...

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...

In a few million years, HD 45166 will explode as a very bright, but not particularly energetic, supernova. During this explosion, its core will contract, trapping and concentrating the star’s already daunting magnetic field lines. The result will be a neutron star with a magnetic field far greater than its progenitor. Image credit: NOIRLab / AURA / NSF / P. Marenfeld / M. Zamani.

Highly Unusual Wolf-Rayet Star Will Evolve into Magnetar, Astronomers Say

Aug 17, 2023 by News Staff

Using spectropolarimetric data gathered by various telescopes around the globe, astronomers from the University of Amsterdam and elsewhere have identified...

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...

The Mörigen arrowhead. Image credit: Thomas Schüpbach.

2,800-Year-Old Arrowhead Was Made of Meteoritic Iron, Archaeologists Say

Aug 11, 2023 by Natali Anderson

The detection of the cosmogenic isotope aluminum-26; the concentrations of nickel, cobalt, germanium and gallium; and the presence of two minerals called...

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...

Reconstruction of Hupehsuchus nanchangensis about to engulf a shoal of shrimps. Image credit: Shunyi Shu & Long Cheng, Wuhan Center of China Geological Survey.

Triassic Marine Reptile Was a Filter-Feeder, Paleontologists Say

Aug 9, 2023 by Enrico de Lazaro

Hupehsuchus nanchangensis, a species of marine reptile that lived between 249 and 247 million years ago in what is now China, had soft structures such...

Reconstruction of Shaihuludia shurikeni from the Spence Shale of Utah. Image credit: Rhiannon LaVine.

Cambrian Annelid Worm Had Bizarre Blade-Like Chaetae

Aug 9, 2023 by Enrico de Lazaro

Chaetae are stiff bristles made of chitin that characterize many species of annelid worms. Reconstruction of Shaihuludia shurikeni from the Spence Shale...

The tigrina or oncilla (Leopardus tigrinus). Image credit: Groumfy69 / CC BY-SA 3.0.

New Cat Species Discovered in Museum Collection is Probably Already Extinct

Aug 7, 2023 by Natali Anderson

The only known specimen of the small spotted cat species Leopardus narinensis was found on the Galeras Volcano in southern Colombia in 1989. The tigrina...

An artist’s reconstruction of Jeholornis prima with potential angiosperm arboreal herbivorous feeding ecology. Image credit: Wu et al., doi: 10.1038/s41467-023-40311-z.

Early Cretaceous Bird Consumed Leaves of Magnolia-Like Flowering Plants

Aug 4, 2023 by Enrico de Lazaro

Fossil plant phytoliths from the digestive tract of Jeholornis prima — an extinct species of bird that lived in what is now China during the Early...