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The footprints of the Emeidae moa found in the Kyeburn River, South Island, New Zealand; the associated Dinornithidae footprint can be seen between the first two footprints to the left. Image credit: Ian Griffin / Otago Museum.

3.6-Million-Year-Old Moa Footprints Found in New Zealand

Nov 15, 2023 by Natali Anderson

Paleontologists have discovered a trackway of seven moa footprints and an associated separate footprint at a riverbank outcrop of the Maniototo Conglomerate...

A microfossil from the 2.4-billion-year-old Turee Creek Group in Western Australia. Image credit: Barlow et al., doi: 10.1111/gbi.12576.

2.4-Billion-Year-Old Microfossils Suggest Earlier Rise in Complex Cellular Organization

Nov 14, 2023 by News Staff

Around 2.4 billion years ago, the Great Oxidation Event caused fundamental changes to the chemistry of Earth’s surface environments. However, the effect...

Life reconstruction of Dasyomyliobatis thomyorkei swimming in the marine tropical shallow waters of the western Tethys about 50 million years ago. Image credit: Fabrizio Lavezzi.

50-Million-Year-Old Fossil Helps Clarify Origin of Pelagic Lifestyle and Durophagy in Stingrays

Nov 13, 2023 by Natali Anderson

Dasyomyliobatis thomyorkei is intermediate between the ‘rajobenthic’ and more derived ‘aquilopelagic’ stingrays, supporting the hypothesis that...

Reconstruction of Qianlong shouhu’s eggs. Image credit: NICE Vistudio.

Eggs of Earliest Dinosaurs Were Leathery, Fossils Show

Nov 13, 2023 by Enrico de Lazaro

Paleontologists in China have unearthed and examined three adult skeletons and five clutches of embryo-containing eggs of Qianlong shouhu, a previously...

One of the first-ever photographs of the Attenborough’s long-beaked echidna (Zaglossus attenboroughi). Image credit: Expedition Cyclops.

Attenborough’s Long-Beaked Echidna Rediscovered After 60 Year-Absence to Science

Nov 10, 2023 by News Staff

Named after Sir David Attenborough, the Attenborough’s long-beaked echidna (Zaglossus attenboroughi) was captured for the first time in photos and video...

Venus in real colors, processed from Mariner 10 images. Image credit: Mattias Malmer / NASA.

Astronomers Directly Detect Atomic Oxygen on Venus

Nov 8, 2023 by News Staff

Atomic oxygen is produced on the dayside of Venus by photolysis of carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide. Atomic oxygen is a key species in the mesosphere...

A family of Thescelosaurus neglectus emerges from safety to forage in the forests of the Hell Creek Formation, 66 million years ago. Image credit: Anthony Hutchings.

One of the Last Surviving Non-Avian Dinosaurs Lived in Burrows, Had Super Senses: Study

Nov 8, 2023 by Enrico de Lazaro

New research demonstrates that the brain of Thescelosaurus neglectus, a small plant-eating neornithischian dinosaur that lived just before the end-Cretaceous...

Reconstruction of a Neanderthal. Image credit: Neanderthal Museum.

31,000-Year-Old Spearthrower Points Unearthed in Belgium

Nov 7, 2023 by Enrico de Lazaro

Archaeologists in Belgium have demonstrated that spearthrowers were used for launching projectiles armed with tanged flint points at the Early Upper Paleolithic...

The tiger (Panthera tigris). Image credit: Chiem Seherin.

Comparative Genomic Study Sheds New Light on Cat Evolution

Nov 7, 2023 by News Staff

New research led by Texas A&M University and the University of Missouri scientists explains how cats, including domestic cats, lions, tigers, Geoffroy’s...

Bogdán et al. and Goulding et al. combined data from Webb and Chandra to identify the growing black hole at the center of UHZ1. Image credit: NASA / CXC / SAO / Bogdán et al. / ESA / CSA / STScI / L. Frattare / K. Arcand.

Growing Supermassive Black Hole Detected in Early Universe

Nov 7, 2023 by Enrico de Lazaro

Observations of quasars reveal that many supermassive black holes were in place less than 700 million years after the Big Bang. However, the origin of...

Illustration of Ekgmowechashala, the last primate to inhabit North America before humans. Image credit: Kristen Tietjen / Biodiversity Institute and Natural History Museum, University of Kansas.

Paleontologists Find New Fossils of Enigmatic North American Primate

Nov 6, 2023 by News Staff

Ekgmowechashala is a poorly documented but very distinctive species of ancient primate that lived in western North America during the Early Oligocene epoch,...

An artist’s concept of Kepler-385, the seven-planet system revealed in a new catalog of planet candidates discovered by NASA’s Kepler space telescope. Image credit: NASA / Daniel Rutter.

Kepler-385 Hosts Seven Large Exoplanets, Astronomers Say

Nov 6, 2023 by Natali Anderson

A new analysis of data from NASA’s retired Kepler space telescope has revealed a system of seven giant planets around Kepler-385. An artist’s concept...

Life reconstruction of the lamprey Yanliaomyzon from the Jurassic Yanliao Biota, China. Image credit: Nice Vistudio / Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences.

Large Flesh-Eating Lampreys Lived in Jurassic Oceans

Nov 3, 2023 by Enrico de Lazaro

Paleontologists in China have unearthed and examined the superbly preserved fossilized remains of two lamprey species from the Jurassic Yanliao Biota....

Yuan et al. suggest that LLVPs are remnants of the ancient protoplanet Theia that violently collided with Earth billions of years ago in the same giant impact that created our Moon. Image credit: Hernán Cañellas.

Two Fragments of Protoplanet Theia Lie Deep within Earth, Geoscientists Say

Nov 1, 2023 by Enrico de Lazaro

A giant collision between the ancient protoplanet Theia and the proto-Earth about 4.5 billion years ago may have formed Earth’s Moon as well as two continent-sized...

This image of Ganymede was obtained by the JunoCam imager aboard NASA’s Juno spacecraft during its June 7, 2021, flyby of the icy moon. Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / SwRI / MSSS.

Juno Detects Various Salts and Organic Compounds on Ganymede

Nov 1, 2023 by News Staff

Using data from the Jovian InfraRed Auroral Mapper (JIRAM) aboard NASA’s Juno spacecraft, planetary scientists have detected hydrated sodium chloride,...

Reconstruction of Jormungandr walhallaensis shown engaging in intraspecific combat. Image credit: Henry Sharpe.

New Mosasaur Species Unearthed in North Dakota

Oct 31, 2023 by Enrico de Lazaro

A new genus and species of mosasaur being named Jormungandr walhallaensis has been discovered by American Museum of Natural History Ph.D. student Amelia...

Life reconstruction of Samsarasuchus pamelae. Image credit: Gabriel Lio.

New Species of Triassic Crocodile-Like Reptile Identified in India

Oct 30, 2023 by Enrico de Lazaro

Paleontologists in India have identified a new genus and species of proterosuchid reptile from both new and historically collected specimens. Life reconstruction...

This composite image, taken by Webb’s NIRCam and MIRI instruments, shows the famous Crab Nebula. Image credit: NASA / ESA / CSA / Webb / STScI / Tea Temim, Princeton University.

Webb Reveals Never-Before-Seen Details in Crab Nebula

Oct 30, 2023 by News Staff

Using the Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam) and Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI) onboard the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope, astronomers are searching...

An artist’s impression of Liassophlebia sp., resting on a frond of the paleofern species Phlebopteris muensteri. Image credit: Jules Kiely, Bristol Museum & Art Gallery / Swaby et al., doi: 10.1080/08912963.2023.2261957.

202-Million-Year-Old Damsel-Dragonfly Fossil Unearthed in UK

Oct 27, 2023 by Natali Anderson

The new find suggests that Liassophlebiidae — a small extinct family of damsel-dragonflies known from the Early Mesozoic of Europe, Asia, and Antarctica...