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Hypothesized reconstruction of Vampyrofugiens atramentum. Image credit: A. Lethiers.

Jurassic Vampire Squid Had Ink Sac and Luminous Organs

Jul 3, 2023 by Sergio Prostak

Paleontologists have identified a new genus and species of vampyromorph coleoid from a fossil specimen found in the Middle Jurassic La Voulte-sur-Rhône...

This artist’s impression shows the evolution of the Universe beginning with the Big Bang on the left followed by the appearance of the Cosmic Microwave Background. The formation of the first stars ends the cosmic dark ages, followed by the formation of galaxies. Image credit: M. Weiss / Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics.

Universe was Five Times Slower Soon after Big Bang, Astrophysicists Say

Jul 3, 2023 by News Staff

A fundamental consequence of the relativistic picture of expanding space is cosmological time dilation, where events in the distant Universe appear to...

Massospondylus carinatus. Image credit: Nobu Tamura, http://spinops.blogspot.com / Patty Jansen / Sci.News.

South African Fossil Reveals Smallest Jurassic Sauropodomorph Dinosaur

Jun 29, 2023 by Sergio Prostak

This dinosaur weighed around 75 kg, making it one of the smallest known sauropodomorph species, and the smallest ever reported from the Jurassic period. Massospondylus...

An artist’s interpretation of an array of pulsars being affected by gravitational ripples produced by a supermassive black hole binary in a distant galaxy. Image credit: Aurore Simonnet / NANOGrav Collaboration.

Astrophysicists Detect Low-Frequency Gravitational Waves

Jun 29, 2023 by News Staff

Astrophysicists from the North American Nanohertz Observatory for Gravitational Waves (NANOGrav) Collaboration have found evidence for gravitational waves...

The common cuttlefish (Sepia officinalis). Image credit: Stephan Junek, Max Planck Institute for Brain Research.

Cuttlefish Camouflage is More Complex Than Previously Thought

Jun 28, 2023 by News Staff

Scientists from the Max Planck Institute for Brain Research and the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology have studied camouflage in the common cuttlefish...

The Wilson’s little penguin (Eudyptula wilsonae). Image credit: Simone Giovanardi.

3-Million-Year-Old Fossils Support Zealandian Origin for Smallest Living Penguins

Jun 27, 2023 by Sergio Prostak

Eudyptula wilsonae is the smallest extinct crown penguin yet known and is a possible ancestor of the kororā or New Zealand little penguin (Eudyptula minor...

Gonkoken nanoi. Image credit: Gabriel Diaz Yantén (Paleogdy).

Relict Duck-Billed Dinosaur Unearthed in Chilean Patagonia

Jun 26, 2023 by Enrico de Lazaro

Gonkoken nanoi is the first non-hadrosaurid duck-billed dinosaur known from the southern supercontinent of Gondwana. Gonkoken nanoi. Image credit: Gabriel...

Life reconstruction of Olympicetus thalassodon pursuing a school of fishes alongside plotopterid birds (background) somewhere in the eastern North Pacific Ocean. Image credit: Cullen Townsend.

Paleontologist Describes New Species of Ancient Toothed Whale

Jun 23, 2023 by News Staff

Olympicetus thalassodon is one of several that are helping us understand the early history and diversification of modern dolphins, porpoises and other...

Life restoration of Macrocollum itaquii. Image credit: Nobu Tamura, http://spinops.blogspot.com / Alan Frijns / Sci.News.

Pneumatic Air-Filled Bones First Appeared in Sauropod Dinosaurs 225 Million Years Ago: Study

Jun 21, 2023 by Enrico de Lazaro

Paleontologists have examined an almost complete skeleton of Macrocollum itaquii, an unaysaurid sauropodomorph dinosaur that lived in what is now Brazil...

The 57,000-year-old Neanderthal engravings discovered in La Roche-Cotard cave, France: the ‘circular panel’ (left) and the ‘wavy panel’ (right). Image credit: Jean-Claude Marquet / CC-BY 4.0.

57,000-Year-Old Neanderthal Engravings Discovered in France

Jun 21, 2023 by Enrico de Lazaro

Non-figurative markings on the walls of La Roche-Cotard cave in France are the oldest known engravings made by our sister species. The 57,000-year-old...

Life reconstruction of the mosasaur Plioplatecarpus, a distant relative of Sarabosaurus dahli. Image credit: Sci.News / Dmitry Bogdanov.

New Species of Mosasaur Identified in Utah

Jun 20, 2023 by Sergio Prostak

A new genus and species of mosasaurid being named Sarabosaurus dahli has been discovered by a team of paleontologists from the United States, the Netherlands...

An artist’s impression of Nihohae matakoi. Image credit: Daniel Verhelst.

Oligocene-Period Dolphin Had Procumbent Tusk-Like Teeth

Jun 19, 2023 by Enrico de Lazaro

Nihohae matakoi’s tusk-like teeth suggest adaptive advantages for horizontally procumbent teeth in ancient dolphins. An artist’s impression of Nihohae...

Vectipelta barretti. Image credit: Stuart Pond.

Paleontologists Discover New Species of Ankylosaur

Jun 16, 2023 by News Staff

A new genus and species of armored ankylosaurian dinosaur has been identified from fossils found on the Isle of Wight, the United Kingdom. Vectipelta barretti....

Saturn’s moon Enceladus with a plume. Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / SSI / Kevin M. Gill.

Phosphorus, Rare Building Block for Life, Discovered at Enceladus

Jun 15, 2023 by News Staff

Phosphorus has not previously been detected in oceans beyond those on Earth and this discovery provides a promising step forward in our understanding of...

Life reconstruction of Tiliqua frangens. Image credit: Katrina Kenny.

Giant Armored Skinks Once Roamed Australia

Jun 14, 2023 by Enrico de Lazaro

There are more species of lizards and snakes alive today than any other order of land vertebrates, yet their fossil record has been poorly documented compared...

An artist’s rendition of a multiplanetary circumbinary system. Image credit: NASA’s Ames Research Center / JPL-Caltech / T. Pyle.

Astronomers Discover New Multiplanetary Circumbinary System

Jun 13, 2023 by Enrico de Lazaro

Circumbinary planetary systems contain planets that orbit around two stars in the center instead of just one, like in our Solar System. An artist’s rendition...

Reconstruction of the small-bodied theropod dinosaur Fukuivenator paradoxus, a sister taxon of Migmanychion laiyang. Image credit: Piotr Menshikov / Sci.News.

New Species of Theropod Dinosaur Identified in China

Jun 12, 2023 by Enrico de Lazaro

A new genus and species of maniraptoran dinosaur has been described from the fossilized skeletal material found in Inner Mongolia, China. Reconstruction...

Strong evidence suggesting that frying in space is possible. Image credit: Lioumbas et al., doi: 10.1016/j.foodres.2022.112249.

Is Frying Possible in Space?

Jun 12, 2023 by Natali Anderson

French fries are a very popular food commodity across many cultural backgrounds on Earth and as such they may be appreciated by long-term space travelers....

Life reconstruction of the extinct bear-dog Amphicyon ingens, a very distant relative of Eoarctos vorax. Image credit: Roman Uchytel.

Oligocene-Period Raccoon-Like Mammal Had Mollusk-Based Diet

Jun 8, 2023 by Enrico de Lazaro

Paleontologists in the United States have identified a new genus and species of early arctoid from an exquisitely preserved skeleton found in North Dakota’s...