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An artist’s reconstruction of Notocolossus gonzalesparejasi, a sister taxon of Chucarosaurus diripienda. Image credit: Nobu Tamura, http://spinops.blogspot.com.

New Species of Colossosaur Identified in Argentina

Feb 6, 2023 by Enrico de Lazaro

A new genus and species of giant colossosaurian titanosaur has been identified from fossils found in Patagonia, Argentina. An artist’s reconstruction...

Nautilus samoaensis. Image credit: Barord et al., doi: 10.3897/zookeys.1143.84427.

Marine Biologists Identify Three New Nautilus Species

Feb 3, 2023 by Natali Anderson

The three new species of nautiluses belong to the genus Nautilus and represent populations on the easternmost edge of the overall habitat range of the...

This image shows how microlensing was used to measure the mass of the white dwarf LAWD 37. The inset box plots how the dwarf passed in front of a background star in 2019. The wavy blue line traces the dwarf’s apparent motion across the sky as seen from Earth. Image credit: NASA / ESA / Peter McGill, UC Santa Cruz, IoA / Kailash Sahu, STScI / Joseph DePasquale, STScI.

Astronomers Directly Measure Mass of Isolated White Dwarf

Feb 2, 2023 by News Staff

In November 2019, the nearby single, isolated white dwarf LAWD 37 aligned closely with a distant background source and caused a so-called microlensing...

Life reconstruction of Coccocephalus wildi. Image credit: Márcio L. Castro.

Carboniferous Fossil Gives Insight into Neural Anatomy of Early Ray-Finned Fishes

Feb 2, 2023 by Enrico de Lazaro

Paleontologists have examined the fossilized brain and cranial nerve soft tissues of Coccocephalus wildi, a species of early ray-finned fish that lived...

Life reconstruction of Turnersuchus hingleyae. Image credit: Júlia d’Oliveira.

Jurassic Sea Crocodile Fossil Found in United Kingdom

Jan 31, 2023 by Enrico de Lazaro

Turnersuchus hingleyae, a new genus and species of thalattosuchian crocodylomorph from the Early Jurassic epoch, helps fill a gap in the fossil record...

Life reconstruction of a hibbertopterid sea scorpion. Image credit: DiBgd / CC BY-SA 4.0.

New Species of Giant Sea Scorpion Unearthed in New Mexico

Jan 30, 2023 by Sergio Prostak

Hibbertopterus lamsdelli is only the fourth, yet most reliable record of an American hibbertopterid sea scorpion. Life reconstruction of a hibbertopterid...

The dandelion-inspired, wind-dispersed robot. Image credit: Jianfeng Yang / Tampere University.

Researchers Create Dandelion-Inspired Robot Controlled by Power of Light and Wind

Jan 30, 2023 by News Staff

The robot’s design is inspired by the seed of dandelion, resembling several biomimetic features, i.e., high porosity, lightweight, and separated vortex...

Life reconstruction of Ignacius dawsonae. Image credit: Kristen Miller, Biodiversity Institute, University of Kansas.

Early Primate Relatives Lived in High Arctic 52 Million Years Ago

Jan 27, 2023 by News Staff

Paleontologists have described two new species of the early primatomorphan genus Ignacius from Ellesmere Island, Nunavut, Canada. Life reconstruction of...

Life reconstruction of Funcusvermis gilmorei. Image credit: Andrey Atuchin / U.S. National Park Service / Petrified Forest Museum Association.

220-Million-Year-Old Fossils Identified as Oldest Known Caecilian

Jan 26, 2023 by Enrico de Lazaro

Funcusvermis gilmorei lived in the tropical forests of what is now Arizona, the United States, during the Triassic period, approximately 220 million years...

Life restoration of Aquilarhinus palimentus, a hadrosaurid dinosaur from the Aguja Formation. Image credit: David Breguet / CC BY-SA 4.0.

New Species of Duck-Billed Dinosaur Identified in Texas

Jan 25, 2023 by Enrico de Lazaro

Paleontologists have described a previously unrecognized genus and species of hadrosaurid dinosaur from a partial bone found in Texas, the United States. Life...

Live adult male paratype of Sinocyclocheilus longicornus. Image credit: Xu et al., doi: 10.3897/zookeys.1141.91501.

New Fish Species Has Mysterious Horn-Like Structure on the Back of Its Head

Jan 24, 2023 by Natali Anderson

Sinocyclocheilus longicornus inhabits a completely dark cave in southwestern Guizhou province in China. Live adult male paratype of Sinocyclocheilus longicornus....

Skull of Balaenognathus maeuseri. Image credit: Martill et al., doi: 10.1007/s12542-022-00644-4.

Jurassic Filter-Feeding Pterosaur Had At Least 480 Teeth

Jan 23, 2023 by Enrico de Lazaro

Paleontologists have identified a new species of long-legged, filter-feeding pterodactyloid pterosaur from the well-preserved specimen found in a quarry...

Possible reconstitution of the individual Morus sp. from the Praia do Penedo Norte, Portugal. Image credit: Alexandre Fonseca.

Fossil of Extinct Gannet Species Found in Portugal

Jan 20, 2023 by Enrico de Lazaro

Paleontologists have unearthed the fossilized remains of an extinct gannet species that lived in what is now Portugal during the Miocene epoch, some 15...

The 124-m-high telecommunication tower of Säntis in Switzerland; also shown is the path of the laser recorded with its second harmonic at 515 nm. Image credit: Houard et al., doi: 10.1038/s41566-022-01139-z.

Firing Intense Laser Pulses at the Sky Can Divert Lightning

Jan 17, 2023 by News Staff

Scientists have demonstrated that laser-induced filaments — formed in the sky by short and intense laser pulses — can guide lightning discharges...

A time averaged artist’s interpretation of Patagonia during the Late Cretaceous epoch, about 66-78 million years ago. The animals pictured include non-avian dinosaurs, birds and other vertebrates that have been discovered in the fossil record of the region. Their specific identifications are as follows: ornithurine birds (flying and walking on the ground), Stegouros (armored dinosaur), Orretherium (mammal), Yaminuechelys (turtle), a megaraptorid (large carnivore), unenlagiines (pair of carnivores), and enantiornithine birds (in foreground). Image credit: Mauricio Alvarez & Gabriel Diaz.

Paleontologists Uncover First Theropod Fossils in Chilean Patagonia

Jan 16, 2023 by Enrico de Lazaro

Paleontologists have described new specimens of theropods — a dinosaur group that includes both modern birds and their closest non-avian dinosaur...

Symplocos kowalewskii. Image credit: Sadowski & Hofmann, doi: 10.1038/s41598-022-24549-z.

34-Million-Year-Old Baltic Amber Preserves Exceptionally Large Flower

Jan 13, 2023 by Enrico de Lazaro

Amber exquisitely preserves the delicate organs of fossil flowers for millions of years. However, flower inclusions can be rare and usually do not exceed...

An artist’s impression of LHS 475b and its parent star. Image credit: NASA / ESA / CSA / Leah Hustak, STScI.

Webb Confirms Earth-Sized Planet around LHS 475

Jan 12, 2023 by Natali Anderson

Astronomers using the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope have validated the discovery of a warm, 0.99 Earth-radius exoplanet interior to the habitable...

An artist’s impression of TOI-700e (larger planet) and TOI-700d. Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / Robert Hurt.

TESS Discovers Second Earth-Sized Planet in Habitable Zone of TOI-700

Jan 10, 2023 by Natali Anderson

The newly-discovered alien world, named TOI-700e, is 95% Earth’s size and likely rocky. An artist’s impression of TOI-700e (larger planet) and TOI-700d....

An artist’s impression of Wumengosaurus, a sister taxon of Honghesaurus longicaudal. Image credit: Nobu Tamura / CC BY-SA 4.0.

Triassic Marine Reptile Had Incredibly Long Tail

Jan 9, 2023 by Enrico de Lazaro

Paleontologists have described a new genus and species of long-tailed pachypleurosaur from a complete skeleton found in China. An artist’s impression...