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Qijianglong guokr chased by two carnivorous dinosaurs. Image credit: Lida Xing.

New Species of Long-Necked Dinosaur Identified in Colombia

Aug 11, 2022 by Enrico de Lazaro

A new genus and species of medium-sized sauropod dinosaur has been described from a single trunk vertebra found in the Department of Cesar, north-eastern...

The 2,500-year-old Olmec relief from the state of Tabasco, south-eastern Mexico. Image credit: INAH Tabasco Center.

Two 2,500-Year-Old Olmec Reliefs Unearthed in Mexico

Aug 10, 2022 by Enrico de Lazaro

The two stone monuments depict local Olmec rulers and are at least 2,500 years old (Late Olmec period). The 2,500-year-old Olmec relief from the state...

This Webb/NIRCam image shows Earendel (center), the most distant star ever detected. Image credit: NASA / ESA / CSA / STScI.

Webb Images Earendel, Farthest Known Star

Aug 9, 2022 by Natali Anderson

Earendel emitted its light approximately 900 million years after the Big Bang. This Webb/NIRCam image shows Earendel (center), the most distant star ever...

A possible scene at Liang Bua Cave around 70,000 years ago: Leptoptilos robustus challenges a juvenile Komodo dragon for access to the carcass of a dwarf proboscidean while other giant marabou storks, vultures and hominins look on. Image credit: Gabriel Ugueto.

Giant Marabou Storks Lived alongside Mysterious Homo floresiensis

Aug 7, 2022 by Sergio Prostak

Over 50,000 years ago, Leptoptilos robustus — an extinct species of large-bodied stork around 1.8 m tall — co-existed with mysterious miniature...

This image from Webb’s Near Infrared Camera (NIRCam) shows the Maisie’s galaxy, one of the earliest galaxies ever observed; if its estimated redshift of 14.3 is confirmed with future observations, that would mean we’re seeing it as it was just 290 million years after the Big Bang. Image credit: NASA / STScI / CEERS / TACC / S. Finkelstein / M. Bagley / Z. Levay.

Webb Spots Candidate for Most Distant Known Galaxy

Aug 4, 2022 by News Staff

The new Webb images, taken by its two cameras — the Near Infrared Camera and the Mid-Infrared Instrument — as part of the Cosmic Evolution...

Life restoration of Lalieudorhynchus gandi and an associated aquatic tupilakosaurid temnospondyl (bottom left); estimated water depth about 2 m, algae are possible. Image credit: Frederik Spindler.

Permian Synapsid Had Hippopotamus-Like Semi-Aquatic Lifestyle

Aug 4, 2022 by Enrico de Lazaro

A new genus and species of caseid synapsid that lived 264 million years ago (Permian period) has been identified from a partial but well-preserved postcranial...

Gibbons et al. showed that bumblebees are capable of modifying their response to noxious stimuli in order to get a higher sugar reward. Image credit: Ralphs Fotos.

Bumblebees Can Experience Pain, New Study Claims

Aug 3, 2022 by News Staff

Insects are traditionally thought to respond to noxious stimuli in an inflexible manner, without the ability to modulate their behavior according to context....

Life reconstruction of Agriarctos nikolovi. Image credit: Velizar Simeonovski.

Giant Panda’s Close Relative Lived in Europe as Recently as 5.5 Million Years Ago

Aug 1, 2022 by Enrico de Lazaro

Paleontologists in Bulgaria have described a new species of the panda genus Agriarctos, from two fossilized teeth dating to 5.5 million years ago. Life...

An artist’s impression of Spinosaurus and a plesiosaur in a river. Image credit: Nick Longrich / University of Bath.

Some Plesiosaurs May Have Lived in Freshwater River Systems

Jul 29, 2022 by News Staff

Paleontologists have found several fossilized bones of plesiosaurs — traditionally thought to be sea creatures — in the Kem Kem beds, a 100-million-year-old...

LifeGate 2022 combines up-to-date phylogenetic knowledge with a graphical display of the richness and aesthetics of life on Earth. Image credit: Martin Freiberg / Leipzig University.

New Interactive Phylogenetic Map Shows Full Diversity of Life on Earth

Jul 29, 2022 by News Staff

LifeGate 2022, created by Leipzig University researcher Martin Freiberg, is an attempt to arrange all known species (about 2.6 million) in an interactive...

The whale shark (Rhincodon typus). Image credit: Andre Rerekura, Whaleshark Research.

Whale Shark is World’s Largest Omnivore, New Study Shows

Jul 25, 2022 by News Staff

The whale shark (Rhincodon typus), which have been reported up to 18 m long, is the largest known extant fish species. This creatrure is a filter feeder...

A mammaliamorph breathing out hot hair in a frigid night, hinting at endothermy. Image credit: Luzia Soares.

Warm-Bloodedness Appeared in Mammalian Ancestors 233 Million Years Ago, Study Suggests

Jul 22, 2022 by News Staff

Among modern animals, only mammals and birds are warm-blooded, and the ability to keep ourselves warm has enabled mammals to survive in icy weather and...

Ausichicrinites zelenskyyi. Image credit: Salamon et al., doi: 10.1098/rsos.220345.

Feather Star from Jurassic Period Named after President Zelenskyy

Jul 21, 2022 by Natali Anderson

Ausichicrinites zelenskyyi, the first Jurassic comatulid (feather star) from the African continent, has been named in honor of Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the...

An artist’s reconstruction of Qikiqtania wakei (center) in the water with its larger cousin, Tiktaalik roseae. Image credit: Alex Boersma.

Devonian Four-Legged ‘Fishapod’ Unearthed in Canada

Jul 20, 2022 by News Staff

Qikiqtania wakei closely resembles Tiktaalik roseae — the important transitional animal considered a missing link between fish and the earliest limbed...

This artist’s impression shows what the binary system VFTS 243 might look like if we were observing it up close. The system, which is located in the Tarantula Nebula in the Large Magellanic Cloud, is composed of a hot, blue star with 25 times the Sun’s mass and a black hole, which is at least nine times the mass of the Sun. The sizes of the two binary components are not to scale: in reality, the blue star is about 200,000 times larger than the black hole. Image credit: ESO / L. Calçada.

Dormant Stellar-Mass Black Hole Detected in Tarantula Nebula

Jul 18, 2022 by News Staff

The newly-detected black hole is a member of the binary system VFTS 243, which is located in the famous Tarantula Nebula in the Large Magellanic Cloud. This...

New Tardigrade Species Discovered in Kyrgyzstan

Jul 16, 2022 by Natali Anderson

Cornechiniscus mystacinus has catfish-like ‘barbels’ and can be found in the Jalalabat region of Kyrgyzstan. Cornechiniscus mystacinus. Image credit:...

An artist’s illustration of neutrinos originating from a high-energy blazar. Image credit: Benjamin Amend, Clemson University.

High-Energy Astrophysical Neutrinos are Coming from Blazars: Study

Jul 14, 2022 by Natali Anderson

Neutrinos are the most elusive particles in the Universe, capable of traveling nearly unimpeded across it. Despite the vast amount of data collected, a...

Scientists Sequence Genome of Red Deer Cave Human

Jul 14, 2022 by News Staff

Researchers have sequenced and analyzed the genome of a Late Pleistocene hominin from Red Deer Cave located in Southwest China, which was previously reported...

Insects Probably Can Feel Pain, Researchers Say

Jul 12, 2022 by Sergio Prostak

In a new paper published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B, scientists from the Queen Mary University of London argue that insects most likely...