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Reconstruction of the Darwin’s ground sloth (Mylodon darwinii) feeding on the carcass of the hoofed native herbivore Macrauchenia. These extinct mammals roamed the Pleistocene landscape of Patagonia and other parts of high and mid-latitude South America, like this reconstructed scene from about 12,000 years ago in front of the famous Mylodon Cave (Cueva del Milodón) in southern Chile. Image credit: Jorge Blanco.

Darwin’s Ground Sloth was Opportunistic Omnivore, Study Says

Oct 7, 2021 by News Staff

New research published in the journal Scientific Reports provides the first direct evidence of omnivory in an ancient sloth species. Reconstruction of...

Life reconstruction of Pendraig milnerae among the fissures of Pant-y-ffynnon and three individuals of the rhynchocephalian lepidosaur Clevosaurus cambrica during the Late Triassic epoch. Image credit: James Robbins.

New Small-Sized Carnivorous Dinosaur Unearthed in Wales

Oct 7, 2021 by News Staff

Paleontologists have described a new genus and species of coelophysoid theropod dinosaur from the Late Triassic deposits of Pant-y-ffynnon in southern...

Paradoryphoribius chronocaribbeus photographed with transmitted light under stereomicroscope. Image credit: Mapalo et al., doi: 10.1098/rspb.2021.1760.

Paleontologists Find Ancient Tardigrade in Dominican Amber

Oct 6, 2021 by News Staff

Paleontologists have described a new genus and species of tardigrade found in a 16-million-year-old piece of amber from the Dominican Republic. Named Paradoryphoribius...

New Horned Dinosaur Species Identified in New Mexico

Oct 5, 2021 by Enrico de Lazaro

A new genus and species of chasmosaurine ceratopsid dinosaur has been identified from skeletal fragments found in the Late Cretaceous rocks of the Hall...

Side view of Eograminis balticus. Image credit: Poinar & Soreng, doi: 10.1086/716781.

Eocene Grass Spikelet Found Preserved in Baltic Amber

Oct 5, 2021 by News Staff

Eograminis balticus, a new species of grass found in a piece of 40-50-million-year-old amber, represents the first definite grass to be described from...

New Tick-Borne Virus Discovered in Japan

Oct 4, 2021 by Enrico de Lazaro

Scientists have isolated a new orthonairovirus from two patients showing acute febrile illness with thrombocytopenia and leukopenia after tick bite in...

This ALMA image shows the shadow of the innermost ring on the rest of the circumtriple protoplanetary disk around GW Orionis. Image credit: ALMA / ESO / NAOJ / NRAO / University of Exeter / Kraus et al.

Massive Planets May Be Orbiting Young Triple Star GW Orionis

Oct 4, 2021 by Natali Anderson

Astronomers have found strong evidence of a massive planet (or planets) — the first planet(s) in a circumtriple orbit — in a hierarchical triple...

An artist’s impression of a free-floating exoplanet. Image credit: Sci-News.com.

Free-Floating Exoplanets with Subsurface Oceans Could Sustain Life

Oct 1, 2021 by News Staff

Dr. Manasvi Lingam from the Department of Aerospace, Physics and Space Sciences at the Florida Institute of Technology and Professor Avi Loeb of Harvard...

Phacops geesops, a trilobite species that lived during the Devonian period; the animal’s eyes consist of 200 single lenses each, spanning six small facets, which again form one eye each. Image credit: Brigitte Schoenemann.

Devonian Phacopid Trilobites Had Unique Hyper-Compound Eyes

Oct 1, 2021 by Enrico de Lazaro

Trilobites are extinct arthropods that dominated the faunas of the Paleozoic Era. Since their appearance 523 million years ago, they were equipped with...

Artist’s impressions of Ceratosuchops inferodios (foreground) and Riparovenator milnerae (background). Image credit: Anthony Hutchings.

Paleontologists Discover Two New Species of Spinosaurid Dinosaurs

Sep 30, 2021 by Enrico de Lazaro

Two new Early Cretaceous specimens from the Wessex Formation of the Isle of Wight, UK, represent distinct and novel genera and species of spinosaurids:...

Tunguska-Sized Impact Destroyed Jordan Valley City 3,670 Years Ago

Sep 29, 2021 by News Staff

Archaeologists have found evidence that in 1650 BCE (Middle Bronze Age), a cosmic airburst destroyed Tall el-Hammam, an ancient walled city in the Jordan...

An artist’s rendition of the ultrahot Jupiter TOI-1518b and its parent star. Image credit: Sci-News.com.

New Ultrahot Jupiter Contains Iron in Its Atmosphere

Sep 28, 2021 by Natali Anderson

Astronomers have discovered a highly-irradiated gas giant exoplanet in close-in, highly misaligned orbit around a bright star called TOI-1518. An artist’s...

Life reconstruction of Archaehierax sylvestris. Image credit: Jacob Blokland / Taylor & Francis Online.

Paleontologists Find 25-Million-Year-Old Eagle-Like Bird Fossil in Australia

Sep 28, 2021 by Enrico de Lazaro

A new genus and species of extinct predatory bird has been identified from a fossilized partial skeleton unearthed in South Australia. Life reconstruction...

The ancient human footprints found at White Sands National Park in New Mexico, the United States. Image credit: Bennett et al., doi: 10.1126/science.abg7586.

23,000-Year-Old Human Footprints Discovered in New Mexico

Sep 24, 2021 by News Staff

In a study of exposed outcrops of Lake Otero in New Mexico, the United States, archaeologists have discovered numerous human footprints dating to about...

A pair of Atlantic puffins (Fratercula arctica). Image credit: Mali Ancor.

Scientists Sequence Genome of Atlantic Puffin

Sep 22, 2021 by Natali Anderson

Researchers have sequenced analyzed the genome of the Atlantic puffin (Fratercula arctica), a small auk with a large head and a colorful bill. Using the...

Japanese samurai in armor, print by Kusakabe Kimbei, 1870s. Image credit: Getty’s Open Content Program.

Ancient DNA Reveals Tripartite Origins of Japanese People

Sep 21, 2021 by News Staff

The Japanese archipelago, which has been occupied by humans for at least 38,000 years, underwent rapid transformations in the past 3,000 years, first from...

Southeastern pocket gophers (Geomys pinetis) are biofluorescent, giving off a colored glow when illuminated with UV light. Image credit: Pynne et al., doi: 10.1674/0003-0031-186.1.150.

Scientists Observe Biofluorescence in Burrowing Mammals for First Time

Sep 21, 2021 by Sergio Prostak

An international team of researchers led by the University of Georgia has documented ultraviolet biofluorescence in live southeastern pocket gophers (Geomys...

New Jurassic Pterosaur Unearthed in Chile

Sep 20, 2021 by Enrico de Lazaro

Paleontologists have unearthed and described the fragmentary fossilized remains of a non-pterodactyloid pterosaur in the Atacama Desert in northern Chile. Life...

An illustration showing what Yuanchuavis kompsosoura might have looked like in life. Image credit: Haozhen Zhang.

New Bird Species from Cretaceous Period Had Long Pintail

Sep 17, 2021 by News Staff

Paleontologists in China have identified a new species of pengornithid enantiornithine bird with a pair of elaborate tail feathers. An illustration showing...