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2,000-Year-Old Fast Food Shop Uncovered in Pompeii

Dec 27, 2020 by Enrico de Lazaro

Archaeologists have unearthed a frescoed thermopolium (a hot-food-drink shop) in Pompeii, an ancient Roman city frozen in time after the catastrophic eruption...

The archaeological site of Tel Dor, Israel. Image credit: Institute of Archaeology, Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

Archaeologists Find Evidence of Neolithic Mega-Tsunami in Israel

Dec 24, 2020 by News Staff

A catastrophic tsunami occurred sometimes between 7,910 and 7,290 BCE with an extreme 16 m (52.5 feet) wave height and 1.5-3.5 km (0.93-2.2 mile) run-up...

Kernowite (green color). Image credit: The Trustees of the Natural History Museum, London.

New Mineral Discovered in United Kingdom: Kernowite

Dec 24, 2020 by News Staff

Kernowite is a new mineral that has been found only in an old specimen collected at a single location in Cornwall, UK. Kernowite (green color). Image credit:...

Valviloculus pleristaminis, flower in lateral view. Image credit: Poinar, Jr. et al., doi: 10.17348/jbrit.v14.i2.1014.

99-Million-Year-Old Fossil Flower Found Encased in Burmese Amber

Dec 23, 2020 by News Staff

A team of paleontologists from Oregon State University and the Agricultural Research Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture has found a new genus...

A female tree hyrax in Ngangao Forest, Taita Hills, Kenya. Image credit: Hanna Rosti.

Possible New Species of Tree Hyrax Discovered

Dec 23, 2020 by Natali Anderson

Zoologists believe they have found a previously unknown species of tree hyrax in the Taita Hills, Kenya. A female tree hyrax in Ngangao Forest, Taita Hills,...

Meachen et al. report detailed morphometric, isotopic, and genetic analyses of Zhùr that reveal details of her appearance, evolutionary relationships to other wolves and short life-history and ecology. Image credit: Meachen et al., doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2020.11.011.

57,000-Year-Old Frozen Remains of Wolf Pup Found in Canada

Dec 22, 2020 by Enrico de Lazaro

An ancient wolf pup, named Zhùr (means ‘wolf’ in the Hän language of the local Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in people), lived approximately 57,000 years...

Paludirex vincenti belongs to Mekosuchinae, an extinct subfamily of crocodylids from Australia and the South Pacific. Image credit: University of Queensland.

Fossils of Large-Bodied Crocodile Found in Australia

Dec 22, 2020 by Enrico de Lazaro

A new genus and species of prehistoric crocodile, Paludirex vincenti, has been identified from fossils unearthed in Queensland, Australia. Paludirex vincenti...

Life restoration of Erythrovenator jacuiensis. Image credit: Marcio Castro.

New Meat-Eating Dinosaur Species Found in Brazil

Dec 21, 2020 by Enrico de Lazaro

A partial thigh bone found in southern Brazil belongs to a previously unknown species of theropod dinosaur. A partial left femur of Erythrovenator jacuiensis....

The flower of Gastrodia agnicellus, showing the stem and part of the rhizome. Image credit: Rick Burian.

Botanist Discovers New Species of Potato Orchid in Madagascar

Dec 21, 2020 by Natali Anderson

Dr. Johan Hermans, a botanist specializing in orchids and an honorary research associate of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, has discovered a new species...

This image comprises data gathered by ESA’s Mars Express on November 8, 2020, during orbit 21,305. Image credit: ESA / DLR / FU Berlin / CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO.

Mars Express Spots Festive Silhouettes near Martian South Pole

Dec 18, 2020 by News Staff

The wings of an angelic figure, complete with halo, can be seen sweeping up and off the top of the frame in a new image from ESA’s Mars Express spacecraft,...

Pythons Lived in Europe as Early as 48 Million Years Ago

Dec 18, 2020 by Enrico de Lazaro

A new genus and species of medium-sized python that lived during the early-middle Eocene period has been identified from several nearly complete skeletons...

An artist’s impression of the hot-Jupiter exoplanet tau Boötis b. Image credit: L. Calçada / ESO.

LOFAR Detects Radio Emission from Tau Boötis Planetary System

Dec 16, 2020 by Enrico de Lazaro

Astronomers using the LOw Frequency Array (LOFAR), a large radio telescope network located mainly in the Netherlands, have detected circularly polarized...

Life restoration of Ubirajara jubatus. Image credit: Bob Nicholls, paleocreations.com.

Cretaceous Dinosaur Had Impressive Mane and Shoulder Ribbons

Dec 16, 2020 by News Staff

A maned theropod dinosaur with elaborate filamentous structures has been identified by a research team led by University of Portsmouth paleontologists. Life...

Land-Dwelling Dinosaur Relatives Bridge Gap to Origin of Pterosaurs

Dec 14, 2020 by News Staff

Pterosaurs were highly successful reptiles that lived between 210 and 65 million years ago. They were the first vertebrates to evolve powered flight, but...

An artist’s impression of the super-Earth planet TOI-237b. Image credit: Sci-News.com.

TESS Discovers Two Small and Warm Exoplanets

Dec 14, 2020 by Natali Anderson

Astronomers using data from NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) have discovered two exoplanets transiting inactive red dwarf stars TOI-122...

Professor Martin next to the Pleistocene iguana burrow. Image credit: Melissa Hage.

115,000-Year-Old Iguana Nest Fossil Found on San Salvador Island

Dec 14, 2020 by News Staff

A trace fossil preserved in the Grotto Beach Formation on San Salvador Island, the Bahamas, is the first known fossil example of an iguana nesting burrow. Illustration...

Detail of a circular mound village called Dona Maria with ‘twin’ village. Image credit: Iriarte et al., doi: 10.5334/jcaa.45.

Archaeologists Find Ancient Villages Laid Out Like Clock Face in Amazonia

Dec 11, 2020 by News Staff

Using a helicopter-based lidar mapping tool, an international team of scientists led by University of Exeter archaeologists has discovered a network of...

HD 106906b occupies an unlikely orbit around a double star 336 light-years away and it may be offering clues to something that might be much closer to home: a hypothesized distant member of our Solar System dubbed Planet Nine. Image credit: NASA / ESA / Hubble / M. Kornmesser.

Young Super-Jupiter Circles Its Binary Star Once Every 15,000 Years

Dec 10, 2020 by News Staff

Astronomers are still searching for a hypothetical Planet Nine in the distant reaches of the Solar System, but an 11-Jupiter-mass planet called HD 106906b...

An artist’s impression of Thalassodraco etchesi. Image credit: Megan Jacobs.

New Ichthyosaur Species Uncovered in England

Dec 10, 2020 by Enrico de Lazaro

A new genus and species of ophthalmosaurid ichthyosaur that swam in the Late Jurassic seas has been identified from an exceptionally well-preserved specimen...