Paleontology News

The Early Cretaceous enantiornithine bird from Liaoning province, China: (a) photograph; (b) digital reconstruction. Abbreviations: at - atlas, ca - caudal vertebrae, ce - cervical vertebrae, dt - distal tarsals, lfe - left femur, lil - left ilium, lis - left ischium, lpu - left pubis, mt II-IV - metatarsals II to IV, pd II-IV - pedal digits II to IV, ph - proximal phalanx of hallux, pt - proximal tarsals, py - pygostyle, rb - rib, rfe - right femur, rfi - right fibula, ril - right ilium, ris - right ischium, rpu - right pubis, rti - right tibia, sk - skull, sv - sacral vertebra, tv - thoracic vertebrae. Scale bars - 10 mm. Image credit: Wang et al., doi: 10.1038/s41467-021-24147-z.

Cretaceous-Period Bird from China ‘Had Dinosaur Skull’

Jun 28, 2021 by Enrico de Lazaro

Paleontologists have described a new enantiornithine bird with a well-preserved skull from the Early Cretaceous of northeastern China. The Early Cretaceous...

Oxyuropoda ligioides in its 365-million-year-old continental environment (Kiltorcan, Kilkenny, Ireland). Image credit: Diane Dabir Moghaddam.

Ancient Woodlice Cousins Lived in Ireland 360 Million Years Ago

Jun 23, 2021 by News Staff

Paleontologists have performed a complete re-analysis of Oxyuropoda ligioides, a land-based peracarid crustacean first reported in 1908 from the Late Devonian...

Allocordyceps baltica is coming out of the ant’s rectum, and vegetative part of the fungus is emerging from its abdomen and neck. Image credit: George Poinar Jr., Oregon State University.

Ancient Fungal Parasite of Ants Found Preserved in Baltic Amber

Jun 22, 2021 by News Staff

In a paper published this month in the journal Fungal Biology, a duo of paleontologists from the United States and France described a new genus and species...

A part of the Boltysh impact structure near the village of Bovtyshka in Kivorohrads’ka oblast, Ukraine. Image credit: Wisetus / CC BY-SA 4.0.

Giant Meteorite Landed in Ukraine 650,000 Years after Dinosaur-Killing Chicxulub Event

Jun 22, 2021 by News Staff

About 66 million years ago, a 10-km- (6.2-mile) wide asteroid crashed into Earth near the site of the small town of Chicxulub in what is now Mexico. While...

The discovery of a spike of mercury in 252-million-year-old rock at locations around the world gives evidence for the prevailing theory that volcanic eruptions caused the end-Permian extinction. Image credit: Margaret Weiner / University of Cincinnati Creative Services.

Siberian Volcanic Eruptions Triggered End-Permian Mass Extinction, New Study Confirms

Jun 22, 2021 by News Staff

The end-Permian mass extinction — the most severe extinction event in the past 540 million years — was caused by massive volcanic eruptions...

The 110-million-year-old dinosaur footprints in Folkestone, Kent, southern England. Image credit: Hadland et al., doi: 10.1016/j.pgeola.2021.04.005.

UK’s Youngest Dinosaur Footprints Found

Jun 21, 2021 by News Staff

The 110-million-year-old footprints discovered in Kent, southern England, were left by three types of dinosaurs, including theropod, ornithopod, and ankylosaur...

Life reconstruction of Paraceratherium linxiaense. Image credit: Yu Chen.

Fossils of New Giant Rhino Species Found in China

Jun 18, 2021 by Enrico de Lazaro

A new species of the giant rhinoceros genus Paraceratherium has been identified from the fossilized remains found in Gansu Province, northwestern China. Life...

An artist’s impression of Oculudentavis naga, which was between 5 and 8 cm (2-3 inches) long, not including its tail. Image credit: Stephanie Abramowicz / Peretti Museum Foundation / Current Biology.

Oculudentavis is Bizarre Lizard, Not Bird-Like Dinosaur

Jun 15, 2021 by News Staff

In 2020, paleontologists described an ancient species, Oculudentavis khaungraae, based on a tiny skull trapped in a piece of Cretaceous-period amber from...

Artistic representation of Gunggamarandu maunala. Image credit: Eleanor Pease.

New Ancient Crocodile Species Identified in Australia

Jun 14, 2021 by Enrico de Lazaro

A new genus and species of large-sized tomistomine crocodylian has been identified from a large, incomplete skull found more than a century ago in Queensland,...

Torvosaurus gurneyi. Image credit: © Sergey Krasovskiy.

Cretaceous Dinosaurs Lived in Warm and Variable Greenhouse Climate, Study Suggests

Jun 11, 2021 by News Staff

Paleoclimatologists have precisely reconstructed monthly sea surface temperatures at around 50 °N latitude from fossil shells of bivalve mollusks that...

Life reconstruction of Australotitan cooperensis. Image credit: Vladislav Konstantinov / Scott Hocknull.

New Titanosaur Species Uncovered in Australia

Jun 8, 2021 by Enrico de Lazaro

The newly-discovered species of titanosaurian sauropod dinosaur, named Australotitan cooperensis, is the largest species of dinosaur ever found in Australia. Life...

Moa browsed trees and shrubs within the forest understorey. Image credit: Heinrich Harder.

New Study Provides Insights into Diet of Extinct Little Bush Moa

Jun 4, 2021 by News Staff

Paleontologists have examined 6,800- to 4,600-year-old coprolites attributed to the little bush moa (Anomalopteryx didiformis). The results support the...

A juvenile Tyrannosaurus rex, based on the Jane specimen, walking through a lake. Image credit: PaleoEquii / CC BY-SA 4.0.

Juvenile Tyrannosaurs Had Powerful Bite, New Study Shows

Jun 2, 2021 by News Staff

In a paper published in the journal PeerJ, paleontologists present bite force estimates for a juvenile Tyrannosaurus rex based on mechanical tests designed...

New Species of Duck-Billed Dinosaur Unearthed in Mexico

May 31, 2021 by Enrico de Lazaro

Paleontologists have identified a new species of lambeosaurine hadrosaur from fossils found in northern Mexico. Life reconstruction of Tlatolophus galorum....

Reconstruction of Sea Elephant Bay circa 1802, with southern elephant seals and King Island emus. Image credit: Julian Hume.

Paleontologists Find First Complete Egg of Extinct King Island Dwarf Emu

May 26, 2021 by Enrico de Lazaro

While the egg was about the same size as those laid by mainland emus, a duo of avian paleontologists from Australia and the United Kingdom used it to calculate...

An artist’s reconstruction of Aetiocetus weltoni. Image credit: C. Buell.

Oligocene Whale Had Both Teeth and Baleen, New Research Shows

May 25, 2021 by News Staff

A duo of paleontologists from San Diego State University and the San Diego Natural History Museum has explored the transition from raptorial feeding in...

Ancient horses crossed over the Bering Land Bridge in both directions between North America and Asia multiple times during the Pleistocene. Image credit: Julius Csotonyi.

Eurasian Horses Diverged from North American Horses One Million Years Ago, DNA Study Shows

May 24, 2021 by News Staff

In new research, an international team of scientists sequenced and analyzed mitochondrial and nuclear genomes of living and extinct caballine horses (Equus...

Life reconstruction of Pleurochayah appalachius. Image credit: Brent Adrian / Midwestern University.

Fossil of North America’s Earliest Side-Necked Turtle Unearthed

May 21, 2021 by News Staff

A new genus and species of side-necked turtle that lived 96 million years ago (Cenomanian age of the Late Cretaceous epoch) has been identified from the...

An artist’s impression of the early Earth. Image credit: NASA.

Earth’s Early Rise in Atmospheric Oxygen May Have Suppressed Evolution of Multicellular Organisms

May 19, 2021 by News Staff

Atmospheric oxygen is thought to have played a vital role in the evolution of complex multicellular organisms. The so-called oxygen control hypothesis...