Paleontology News

Paleontologists Find Massive Marine Reptile in Stomach of Triassic Ichthyosaur

Aug 24, 2020 by News Staff

A new fossil of Guizhouichthyosaurus, a 5-m- (16.4-foot) long ichthyosaur that swam in Middle Triassic oceans some 240 million years ago, contains the...

Life reconstruction of Kamuysaurus japonicus with a carcass of a mosasaur (Phosphorosaurus ponpetelegans), a sea turtle (Mesodermochelys undulates), and shells of ammonoids (Patagiosites compressus and Gaudryceras hobetsense) and bivalves (Nannonavis elongatus) on the beach. Image credit: Kobayashi et al, doi: 10.1038/s41598-019-48607-1.

New Study Helps Explain How Dinosaur Skeletons Supported Massive Loads

Aug 21, 2020 by News Staff

A team of paleontologists and mechanical and biomedical engineers has compared CT scans of the fossilized bones of hadrosaurs and other dinosaurs with...

An artist’s rendition of a supernova explosion. Image credit: ESA / Hubble / L. Calcada / NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center.

Nearby Supernovae Caused Late Devonian Extinctions, Scientists Say

Aug 19, 2020 by News Staff

Multiple supernova explosions about 65 light-years away may have contributed to the ozone depletion and several subsequent extinction events at the Devonian-Carboniferous...

Holotype specimen of Eudyptes atatu: (a) right lateral view of skull and block with (c) mandible and (d) postcranial elements; (b) right lateral view of the Snares crested penguin (Eudyptes robustus) for comparison. Referred material of Eudyptes atatu including (e) dorsal view of skull, (f) left lateral view of skull, (g) right humerus caudal view, and (h) dorsal and (i) plantar views of right tarsometatarsus. Image credit: Jean-Claude Stahl, Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa / R. Paul Scofield, Canterbury Museum.

Ancient Crested Penguin Unearthed in New Zealand

Aug 18, 2020 by Natali Anderson

A new species of crested penguin that lived 3.2 million years ago (Pliocene period) has been identified from multiple exceptionally well-preserved specimens...

A British Pleistocene landscape during an interglacial with cave lion (Panthera spelaea), straight-tusked elephants (Palaeoloxodon antiquus), narrow-nosed rhinoceros (Stephanorhinus hemitoechus), steppe bison (Bison priscus), aurochs (Bison primigenius) and hippopotamus (Hippopotamus amphibius). Image credit: Roman Uchytel, via the Netherlands Institute of Ecology.

Two Subspecies of Cave Lion Identified

Aug 17, 2020 by Sergio Prostak

An international team of researchers led by the Swedish Centre for Palaeogenetics has analyzed 31 mitochondrial genome sequences from the cave lion (Panthera...

Left eye of Aulacopleura koninckii. Image credit: Choenemann & Clarkson, doi: 10.1038/s41598-020-69219-0.

Silurian Trilobite Had Modern Type of Compound Eye

Aug 17, 2020 by Natali Anderson

Paleontologists have found that Aulacopleura koninckii, a species of trilobite that lived around 429 million years ago (Silurian period), was equipped...

This image depicts a Pleistocene landscape in northern Spain with woolly mammoths (Mammuthus primigenius), a woolly rhinoceros (Coelodonta antiquitatis), and European cave lions (Panthera leo spelaea) with a reindeer carcass. Image credit: Mauricio Antón.

Climate Change Drove Woolly Rhinoceros to Extinction: DNA Study

Aug 14, 2020 by News Staff

An international team of researchers has sequenced and analyzed a complete nuclear genome and 14 mitochondrial genomes from the extinct woolly rhinoceros...

An artist’s impression of Vectaerovenator inopinatus’ final moments. Image credit: Trudie Wilson.

New Carnivorous Dinosaur Unearthed on Isle of Wight

Aug 12, 2020 by News Staff

A new genus and species of theropod dinosaur from the Cretaceous period has been identified from bones found on the Isle of Wight, the United Kingdom. An...

Ancient Beavers Gnawed Trees for Harvesting Food, Not To Build Dams

Aug 12, 2020 by News Staff

Extinct semi-aquatic beavers of the genus Dipoides lived 4 million years ago (Pliocene epoch) in the Canadian High Arctic and were approximately two-thirds...

An illustration of Deinosuchus. Image credit: Tyler Stone, tylerstoneart.wordpress.com.

New Species of Ancient Giant Alligator Identified

Aug 11, 2020 by News Staff

A new species of crocodilian related to modern alligators has been identified from fossils found in Mississippi and Alabama, the United States. Named Deinosuchus...

Tanystropheus hydroides. Image credit: Emma Finley-Jacob.

Triassic Aquatic Reptile Had Extraordinarily Long Neck

Aug 10, 2020 by News Staff

Tanystropheus hydroides, the newly-described species of reptile that lived 242 million years ago (Triassic period), was about 6 m (20 feet) long, with...

A worker of the hell ant Ceratomyrmex ellenbergeri grasping a nymph of Caputoraptor elegans preserved in amber from Myanmar. Image credit: New Jersey Institute of Technology / Chinese Academy of Sciences / University of Rennes.

99-Million-Year-Old ‘Hell Ant’ Attack Captured in Amber

Aug 7, 2020 by News Staff

Paleontologists have found trapped in a piece of Burmese amber a unique scene of a prehistoric ‘hell ant’ (subfamily Haidomyrmecinae) attacking a nymph...

Plumage of the 99-million-year-old enantiornithine bird. Image credit: Xing et al, doi: 10.3389/feart.2020.00264.

99-Million-Year-Old Bird Wings and Feet Found Encased in Amber

Aug 4, 2020 by Natali Anderson

The partial skeletal remains of an enantiornithine bird that lived 99 million years ago (Cretaceous period) have been found preserved in a piece of amber...

The 55-million-year-old skeleton of Primoptynx poliotauros. Image credit: Senckenberg Research Institute / Tränkner.

55-Million-Year-Old Fossil of Large-Sized Owl Found in Wyoming

Jul 31, 2020 by News Staff

A new genus and species of owl that lived 55 million years ago (Eocene epoch) has been identified from a partial skeleton found in Wyoming, the United...

New Predatory Dinosaur Identified in Portugal

Jul 28, 2020 by Enrico de Lazaro

A team of paleontologists from Portugal and Spain has found fossil fragments from a new genus and species of carcharodontosaurian dinosaur. An artist’s...

Life appearance of Crocodylus checchiai from As Sahabi, Libya. Image credit: D.A. Iurino.

Miocene Fossil from Africa Provides New Evidence for Origin of American Crocodiles

Jul 27, 2020 by Enrico de Lazaro

A team of paleontologists from Italy and Spain has compared the only well-preserved skull of Crocodylus checchiai, an extinct species of crocodile that...

The red fox (Vulpes vulpes). Image credit: Shorty Ox.

Foxes Started Eating Human Food Remains as Early as 42,000 Years Ago

Jul 23, 2020 by News Staff

A team of scientists from the University of Tübingen has studied the diet of Arctic foxes (Vulpes lagopus) and red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) that lived during...

Tongoenas burleyi (right) likely featured the brightly colored plumage of other canopy-dwelling pigeons on the Pacific islands. On the left is the Kanaka pigeon (Caloenas canacorum), another large extinct Tongan species. Image credit: Danielle Byerley.

Meet Tongoenas burleyi, Extinct Giant Pigeon from Tonga

Jul 23, 2020 by News Staff

A new extinct genus and species of pigeon has been identified from fossils found on six islands (Foa, Lifuka, ‘Uiha, Ha‘afeva, Tongatapu, and ‘Eua)...

Life reconstruction of Asio ecuadoriensis. Image credit: Sebastián Rozadilla.

Giant Predatory Owls Once Lived in Ecuador

Jul 22, 2020 by Enrico de Lazaro

An extinct species of giant owl that lived 40,000 years ago (Pleistocene epoch) and preyed on smaller owls has been identified from fossils found in the...