Paleontology News

Reconstruction of an avisaurid (e.g., Avisaurus darwini). Image credit: Clark et al., doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0310686.

Avisaurid Birds from Cretaceous Period May Have Hunted Like Modern Hawks and Owls

Oct 9, 2024 by News Staff

Paleontologists have described three new enantiornithine birds from the Cretaceous Hell Creek Formation, two of which represent new avisaurid species....

Fertile branches and seeds of Alasemenia tria. Image credit: Wang et al., doi: 10.7554/eLife.92962.3.

365-Million-Year-Old Winged Seed Fossil Found in China

Oct 9, 2024 by News Staff

Named Alasemenia tria, the new specimen from the Wutong Formation in the Chinese province of Anhui dates back to the Famennian stage of the the Late Devonian...

Epoidesuchus tavaresae is a new species of Peirosauridae from the Cretaceous Adamantina Formation, Brazil. Image credit: Ruiz et al., doi: 10.1002/ar.25559.

New Species of Gondwanan Notosuchian Identified in Brazil

Oct 7, 2024 by Enrico de Lazaro

Paleontologists have described a new genus and species of long-snouted notosuchian from the fragmentary remains found in Brazil’s Adamantina Formation. Epoidesuchus...

Pterosaurs were adapted to a remarkably broad range of non-aerial locomotor ecologies; small, early, long-tailed pterosaurs (non-pterodactyliforms) exhibit extreme modifications in their hand and foot proportions indicative of climbing lifestyles; by contrast, the hands and feet of later, short-tailed pterosaurs (pterodactyliforms) typically exhibit morphologies consistent with more ground-based locomotor ecologies: (A) paleoart reconstruction of the non-pterodactyliform Scaphognathus crassirostris (Upper Jurassic) in scansorial mode, with autopodia characterized by short proximal elements and elongated distal elements; (B) paleoart reconstruction of the pterodactyliform Balaenognathus maeuseri (Upper Jurassic) in terrestrial mode, with autopodia characterized by elongated proximal elements and shortened distal elements; (C) reconstructions of Scaphognathus (left) and Balaenognathus (right) in dorsal view indicating the principal flight surfaces; (D) simplified pterosaur phylogeny indicating the principal taxonomic groups used in the study. Image credit: Smyth et al., doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2024.09.014.

Pterosaurs were Adapted to Broad Range of Terrestrial Lifestyles, Study Shows

Oct 7, 2024 by News Staff

New research by paleontologists from the University of Leicester, the University of Birmingham and Liverpool John Moores University demonstrates an unexpectedly...

Gondwanax paraisensis. Image credit: Rodrigo Temp Müller, doi: 10.1016/j.gr.2024.09.007.

New Species of Dinosaur Relative Discovered in Brazil

Oct 2, 2024 by Enrico de Lazaro

A new genus and species of silesaurid being named Gondwanax paraisensis has been identified from the fossilized remains discovered in Southern Brazil. Gondwanax...

Campananeyen fragilissimus. Image credit: Fundación Azara.

Paleontologists Unveil New Species of Sauropod Dinosaur

Sep 30, 2024 by Enrico de Lazaro

Fossilized remains found in Patagonia, Argentina back in 2009 represent a new genus and species of plant-eating dinosaur that belonged to a group called...

Labocania anomala. Image credit: Karkemish / CC BY-SA 3.0.

New Tyrannosaur Species Unearthed in Mexico: Labocania aguillonae

Sep 26, 2024 by Enrico de Lazaro

Paleontologists have announced the discovery of a new species in the tyrannosaurid dinosaur genus Labocania, based on a partial skeleton found in Coahuila,...

An artist’s impression of Brasilodon quadrangularis (left) and Riograndia guaibensis. Image credit: Jorge Blanco.

New Cynodont Fossil Discoveries are Rewriting Our Understanding of Mammal Evolution

Sep 25, 2024 by News Staff

Paleontologists in Brazil have examined the well-preserved fossilized remains of two mammal-precursor species: Brasilodon quadrangularis and Riograndia...

Robsonomyia baltica. Image credit: Pełczyńska et al., doi: 10.1038/s41598-024-59448-y.

40-Million-Year-Old Baltic Amber Provides First Fossil Record of Predatory Fungus Gnats

Sep 24, 2024 by News Staff

Until now, the fungus gnat genus Robsonomyia was represented by two living species: Robsonomyia reducta from North America and Robsonomyia sciaraeformis...

Koungoulos et al. discovered for the first time clear links between fossils of the iconic Australian dingo and dogs from East Asia and New Guinea. Image credit: Sharkolot.

Dingoes Have Evolved from East Asian Dog-Like Ancestor: Study

Sep 23, 2024 by News Staff

The dingo is a wild dog endemic to Australia with enigmatic origins. Dingoes are one of two remaining unadmixed populations of an early East Asian dog...

Map of Cyprus showing the approximate position of fossil sites where dwarf elephants and hippos have been retrieved. Image credit: Corey J.A. Bradshaw / Flinders University.

Paleolithic Humans Caused Extinction of Dwarf Hippos and Elephants on Cyprus

Sep 19, 2024 by News Staff

Around 3,000-7,000 hunter-gatherers on the Mediterranean island of Cyprus hunted endemic dwarf hippopotamus (Phanourios minor) and dwarf elephants (Palaeoloxodon...

Interpretation of the tusked animal of the Horned Serpent panel and its dicynodont-like traits. Image credit: J. Benoit, doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0309908.

Strange Tusked Animal in South African Rock Art is Permian Dicynodont, Scientist Claims

Sep 19, 2024 by News Staff

The Horned Serpent panel at La Belle France in the Free State province of South Africa was painted by the San people at least two hundred years ago. It...

Makrokylindrus itoi. Image credit: Javier Luque & Sarah Gerken, doi: 10.1111/ivb.12440.

Beautifully Preserved Comma Shrimp Fossil Found in Japan

Sep 17, 2024 by Sergio Prostak

Paleontologists have described a new species of fossil comma shrimp based on a well-preserved specimen found in the Japanese prefecture of Shizuoka. Makrokylindrus...

A geological field section reveals a desiccated (extreme dryness) land surface that was common all over the world 252 million years ago. Image credit: University of Bristol / China University of Geosciences.

Mega El Niño Events Caused End-Permian Mass Extinction, Researchers Suggest

Sep 16, 2024 by News Staff

The end-Permian mass extinction, which occurred about 252 million years ago, was the most severe extinction event in the past 540 million years, eliminating...

Triarthrus eatoni. Image credit: Jin-bo Hou & Melanie J. Hopkins, doi: 10.1111/pala.12723.

Trilobites Had Five Pairs of Head Appendages, New Fossils Show

Sep 12, 2024 by News Staff

Based on multiple analytical techniques applied to well-preserved soft-bodied specimens of two trilobite species, the Late Ordovician species Triarthrus...

Life reconstruction of Ngamugawi wirngarri. Image credit: Katrina Kenny.

Devonian Coelacanth Fossil Unearthed in Australia

Sep 12, 2024 by Enrico de Lazaro

The living coelacanth Latimeria is an iconic ‘living fossil’ within one of the most apparently conservative groups of vertebrates. Now, paleontologists...

Skull of Longipteryx chaoyangensis. Image credit: Xiaoli Wang.

Cretaceous-Period Toothed Bird Ate Gymnosperm Fruits, Not Fish

Sep 10, 2024 by News Staff

Paleontologists have found the fossilized seeds of gymnosperm trees — relatives of today’s conifers and ginkgos — in stomachs of two specimens...

Melissa Lowery and Anthony Martin examine a dinosaur track. Image credit: Ruth Schowalter.

120-Million-Year-Old Footprints of Polar Dinosaurs Discovered in Australia

Sep 10, 2024 by News Staff

The newly-discovered footprints of theropod and ornithopod dinosaurs date back to the Early Cretaceous epoch, over 120 million years ago, when Australia...

Badjcinus timfaulkneri feeding on the carcass of Silvabestius michaelbirti. Image credit: Peter Schouten.

Paleontologists Identify Three New Species of Fossil Thylacines

Sep 10, 2024 by News Staff

Paleontologists from the University of New South Wales have unearthed the fossilized remains of three new species in the thylacinid genera Badjcinus, Nimbacinus,...