Paleontology News

Extinct Moa Consumed Colorful Truffle-Like Fungi, Scientists Say

Boast et al. report ancient DNA and spores from the inside of two coprolites of the upland moa (Megalapteryx didinus) that reveal consumption and likely dispersal of ectomycorrhizal fungi. Image credit: Boast et al., doi: 10.1098/rsbl.2024.0440.
Jan 24, 2025 by News Staff

Paleontologists have found ancient DNA and spores of truffle-like fungi, including at least one colorful species, inside two coprolites of the upland moa (Megalapteryx didinus), an extinct species of giant flightless bird that was endemic to New Zealand. Boast et al. report ancient DNA and spores from the inside of two coprolites of the upland moa (Megalapteryx didinus) that reveal consumption and likely dispersal of ectomycorrhizal fungi. Image credit:...

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Nyasasaurus could be the earliest known dinosaur, or else a close relative of early dinosaurs. Image credit: Mark Witton / The Trustees of the Natural History Museum, London.

Dinosaurs Likely Originated in Low-Latitude Region of Supercontinent Gondwana

Jan 23, 2025 by News Staff

Dinosaurs dominated Mesozoic terrestrial ecosystems for approximately 160 million years, but their biogeographic origin remains poorly understood. The...

The fossilized neck bone of a juvenile of Cryodrakon boreas shows tell-tale signs (right part of the specimen in 2 and 8) of being bitten by a crocodile-like creature 76 million years ago. Image credit: Brown et al., doi: 10.1017/jpa.2024.12.

76-Million-Year-Old Pterosaur Bone with Crocodilian Bite Found in Canada

Jan 23, 2025 by Enrico de Lazaro

Understanding food chains in ancient ecosystems is one of the goals of paleoecology. Direct evidence for these interactions is rare and includes fossils...

Cave bear footprints in Honseca Cave, Spain. Image credit: Rodríguez et al., doi: 10.1080/10420940.2024.2446153.

Pleistocene Cave Bear Footprints Discovered in Spain

Jan 22, 2025 by Natali Anderson

Paleontologists have discovered a set of ancient bear footprints in Honseca Cave, northern Spain. Although distinguishing cave bear from brown bear tracks...

Skull remains of Diatryma geiselensis from the Middle Eocene of the Geisel valley, Germany. Scale bars - 5 cm. Image credit: Mayr et al., doi: 10.26879/1438.

Paleontologists Find Rare Skull of Extinct Flightless Bird

Jan 22, 2025 by Enrico de Lazaro

A nearly complete but strongly flattened skull of the ancient bird species Diatryma geiselensis has been discovered, after being misidentified and kept...

Holotype of Neobohaiornis lamadongensis. Image credit: Shen et al., doi: 10.1038/s41598-024-82869-8.

Fossil of Tiny Enantiornithine Bird Unearthed in China

Jan 20, 2025 by Enrico de Lazaro

A new genus and species of bohaiornithid enantiornithine bird has been identified from a nearly complete and articulated skeleton preserved with traces...

Life reconstruction of Tameryraptor markgrafi. Image credit: Joschua Knüppe.

Paleontologists Describe New Species of Predatory Dinosaur

Jan 17, 2025 by Enrico de Lazaro

Paleontologists have described a new genus and species of carcharodontosaurid theropod dinosaur based on depictions of the now-destroyed specimen from...

Predicted suitable distribution and morphospace of the modern and fossil snow leopards. Image credit: Jianhao Ye.

Snow Leopards Dispersed Out of Tibetan Plateau Multiple Times, Researchers Say

Jan 15, 2025 by News Staff

The snow leopard (Panthera uncia) is a large feline unique to the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and its surrounding areas. How this apex predator gradually adapted...

Vectipelta barretti. Image credit: Stuart Pond.

New Species of Ankylosaur Identified in China

Jan 13, 2025 by Enrico de Lazaro

A new genus and species of ankylosaurid dinosaur has been identified from the fossilized material found at Kangdailiang Mountain (1,262 m above sea level)...

Graphic showing functional optimality drives repeated evolution of extreme saber-tooth forms. Image credit: Tahlia Pollock.

Study: Saber-Toothed Predators’ Teeth were Highly Effective at Puncturing Prey

Jan 9, 2025 by News Staff

Saber-toothed predators — such as the famous saber-toothed cat Smilodon fatalis — evolved multiple times across different mammal groups. Their...

3D models of Punk ferox (top) and Emo vorticaudum (bottom) reconstructed as digital virtual fossils. Image credit: Mark Sutton, Imperial College London.

New Fossils from Silurian Period Reveal Complex Early History of Mollusks

Jan 8, 2025 by News Staff

Paleontologists have discovered two new three-dimensionally preserved species of aculiferan mollusks that lived during the Silurian, revealing that the...

Reconstruction of Ahvaytum bahndooiveche, the oldest known low-latitude dinosaur species globally. Image credit: Gabriel Ugueto.

New Fossil Find Rewrites History of Dinosaur Evolution

Jan 8, 2025 by Sergio Prostak

Paleontologists in the United States have uncovered the fossilized remains of a new species of sauropodomorph dinosaur that lived in the northern hemisphere...

Stelladens mysteriosus. Image credit: Nick Longrich.

New Species of Durophagous Mosasaur Unearthed in Morocco

Jan 6, 2025 by Enrico de Lazaro

The newly-discovered species belongs to the mosasaurid genus Carinodens, and was a durophage, adapted for crunching hard-shelled invertebrates. An artist’s...

The 517-million-year-old shells of Lapworthella fasciculata. Image credit: Bicknell et al., doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2024.12.007.

Punctured Shells Illuminate Unique Predator-Prey Interactions in Cambrian Oceans

Jan 6, 2025 by News Staff

The rapid increase in diversity and abundance of biomineralizing organisms during the Early Cambrian epoch (around 535 million years ago) is often attributed...

Mesosaurs are small to mid-sized aquatic to semiaquatic amniotes that lived in Gondwana during the Early Permian epoch. Image credit: Roman Yevseyev / Graciela Piñeiro.

Paleontologists Unearth What May Be Largest Known Mesosaurs

Jan 3, 2025 by Enrico de Lazaro

Paleontologists in Uruguay have discovered large, poorly preserved and incomplete skulls, as well as several associated bones, of ancient aquatic reptiles...

Tracks of carnivorous and herbivorous dinosaurs at Dewars Farm Quarry in Oxfordshire, the United Kingdom. Image credit: University of Birmingham.

166-Million-Year-Old Footprints of Carnivorous and Herbivorous Dinosaurs Discovered in UK

Jan 2, 2025 by News Staff

Paleontologists have uncovered hundreds of different dinosaur footprints, including footprints left by the 9-m (29.5-foot) ferocious predator Megalosaurus...

Photograph (A) and interpretative line drawing (B) of the cranium of Lishulong wangi in right lateral view. Image credit: Wei Gao.

Paleontologists Discover New Species of Sauropodomorph Dinosaur in China

Dec 30, 2024 by Enrico de Lazaro

The newly-discovered dinosaur species, Lishulong wangi, lies in the heart of the early sauropodomorph-sauropod transition, according to a paper published...

An artist’s impression of Haplocanthosaurus delfsi. Image credit: Michael B. H. / CC BY-SA 3.0.

New Specimen of Rare Jurassic Dinosaur Unearthed in Colorado

Dec 27, 2024 by Enrico de Lazaro

Paleontologists from the Western University of Health Sciences, Brigham Young University, the Arizona Museum of Natural History and Auburn University have...

The fossilized jaw of an adult mastodon found near Scotchtown, New York, the United States. Image credit: New York State Museum.

Well-Preserved Mastodon Fossils Unearthed in New York

Dec 26, 2024 by Enrico de Lazaro

Paleontologists from the New York State Museum and SUNY Orange have unearthed the fossilized remains of an adult mastodon near Scotchtown, New York, the...

Archaeocursor asiaticus. Image credit: Yao et al., doi: 10.1016/j.isci.2024.111641.

New Species of Herbivorous Dinosaur Discovered in China

Dec 23, 2024 by Enrico de Lazaro

Dubbed Archaeocursor asiaticus, the newly-discovered species is the earliest-diverging ornithischian dinosaur yet discovered in Asia, according to a team...

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