Paleontology News

Minterichnus shieldi, a new 500-million-year-old fossil resting trace of a phyllocarid crustacean from Texas, 55 mm long.

They Came From The Sea: New 500-Million-Year-Old Crustacean Trace Fossil Records Ancient Behavior

Oct 24, 2023 by Simon Braddy

Minterichnus shieldi, a new type of trace fossil (resting trace) of a phyllocarid crustacean from Texas shows animals trapped in a tidal pool, just before...

Model of the ornithopod dinosaur Qantassaurus intrepidus, a distant relative of Ampelognathus coheni. Image credit: Paleocolour.

New Species of Ornithopod Dinosaur Identified in Texas

Oct 23, 2023 by Enrico de Lazaro

A new genus and species of small-bodied ornithopod dinosaur has been described from a partial jawbone unearthed in Texas, the United States. Model of the...

An artist’s impression of Lorrainosaurus keileni. Image credit: Joschua Knüppe.

Paleontologists Identify Oldest-Known Mega-Predatory Pliosaur

Oct 23, 2023 by Enrico de Lazaro

Lorrainosaurus keileni lived in the Middle Jurassic seas, approximately 170 million years ago. An artist’s impression of Lorrainosaurus keileni. Image...

Vielasia sigei helps bridge the gap between archaic bats and the hyperdiverse modern bat radiation of more than 1,460 living species. Image credit: Hand et al., doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2023.09.043.

50-Million-Year-Old Bat Skull Supports Early Origin of Echolocation

Oct 19, 2023 by News Staff

An international team of paleontologists has described a new Early Eocene bat species from the well-preserved fossils — which include the oldest...

Reconstruction of Pierolapithecus catalaunicus (Institut Català de Paleontologia Miquel Crusafont)

Scientists Reconstruct Skull of Pierolapithecus catalaunicus

Oct 17, 2023 by Enrico de Lazaro

Pierolapithecus catalaunicus is an extinct species of great ape that lived in what is now Europe about 12 million years ago. A remarkably complete, although...

A Macrospondylus bollensis mother keeps a watchful eye on her young. Image credit: Henry Sutherland Sharpe.

New Research Sheds Light on Enigmatic Jurassic Crocodile Relatives

Oct 17, 2023 by News Staff

In a study published in the journal Papers in Palaeontology, paleontologists from the State Museum of Natural History Stuttgart investigated growth rates...

Life reconstruction of Strigilodus tollesonae. Image credit: Benji Paysnoe.

Paleontologists Discover New Species of Ancient Petal-Toothed Shark

Oct 16, 2023 by Enrico de Lazaro

A new genus and species of petalodont (petal-toothed) shark has been identified from fossilized teeth found in cave passages of Mammoth Cave National Park...

Reconstruction of Anachlysictis gracilis stalking some rodents (Neoreomys huilensis) in the La Venta area during Middle Miocene. Image credit: Juan Giraldo.

Exceptional Fossil of Saber-Toothed Marsupial Relative Unearthed in Colombia

Oct 13, 2023 by Enrico de Lazaro

The new fossil material belonging to Anachlysictis gracilis, including an almost complete specimen consisting of a nicely preserved skull and postcranial...

Feather-tailed possums (Distoechurus pennatus).

Paleontologists Describe Four New Fossil Species of Feathertail Possums

Oct 9, 2023 by Natali Anderson

Paleontologists have identified four new fossil feathertail possum species (family Acrobatidae) from the fossilized specimens found in the Late Oligocene...

Rionegrina pozosaladensis. Image credit: Melchor et al., doi: 10.1038/s41598-023-43771-x.

First-Ever Terror Bird Footprints Discovered

Oct 5, 2023 by Natali Anderson

For the first time, footprints made by an extinct terror bird (family Phorusrhacidae) have been identified by paleontologists. Holotype trackway of Rionegrina...

Artistic representation of the opportunistic burrowing behavior of the hypothetical ancestor of crown snakes, as predicted from reconstructed high-definition 3D whole-brain models (highlighted middle right) shown in dorsal (top) and lateral (bottom) views. In comparison, the reconstruction of the first natural endocast of a fossil snake (Dinilysia patagonica, top right) displays a divergent morphological configuration of the telencephalon (Tel) and provides no or limited information about the diencephalon (Dien), mesencephalon (Mes), cerebellum (Cb), and medulla oblongata (MO) regions. In contrast, the estimated endocast of Najash rionegrina (bottom right) shows similarities with the hypothetical ancestor of crown snakes in several distinguishable telencephalic regions, including cerebral hemisphere (CH), olfactory bulb (OB), and olfactory tract (OT). Reconstructions of the fossil skulls (purple color) are shown around the cranial endocasts. Image credit: Macrì et al., doi: 10.1126/sciadv.adi6888 / Neptalí Ramírez Marcial.

Researchers Shed New Light on Enigmatic Early Evolution of Snakes

Oct 3, 2023 by News Staff

The ecological origin and early evolution of snakes has long been a focus of multiple research fields and remains one of the most enduring and controversial...

Bohemolichas incola. Image credit: Jiri Svoboda.

465-Million-Year-Old Trilobite Found with Gut Contents Preserved

Oct 2, 2023 by Enrico de Lazaro

The newly-discovered fossilized specimen of Bohemolichas incola, a species of trilobite that lived during the Ordovician period, provides by far the most...

Reconstruction of Acheronauta stimulapis. Image credit: Sci.News / Qohelet12 / Bing Image Creator.

Wonderful Early Silurian Life

Sep 29, 2023 by Simon Braddy

The Waukesha Biota, a 437-million-year-old fossil assemblage from Wisconsin, USA, provides a rare glimpse into life in an ancient lagoon. In his book Wonderful...

Cadena et al. found DNA traces in the 6-million-year-old carapace of a Lepidochelys turtle. Image credit: Edwin Cadena, Universidad del Rosario & STRI.

Scientists Find Tiny Traces of DNA in 6-Million-Year-Old Turtle Shell

Sep 29, 2023 by Enrico de Lazaro

Researchers from the Universidad del Rosario, the Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, the Field Museum of Natural...

Life reconstruction of Baru iylwenpeny. Image credit: Adam Yates / Sci.News.

Fearsome Cleaver-Headed Crocodiles Once Inhabited Central Australia

Sep 28, 2023 by Enrico de Lazaro

Paleontologists have unearthed the fossilized remains of a new species of the mekosuchine crocodilian genus Baru in the Alcoota Scientific Reserve, about...

Reconstruction of Garumbatitan morellensis. Image credit: Grup Guix.

Paleontologists Discover New Species of Sauropod Dinosaur in Spain

Sep 28, 2023 by Enrico de Lazaro

A paper published today in the Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society announces the discovery of Garumbatitan morellensis, a previously undocumented...

An artist’s reconstruction of Mytonius williamsae (left) and Diablomomys dalquesti (right) in Big Bend country in West Texas 44 million years ago (middle Eocene epoch). The volcano on the skyline is a reminder of the active volcanism that was occurring in this part of Texas during the Eocene and Oligocene epochs. Image credit: Randwulph.

Paleontologists Identify Two New Species of Eocene-Period Tarsier-Like Primates

Sep 26, 2023 by News Staff

Omomyids are a group of small-bodied, tarsier-like primates that lived on the northern continents between 56 and 34 million years ago. They represent the...

Qiongqi crinalis. Image credit: Yuan et al., doi: 10.11646/zootaxa.5330.1.9.

New Species of Cricket Found Preserved in 99-Million-Year-Old Amber

Sep 25, 2023 by Enrico de Lazaro

Paleontologists have described a new species of cricket found in a piece of Cretaceous-period amber from northern Myanmar. Qiongqi crinalis: (A) habitus...

Reconstruction of Lusognathus almadrava and its paleoenvironment. Image credit: Jason Brougham.

Paleontologists Unearth New Species of Pterosaur in Portugal

Sep 22, 2023 by Enrico de Lazaro

A new genus and species of gnathosaurine pterosaur that lived during the Jurassic period has been identified from fossils found in Portugal. Reconstruction...