Paleontology News

Field photo of the fossilized remains of a fish called Watsonulus, a member of the Guiyang Biota. Image credit: Xu Dai.

Modern-Type Marine Ecosystems Existed as Early as 250 Million Years Ago

Feb 10, 2023 by Enrico de Lazaro

The recovery of life from the devastating end-Permian mass extinction, which peaked about 252.3 million years ago, was an important period of evolution....

Life reconstructions of Kumimanu fordycei and Petradyptes stonehousei. Image credit: Simone Giovanardi.

Fossils Reveal Two New Species of Giant Penguins

Feb 9, 2023 by Enrico de Lazaro

One of the two new species, Kumimanu fordycei, weighed up to 160 kg and may have been the largest penguin ever to have lived, according to Bruce Museum...

An artist’s reconstruction of Notocolossus gonzalesparejasi, a sister taxon of Chucarosaurus diripienda. Image credit: Nobu Tamura, http://spinops.blogspot.com.

New Species of Colossosaur Identified in Argentina

Feb 6, 2023 by Enrico de Lazaro

A new genus and species of giant colossosaurian titanosaur has been identified from fossils found in Patagonia, Argentina. An artist’s reconstruction...

Life reconstruction of Coccocephalus wildi. Image credit: Márcio L. Castro.

Carboniferous Fossil Gives Insight into Neural Anatomy of Early Ray-Finned Fishes

Feb 2, 2023 by Enrico de Lazaro

Paleontologists have examined the fossilized brain and cranial nerve soft tissues of Coccocephalus wildi, a species of early ray-finned fish that lived...

Iotuba chengjiangensis. Image credit: Zhang et al., doi: 10.1098/rspb.2022.2014.

515-Million-Year-Old Fossils Shed Light on Evolution of Annelid Worms

Feb 1, 2023 by News Staff

The principal animal lineages diverged in the Cambrian period, but most diversity at lower taxonomic ranks arose more gradually over the subsequent 500...

Flightless or poorly-flighted modern, and recently extinct, paleognath birds with their respective egg sizes. Lithornis, an ancient flying paleognath bird, is depicted and has an unknown egg size. Image credit: Hyunjoo Shin / CC BY 4.0.

Ornithologists Construct New Phylogenetic Family Tree for Paleognath Birds

Feb 1, 2023 by Natali Anderson

About 50 species of birds on Earth today do not belong to the same group as the other 10,000 currently in existence. Known as the paleognaths, this small...

Life reconstruction of Turnersuchus hingleyae. Image credit: Júlia d’Oliveira.

Jurassic Sea Crocodile Fossil Found in United Kingdom

Jan 31, 2023 by Enrico de Lazaro

Turnersuchus hingleyae, a new genus and species of thalattosuchian crocodylomorph from the Early Jurassic epoch, helps fill a gap in the fossil record...

Life reconstruction of a hibbertopterid sea scorpion. Image credit: DiBgd / CC BY-SA 4.0.

New Species of Giant Sea Scorpion Unearthed in New Mexico

Jan 30, 2023 by Sergio Prostak

Hibbertopterus lamsdelli is only the fourth, yet most reliable record of an American hibbertopterid sea scorpion. Life reconstruction of a hibbertopterid...

Life reconstruction of Ignacius dawsonae. Image credit: Kristen Miller, Biodiversity Institute, University of Kansas.

Early Primate Relatives Lived in High Arctic 52 Million Years Ago

Jan 27, 2023 by News Staff

Paleontologists have described two new species of the early primatomorphan genus Ignacius from Ellesmere Island, Nunavut, Canada. Life reconstruction of...

Life reconstruction of Funcusvermis gilmorei. Image credit: Andrey Atuchin / U.S. National Park Service / Petrified Forest Museum Association.

220-Million-Year-Old Fossils Identified as Oldest Known Caecilian

Jan 26, 2023 by Enrico de Lazaro

Funcusvermis gilmorei lived in the tropical forests of what is now Arizona, the United States, during the Triassic period, approximately 220 million years...

Life restoration of Aquilarhinus palimentus, a hadrosaurid dinosaur from the Aguja Formation. Image credit: David Breguet / CC BY-SA 4.0.

New Species of Duck-Billed Dinosaur Identified in Texas

Jan 25, 2023 by Enrico de Lazaro

Paleontologists have described a previously unrecognized genus and species of hadrosaurid dinosaur from a partial bone found in Texas, the United States. Life...

Skull of Balaenognathus maeuseri. Image credit: Martill et al., doi: 10.1007/s12542-022-00644-4.

Jurassic Filter-Feeding Pterosaur Had At Least 480 Teeth

Jan 23, 2023 by Enrico de Lazaro

Paleontologists have identified a new species of long-legged, filter-feeding pterodactyloid pterosaur from the well-preserved specimen found in a quarry...

Possible reconstitution of the individual Morus sp. from the Praia do Penedo Norte, Portugal. Image credit: Alexandre Fonseca.

Fossil of Extinct Gannet Species Found in Portugal

Jan 20, 2023 by Enrico de Lazaro

Paleontologists have unearthed the fossilized remains of an extinct gannet species that lived in what is now Portugal during the Miocene epoch, some 15...

Field photograph of titanosaur clutch showing tightly grouped eggs with very little to no spacing between them. Image credit: Dhiman et al., doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0278242.

Paleontologists Find 256 Fossil Titanosaur Eggs in India

Jan 19, 2023 by Enrico de Lazaro

Paleontologists in India have documented 92 clutches containing a total of 256 fossilized eggs of titanosaur sauropods. Field photograph of titanosaur...

Extant Chimaera monstrosa. Image credit: MAREANO / Havforskingsinstituttet / CC BY-SA 4.0.

Carboniferous-Period Chimaeras Were Suction Feeders, New Study Suggests

Jan 17, 2023 by News Staff

Suction is an especially effective way of feeding underwater, and adaptations to enhance it have evolved numerous times in jawed vertebrates. The only...

The forelimb feathers of Sapeornis chaoyangensis specimens present different preservations. STM 15-36(A) is the specific detail of forelimb feathers marked with a red rectangle (A) in STM 15-36. Image credit: Zhao et al., doi: 10.3389/feart.2022.1020594.

Fossilized Feathers of Early Cretaceous Bird Shed More Light on Jehol Biota’s Ecosystem

Jan 17, 2023 by Enrico de Lazaro

Paleontologists have examined five specimens with differently preserved feathers from Sapeornis chaoyangensis, an early bird species that lived during...

A time averaged artist’s interpretation of Patagonia during the Late Cretaceous epoch, about 66-78 million years ago. The animals pictured include non-avian dinosaurs, birds and other vertebrates that have been discovered in the fossil record of the region. Their specific identifications are as follows: ornithurine birds (flying and walking on the ground), Stegouros (armored dinosaur), Orretherium (mammal), Yaminuechelys (turtle), a megaraptorid (large carnivore), unenlagiines (pair of carnivores), and enantiornithine birds (in foreground). Image credit: Mauricio Alvarez & Gabriel Diaz.

Paleontologists Uncover First Theropod Fossils in Chilean Patagonia

Jan 16, 2023 by Enrico de Lazaro

Paleontologists have described new specimens of theropods — a dinosaur group that includes both modern birds and their closest non-avian dinosaur...

Top - Madagascar, from left to right: Aldabrachelys abrupta, Aldabrachelys grandidieri, Pyxis planicauda, Pyxis arachnoides, Astrochelys rogerbouri (new species), Astrochelys yniphora, and Astrochelys radiata. Center - Granitic Seychelles (extinct), Aldabra, Aldabrachelys gigantea. Bottom - Mascarenes, from left to right: Cylindraspis indica (Réunion), Cylindraspis inepta, Cylindraspis triserrata (both Mauritius), Cylindraspis vosmaeri, and Cylindraspis peltastes (both Rodrigues). Image credit: Michal Rössler / Massimo Delfino.

Ancient DNA Study Elucidates Lost World of Indian Ocean Giant Tortoises

Jan 16, 2023 by News Staff

Before humans arrived, giant tortoises occurred on many islands in the western Indian Ocean. In new research, Professor Uwe Fritz from the Senckenberg...

Symplocos kowalewskii. Image credit: Sadowski & Hofmann, doi: 10.1038/s41598-022-24549-z.

34-Million-Year-Old Baltic Amber Preserves Exceptionally Large Flower

Jan 13, 2023 by Enrico de Lazaro

Amber exquisitely preserves the delicate organs of fossil flowers for millions of years. However, flower inclusions can be rare and usually do not exceed...