Paleontology News

The impacts of ozone depletion and elevated UV-B levels on the terrestrial ecosystem. Image credit: Conor Haynes-Mannering, University of Nottingham.

Ozone Layer Collapse Contributed to End-Permian Mass Extinction

Jan 9, 2023 by News Staff

In new research, paleontologists analyzed abundances of sunscreen-like chemicals in 800 fossil pollen grains from 250-million-year-old rocks in Tibet. The...

Life reconstruction of Cratonavis zhui. Image credit: Chuang Zhao.

Early Cretaceous Bird Had Dinosaur-Like Skull and Bird-Like Body

Jan 4, 2023 by Enrico de Lazaro

Cratonavis zhui, a new species of pygostylian bird from the Early Cretaceous Jehol Biota of China, had a unique combination of a dinosaurian skull with...

Close-up of the holotype of Moqisaurus pulchrum. Image credit: Dong et al., doi: 10.1016/j.cretres.2022.105363.

Paleontologists Discover Extinct Lizard that Lived among Dinosaurs

Jan 3, 2023 by Enrico de Lazaro

A new genus and species of fossil lizard has been described from two fossilized specimens found in eastern Inner Mongolia, China. Close-up of the holotype...

An illustration showing what Yuanchuavis kompsosoura might have looked like in life. Image credit: Haozhen Zhang.

New Research Sheds More Light on Evolution of Modern Bird Skull

Jan 2, 2023 by News Staff

Most birds today can lift the upper beak independently of the brain case, enabled by a series of mobile joints and bending zones in the skull. The computed...

Life reconstruction of Confuciusornis shifan. Image credit: Paleontological Museum of Liaoning.

Paleontologists Find Fossil of 119-Million-Year-Old Beaked Bird

Dec 30, 2022 by Enrico de Lazaro

A new species of confuciusornithid bird being named Confuciusornis shifan has been identified from a nearly complete skeleton found in northeastern China. Life...

Monkey lemurs likely ate tough and hard fruits, small vertebrates, and crustaceans. Image credit: Smokeybjb / CC BY-SA 3.0.

Extinct Monkey Lemurs Had a Varied Omnivorous Diet

Dec 28, 2022 by News Staff

Scientists from the University of Otago, Saint Michael’s College and Duke University have examined 447 permanent teeth from two species of monkey lemurs...

Life reconstruction of Baurubatrachus santosdoroi. Image credit: Lautaro R. Blanco.

New Species of Dinosaur-Era Frog Identified in Brazil

Dec 27, 2022 by Enrico de Lazaro

Paleontologists have identified a new species of the extinct frog genus Baurubatrachus from fossils found in the state of São Paulo, Brazil. Life reconstruction...

Life reconstruction of Titanochampsa iorii. Image credit: Julia d’Oliveira.

Enormous Crocodile Lived alongside Titanosaurs and Abelisaurid Dinosaurs

Dec 26, 2022 by Enrico de Lazaro

In the Monte Alto region in the Brazilian state of São Paulo, paleontologists have unearthed the fossilized remains of a new crocodyliform species that...

An artist’s impression of an enantiornithine bird. Image credit: Tiny Longwing / CC BY-SA 4.0.

Paleontologists Discover New Species of Dinosaur-Era Bird

Dec 22, 2022 by Enrico de Lazaro

A new genus and species of enantiornithine bird has been described from a partial right humerus found in southern Patagonia, Argentina. An artist’s impression...

Adult individuals of Europasaurus holgeri watch over the newly-hatched chicks which are leaving the nest to join their herd. Image credit: Davide Bonadonna.

Jurassic Sauropod Dinosaur was Likely Precocial, New Study Suggests

Dec 22, 2022 by Enrico de Lazaro

Paleontologists have, for the first time, described the neuroanatomy of Europasaurus holgeri, a remarkable macronarian dinosaur from the Jurassic period...

Life reconstruction of Microraptor zhaoianus eating the foot of a small mammal. Image credit: Ralph Attanasia III.

Diet of Cretaceous Feathered Dinosaur Included Mammals

Dec 21, 2022 by Enrico de Lazaro

Paleontologists have found the fossilized remains of a small mammal foot preserved inside the body cavity of the holotype specimen of Microraptor zhaoianus,...

Early dinosaurs and their diets: Lesothosaurus is an omnivore, Buriolestes is a carnivore, and Thecodontosaurus is an herbivore. Image credit: Gabriel Ugueto.

New Research Shines Light on Feeding Habits of Early Dinosaurs

Dec 21, 2022 by News Staff

Dinosaurs evolved a remarkable diversity of dietary adaptations throughout the Mesozoic era, but the origins of different feeding modes are uncertain....

An artist’s impression of a sauropod dinosaur. Image credit: Levi Bernardo / CC BY-SA 3.0.

New Sauropod Dinosaur Unearthed in China

Dec 20, 2022 by Enrico de Lazaro

A new genus and species of titanosauriform sauropod dinosaur with an unusual tail has been identified from a partial skeleton found in northeastern China. An...

Brasilodon quadrangularis was approximately 12 cm (8 inches) long and weighed about 20 grams. The animal existed at the same time as the earliest known dinosaurs and probably lived in burrows like the shrews today. Image credit: Anatomical Society / Wiley.

Marsupial and Placental Mammals Evolved in Gondwana, Paleontologists Say

Dec 19, 2022 by News Staff

Australian Museum’s Professor Tim Flannery and colleagues argue that the ancestors of Theria (placental and marsupial mammals) evolved in the supercontinent...

Adult and young individuals of Shonisaurus popularis chase ammonoid prey 230 million years ago, in what is now Berlin-Ichthyosaur State Park, Nevada, the United States. Image credit: Gabriel Ugueto.

Paleontologists Identify Birthing Grounds of Triassic Ichthyosaurs

Dec 19, 2022 by News Staff

The renowned Berlin-Ichthyosaur State Park, part of Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest in the Shoshone Mountains of west-central Nevada, the United States,...

Reconstruction of a Fezouata Shale seafloor. Image credit: Beraaouz et al., doi: 10.1007/s12371-017-0256-x.

Giant Arthropods Dominated Early Ordovician Seas, Paleontologists Say

Dec 14, 2022 by News Staff

Paleontologists have discovered a new marine fossil-bearing locality — part of the Early Ordovician Fezouata Biota — at Taichoute in Morocco....

Life reconstruction of Ramsayia magna. Image credit: Eleanor Pease.

Giant Wombat Species with Large, Fleshy Nose Once Lived in Australia

Dec 13, 2022 by Enrico de Lazaro

Paleontologists have discovered and examined the fossilized craniodental remains of Ramsayia magna, an extinct large-bodied wombat species that lived in...

Life reconstruction of Rinconsaurus, a sister species of Caieiria allocaudata. Image credit: Steveoc 86 / CC BY-SA 3.0.

New Titanosaur Species Identified in Brazil

Dec 12, 2022 by Enrico de Lazaro

Paleontologists have identified a new genus and species of titanosaurian dinosaur from the fossilized remains found in the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais. Life...

Small primitive mammals live alongside a Triceratops; a softshell turtle climbs up a log, unaware that its freshwater surroundings will shelter it from the asteroid. Image credit: Henry Sharpe.

Study: Non-Avian Dinosaurs Were Not in Decline before Chicxulub Asteroid Impact Wiped Them Out

Dec 9, 2022 by News Staff

Paleontologists have long debated why groups such as non-avian dinosaurs became extinct whereas mammals and other lineages survived the end-Cretaceous...