Paleontology News

Life reconstruction of Tylosaurus rex in the Cretaceous-era Western Interior Seaway of North America. Image credit: Alderon Games / Path of Titans.

‘T. rex’ Mosasaur Ruled the Seas 80 Million Years Ago

May 21, 2026 by News Staff

Paleontologists have described a gigantic new species of mosasaur — stretching up to 13.2 m (43 feet) long and armed with serrated teeth —...

Lim et al. demonstrate that stromatolites -- the oldest fossil evidence of oxygen-producing microbial life on early Earth -- could have developed within impact craters, based on a detailed investigation of stromatolites and lake sediments in the Hapcheon impact crater, South Korea. Image credit: Lim et al., doi: 10.1038/s43247-026-03206-7.

Ancient Crater Lakes May Have Provided Ideal Conditions for Earth’s Earliest Oxygen-Breathing Life

May 20, 2026 by News Staff

Researchers have discovered stromatolites — layered structures formed by microbial communities — inside a 42,000-year-old asteroid crater in...

A reconstruction of the Late Cretaceous paleoenvironment of Alaska. Image credit: James Havens.

Before Dinosaur Extinction, Rodent-Like Mammals were Already Flourishing in Ancient Arctic

May 20, 2026 by News Staff

Paleontologists have described three previously unknown species of multituberculate mammals — named Camurodon borealis, Qayaqgruk peregrinus, and...

Life reconstruction of Tyrannosaurus mcraeensis. Image credit: Sergey Krasovskiy.

Mystery of Tyrannosaurus rex’s Tiny Arms May Finally Have an Answer

May 20, 2026 by News Staff

Paleontologists from University College London and the University of Cambridge say the large predatory dinosaurs’ tiny arms evolved alongside massive...

The holotype specimen of Laueropterus vitriolus seen under natural light. Image credit: D.W.E. Hone, doi: 10.7717/peerj.21204.

New Jurassic Pterosaur Unearthed in Germany

May 19, 2026 by Enrico de Lazaro

Paleontologists have described a new genus and species of early monofenestratan pterosaur based on a nearly complete and well-preserved fossil skeleton...

Bistahieversor sealeyi hunting Pentaceratops sternbergii. Image credit: A. Belov / CC BY 3.0.

Giant Tyrannosaur Fossil Found in New Mexico

May 15, 2026 by Enrico de Lazaro

A large tyrannosaurid dinosaur may have stalked the floodplains of what is now New Mexico nearly 74 million years ago, according to a team of paleontologists...

Stylized life reconstruction of Nagatitan chaiyaphumensis within the arid floodplains of Late Early Cretaceous Aptian-Albian Thailand. Image credit: Patchanop Boonsai.

Giant New Dinosaur Species Discovered in Thailand Reveals Hidden Diversity of Asian Titans

May 14, 2026 by Enrico de Lazaro

Paleontologists have identified a new genus and species of somphospondylan titanosauriform dinosaur — the largest ever found in Southeast Asia —...

An artist’s interpretation of mammals that lived during the Ice Age: fossils from similar species of an armadillo-like pampathere (bottom left) and giant ground sloth (background) were among those found in a Texas water cave. Image credit: Jaime Chirinos.

Paleontologists Find Lost Ice Age World in Flooded Texas Cave

May 13, 2026 by News Staff

Fossils of a giant tortoise, a ground sloth, a lion-sized armadillo relative called pampathere, scimitar-toothed cats, horses, camels and mastodons found...

Chen et al. constructed a comprehensive genomic dataset of 470 flowering plant species and dated 132 ancient whole-genome duplication (WGD) events that are non-randomly distributed, revealing a clustering around pivotal periods of environmental upheaval and extinction. Image credit: Chen et al., doi: 10.1016/j.cell.2026.04.008.

Duplicated Genomes Helped Flowering Plants Survive End-Cretaceous Mass Extinction

May 12, 2026 by News Staff

A new analysis of 470 flowering plant species finds that whole-genome duplication surged precisely during Earth’s violent environmental crises, suggesting...

Reconstruction of Bicharracosaurus dionidei. Image credit: Felipe Cutro-Lev.

New Species of Giant Long-Necked Dinosaur Identified in Argentina

May 11, 2026 by Enrico de Lazaro

Fossils unearthed on a remote Argentine ranch belong to a new genus and species of macronarian sauropod dinosaur, according to an international team of...

An artist’s reconstruction of adult Maiasaura and young. Image credit: Brian Regal.

Dinosaurs May Have Fed Their Young a Special Diet, Study Suggests

May 11, 2026 by News Staff

An analysis of wear on the fossilized teeth of the hadrosaurian dinosaur Maiasaura peeblesorum indicates their juveniles may have eaten softer, more nutritious...

Reconstruction of Archaeopteryx in its habitat. Image credit: Field Museum / NICE PaleoVisLab Studio / Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology.

Paleontologists Reconstruct Ecology of Archaeopteryx

May 8, 2026 by Natali Anderson

A comprehensive new review by Field Museum of Natural History paleontologists draws together the latest fossil evidence — including analysis of five...

Reconstruction of Phascolarctos sulcomaxilliaris. Image credit: Nellie Pease.

New Species of Fossil Koala Found in Museum Drawer

May 6, 2026 by Enrico de Lazaro

Long-overlooked fossils in the Western Australian Museum collection have been identified as a new species of koala. Named Phascolarctos sulcomaxilliaris,...

Visualization of a small tyrannosaur feeding on a carcass of a larger tyrannosaur. Image credit: Yu Xin, Shen Li & Liang Junwei, Aarhus Universitet.

Ancient Bite Marks Suggest Tyrannosaurs Were Not Just Hunters

May 6, 2026 by News Staff

New research led by Aarhus University paleontologists overturns the image of tyrannosaurs as pure apex predators. An analysis of 16 precisely mapped bite...

Life reconstruction of Mosura fentoni. Image credit: Danielle Dufault, Royal Ontario Museum.

Rethinking the Cambrian Explosion: Before Shells and Limbs, There Was the Brain

May 6, 2026 by News Staff

A new hypothesis proposes that the Cambrian Explosion — the sudden burst of animal diversity 500 million years ago — was not driven by shells...

Early Earth. Image credit: Peter Sawyer / Smithsonian Institution.

Earliest Organisms on Earth Built Their Biochemistry around Molybdenum, Study Suggests

May 5, 2026 by Natali Anderson

New research reveals that 3.4 billion years ago (Archean Eon), ancient microbes relied on molybdenum — a metal that was vanishingly rare at the time...

An artist’s impression of Xiangyunloong fengming. Image credit: Connor Ashbridge / CC BY 4.0.

Early Sauropodomorph Dinosaur Unearthed in China

May 4, 2026 by Enrico de Lazaro

A new genus and species of massopodan sauropodomorph that lived during the Early Jurassic epoch has been identified from a partial skeleton unearthed in...

Life reconstruction drawing of Jinjuichnus procerus and tetrapod trackmakers. The neoazhdarchian trackmaker is following the small vertebrate. Image credit: Jun Seung Yi.

106-Million-Year-Old Pterosaur Footprints Discovered in Korea

May 1, 2026 by Enrico de Lazaro

A set of neoazhdarchian pterosaur footprints discovered in South Korea is offering a rare glimpse into how some of the largest flying reptiles may have...

An illustration of Cimolodon desosai on the tree with a fruit in its mouth. Image credit: Andrey Atuchin.

Omnivorous, Rodent-Like Mammal Lived in Dinosaurs’ Shadow on Pacific Coast

Apr 29, 2026 by Enrico de Lazaro

Paleontologists have descibed a new species of the multituberculate mammal genus Cimolodon based on a fossil found in Baja California, Mexico. An illustration...