Paleontology News

Life reconstruction of Agriarctos nikolovi. Image credit: Velizar Simeonovski.

Giant Panda’s Close Relative Lived in Europe as Recently as 5.5 Million Years Ago

Aug 1, 2022 by Enrico de Lazaro

Paleontologists in Bulgaria have described a new species of the panda genus Agriarctos, from two fossilized teeth dating to 5.5 million years ago. Life...

The 183-million-year-old fossilized skull of Pachycormus. Image credit: Dean Lomax.

Treasure Trove of Jurassic Fossils Discovered in England

Aug 1, 2022 by News Staff

Paleontologists have unearthed the fossilized remains of ancient fish, marine reptiles, squids, rare insects and more in a farmer’s field in Gloucestershire,...

An artist’s impression of Spinosaurus and a plesiosaur in a river. Image credit: Nick Longrich / University of Bath.

Some Plesiosaurs May Have Lived in Freshwater River Systems

Jul 29, 2022 by News Staff

Paleontologists have found several fossilized bones of plesiosaurs — traditionally thought to be sea creatures — in the Kem Kem beds, a 100-million-year-old...

Tyrannosaurus rex. Image credit: Mark Witton.

Study: Insufficient Evidence for Three Tyrannosaurus Species

Jul 25, 2022 by News Staff

In March 2022, College of Charleston’s Professor Scott Persons and colleagues suggested that Tyrannosaurus rex should be reclassified as three species:...

The wing bone of the Bannockburn swan (Notochen bannockburnensis). Scale bars - 20 mm. Image credit: Worthy et al., doi: 10.11646/zootaxa.5168.1.3.

Fossil of Ancient Swan Species Found in New Zealand

Jul 25, 2022 by Enrico de Lazaro

A new genus and species of anatid bird has been identified from a fossilized wing bone found in Central Otago, New Zealand. The wing bone of the Bannockburn...

A mammaliamorph breathing out hot hair in a frigid night, hinting at endothermy. Image credit: Luzia Soares.

Warm-Bloodedness Appeared in Mammalian Ancestors 233 Million Years Ago, Study Suggests

Jul 22, 2022 by News Staff

Among modern animals, only mammals and birds are warm-blooded, and the ability to keep ourselves warm has enabled mammals to survive in icy weather and...

Ausichicrinites zelenskyyi. Image credit: Salamon et al., doi: 10.1098/rsos.220345.

Feather Star from Jurassic Period Named after President Zelenskyy

Jul 21, 2022 by Natali Anderson

Ausichicrinites zelenskyyi, the first Jurassic comatulid (feather star) from the African continent, has been named in honor of Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the...

An artist’s reconstruction of Qikiqtania wakei (center) in the water with its larger cousin, Tiktaalik roseae. Image credit: Alex Boersma.

Devonian Four-Legged ‘Fishapod’ Unearthed in Canada

Jul 20, 2022 by News Staff

Qikiqtania wakei closely resembles Tiktaalik roseae — the important transitional animal considered a missing link between fish and the earliest limbed...

Holotype of Plukenetia minima adjacent to the encyrtid wasp Hambletonia dominicana in Dominican amber. Scale bar - 0.6 mm. Image credit: Poinar Jr., doi: 10.1080/08912963.2022.2086053.

30-Million-Year-Old Flower and Parasitic Wasp Found Encased in Dominican Amber

Jul 19, 2022 by News Staff

A paleontologist from Oregon State University has found a new species of flower together with a new parasitic wasp species in a piece of amber excavated...

Reconstruction of cranium and lower jaw of Marmorerpeton wakei. Image credit: Jones et al., doi: 10.1073/pnas.2114100119.

Fossils of New Salamander Species Found in Scotland

Jul 13, 2022 by News Staff

Paleontologists have described a new species of the enigmatic stem-salamander genus Marmorerpeton from the well-preserved fossils found on the Isle of...

Paleozoic lungfish endocasts in dorsal, ventral, and left lateral views. Image credit: Clement et al., doi: 10.7554/eLife.73461.

New Research Sheds More Light on Lungfish Brain Evolution

Jul 12, 2022 by Enrico de Lazaro

In the new research, paleontologists described and illustrated the endocasts (braincases) of six Paleozoic lungfish species from superb 3D fossil material,...

Reconstruction of a pair of Stanleycaris hirpex. Image credit: Sabrina Cappelli, Royal Ontario Museum.

Three-Eyed Cambrian Animal Sheds Light on Origin of Arthropod Head and Segmentation

Jul 11, 2022 by Enrico de Lazaro

Paleontologists from the University of Toronto and the Royal Ontario Museum have examined 268 specimens of Stanleycaris hirpex — a radiodont that...

Life reconstruction of Balhuticaris voltae. Image credit: Hugo Salais.

Cambrian Bivalved Arthropod Had Extremely Multisegmented Body

Jul 8, 2022 by Natali Anderson

Balhuticaris voltae is the largest bivalved arthropod to date, at almost double the size of the previous record-holder, Nereocaris exilis. Life reconstruction...

New Giant Carnivorous Dinosaur Unearthed in Argentina

Jul 7, 2022 by Enrico de Lazaro

Meraxes gigas, a huge meat-eating dinosaur that lived in Argentina some 94 million years ago, had short arms like Tyrannosaurus rex. Meraxes gigas. Image...

305-Million-Year-Old Fossil is Oldest Known Tree-Climbing Reptile

Jul 6, 2022 by Enrico de Lazaro

A new genus and species of varanopid eupelycosaur that lived during the Carboniferous period — the oldest tree-climbing reptile on record —...

Miocene-Period Giant Panda Already Had Enigmatic Extra ‘Thumb’

Jun 30, 2022 by News Staff

Of the many peculiarities that enable the modern giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) to adapt to life as a bamboo eater, its extra ‘thumb’ is the...

An artist’s impression of Nombe nombe (right) and other prehistoric animals from Nombe Rockshelter, Papua New Guinea. Image credit: Peter Shouten.

Giant Kangaroos Lived in Papua New Guinea during Pleistocene

Jun 30, 2022 by Enrico de Lazaro

Paleontologists have redescribed an extinct species of giant kangaroo that lived the mountains of Papua New Guinea about 50,000 to 20,000 years ago and...

Life reconstruction of the steppe mammoth (Mammuthus trogontherii). Image credit: Beth Zaiken / Centre for Palaeogenetics.

Woolly Mammoth Calf Discovered in Yukon Permafrost

Jun 27, 2022 by News Staff

Nun cho ga is the most complete mummified mammoth found in North America. Steppe mammoths. Image credit: Beth Zaiken / Centre for Palaeogenetics. The near...

Life reconstruction of Vampyronassa rhodanica. Image credit: Rowe et al., doi: 10.1038/s41598-022-12269-3.

Vampire Squid’s Ancestor was Active Hunter, New Study Suggests

Jun 23, 2022 by News Staff

Vampyronassa rhodanica is an ancient species of cephalopod that lived in the Jurassic oceans some 164 million years ago. Life reconstruction of Vampyronassa...