Paleontology News

This fossil of Anchiornis huxleyi exhibits nearly complete wings and preservation of feather coloration, allowing for a detailed identification of wing morphology. Image credit: Kiat et al., doi: 10.1038/s42003-025-09019-2.

Jurassic Dinosaur Fossils Shed Light on Evolution of Flight

Dec 18, 2025 by News Staff

Paleontologists have examined the 160-million-year-old fossils of Anchiornis huxleyi, a species of non-avian theropod dinosaur from the Late Jurassic Tiaojishan...

Life reconstruction of the tracemaking bee nesting inside a cave and using bone cavities as containing chambers for some of the brooding cells. Image credit: Jorge Mario Macho.

Paleontologists Discover First-Known Instance of Ancient Bees Nesting inside Vertebrate Fossils

Dec 17, 2025 by News Staff

Bees are well known for their species and remarkable behavioral diversity, ranging from solitary species that nest in burrows to social species that construct...

An artistic reconstruction of a herd of Salwasiren qatarensis foraging on the seafloor. Image credit: Alex Boersma.

Sea Cow Communities Have Engineered Arabian Gulf’s Seagrass Ecosystems for Over 20 Million Years

Dec 16, 2025 by News Staff

Paleontologists have unearthed a dense assemblage of dugong remains at the site of Al Maszhabiya in the Early Miocene Dam Formation of Qatar. This fossil...

Life reconstruction of Taotienimravus songi in Chinese painting style. Image credit: Yuefeng Song.

Paleontologists Discover New Species of False Saber-Toothed Cat

Dec 15, 2025 by Enrico de Lazaro

A new genus and species of nimravid from the middle Oligocene epoch has been identified from the fossilized remains found in northern China. The discovery...

An artist’s reconstruction of the Hell Creek mosasaur. Image credit: Christopher DiPiazza.

Mosasaurs Could Inhabit Freshwater Environments, New Fossil Discovery Suggests

Dec 15, 2025 by News Staff

Paleontologists have unearthed a 66-million-year-old mosasaurine tooth in the Hell Creek Formation in North Dakota, the United States. This discovery adds...

Hypothetical reconstruction of Mirischia asymmetrica (left) and Santanaraptor placidus (right) disputing a lizard in what is now northeastern Brazil approximately 112 million years ago. Image credit: Guilherme Gehr.

Two Species of Coelurosaurs Co-Existed in Cretaceous-Era Brazil

Dec 8, 2025 by Enrico de Lazaro

Paleontologists have performed a comprehensive anatomical reassessment of the fossilized remains of two coelurosaurian theropod dinosaurs from the Early...

A Late Cretaceous face-off between an adult Nanotyrannus lancensis (left) and two juvenile Tyrannosaurus rex, with a sub-adult Tyrannosaurus rex watching from a distance. Image credit: Jorge Gonzalez.

Nanotyrannus Represents Distinct Species of Tyrannosaurid Dinosaur, New Research Confirms

Dec 8, 2025 by News Staff

Nanotyrannus lancensis — long thought by many to be a teenage Tyrannosaurus rex — was in fact a fully mature, distinct species of smaller tyrannosaurid,...

Dinosaur footprints at the Carreras Pampa tracksite in the Torotoro National Park, Bolivia. Image credit: Esperante et al., doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0335973.

Fossil Site in Bolivia Records Thousands of Cretaceous Dinosaur Tracks, Tail Traces, and Swim Tracks

Dec 4, 2025 by Natali Anderson

The Carreras Pampa site in the Torotoro National Park, Bolivia, records 1,321 trackways and 289 solitary tracks, totaling 16,600 theropod dinosaur tracks;...

Mármol-Sánchez et al. found ancient RNA molecules in Late Pleistocene woolly mammoth tissues. Image credit: Mármol-Sánchez et al., doi: 10.1016/j.cell.2025.10.025.

RNA Molecules Found Preserved in 39,000-Year-Old Woolly Mammoth Tissues

Dec 3, 2025 by News Staff

Scientists have successfully extracted and sequenced ancient RNA from permafrost-preserved tissues of 10 woolly mammoths. One of these, dated to be 39,000...

The green anaconda (Eunectes murinus). Image credit: MKAMPIS / CC BY-SA 4.0.

Fossils from Venezuela Reveal Early Origin of Gigantism in Anacondas

Dec 2, 2025 by News Staff

Anacondas are among the largest living snakes in the world. They are usually 4 to 5 m long and in rare cases can reach 7 m. In new research, paleontologists...

An artist’s impression of a prebiotic gel on the Early Earth’s surface. Image credit: Nirmell Satthiyasilan.

Life First Emerged in Surface-Bound Prebiotic Gels, Research Suggests

Dec 2, 2025 by News Staff

In a new paper published in the journal ChemSystemsChem, Hiroshima University’s Professor Tony Jia and colleagues outline the ‘prebiotic gel-first’...

Life reconstruction of another Mamenchisaurus species, Mamenchisaurus sinocanadorum. Image credit: Júlia d’Oliveira.

Paleontologists Discover New Species of Mamenchisaurid Dinosaur

Dec 1, 2025 by Enrico de Lazaro

A new species of the sauropod dinosaur genus Mamenchisaurus has been discovered in China dating back to the Late Jurassic epoch. Life reconstruction of...

A gigantic 8 m long mega-predatory shark stalks an unwary long-necked plesiosaur in the seas off Australia 115 million years ago. Image credit: Polyanna von Knorring, Swedish Museum of Natural History.

Earliest Known Giant Mackerel Sharks Lived 115 Million Years Ago in Australian Waters

Dec 1, 2025 by News Staff

The Lamniformes are an order of sharks commonly known as mackerel sharks. It includes some of the most familiar species of sharks, such as the great white...

Reconstruction of a Late Triassic landscape, approximately 215 million years ago; a lagerpetid, a close relative of pterosaurs, is perched on a rock, observing pterosaurs flying overhead. Image credit: Matheus Fernandes.

New Study Reveals How Pterosaurs Evolved Flight-Ready Brain

Nov 28, 2025 by News Staff

In new research, an international team of researchers used high-resolution 3D imaging techniques, including microCT scanning, to reconstruct brain shapes...

Aerial view of the West Gold Hill Dinosaur Tracksite in Colorado, the United States. Image credit: USDA Forest Service.

150-Million-Year-Old Footprints of Limping Sauropod Dinosaur Found in Colorado

Nov 25, 2025 by News Staff

Paleontologists have analyzed an exceptionally long sauropod trackway at the West Gold Hill Dinosaur Tracksite in Colorado, the United States. Their results...

An AI impression of the Early Earth. Image credit: Gemini AI.

Researchers Find Evidence of Ancient Microbial Life in 3.51 Billion-Year-Old Rocks

Nov 19, 2025 by News Staff

Teasing out biochemical information from ancient organic-rich sediments, notably the timing of the emergence of photosynthesis relative to the inferred...

Reconstruction of nothosaurs about 240 million years ago revealing a hidden diversity from southwestern China: Lijiangosaurus yongshengensis (center), Nothosaurus yangjuanensis (upper left), Nothosaurus luopingensis (upper right), Brevicaudosaurus jiyangshanensis (lower left), and Lariosaurus hongguoensis (lower right). Image credit: Kelai Li.

Early Long-Necked Marine Reptile Unearthed in China

Nov 17, 2025 by Enrico de Lazaro

The exceptionally long neck of Lijiangosaurus yongshengensis contained 42 cervical vertebrae, according to a research team led by paleontologists from...

Artistic reconstruction of the filter-feeding pterosaur Barikibu waridza in the Early Cretaceous Romualdo Formation environment; the spinosaurid dinosaur in the background represents the putative predator that hunted Barikibu waridza. Image credit: Julio Lacerda.

New Filter-Feeding Pterosaur Species Discovered in Brazil

Nov 14, 2025 by Enrico de Lazaro

Named Bakiribu waridza, the newly-identified species is the first filter-feeding pterosaur from the tropics. Artistic reconstruction of the filter-feeding...

Tainrakuasuchus bellator. Image credit: Caio Fantini.

New Species of Triassic Armor-Plated Reptile Unearthed in Brazil

Nov 13, 2025 by News Staff

A new genus and species of pseudosuchian archosaur has been identified from the fossil remains found in southern Brazil. Tainrakuasuchus bellator. Image...