Paleontology News

Tongoenas burleyi (right) likely featured the brightly colored plumage of other canopy-dwelling pigeons on the Pacific islands. On the left is the Kanaka pigeon (Caloenas canacorum), another large extinct Tongan species. Image credit: Danielle Byerley.

Meet Tongoenas burleyi, Extinct Giant Pigeon from Tonga

Jul 23, 2020 by News Staff

A new extinct genus and species of pigeon has been identified from fossils found on six islands (Foa, Lifuka, ‘Uiha, Ha‘afeva, Tongatapu, and ‘Eua)...

Life reconstruction of Asio ecuadoriensis. Image credit: Sebastián Rozadilla.

Giant Predatory Owls Once Lived in Ecuador

Jul 22, 2020 by Enrico de Lazaro

An extinct species of giant owl that lived 40,000 years ago (Pleistocene epoch) and preyed on smaller owls has been identified from fossils found in the...

Fossils of New Herbivorous Dinosaur Found in China

Jul 20, 2020 by Enrico de Lazaro

Paleontologists in China have found the fossilized fragments from a new genus and species of non-sauropodan sauropodomorph dinosaur that walked our planet...

New Species of Plant-Eating Dinosaur Identified in Switzerland

Jul 16, 2020 by Enrico de Lazaro

A new genus and species of long-necked herbivorous dinosaur that lived during the Triassic period has been identified from fossils found in northern Switzerland. Schleitheimia...

Life reconstruction of Aratasaurus museunacionali. Image credit: Maurilio Oliveira.

New Feathered Carnivorous Dinosaur Found in Brazil

Jul 14, 2020 by Enrico de Lazaro

Paleontologists have announced the discovery of a new genus and species of coelurosaurian dinosaur, Aratasaurus museunacionali, from the Romualdo Formation...

This life-size model of Trierarchuncus prairiensis was sculpted by Boban Filipovic, a paleontologist and artist from Serbia, and is on display at Badlands Dinosaur Museum, Dickinson, ND. Image credit: Boban Filipovic / Badlands Dinosaur Museum.

New Species of Hook-Handed Dinosaur Uncovered in Montana

Jul 13, 2020 by Enrico de Lazaro

A new species of alvarezsaurid dinosaur that lived approximately 66 million years ago (Cretaceous period) has been unearthed in the Hell Creek Formation...

Large Dolphin from Oligocene Epoch was Fast-Swimming Apex Predator

Jul 10, 2020 by News Staff

Paleontologists have found and described the first nearly complete skeleton of Ankylorhiza tiedemani, an extinct large dolphin that lived about 24 million...

An artist’s impression of the giant dormouse Leithia melitensis (left) and its nearest living relative the garden dormouse (right). Image credit: James Sadler, University of York.

Enormous Dormice Once Roamed Mediterranean Islands

Jul 9, 2020 by News Staff

An international team of paleontologists from the UK, Italy and Switzerland has created the first digital reconstruction of the skull of Leithia melitensis,...

An artist’s interpretation of Dilophosaurus wetherilli, a theropod dinosaur that lived in what is now North America during the Early Jurassic, about 193 million years ago. Image credit: Brian Engh / The Saint George Dinosaur Discovery Site.

Famous Jurassic Park Dinosaur Was More Powerful than Previously Thought

Jul 9, 2020 by News Staff

Dilophosaurus wetherilli was the largest animal known to have lived on land in North America during the Early Jurassic. Despite its charismatic presence...

Life reconstruction of the Alaskan saurornitholestine dinosaur in its environment. Image credit: Andrey Atuchin.

Paleontologists Find Fossil of 70-Million-Year-Old Polar Raptor

Jul 8, 2020 by News Staff

Paleontologists have uncovered the fossilized jawbone of a juvenile dromaeosaurid (raptor) dinosaur that lived 70 million years ago in what is now northern...

Life restoration of Kongonaphon kely. Image credit: Alex Boersma.

Tiny Dinosaur Relative Roamed Triassic Madagascar

Jul 7, 2020 by News Staff

A new genus and species of ornithodiran — an early relative of dinosaurs and pterosaurs — that lived around 237 million years ago (Triassic...

Ankylosaurus magniventris, a large armored dinosaur species, witnesses the impact of an asteroid, falling on the Yucatan peninsula 66 million years ago. Image credit: Fabio Manucci.

Chicxulub Asteroid Caused End-Cretaceous Mass Extinction, New Study Confirms

Jul 1, 2020 by News Staff

The end-Cretaceous mass extinction 66 million years ago eradicated roughly 75% of the animal and plant species on Earth, including whole groups like non-avian...

A group of Copepteryx, plotopterid birds that lived in Japan between 28.4 and 23 million years ago. Image credit: Mark Witton.

Giant Penguin-Like Seabirds Lived in Northern Hemisphere About 30 Million Years Ago

Jul 1, 2020 by News Staff

Paleontologists have discovered striking similarities between the fossilized bones of giant penguins that lived 62 million years ago in what is now New...

Skulls and life reconstructions of Thylacosmilus atrox (left) and Smilodon fatalis (right). Image credit: Stephan Lautenschlager.

Thylacosmilus Was Not a Saber-Tooth Predator

Jun 29, 2020 by News Staff

Thylacosmilus atrox, an extinct marsupial that roamed South America between 9 and 3 million years ago (Neogene period), was not the ecological analogue...

An artist’s impression of Mukupirna nambensis living in central Australia that was much greener 25 million years ago. Image credit: Peter Schouten.

Giant Wombat-Like Marsupials Roamed Australia 25 Million Years Ago

Jun 26, 2020 by News Staff

Paleontologists have identified a giant wombat-like marsupial that lived 25 million years ago (Oligocene epoch) in what is now Australia. Named Mukupirna...

Tanyrhinichthys mcallisteri was most likely a bottom-cruising predator similar in general ecomorphology to modern sturgeon. Image credit: Nobu Tamura.

Paleontologists Redescribe Enigmatic Carboniferous-Period Fish

Jun 23, 2020 by Enrico de Lazaro

A team of U.S. paleontologists has redescribed the morphology of a long-snouted ray-finned fish called Tanyrhinichthys mcallisteri and created a more complete...

The discovery of a spike of mercury in 252-million-year-old rock at locations around the world gives evidence for the prevailing theory that volcanic eruptions caused the end-Permian extinction. Image credit: Margaret Weiner / University of Cincinnati Creative Services.

Coal-Burning Contributed to End-Permian Mass Extinction

Jun 23, 2020 by News Staff

An international team of geologists has found the first direct evidence that volcanic eruptions in the southern part of the Siberian Traps region 252 million...

A reconstruction of a Jurassic dinosaur track-maker from southern Queensland in front of a silhouette of the largest known Tyrannosaurus rex. Image credit: Anthony Romilio.

Carnivorous Dinosaurs as Big as T. rex Lived in Jurassic Australia

Jun 22, 2020 by News Staff

Paleontologists have analyzed 151- to 165-million-year-old dinosaur footprints from 11 sites in southern Queensland, most of which produced large (length...

Paleontologists Find Giant Soft-Shelled Egg of Cretaceous-Period Marine Reptile in Antarctica

Jun 19, 2020 by News Staff

A giant fossilized egg of an extinct marine reptile has been found in the 68-million-year-old nearshore marine deposits in Antarctica. An artist’s rendering...