Paleontology News

Limusaurus: Beaked, Bird-Like Dinosaur Species Had Teeth as Juveniles, Lost Them as They Grew

Limusaurus inextricabilis is the only known reptile to lose its teeth and form a beak after birth. Image credit: Yu Chen.
Dec 23, 2016 by News Staff

An international team of paleontologists has discovered that Limusaurus inextricabilis, a species of Jurassic dinosaur, lost its teeth in adolescence and did not grow another set as adults. Limusaurus inextricabilis is the only known reptile to lose its teeth and form a beak after birth. Image credit: Yu Chen. Limusaurus inextricabilis (‘mire lizard who could not escape’) is a ceratosaurian theropod dinosaur that lived during the Upper Jurassic...

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An artist’s conception of Tingmiatornis arctica’s possible environment 90 million years ago, characterized by volcanic activity, a freshwater bay, turtles, fish, and champsosaurs. Image credit: Michael Osadciw, University of Rochester.

Tingmiatornis arctica: Large, Toothed Water Bird Lived in High Arctic 90 Million Years Ago

Dec 20, 2016 by News Staff

A team of paleontologists has found the remains of a prehistoric bird that lived 90 million years ago (Cretaceous period) in the Canadian Arctic. An artist’s...

The feathered tail of a coelurosaur preserved in mid-Cretaceous amber from Kachin State, Myanmar. Image credit: Lida Xing et al, doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2016.10.008.

Feathered Dinosaur Tail Found Encased in Mid-Cretaceous Burmese Amber

Dec 9, 2016 by News Staff

An international team of paleontologists from China, Canada and the United Kingdom has discovered the tail of a non-avian theropod dinosaur (likely a coelurosaur)...

Fossils of the left and right elytra of the Ball’s Antarctic tundra beetle (Antarctotrechus balli): the left elytron, 2.36 mm in length, is designated as the paratype. A small part of the right elytron of the same individual is attached along the suture near the apex. The siltstone matrix is visible along the outer margin near the apex. The small rhomb-shaped crystals on the surface are authigenic calcite; the right elytron is designated as the holotype; the elytron is 2.40 mm in length; the base is deformed by a crack and concealed by sediment grains; a small part of the left elytron of the same individual is still attached along the suture near the base. Image credit: A.C. Ashworth / T.L. Erwin.

Miocene Ground Beetle Fossils Found in Antarctica

Dec 5, 2016 by News Staff

Fossilized forewings (elytra) from two individuals, discovered at the Oliver Bluffs on the Beardmore Glacier, revealed the first ground beetle species...

Eoconfuciusornis zhengi. Image credit: Nobu Tamura / CC BY 3.0.

Ancient Melanosomes, Beta-Keratin Found in Fossilized Feathers of Early Cretaceous Bird

Nov 25, 2016 by News Staff

An international team of paleontologists has found evidence of beta-keratin and melanosome preservation in a 130-million-year-old specimen of the Early...

Ventral view of the new bohaiornithid specimen. Left: photograph of the primary slab. Right: interpretive drawing. Abbreviations: co - coracoid; cv - cervical vertebrae; fe - femur; fu - furcula; hu - humerus; il - ilium; mcI-III – metacarpals I–III; mt - metatarsals; pd I–IV - pedal digits I–IV; phI-1 - first phalanx of digit I; phII/III-1/2 - first/second phalanx of digit II/III; pu -pubis; py - pygostyle; ra - radius; sc - scapula; sk - skull; sml - semilunate carpal; st - sternum; sy - synsacrum; th - thoracic vertebrae; ti - tibia; ul - ulna; uln - ulnare. Scale bar - 1 cm. Image credit: Jennifer A. Peteya et al, doi: 10.1111/pala.12270.

Dinosaur-Era Bird Had Iridescent Feathers

Nov 16, 2016 by Enrico de Lazaro

A group of paleontologists led by University of Akron researcher Jennifer Peteya has discovered a new bohaiornithid bird specimen from the Cretaceous period...

An artistic reconstruction, showing the last-ditch struggle of Tongtianlong limosus as it was mired in mud. Image credit: Zhao Chuang.

Tongtianlong limosus: New Species of Feathered Dinosaur Discovered in China

Nov 10, 2016 by Enrico de Lazaro

A new species of oviraptorid dinosaur has been discovered in southern China dating back approximately 69 million years to the latest Cretaceous period,...

Oncorhynchus rastrosus in Proto-Tuolumne River. Image credit: Jacob Biewer.

Oncorhynchus rastrosus: Sabertooth Salmon Used Tusk-Shaped Teeth for Fighting and Display

Nov 2, 2016 by Enrico de Lazaro

The sabertooth salmon (Oncorhynchus rastrosus), a giant species of salmon that swam in Pacific Northwest waters from the mid-Miocene to early Pliocene,...

Brain endocast of an iguanodontian dinosaur found in 133 million year old fluvial sediments of the Wealden at Bexhill, Sussex, UK. Image credit: Jamie Hiscocks.

Paleontologists Find Fossilized Dinosaur Brain Tissue

Oct 27, 2016 by News Staff

A strange brown pebble found near Bexhill in Sussex, UK, has been identified as the first known example of fossilized brain tissue from a dinosaur. Brain...

An artist impression of Huanansaurus ganzhouensis. Image credit: Chuang Zhao.

Avimimus Dinosaurs were Gregarious, Social Creatures, Paleontologists Say

Oct 25, 2016 by Enrico de Lazaro

Dozens of fossils from a bird-like theropod dinosaur known as Avimimus have been unearthed in a single bonebed in Mongolia, providing strong evidence that...

Savannasaurus elliottorum. Image credit: Travis R. Tischler.

Savannasaurus elliottorum: New Dinosaur Discovered in Australia

Oct 24, 2016 by News Staff

A new genus and species of sauropod dinosaur from the mid-Cretaceous has been discovered in western Queensland, Australia. Savannasaurus elliottorum. Image...

Life reconstruction of Qilinyu along with Guiyu and Entelognathus in Silurian waters. Image credit: Dinghua Yang.

Qilinyu rostrata: Silurian Fish from China Sheds Light on Jaw Evolution

Oct 21, 2016 by News Staff

The discovery of a 423-million-year-old fossil in China has shed light on the evolution of the tripartite (three-part) jaw, revealing a previously unknown...

Aptenoperissus burmanicus lived at the base of trees while dinosaurs wondered around above it, and is the only known specimen in a newly-created family, Aptenoperissidae. Scale bar - 1.0 mm. Image credit: George Poinar, Jr. / Oregon State University.

Bizarre Wingless Wasp Found Encased in 100-Million-Year-Old Burmese Amber

Oct 14, 2016 by News Staff

An enigmatic wingless parasitic wasp has been found preserved in mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber, a new study says. Aptenoperissus burmanicus lived at the...

Vegavis iaai. Image credit: Nicole Fuller / Sayo Art / University of Texas at Austin.

Vegavis iaai: Dinosaurs Likely Did Not Sing, Vocal Organ of Mesozoic Bird Suggests

Oct 13, 2016 by News Staff

The oldest known syrinx (vocal organ) of a bird has been found, preserved in three dimensions in a 66-million-year-old specimen from Antarctica, according...

Camptopterohelea odora in amber from Gujarat State, western India. Scale bar - 0.2 mm. Image credit: Frauke Stebner / University of Bonn.

54-Million-Year-Old Biting Midge Found Preserved in Amber

Oct 6, 2016 by News Staff

A fossilized biting midge found in India preserved in amber dates back some 54 million years, says an international team of paleontologists. Camptopterohelea...

Megalolamna paradoxodon: Paleontologists Uncover New Species of Prehistoric Shark

Oct 3, 2016 by News Staff

Fossilized teeth from a newly identified species of extinct shark that lived 20 million years ago (early Miocene) were found in the mid-latitudinal zones...

Drepanosaurus unguicaudatus rips away tree bark with its huge claw and powerful arm. Image credit: Victor Leshyk.

Drepanosaurus: Triassic Reptile Had Huge Claw

Sep 30, 2016 by News Staff

212-million-year-old fossils discovered in New Mexico confirm that Drepanosaurus, a Late Triassic tree-dwelling reptile, was a small-bodied creature with...

An artistic life reconstruction of Rativates evadens in the paleoenvironment of the Late Cretaceous of Alberta. Image credit: Andrey-Atuchin.

Rativates evadens: New Ostrich-Mimic Dinosaur Species Identified

Sep 28, 2016 by News Staff

An international team of paleontologists, led by Carleton University researcher Bradley McFeeters, has added another ornithomimid dinosaur to the prehistoric...

The team has identified fossil proteins in 3.8 million year-old ostrich eggshells. Image credit: Matthew Collins.

Researchers Find Ancient Proteins in 3.8-Million-Year-Old Ostrich Eggshells

Sep 27, 2016 by News Staff

A multinational team of researchers has uncovered fossil proteins dating back 3.8 million years — a discovery that will enhance future understanding...

Dr. Stocker and co-authors describe Triopticus primus, a bizarre Late Triassic animal, whose skull structure is converged on by distantly related dome-headed pachycephalosaurs. The unique body plans observed in Triopticus primus and other archosaurs at the ‘dawn of the age of dinosaurs’ re-evolved in dinosaurs and crocodylians after the end-Triassic mass extinction. Image credit: Michelle R. Stocker et al.

Triopticus primus: Triassic Reptile Had ‘Third Eye’ and Thick, Domed Skull

Sep 25, 2016 by News Staff

Paleontologists have described a completely unexpected new species of reptile that lived 230 million years ago (Triassic period). Dr. Stocker and co-authors...

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