Paleontology News

Early Earth. Image credit: Christine Daniloff.

Life May Have Flourished on Earth as Early as 3.2 Billion Years Ago

Feb 17, 2015 by News Staff

The ability to use atmospheric nitrogen to support more widespread life was thought to have appeared 2 billion years ago. Now, a study led by Dr Eva Stüeken...

The two seals on the right are a life restoration of Eotaria crypta, whose adult size was only slightly larger than a sea otter; the pinniped depicted above them is the larger-bodied seal Allodesmus, which also existed at the time. Image credit: Robert Boessenecker.

Paleontologists Discover Oldest Known Fur Seal

Feb 13, 2015 by News Staff

Fossil remains of a 16 million-year-old fur seal, named Eotaria crypta, have shed light on the evolution of fur seals and sea lions. The two seals on the...

This is an illustration of Agilodocodon scansorius (top left) and Docofossor brachydactylus (bottom right). Image credit: April I. Neander / University of Chicago.

Two New Jurassic Mammals Discovered in China

Feb 13, 2015 by News Staff

A team of paleontologists from China and the United States has described two shrew-sized mammals that lived during the Jurassic period, between 165 and...

This is an artist rendering of what South America's oldest known monkey, Perupithecus ucayaliensis, might have looked like; it was about the size of a squirrel, but with a longer tail, and probably weighed less than 250 grams. Image credit: Jorge González.

Fossils of Earliest South American Monkeys Discovered in Peru

Feb 11, 2015 by News Staff

Three new extinct monkeys that lived in what is now Peru approximately 36 million years ago have been discovered by a team of paleontologists led by Dr...

This grass spikelet from the middle Cretaceous is the earliest grass specimen ever discovered, and is covered on its tip by the parasite ergot. Image credit: Oregon State University.

100-Million-Year-Old Burmese Amber Preserves Fungus-Infected Grass

Feb 10, 2015 by News Staff

An international team of paleontologists led by Dr George Poinar of Oregon State University has found a grass spikelet and an ergot-like parasitic fungus...

This image shows a 15-million-year-old fossil mollusk, Ecphora gardnerae germonae, from the Calvert Cliffs of southern Maryland; the golden brown color arises from the original shell-binding proteins and pigments preserved in the mineralized shell. Image credit: © John Nance.

Scientists Find Proteins in 15-Million-Year-Old Mollusk Shells

Feb 6, 2015 by News Staff

A group of researchers led by Dr Robert Hazen from Carnegie Institution of Washington has found well-preserved protein sheets in 15-million-year-old fossilized...

Fossil Rodent Josephoartigasia May Have Used Its Front Teeth Like Tusks

Feb 4, 2015 by News Staff

Josephoartigasia monesi – a giant rodent that lived in what is now Uruguay from the Pliocene to early Pleistocene, 4 to 2 million years ago –...

Biologists Find Deep-Sea Sulfur Bacteria that Have Not Evolved in 2.3 Billion Years

Feb 4, 2015 by News Staff

A group of researchers led by Prof J. William Schopf from the University of California, Los Angeles, has discovered a type of deep-sea microorganism that...

Qijianglong guokr chased by two carnivorous dinosaurs. Image credit: Lida Xing.

Qijianglong guokr: New Long-Necked Dinosaur Discovered in China

Jan 29, 2015 by News Staff

A team of paleontologists from Japan, China and Canada has described a new genus and species of sauropod dinosaur that lived during the Upper Jurassic...

Portugalophis lignites in a gingko tree. Image credit: Julius Csotonyi.

Paleontologists Find World’s Oldest Known Snake Fossils

Jan 28, 2015 by News Staff

A team of paleontologists led by Prof Michael Caldwell of the University of Alberta, Canada, has found the fossilized remains of four ancient legged snakes...

Skeleton of Nundasuchus songeaensis, illustrating the elements found. Scale bar - 50 cm. Image credit: Sterling Nesbitt / Sci-News.com.

Nundasuchus songeaensis: New Triassic Reptile Discovered in Tanzania

Jan 21, 2015 by News Staff

A team of paleontologists headed by Dr Sterling Nesbitt of Virginia Tech has described a new genus and species of archosaur that lived in what is today...

Living scene of the adult Philydrosaurus and its babies. Image credit: Chuang Zhao.

Jurassic Reptiles Were Good Parents

Jan 20, 2015 by News Staff

A well-preserved fossil from the Yixian Formation of western Liaoning Province, China, represents the oldest record of post-natal parental care, according...

A school of ichthyosaurs. Image credit: Dmitry Bogdanov / CC BY 3.0.

Dearcmhara shawcrossi: New Ichthyosaur Discovered in Scotland

Jan 12, 2015 by News Staff

A group of paleontologists headed by Dr Steve Brusatte of National Museums Scotland and the University of Edinburgh has discovered a new genus and species...

Torvosaurus gurneyi. Image credit: © Sergey Krasovskiy.

Top Paleontological Discoveries of 2014

Jan 5, 2015 by News Staff

Here’s a list of the top dinosaur and fossil finds of 2014, from a small cat-sized dinosaur to the most complete giant titanosaur yet discovered...

Carboniferous fish Acanthodes bridgei. Image credit: Gengo Tanaka et al.

Paleontologists Find Carboniferous Fish Fossil with Well-Preserved Retina

Dec 24, 2014 by News Staff

According to a team of paleontologists from the United Kingdom and Japan led by Dr Haruyoshi Maeda of Kyushu University Museum, color vision evolved in...

Eohupehsuchus brevicollis. Image credit: Chen X-h et al.

Eohupehsuchus brevicollis: Paleontologists Discover Short-Necked Triassic Marine Reptile

Dec 18, 2014 by News Staff

Paleontologists led by Dr Xiao-hong Chen of the China Geological Survey’s Wuhan Center have discovered a new species of marine reptile that lived in...

Reconstruction of Aquilops americanus in its environment. Image credit: Brian Engh / Raymond M. Alf Museum of Paleontology.

Aquilops americanus: Small Cat-Sized Dinosaur Discovered in Montana

Dec 11, 2014 by News Staff

A group of paleontologists led by Dr Andrew Farke from Raymond M. Alf Museum of Paleontology has described a new genus and species of ceratopsian dinosaur...

Nidelric pugio. Image credit: Derek Siveter, Oxford University.

Nidelric pugio: 520-Million-Year-Old Fossil of Spiny Marine Animal Found in China

Dec 10, 2014 by News Staff

A multinational team of paleontologists headed by Dr Thomas Harvey from the University of Leicester, UK, has described a strange balloon-shaped animal...

This illustration shows a reconstruction of an American mastodon (Mammut americanum) at the top; below is a comparison between an American mastodon and a woolly mammoth (Mammuthus primigenius). Image credit: © George ‘Rinaldino’ Teichmann.

Mastodons Disappeared from Beringia before Ancient Humans Arrived

Dec 2, 2014 by News Staff

New radiocarbon dates on American mastodon (Mammut americanum) fossils in Alaska and Yukon (eastern Beringia) suggest this species suffered local extinction...