Paleontology News

Researchers Shed New Light on Enigmatic Early Evolution of Snakes

Artistic representation of the opportunistic burrowing behavior of the hypothetical ancestor of crown snakes, as predicted from reconstructed high-definition 3D whole-brain models (highlighted middle right) shown in dorsal (top) and lateral (bottom) views. In comparison, the reconstruction of the first natural endocast of a fossil snake (Dinilysia patagonica, top right) displays a divergent morphological configuration of the telencephalon (Tel) and provides no or limited information about the diencephalon (Dien), mesencephalon (Mes), cerebellum (Cb), and medulla oblongata (MO) regions. In contrast, the estimated endocast of Najash rionegrina (bottom right) shows similarities with the hypothetical ancestor of crown snakes in several distinguishable telencephalic regions, including cerebral hemisphere (CH), olfactory bulb (OB), and olfactory tract (OT). Reconstructions of the fossil skulls (purple color) are shown around the cranial endocasts. Image credit: Macrì et al., doi: 10.1126/sciadv.adi6888 / Neptalí Ramírez Marcial.
Oct 3, 2023 by News Staff

The ecological origin and early evolution of snakes has long been a focus of multiple research fields and remains one of the most enduring and controversial topics in biology. Conflicting ecological hypotheses for early snakes, including aquatic, terrestrial, semifossorial, fossorial, or even multiple habitats, have been proposed on the basis of analyses of various traits. To address the paucity of well-preserved snake fossils, a team of scientists...

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Bohemolichas incola. Image credit: Jiri Svoboda.

465-Million-Year-Old Trilobite Found with Gut Contents Preserved

Oct 2, 2023 by Enrico de Lazaro

The newly-discovered fossilized specimen of Bohemolichas incola, a species of trilobite that lived during the Ordovician period, provides by far the most...

Reconstruction of Acheronauta stimulapis. Image credit: Sci.News / Qohelet12 / Bing Image Creator.

Wonderful Early Silurian Life

Sep 29, 2023 by Simon Braddy

The Waukesha Biota, a 437-million-year-old fossil assemblage from Wisconsin, USA, provides a rare glimpse into life in an ancient lagoon. In his book Wonderful...

Cadena et al. found DNA traces in the 6-million-year-old carapace of a Lepidochelys turtle. Image credit: Edwin Cadena, Universidad del Rosario & STRI.

Scientists Find Tiny Traces of DNA in 6-Million-Year-Old Turtle Shell

Sep 29, 2023 by Enrico de Lazaro

Researchers from the Universidad del Rosario, the Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, the Field Museum of Natural...

Life reconstruction of Baru iylwenpeny. Image credit: Adam Yates / Sci.News.

Fearsome Cleaver-Headed Crocodiles Once Inhabited Central Australia

Sep 28, 2023 by Enrico de Lazaro

Paleontologists have unearthed the fossilized remains of a new species of the mekosuchine crocodilian genus Baru in the Alcoota Scientific Reserve, about...

Reconstruction of Garumbatitan morellensis. Image credit: Grup Guix.

Paleontologists Discover New Species of Sauropod Dinosaur in Spain

Sep 28, 2023 by Enrico de Lazaro

A paper published today in the Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society announces the discovery of Garumbatitan morellensis, a previously undocumented...

An artist’s reconstruction of Mytonius williamsae (left) and Diablomomys dalquesti (right) in Big Bend country in West Texas 44 million years ago (middle Eocene epoch). The volcano on the skyline is a reminder of the active volcanism that was occurring in this part of Texas during the Eocene and Oligocene epochs. Image credit: Randwulph.

Paleontologists Identify Two New Species of Eocene-Period Tarsier-Like Primates

Sep 26, 2023 by News Staff

Omomyids are a group of small-bodied, tarsier-like primates that lived on the northern continents between 56 and 34 million years ago. They represent the...

Qiongqi crinalis. Image credit: Yuan et al., doi: 10.11646/zootaxa.5330.1.9.

New Species of Cricket Found Preserved in 99-Million-Year-Old Amber

Sep 25, 2023 by Enrico de Lazaro

Paleontologists have described a new species of cricket found in a piece of Cretaceous-period amber from northern Myanmar. Qiongqi crinalis: (A) habitus...

Reconstruction of Lusognathus almadrava and its paleoenvironment. Image credit: Jason Brougham.

Paleontologists Unearth New Species of Pterosaur in Portugal

Sep 22, 2023 by Enrico de Lazaro

A new genus and species of gnathosaurine pterosaur that lived during the Jurassic period has been identified from fossils found in Portugal. Reconstruction...

The 50-million-year-old feather from the Green River biota, Wyoming, the United States. Image credit: Slater et al., doi: 10.1038/s41559-023-02177-8.

Paleontologists Detect Traces of Ancient Proteins in Fossil Feathers

Sep 21, 2023 by Enrico de Lazaro

Paleontologists have analyzed 125-million-year-old feathers from a dinosaur species called Sinornithosaurus as well as feathers of the early bird Confuciusornis...

Life reconstruction of Tyrannomimus fukuiensis. Image credit: Sci.News / Sino-Pteryx.

New Species of Ostrich-Mimic Dinosaur Discovered in Japan

Sep 20, 2023 by Sergio Prostak

Paleontologists from Fukui Prefectural University and the Fukui Prefectural Dinosaur Museum have added another species of theropod dinosaur to the prehistoric...

Morphology of the fish-feeding trace fossils: (A) slab containing fish-feeding trails (QUER1A, B, and H) and pits (QUER1C, D, E, and G); (B) false-color height map of the feeding trail QUER1B and the feeding pit QUER1C; (C) false-color height map of the feeding pit QUER1G; (D) paleogeographical location of the studied fossil sites. Image credit: Baucon et al., doi: 10.1073/pnas.2306164120.

130-Million-Year-Old Trace Fossils Reveal Earliest Evidence of Deep-Sea Vertebrates

Sep 19, 2023 by News Staff

Paleontologists have found 130-million-year-old trace fossils from abyssal plain turbidites of the ancient Tethys Ocean. Combined with nannofossil dating,...

Life reconstruction of Vectidromeus insularis. Image credit: Emily Willoughby.

New Plant-Eating Dinosaur Unveiled: Vectidromeus insularis

Sep 15, 2023 by Enrico de Lazaro

Fossils of a small hypsilophodontid dinosaur unearthed on the Isle of Wight in southern England have been recognized as belonging to a new genus and species. Life...

Life reconstruction of Pampaphoneus biccai. Image credit: Márcio Castro.

Fierce Predator Lived in South America 265 Million Years Ago

Sep 12, 2023 by Enrico de Lazaro

Pampaphoneus biccai — a large carnivorous dinocephalian therapsid that lived in what is now Brazil during the Permian period — was, until now,...

Life reconstruction of Igai semkhu. Image credit: Sci.News / Connor Ashbridge / Bing Image Creator.

Paleontologists Uncover New Species of Titanosaur in Egypt

Sep 7, 2023 by Enrico de Lazaro

A new genus and species of titanosaurian dinosaur being named Igai semkhu has been described by Midwestern University paleontologist Eric Gorscak and his...

Life reconstruction of Fujianvenator prodigiosus. Image credit: Chuang Zhao.

Jurassic Bird-Like Dinosaur Had Long Lower Hindlimbs

Sep 6, 2023 by Enrico de Lazaro

Paleontologists have identified a new species of avialan (a member of the group that contains modern birds and bird-like dinosaurs) from a fossilized partial...

Reconstruction of early marsupials (left to right): the wallaby-sized herbivore Muramura williamsi, extinct koala relative Madakoala devisi and the calf-sized ilariid Ilaria lawsone. Image credit: Peter Schouten.

New Species of Early Koala Relative Discovered in Australia

Sep 6, 2023 by News Staff

The newly-discovered species, Lumakoala blackae, was comparable in size to the smallest-known members of the koala family (Phascolarctidae), with body-mass...

Fast rates of plesiosaur evolution. Image credit: Qi-Ling Liu.

Plesiosaurs Gained Their Long Necks Very Rapidly, Paleontologists Say

Sep 4, 2023 by News Staff

Paleontologists have identified a new species of plesiosaur ancestor based on two new specimens from the Early Triassic Nanzhang-Yuan’an Fauna of China....

The red-billed tropicbird (Phaethon aethereus subsp. mesonauta) in the waters around Trinidad and Tobago. Image credit: Dominic Sherony / CC BY-SA 2.0.

Paleocene Fossil Illuminates Early Evolutionary History of Tropicbirds

Sep 1, 2023 by Enrico de Lazaro

Paleontologists have described a new genus and species of tropicbird from a fossilized partial skeleton found in New Zealand. The fossil represents the...

Dicreosaurid dinosaurs, from larger to smaller: Dicraeosaurus hansemanni, Amargasaurus cazaui, and Brachytrachelopan mesai. Image credit: Sci.News / Nobu Tamura, http://spinops.blogspot.com / Bing Image Creator.

New Sauropod Dinosaur Unearthed in India

Aug 31, 2023 by Enrico de Lazaro

Paleontologists from the Indian Institute of Technology and the Geological Survey of India have described a new genus and species of dicraeosaurid sauropod...

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