Paleontology News

Dianoconodon youngi. Image credit: Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences.

New Jurassic Fossils Document Evolutionary Changes of Jaw Joint to Mammalian Middle Ear

Apr 3, 2024 by News Staff

Two new Jurassic species — the morganucodontan-like Dianoconodon youngi and the pseudotribosphenic shuotheriid Feredocodon chowi — offer key...

Life reconstruction of Feredocodon chowi (right) and Dianoconodon youngi (left). Image credit: Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences.

New Jurassic Shuotheriid Species Sheds Light on Early Evolution of Mammaliaforms

Apr 3, 2024 by News Staff

In new research, a team of paleontologists examined the tooth structure of Feredocodon chowi, a new species of shuotheriid mammaliaform that lived in what...

Udelartitan celeste. Image credit: Soto et al., doi: 10.1016/j.cretres.2024.105894.

New Titanosaur Species Uncovered in Uruguay

Apr 1, 2024 by Enrico de Lazaro

Paleontologists have announced the discovery of a new genus and species of saltasauroid titanosaurian dinosaur, based on the fossilized remains found in...

Myrmarachne colombiana. Image credit: George Poinar Jr. / Oregon State University.

New Species of Ant-Mimic Spider Found Preserved in Colombian Copal

Apr 1, 2024 by News Staff

Myrmarachne colombiana is the first species of ant-mimicking spider ever found in copal (fossilized resin) from Colombia. Myrmarachne colombiana. Image...

The 99-million-year-old amber piece containing the fossil tapeworm (long tentacle) and other inclusions: (A-B) the overall view of the amber piece; (C) gleicheniacean trichomes; (D) scale insect nymph; (E) sand grains. Scale bars - 2 mm in (A,B), 0.1 mm in (C-E). Image credit: Luo et al., doi: 10.1130/G52071.1.

Ancient Marine Tapeworm Found Encased in 99-Million-Year-Old Amber

Mar 27, 2024 by Enrico de Lazaro

Paleontologists from the Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology at the Chinese Academy of Sciences and elsewhere have found a partial body fossil...

An artist’s reconstruction of Cosmoselachus mehlingi. Image credit: American Museum of Natural History.

Devonian Shark Fossil Found in Arkansas

Mar 26, 2024 by Enrico de Lazaro

A team of paleontologists from California State Polytechnic University and elsewhere has described a new genus and species of shark-like fish from the...

Paleoenvironmental reconstruction of the Early Eocene continental communities of Seymour Island: a large cariamiform bird hunting a medium-sized ungulate and staring at Notiolofos regueroi, a couple of marsupials on a tree, Antarctoboenus carlinii flying on the sky, and a flightless Ratites in the back. Image credit: Carolina Acosta Hospitaleche & Washington Jones, doi: 10.26879/1340.

Giant Terror Birds Were Apex Predators of Eocene-Period Antarctica

Mar 25, 2024 by Enrico de Lazaro

Paleontologists have unearthed two fossilized phalanges of an ancient carnivorous bird on Seymour Island, Antarctica. Paleoenvironmental reconstruction...

Artistic reconstruction of Pebanista yacuruna. Image credit: Jaime Bran.

Giant Freshwater Dolphins Once Lived in Proto-Amazonia

Mar 21, 2024 by Natali Anderson

Pebanista yacuruna is the closest relative of living South Asian river dolphins (genus Platanista). Artistic reconstruction of Pebanista yacuruna. Image...

Khinjaria acuta. Image credit: Andrey Atuchin.

New Mosasaur Species from Morocco Had Dagger-Like, Interlocking Teeth

Mar 19, 2024 by Enrico de Lazaro

Paleontologists have described a bizarre new species of mosasaurid based on a skull and parts of the skeleton collected from a phosphate mine southeast...

An artist’s reconstruction of the spinosaurid dinosaur Baryonyx. Image credit: Andrey Atuchin / CC BY 4.0 Deed.

New Spinosaurid Dinosaur Species Identified in Spain

Mar 18, 2024 by Enrico de Lazaro

A new genus and species of spinosaurid dinosaur being named Riojavenatrix lacustris has been discovered by University of the Basque Country paleontologist...

Life reconstruction of Franconiasaurus brevispinus. Image credit: Joschua Knüppe.

New Species of Plesiosaur Unearthed in Germany

Mar 15, 2024 by Enrico de Lazaro

A new genus and species of plesiosaur that lived near the onset of the Early-Middle Jurassic turnover has been identified from two exquisite, three-dimensionally...

Life reconstruction of Peltocephalus maturin. Image credit: Júlia d‘Oliveira.

Fossil of Giant Freshwater Turtle Discovered in Brazilian Amazon

Mar 14, 2024 by Enrico de Lazaro

Peltocephalus maturin possibly reached about 1.8 m (5.9 feet) in carapace length and is among the largest freshwater turtles ever found. This finding presents...

A theropod dinosaur footprint in the Nanushuk Formation, Alaska, the United States. Note the sinusoidal curve of the middle toe impression. Scale bar - 10 cm. Image credit: Fiorillo et al., doi: 10.3390/geosciences14020036.

Nanushuk Formation’s Dinosaur Tracks Provide New Information about Mid-Cretaceous Paleoclimate

Mar 13, 2024 by News Staff

Paleontologists have examined a large assemblage of dinosaur tracks and fossilized plants from the Nanushuk Formation, which crops out over much of the...

The fossil skeleton of Imparavis attenboroughi and a reconstruction of the bird. Image credit: Ville Sinkkonen / Wang et al., doi: 10.1016/j.cretres.2024.105867.

Cretaceous Enantiornithine Bird Was First of Its Kind with Toothless Beak

Mar 11, 2024 by News Staff

Paleontologists have described a new species of enantiornithine bird with a toothless beak from the Jehol avifauna of China. The discovery pushes back...

Doing what they do better than any animal that ever evolved, a pair of Spinosaurus aegyptiacus wade into nearshore waters for prey as pterosaurs soar overhead some 95 million years ago on the northern coast of Africa. Image credit: Daniel Navarro.

Paleontologists Find Flaws in Research Supporting Aquatic Pursuit Hunting in Spinosaurus

Mar 8, 2024 by News Staff

The lifestyle of spinosaurid dinosaurs has been a topic of lively debate ever since the unveiling of important new skeletal parts for Spinosaurus aegyptiacus...

Fossilized ripple marks on the floor of the Calamophyton forest. Image credit: Neil Davies.

Earth’s Oldest Known Fossil Forest Discovered in England

Mar 7, 2024 by Enrico de Lazaro

The 390-million-year-old forest landscape, archived within the Eifelian Hangman Sandstone Formation of Somerset and Devon in England, is roughly 4 million...

Pseudocarcinus karlraubenheimeri. Scale bars - 5 cm. Image credit: Barry W.M. van Bakel & Àlex Ossó, doi: 10.1080/00288306.2024.2314472.

Fossils of Giant Crab Unearthed in New Zealand

Mar 4, 2024 by News Staff

Paleontologists have described a new species of the crab genus Pseudocarcinus from large-sized fossilized specimens found at Taranaki, North Island, New...

Reconstruction of Perucetus colossus in its coastal habitat; the associated sawfish, Pristis, was recovered from the same unit in the East Pisco Basin, the Yumaque Member of the Paracas Formation, Peru. Image credit: A. Gennari.

Giant Fossil Whale Perucetus Did Not Exceed Body Mass of Today’s Blue Whales: Study

Mar 4, 2024 by News Staff

Paleontologists from the University of California, Davis, and Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of Natural History estimate that Perucetus colossus,...

The type specimens of Datai yingliangis reconstructed in situ; the head, cervical, and thoracic regions of the specimens were discovered and extracted from a single block. Image credit: Xing et al., doi: 10.18435/vamp29396.

Cretaceous-Period Armored Dinosaur Had Double Cheek Horns

Feb 26, 2024 by Enrico de Lazaro

A new genus and species of ankylosaurine dinosaur has been identified from two specimens found in southeastern China. The type specimens of Datai yingliangis...