Paleontology News

Cambrian Animal with Mouth but No Anus Is Not Earliest Human Ancestor, Paleontologists Say

An artist’s reconstruction of Saccorhytus coronarius. Image credit: Liu et al.
Aug 17, 2022 by News Staff

Paleontologists have examined new microfossils of a Cambrian microscopic animal called Saccorhytus coronarius, which was previously interpreted as a deuterostome, a large group of the animal kingdom which includes vertebrates (like humans). An artist’s reconstruction of Saccorhytus coronarius. Image credit: Liu et al. Saccorhytus coronarius is an ellipsoidal marine animal with a large mouth surrounded by spines and holes. It was about a millimeter...

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Partial skeleton of Atractosteus grandei in dorsal view. Image credit: Chase Doran Brownstein & Tyler R. Lyson, doi: 10.1098/rsbl.2022.0118.

Newly-Discovered Giant Gar Species Survived Dinosaur Extinction

Aug 16, 2022 by Sergio Prostak

Atractosteus grandei lived less than 1,500-2,500 years after the Chicxulub asteroid impact, an event that is widely accepted as a major cause behind the...

Jannel et al. suggest that a soft tissue pad in sauropods would have reduced bone stresses. Image credit: Andréas Jannel.

Giant Sauropod Dinosaurs Had Soft Tissue Pads to Absorb Their Immense Weight: Study

Aug 15, 2022 by News Staff

How sauropod dinosaurs, which include the largest animals that walked the Earth, were able to withstand the forces associated with their immense size represents...

Life reconstruction of Jakapil kaniukura. Image credit: Mauricio Álvarez / Gabriel Díaz Yanten.

New Armored Dinosaur Unearthed in Argentina

Aug 12, 2022 by Enrico de Lazaro

Paleontologists in Argentina have unveiled a new genus and species of armored thyreophoran dinosaur from the Cretaceous period. Life reconstruction of...

Large predatory dinosaurs, such as Tyrannosaurus rex, evolved different shapes of eye sockets to better deal with high bite forces. Image credit: S. Lautenschlager, doi: 10.1038/s42003-022-03706-0.

Large Carnivorous Dinosaurs Evolved Smaller Eye Sockets to Allow Stronger Bites

Aug 11, 2022 by News Staff

In new research, Dr. Stephan Lautenschlager from the University of Birmingham analyzed the shape of the eye sockets in 410 specimens of dinosaurs and related...

Holotype of Palaeotanyrhina exophthalma in Burmese amber: (A) dorsal view; scale bar - 1.5 mm; (B) lateral view; arrow shows tip of labium; scale bar - 1.2 mm; (C) ventral view; arrow shows tip of labium; scale bar - 1.3 mm. Image credit: George Poinar Jr. et al., doi: 10.18476/pale.v15.a5.

Tiny Bug from Burmese Amber Had 360-Degree Vision

Aug 11, 2022 by Enrico de Lazaro

A fossilized true bug preserved in Burmese amber dates back approximately 100 million years (mid-Cretaceous period), according to Oregon State University...

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

New Species of Long-Necked Dinosaur Identified in Colombia

Aug 11, 2022 by Enrico de Lazaro

A new genus and species of medium-sized sauropod dinosaur has been described from a single trunk vertebra found in the Department of Cesar, north-eastern...

Photograph of the positioning of the woolly mammoth tusk in the scanner; the tusk was fixed in a fiberglass frame to guarantee transport and table-movement stability; there was 1 cm of clearance within the gantry bore. Image credit: Eppenberger et al., doi: 10.1148/radiol.220265.

Scientists Use CT Scanner to Examine Two-Meter-Long Tusk of Woolly Mammoth

Aug 10, 2022 by Enrico de Lazaro

Using a clinical scanning device, researchers in Switzerland have successfully captured CT images of the 17,000-year-old tusk of a woolly mammoth (Mammuthus...

A possible scene at Liang Bua Cave around 70,000 years ago: Leptoptilos robustus challenges a juvenile Komodo dragon for access to the carcass of a dwarf proboscidean while other giant marabou storks, vultures and hominins look on. Image credit: Gabriel Ugueto.

Giant Marabou Storks Lived alongside Mysterious Homo floresiensis

Aug 7, 2022 by Sergio Prostak

Over 50,000 years ago, Leptoptilos robustus — an extinct species of large-bodied stork around 1.8 m tall — co-existed with mysterious miniature...

Life restoration of Lalieudorhynchus gandi and an associated aquatic tupilakosaurid temnospondyl (bottom left); estimated water depth about 2 m, algae are possible. Image credit: Frederik Spindler.

Permian Synapsid Had Hippopotamus-Like Semi-Aquatic Lifestyle

Aug 4, 2022 by Enrico de Lazaro

A new genus and species of caseid synapsid that lived 264 million years ago (Permian period) has been identified from a partial but well-preserved postcranial...

Life reconstruction of Agriarctos nikolovi. Image credit: Velizar Simeonovski.

Giant Panda’s Close Relative Lived in Europe as Recently as 5.5 Million Years Ago

Aug 1, 2022 by Enrico de Lazaro

Paleontologists in Bulgaria have described a new species of the panda genus Agriarctos, from two fossilized teeth dating to 5.5 million years ago. Life...

The 183-million-year-old fossilized skull of Pachycormus. Image credit: Dean Lomax.

Treasure Trove of Jurassic Fossils Discovered in England

Aug 1, 2022 by News Staff

Paleontologists have unearthed the fossilized remains of ancient fish, marine reptiles, squids, rare insects and more in a farmer’s field in Gloucestershire,...

An artist’s impression of Spinosaurus and a plesiosaur in a river. Image credit: Nick Longrich / University of Bath.

Some Plesiosaurs May Have Lived in Freshwater River Systems

Jul 29, 2022 by News Staff

Paleontologists have found several fossilized bones of plesiosaurs — traditionally thought to be sea creatures — in the Kem Kem beds, a 100-million-year-old...

Tyrannosaurus rex. Image credit: Mark Witton.

Study: Insufficient Evidence for Three Tyrannosaurus Species

Jul 25, 2022 by News Staff

In March 2022, College of Charleston’s Professor Scott Persons and colleagues suggested that Tyrannosaurus rex should be reclassified as three species:...

The wing bone of the Bannockburn swan (Notochen bannockburnensis). Scale bars - 20 mm. Image credit: Worthy et al., doi: 10.11646/zootaxa.5168.1.3.

Fossil of Ancient Swan Species Found in New Zealand

Jul 25, 2022 by Enrico de Lazaro

A new genus and species of anatid bird has been identified from a fossilized wing bone found in Central Otago, New Zealand. The wing bone of the Bannockburn...

A mammaliamorph breathing out hot hair in a frigid night, hinting at endothermy. Image credit: Luzia Soares.

Warm-Bloodedness Appeared in Mammalian Ancestors 233 Million Years Ago, Study Suggests

Jul 22, 2022 by News Staff

Among modern animals, only mammals and birds are warm-blooded, and the ability to keep ourselves warm has enabled mammals to survive in icy weather and...

Ausichicrinites zelenskyyi. Image credit: Salamon et al., doi: 10.1098/rsos.220345.

Feather Star from Jurassic Period Named after President Zelenskyy

Jul 21, 2022 by Natali Anderson

Ausichicrinites zelenskyyi, the first Jurassic comatulid (feather star) from the African continent, has been named in honor of Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the...

An artist’s reconstruction of Qikiqtania wakei (center) in the water with its larger cousin, Tiktaalik roseae. Image credit: Alex Boersma.

Devonian Four-Legged ‘Fishapod’ Unearthed in Canada

Jul 20, 2022 by News Staff

Qikiqtania wakei closely resembles Tiktaalik roseae — the important transitional animal considered a missing link between fish and the earliest limbed...

Holotype of Plukenetia minima adjacent to the encyrtid wasp Hambletonia dominicana in Dominican amber. Scale bar - 0.6 mm. Image credit: Poinar Jr., doi: 10.1080/08912963.2022.2086053.

30-Million-Year-Old Flower and Parasitic Wasp Found Encased in Dominican Amber

Jul 19, 2022 by News Staff

A paleontologist from Oregon State University has found a new species of flower together with a new parasitic wasp species in a piece of amber excavated...

Reconstruction of cranium and lower jaw of Marmorerpeton wakei. Image credit: Jones et al., doi: 10.1073/pnas.2114100119.

Fossils of New Salamander Species Found in Scotland

Jul 13, 2022 by News Staff

Paleontologists have described a new species of the enigmatic stem-salamander genus Marmorerpeton from the well-preserved fossils found on the Isle of...

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