Paleontology News

The end-Cretaceous mass extinction was marked by both the Chicxulub asteroid impact and the ongoing eruptions of the Deccan Traps volcanoes.

Fungi Bloomed Twice around End-Cretaceous Mass Extinction

May 28, 2026 by News Staff

By studying fungal microfossils in 66-million-year-old rock samples from the Denver Basin in Colorado, Johns Hopkins University microbiologists have confirmed...

Plumadraco bankoorum is a new bohaiornithid enantiornithine bird with a pair of exceptionally long rectrices. Image credit: Ville Sinkkonen.

Cretaceous Bird from China Had Pair of Tail Feathers Twice as Long as Its Body

May 28, 2026 by News Staff

Named Plumadraco bankoorum, the newly-described species of enantiornithine bird lived in what is now northeastern China during the Cretaceous period, roughly...

Labrujasuchus expectatus navigated the world on two legs with tiny arms and a toothless mouth tipped in a beak. Image credit: Jorge Gonzalez / NHMLAC Dinosaur Institute.

Toothless, Bipedal Crocodile Relative Lived in New Mexico 212 Million Years Ago

May 27, 2026 by Enrico de Lazaro

Paleontologists have described a new species of bipedal shuvosaurid archosaur from New Mexico, shedding light on a group of creatures that roamed North...

Fossil eukaryotes from Northern Territory, Australia. Image credit: Lechte et al., doi: 10.1038/s41586-026-10533-4.

Study: Early Complex Life Forms Were Bottom-Dwellers

May 27, 2026 by News Staff

Analyzing 1.75-billion-year-old microfossils from ancient Australian seabeds, paleontologists say ancient eukaryotes — the ancestors of every plant,...

Life restoration of Quipalong henanesnsis, an ornithomimosaurian dinosaur that lived in what is now China during the Maastrichtian age of the Late Cretaceous, between 72 and 67 million years ago. Image credit: PaleoNeolitic / Sci.News.

Rare Ostrich-Like Dinosaur Fossil Found on Canadian Island

May 25, 2026 by Enrico de Lazaro

Paleontologists in Canada say they have recovered a dinosaur tail vertebra from 75- to 80-million-year-old marine rocks on a small island off the coast...

Paleoartistic reconstruction of Acutodon villeveyracensis, the oldest known member of the pan-shinisaur lineage ever found in Europe. Image credit: Olivier Jansen.

83-Million-Year-Old Crocodile Lizard Fossil Unearthed in France

May 22, 2026 by Enrico de Lazaro

Paleontologists have identified a new genus and species of pan-shinisaur lizard from a partial upper jaw discovered in southern France, pushing the presence...

Life reconstruction of Tylosaurus rex in the Cretaceous-era Western Interior Seaway of North America. Image credit: Alderon Games / Path of Titans.

‘T. rex’ Mosasaur Ruled the Seas 80 Million Years Ago

May 21, 2026 by News Staff

Paleontologists have described a gigantic new species of mosasaur — stretching up to 13.2 m (43 feet) long and armed with serrated teeth —...

Lim et al. demonstrate that stromatolites -- the oldest fossil evidence of oxygen-producing microbial life on early Earth -- could have developed within impact craters, based on a detailed investigation of stromatolites and lake sediments in the Hapcheon impact crater, South Korea. Image credit: Lim et al., doi: 10.1038/s43247-026-03206-7.

Ancient Crater Lakes May Have Provided Ideal Conditions for Earth’s Earliest Oxygen-Breathing Life

May 20, 2026 by News Staff

Researchers have discovered stromatolites — layered structures formed by microbial communities — inside a 42,000-year-old asteroid crater in...

A reconstruction of the Late Cretaceous paleoenvironment of Alaska. Image credit: James Havens.

Before Dinosaur Extinction, Rodent-Like Mammals were Already Flourishing in Ancient Arctic

May 20, 2026 by News Staff

Paleontologists have described three previously unknown species of multituberculate mammals — named Camurodon borealis, Qayaqgruk peregrinus, and...

Life reconstruction of Tyrannosaurus mcraeensis. Image credit: Sergey Krasovskiy.

Mystery of Tyrannosaurus rex’s Tiny Arms May Finally Have an Answer

May 20, 2026 by News Staff

Paleontologists from University College London and the University of Cambridge say the large predatory dinosaurs’ tiny arms evolved alongside massive...

The holotype specimen of Laueropterus vitriolus seen under natural light. Image credit: D.W.E. Hone, doi: 10.7717/peerj.21204.

New Jurassic Pterosaur Unearthed in Germany

May 19, 2026 by Enrico de Lazaro

Paleontologists have described a new genus and species of early monofenestratan pterosaur based on a nearly complete and well-preserved fossil skeleton...

Bistahieversor sealeyi hunting Pentaceratops sternbergii. Image credit: A. Belov / CC BY 3.0.

Giant Tyrannosaur Fossil Found in New Mexico

May 15, 2026 by Enrico de Lazaro

A large tyrannosaurid dinosaur may have stalked the floodplains of what is now New Mexico nearly 74 million years ago, according to a team of paleontologists...

Stylized life reconstruction of Nagatitan chaiyaphumensis within the arid floodplains of Late Early Cretaceous Aptian-Albian Thailand. Image credit: Patchanop Boonsai.

Giant New Dinosaur Species Discovered in Thailand Reveals Hidden Diversity of Asian Titans

May 14, 2026 by Enrico de Lazaro

Paleontologists have identified a new genus and species of somphospondylan titanosauriform dinosaur — the largest ever found in Southeast Asia —...

An artist’s interpretation of mammals that lived during the Ice Age: fossils from similar species of an armadillo-like pampathere (bottom left) and giant ground sloth (background) were among those found in a Texas water cave. Image credit: Jaime Chirinos.

Paleontologists Find Lost Ice Age World in Flooded Texas Cave

May 13, 2026 by News Staff

Fossils of a giant tortoise, a ground sloth, a lion-sized armadillo relative called pampathere, scimitar-toothed cats, horses, camels and mastodons found...

Chen et al. constructed a comprehensive genomic dataset of 470 flowering plant species and dated 132 ancient whole-genome duplication (WGD) events that are non-randomly distributed, revealing a clustering around pivotal periods of environmental upheaval and extinction. Image credit: Chen et al., doi: 10.1016/j.cell.2026.04.008.

Duplicated Genomes Helped Flowering Plants Survive End-Cretaceous Mass Extinction

May 12, 2026 by News Staff

A new analysis of 470 flowering plant species finds that whole-genome duplication surged precisely during Earth’s violent environmental crises, suggesting...

Reconstruction of Bicharracosaurus dionidei. Image credit: Felipe Cutro-Lev.

New Species of Giant Long-Necked Dinosaur Identified in Argentina

May 11, 2026 by Enrico de Lazaro

Fossils unearthed on a remote Argentine ranch belong to a new genus and species of macronarian sauropod dinosaur, according to an international team of...

An artist’s reconstruction of adult Maiasaura and young. Image credit: Brian Regal.

Dinosaurs May Have Fed Their Young a Special Diet, Study Suggests

May 11, 2026 by News Staff

An analysis of wear on the fossilized teeth of the hadrosaurian dinosaur Maiasaura peeblesorum indicates their juveniles may have eaten softer, more nutritious...

Reconstruction of Archaeopteryx in its habitat. Image credit: Field Museum / NICE PaleoVisLab Studio / Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology.

Paleontologists Reconstruct Ecology of Archaeopteryx

May 8, 2026 by Natali Anderson

A comprehensive new review by Field Museum of Natural History paleontologists draws together the latest fossil evidence — including analysis of five...

Reconstruction of Phascolarctos sulcomaxilliaris. Image credit: Nellie Pease.

New Species of Fossil Koala Found in Museum Drawer

May 6, 2026 by Enrico de Lazaro

Long-overlooked fossils in the Western Australian Museum collection have been identified as a new species of koala. Named Phascolarctos sulcomaxilliaris,...