Paleontology News

Ancient DNA Shakes Up Horse Family Tree

Dec 3, 2017 by News Staff

An analysis of mitochondrial and nuclear DNA from fossils of extinct New World stilt-legged horses reveals that, contrary to previous findings, these enigmatic animals actually belonged outside of the horse genus Equus. This illustration depicts a family of New World stilt-legged horses (Haringtonhippus francisci) in Yukon, Canada, during the last Ice Age. Image credit: Jorge Blanco. “The horse family, thanks to its rich and deep fossil record,...

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Colony of Hamipterus tianshanensis. Image credit: Chuang Zhao.

Paleontologists Find Cache of 215 Pterosaur Eggs in China

Dec 1, 2017 by News Staff

An international team of paleontologists has discovered a fossil-rich site with more than 200 fossilized eggs of the Cretaceous pterosaur species Hamipterus...

A new depiction of Anchiornis and its contour feather. Image credit: Rebecca Gelernter.

Feathered, Bird-Like Dinosaur Anchiornis Was Even Fluffier than We Thought

Nov 30, 2017 by News Staff

A study published this week in the journal Palaeontology has revealed new details about feathers of the chicken-sized, feathered, bird-like dinosaur Anchiornis. A...

The 110-step trackway represents a new ichnospecies, Brontopodus plagnensis, and extends over 508 feet -- a world record for sauropods, which were the largest of the dinosaurs. Image credit: P. Dumas.

World’s Longest Sauropod Trackway Found in France

Nov 16, 2017 by Enrico de Lazaro

The trackway of a plant-eating sauropod dinosaur has been excavated in the Jura Mountains, France. This 508-foot (155 m) line of footsteps is the longest...

Dr. Erik Gulbranson working in Antarctica. Image credit: Peter Rejcek, NSF.

Researchers Find 260-Million-Year-Old Fossil Trees in Antarctica

Nov 15, 2017 by News Staff

A research team led by University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee paleoecologist Erik Gulbranson has found the fossil remnants of a Permian-age forest on the frozen...

Artist’s impression of a lagoon at dusk with Durlstodon ensomi (left foreground), Durlstotherium newmani (right and center foreground) and the theropod Nuthetes holding a captured Durlstotherium newmani (center middle distance). Image credit: Mark Witton.

Paleontologists Discover Two Mammals from Early Cretaceous Epoch

Nov 8, 2017 by Enrico de Lazaro

A group of paleontologists from the University of Portsmouth has discovered two new species of mammals that lived 145 million years ago in what is now...

Early mammal. Image credit: Carl Buell.

Nocturnal Mammal Ancestors Switched to Daytime Activity after Extinction of Non-Avian Dinosaurs

Nov 7, 2017 by News Staff

A long-standing theory holds that the common ancestor to all mammals was nocturnal, but new research from Tel Aviv University (TAU) and University College...

The woolly mammoth (Mammuthus primigenius) at the Royal BC Museum, Victoria, British Columbia. Image credit: Tracy O / CC BY-SA 2.0.

Study: Male Woolly Mammoths More Often Fell into Natural Traps

Nov 6, 2017 by News Staff

An international team of researchers led by the Swedish Museum of Natural History has discovered that fossilized remains of woolly mammoths (Mammuthus...

Reconstruction of the head of an adult female Decennatherium rex. Image credit: Oscar Sanisidro / Anja Cocoparisienne / Sci-News.com.

Ancient Giraffe Relative Once Roamed Iberian Peninsula

Nov 3, 2017 by Enrico de Lazaro

A new large species of giraffid being named Decennatherium rex has been discovered by Dr. Maria Rios from the National Museum of Natural History of Spain...

Artist’s impression of Matheronodon provincialis. Image credit: Lukas Panzarin.

New Herbivorous Dinosaur Species Discovered: Matheronodon provincialis

Oct 31, 2017 by Natali Anderson

A new species of rhabdodontid dinosaur, named Matheronodon provincialis, has been discovered in southern France. Artist’s impression of Matheronodon...

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

Unique Ichthyosaur Fossil Discovered in India

Oct 27, 2017 by News Staff

According to a new study released this week, a fossil found in the Indian state of Gujarat represents the first nearly complete skeleton of an ichthyosaur...

An artistic interpretation of Sinosauropteryx prima in the likely open habitat in which it lived 125 million years ago in the Early Cretaceous epoch. Image credit: Robert Nicholls.

Early Cretaceous Feathered Dinosaur Had ‘Bandit Mask’ and Striped Tail

Oct 27, 2017 by News Staff

University of Bristol paleontologists and natural history artist Robert Nicholls have revealed how Sinosauropteryx prima — a small theropod dinosaur...

Xinicaulis lignescens. The largest silicified trunk in the field, with a maximum diameter of 70 cm: oblique transverse (left) and lateral (right) views. The trunk is about 1 m long in preserved length. Image credit: Xu et al, doi: 10.1073/pnas.1708241114.

374-Million-Year-Old Tree Trunks Reveal Unique Growth Strategy

Oct 26, 2017 by News Staff

Massive, exceptionally well-preserved cladoxylopsid tree trunks found in Xinjiang, China, have revealed an interconnected web of woody strands (xylem)...

Dr. Knoll lies next to the exceptionally large carnivorous dinosaur footprints found in Lesotho. Image credit: Fabien Knoll.

Footprints of Megatheropod Dinosaur Found in Lesotho

Oct 26, 2017 by News Staff

Footprints of a previously unknown, very large carnivorous dinosaur have been found on an ancient land surface — known as a palaeosurface —...

Smilodon populator. Image credit: Rom-diz / CC BY-SA 3.0.

Ancient Mitochondrial DNA Sheds Light on Evolutionary History of Saber-Toothed Cats

Oct 20, 2017 by Enrico de Lazaro

An international team of researchers has used advanced DNA sequencing methods to retrieve and analyze mitochondrial genome data from two lineages of saber-toothed...

Tasbacka danica. Image credit: Johan Lindgren.

54-Million-Year-Old Sea Turtle Hatchling Reveals Ancient Sun Protection

Oct 17, 2017 by News Staff

An international team of paleontologists from the United States, Sweden, and Japan has retrieved original pigment, beta-keratin and muscle proteins from...

Pakakali rukwaensis: Paleontologists Discover New Carnivore from Oligocene Epoch

Oct 12, 2017 by Natali Anderson

An international team of paleontologists from the United States, Australia and Tanzania has discovered a new species of hyaenodont that lived 25 million...

Ieldraan melkshamensis -- nicknamed the Melksham Monster after the town where it was unearthed -- closely resembled the species shown in this artist’s impression (Plesiosuchus manselii), which also belongs to the Geosaurini group. Image credit: Fabio Manucci.

Paleontologists Identify New Species of Prehistoric Marine Crocodile: Ieldraan melkshamensis

Oct 6, 2017 by Enrico de Lazaro

A new species of marine reptile that lived about 163 million years ago (Middle Jurassic epoch) has been identified from a fossil found near Melksham, Wiltshire,...

Reconstruction of a newborn Ichthyosaurus communis. Image credit: Julian Kiely.

Newborn Ichthyosaur Reveals Its Last Meal

Oct 4, 2017 by News Staff

A team of paleontologists in the UK has identified the smallest and youngest specimen of the ichthyosaur Ichthyosaurus communis on record, and found the...

Paranthropus boisei. Image credit: © Roman Yevseyev.

‘Nutcracker Man’ Gave Us Genital Herpes, Study Says

Oct 3, 2017 by News Staff

New research from the University of Cambridge and Oxford Brookes University predicts which species acted as an intermediary between the ancestors of Homo...

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