Paleontology

Paleontology

Bat-winged dinosaurs were clumsy fliers

The two known species of bat-winged dinosaurs were a dead end when it comes to the evolution of bird flight, a new study finds.

Paleontology

Cannibalism in the womb may have helped megalodon sharks become giants

The ancient sea terror Otodus megalodon may have grown to at least 14 meters long thanks to a firstborn pup’s predatory behavior, some researchers say.

Animals

A tiny crustacean fossil contains roughly 100-million-year-old giant sperm

Giant sperm preserved in an ancient ostracod may be the oldest known sperm fossil, showing that giant sperm have existed at least 100 million years.

Paleontology

Ancient Lystrosaurus tusks may show the oldest signs of a hibernation-like state

Oddball ancestors of mammals called Lystrosaurus might have slowed way down during polar winters.

Paleontology

This ichthyosaur died after devouring a creature nearly as long as itself

Ichthyosaurs, marine reptiles generally thought to munch on soft prey like cephalopods, may have chowed down on fellow big marine reptiles, too.

Paleontology

An ancient skull hints crocodiles swam from Africa to the Americas

A group of crocs, or at least one pregnant female, may have made a transatlantic journey millions of years ago to colonize new land.

Paleontology

This dinosaur may have shed its feathers like modern songbirds

One of the earliest flying dinosaurs, the four-winged Microraptor, may have molted just a bit at a time so that it could fly year-round.

Paleontology

Fossil discoveries suggest the earliest dinosaurs laid soft-shelled eggs

Finding soft-shelled dinosaur eggs in the fossil record for the first time has scientists rethinking how dinosaur eggs evolved.

Life

Fossil footprints show some crocodile ancestors walked on two legs

The 106-million-year-old tracks suggest that other puzzling nearby fossils were also likely made by a bipedal croc ancestor, not a giant pterosaur.

Life

These tube-shaped creatures may be the earliest known parasites

Fossils from over 500 million years ago might be the first known example of parasitism in the fossil record, though the evidence isn’t conclusive.

Paleontology

Saber-toothed anchovy relatives hunted in the sea 50 million years ago

Unlike today’s plankton-eating anchovies with tiny teeth, ancient anchovy kin had lower jaw of sharp spikes paired with a single giant sabertooth.

Paleontology

A ‘crazy beast’ from the time of dinosaurs belongs to an obscure mammal group

Paleontologists have finally matched a bizarre fossil, Adalatherium hui, to an obscure group of ancient mammals called gondwanatherians.