Paleontology
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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.
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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.
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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.
By Susan Milius -
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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
By Jack J. Lee -
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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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Paleontology
Spinosaurus fossil tail suggests dinosaurs were swimmers after all
Unique among known dinosaurs, Spinosaurus had a finlike tail, which the predator may have used to propel itself through the water.