Paleontology

More Stories in Paleontology

  1. Paleontology

    This spiky fossil shows what early mollusks looked like

    The fossil, plus 17 others from more than 500 million years ago, reveal that early mollusks were slug-like creatures with prickly armor.

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  2. Paleontology

    The asteroid that may have killed the dinosaurs came from beyond Jupiter

    The Chicxulub crater, left behind by the impact, contains elemental traces that suggest the origins of the notorious projectile.

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  3. Animals

    Komodo dragon teeth get their strength from an iron coat

    Studying the reptile’s ironclad teeth in more detail could help solve a dinosaur dental mystery.

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  4. Genetics

    Freeze-drying turned a woolly mammoth’s DNA into 3-D ‘chromoglass’

    A new technique for probing the 3-D structure of ancient DNA may help scientists learn how extinct animals functioned, not just what they looked like.

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  5. Paleontology

    Stunning trilobite fossils include soft tissues never seen before

    Well-preserved fossils from Morocco help paleontologists understand the weird way trilobites ate and perhaps why these iconic animals went extinct.

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  6. Paleontology

    The last woolly mammoths offer new clues to why the species went extinct

    The last population of woolly mammoths did not go extinct 4,000 years ago from inbreeding, a new analysis shows.

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  7. Paleontology

    Meet Lokiceratops, a newly discovered species of horned dinosaur

    Found in Montana’s badlands, Lokiceratops had two large, bladelike horns jutting forward and out from between its eyes.

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  8. Paleontology

    Early ants may have had complex social lives, fossil data suggests

    The earliest ants may have been primed for a highly social life — 100 million years ago, the insects had antennae tuned to key communication functions.

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  9. Paleontology

    ‘Echidnapus’ hints at a lost age of egg-laying mammals

    The fossil discoveries double the number of known monotreme species during the Cretaceous Period.

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