Paleontology
- Paleontology
Oldest microfossils suggest life thrived on Earth about 4 billion years ago
A new claim for the oldest microfossils on Earth suggests that life may have originated in hydrothermal vents, but some scientists have doubts.
- Paleontology
Fossil shows that ancient reptile gave live birth
A new fossil shows that a prehistoric reptile may have given birth to live young, unlike its egg-laying descendants, birds and crocodiles.
- Life
Horses buck evolutionary ideas
Horse evolution doesn’t fit classic scenario of trait evolution.
- Paleontology
Pinhead-sized sea creature was a bag with a mouth
Dozens of tiny fossils discovered in 540-million-year-old limestone represent the earliest known deuterostomes, a diverse group of animals that includes humans and sea cucumbers.
- Animals
Endings make way for new beginnings for Earth and SN
Editor in chief Eva Emerson discusses major changes for life on Earth and at Science News.
- Paleontology
With dinosaurs out of the way, mammals had a chance to thrive
The animals that lived through the great extinction event had a range of survival strategies to get them through.
- Earth
Devastation detectives try to solve dinosaur disappearance
Dinosaurs and others faced massive losses 66 million years ago from an asteroid impact, volcanic eruptions or maybe a mix of the two.
- Paleontology
Bony head ornaments signal some supersized dinosaurs
Bony headwear, like bumps and horns, is tied to bigger bodies in the theropod dinosaur family tree.
- Paleontology
Ancient otter of unusual size unearthed in China
Fossils unearthed in China reveal a newly discovered, now-extinct species of otter that lived some 6.2 million years ago.
- Paleontology
Ancient giant otter unearthed in China
Fossils unearthed in China reveal a newly discovered, now-extinct species of otter that lived some 6.2 million years ago.
- Paleontology
Baby dinosaurs took three to six months to hatch
Growth lines on teeth indicate a surprisingly long incubation period.
- Earth
Coastal waters were an oxygen oasis 2.3 billion years ago
Coastal waters contained enough oxygen to support complex life-forms including some animals hundreds of millions of years before fossils of such life first appear.
