Paleontology

  1. Paleontology

    Preserved pterosaur eggs hint at reptile’s social life

    The first 3-D pterosaur eggs, which were found in China, suggest that the flying reptiles laid eggs together.

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  2. Paleontology

    Age and origin of Earth’s early fossils questioned

    Some of Earth's earliest trace fossils may not be fossils at all, a new study argues.

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  3. Paleontology

    Fragments of long-bodied dino found in Argentina

    Named Leinkupal laticauda, the new species dino probably lived into the early Cretaceous period, which began roughly 145 million years ago.

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  4. Paleontology

    Giant 17-million-year-old fossil sperm found

    Giant sperm have been found in 17-million-year-old fossilized mussel shrimp. The specimens, collected in Queensland, Australia, sport the oldest petrified sex cells on record.

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  5. Paleontology

    Asteroid strike spurred quick chill that led to dinosaurs’ demise

    After an asteroid struck Earth 66 million years ago, ocean temperatures fell 2 degrees Celsius, leading to mass extinction of dinosaurs and other life.

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  6. Paleontology

    Oldest true dolphin species gets a new name

    A dolphin species first described in the 1970s has gotten a new name but still retains the title of oldest true dolphin species identified to date.

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  7. Paleontology

    Dinosaurs could take tough breaks

    Meat-eating dinosaurs may have survived some extremely bad bone breaks, according to detailed chemical maps of the fossils.

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  8. Paleontology

    Loblolly sets record for biggest genome

    At 20 billion base pairs, the loblolly pine is the largest genome sequenced to date.

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  9. Paleontology

    ‘Hidden dragon’ fossil is oldest flying reptile

    Researchers have unearthed the oldest pterodactyl ever discovered: Kptodrakon progenitor soared over the Earth 163 million years ago.

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  10. Animals

    Little thylacine had a big bite

    A reconstruction of the skull of a thylacine, an extinct, fox-sized Australian marsupial, reveals that the animal could have eaten prey much larger than itself.

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  11. Paleontology

    Early meat-eater may have led to larger plant-eaters

    The newly identified Eocasea martini may have set the stage for later, much larger animals to become plant-eaters.

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  12. Paleontology

    Fish gill fossils gnaw at ideas of jaw evolution

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