Paleontology

Paleontology

Mammals started flying when birds did

The first gliding mammal winged through forests at least 70 million years earlier than scientists had previously presumed, a new fossil shows. The specimen dates from about 150 million years ago, during the time when birds were developing flight. ANCIENT GLIDER. Volaticotherium antiquus was gliding through ancient forests 150 million years ago. The creature weighed […]

Paleontology

Asian amber yields oldest known bee

A tiny chunk of amber from Southeast Asia contains the remains of a bee that's at least 35 million years older than any reported fossil of similar bees.

Paleontology

Early tetrapod likely ate on shore

The skull structure of Acanthostega, a semiaquatic creature that lived about 365 million years ago, suggests that the animal fed on shore or in the shallows, not in deep water.

Paleontology

Society sans frills

The discovery of the fossils of several young dinosaurs in one small space suggests that the members of one dinosaur group evolved complex social behaviors millions of years earlier than previously suspected.

Paleontology

DNA analysis reveals extinct type of wolf

New genetic analyses of the remains of gray wolves found in Alaska indicate that a distinct subpopulation of that species disappeared at the end of the last ice age, possibly because of its dietary habits.

Paleontology

Rodents tell a geologic tale

The sudden appearance of many new species of rodents in Chile about 18 million years ago may have marked the rise of the southern Andes.

Paleontology

Mastodons in Musth: Tusks may chronicle battles between males

Damage in the fossil tusks of male mastodons suggests that the creatures engaged in fierce combat with rival males at a certain time of year each year of their adult lives.

Paleontology

Flying with Their Legs: Hind feathers made primitive bird nimble

The earliest-known bird had feathers on its legs that may have provided lift for flight, improving its maneuverability.

Paleontology

Frozen rainforest

Fossils trapped in amber provide evidence that the Amazonian rainforest dates back 10 to 15 million years.

Paleontology

Bone Hunt

Science News reporter Sid Perkins recounts the trials and tribulations of digging for dinosaurs in central Montana.

Paleontology

New View: Method looks inside embryo fossils

Using an X-ray–scanning technique, scientists have taken a high-resolution peek inside fossilized embryos of some early multicellular organisms.

Paleontology

Rarity of fossils of young tyrannosaurs explained

Paleontologists have unearthed only a few juvenile tyrannosaurs, and a new study suggests why: A large percentage of these meat-eating dinosaurs, unlike many other creatures, survived into adulthood.