Paleontology

Paleontology

Remains may be an evolutionary relic

Fossils recently found in southwestern China may be of a lineage that originated long before the Cambrian explosion of biodiversity, when most major groups of animals first appeared in the fossil record.

Paleontology

Dinosaur neck size reaches new extreme

Scientists have unearthed remains of a massive, plant-eating dinosaur whose neck may have been twice as long as its body.

Paleontology

Out of the Shadows

An ongoing flurry of fossil finds is triggering a reevaluation of how early mammals and their close kin eked out an existence during the Age of Dinosaurs.

Paleontology

Ancestor of Kings: Early progenitor of T. rex had a crest

Paleontologists have unearthed remains of the oldest known dinosaur of the tyrannosaur clan.

Paleontology

First Steps

Using materials as diverse as lobster eggs, dead birds, and the headless carcass of a rhinoceros, scientists are conducting experiments that scrutinize the first steps of the fossilization process.

Paleontology

Mammoth Findings: Asian elephant is closest living kin

DNA studies suggest that the woolly mammoth is more closely related to the Asian elephant than to the African elephant.

Paleontology

New View: Fossil offers novel look at an ancient bird

A newly described specimen of an ancient creature that most scientists consider the oldest known bird is posed in a way that provides new viewing angles for several body features.

Paleontology

Ancient Grazers: Find adds grass to dinosaur menu

Analyses of fossilized dinosaur feces in India reveal the remains of at least five types of grasses, a surprising finding that's the first evidence of grass-eating dinosaurs and an indication that grasses diversified much earlier than previously recognized.

Paleontology

Big bird terrorized South America

Researchers in Argentina have discovered fossils that may represent the heftiest flightless bird to ever have roamed the planet.

Paleontology

Tusk analyses suggest weaning took years

Changes in the proportions of various chemical isotopes deposited in mammoth tusks as they grew have enabled scientists to estimate how long it took juvenile mammoths to become fully weaned.

Paleontology

Mmmm, that’s crunchy

Isotopic analyses of the teeth of otters and mongooses from Africa have led one paleontologist to suggest that some of humanity's ancient kin shared those modern animals' preference for shelled prey such as freshwater crabs and snails.

Paleontology

Caribbean Extinctions: Climate change probably wasn’t the culprit

Remains of extinct sloths unearthed in Cuba and Haiti indicate that the creatures persisted in Caribbean enclaves until about 4,200 years ago, a finding that almost absolves climate change following the last ice age as a cause for the die-offs.