Paleontology

Credit: Photo by Dulcinea Groff Orono, Maine -- The Falkland Islands are a South Atlantic refuge for some of the world's most important seabird species, including five species of penguins, Great Shearwaters, and…

The origin of bird flight launched from a more complex evolutionary race than previously thoughtCredit: Image credit: Gabriel Ugueto. Despite having bat-like wings, two small dinosaurs, Yi and Ambopteryx, struggled to fly,…

Credit: José Antonio Peñas (SINC) Millions of years ago, several species of crocodiles of different genera and characteristics inhabited Europe and sometimes even coexisted. But among all these species, it was thought unlikely that…

New drill core shows a boom-bust landscape in the east African rift valley at a defining moment in human evolution, technology and cultureCredit: Human Origins Program, Smithsonian. For hundreds of thousands of years, early…

Credit: © Lunghammer - TU Graz How has the climate changed in the course of the earth's history? Which climatic processes have influenced the earth and its atmosphere? Paleoclimatology seeks answers to such questions in…

Credit: Virginia Tech Scientists don't yet know what caused the Triassic mass-extinction event -- one of the largest extinction events in the history of our planet -- 200 million years ago. Some scientists point to an asteroid strike;…

New study provides a comprehensive reconstruction of the Permian-Triassic boundary event Life on Earth has a long, but also an extremely turbulent history. On more than one occasion, the majority of all species became extinct and an…

Scientists show the unfolding of one of the largest mass extinctions in Earth's historyCredit: (PaleoFactory, Sapienza University of Rome) for Jurikova et al. (2020). Earth's history knows catastrophes which are unimaginable for…

Credit: Credit: Mike Benton, University of Bristol. Animal images are by Nobu Tamura, Wikimedia. Mammals and birds today are warm-blooded, and this is often taken as the reason for their great success. University of Bristol…

Of the six or more different species of early humans, all belonging to the genus Homo, only we Homo sapiens have managed to survive. Now, a study reported in the journal One Earth on October 15 combining climate modeling and the fossil…

Credit: Megan Jacobs, University of Portsmouth A new species of small pterosaur - similar in size to a turkey - has been discovered, which is unlike any other pterosaur seen before due to its long slender toothless beak. The…

Favourable climatic conditions influenced the sequence of settlement movements of Homo sapiens in the Levant on their way from Africa to Europe. In a first step, modern humans settled along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea. Only then…

Credit: Marta Szubert A team of scientists led from Uppsala University have described the earliest known example of dentary bone with two rows of cusps on molars and double-rooted teeth. The new findings offer insight into…

Credit: Graphics: Nuria Melisa Morales Garcia. Morganucodon based on Bob Nicholls/ Palaeocreations 2018 model Pioneering analysis of 200 million-year-old teeth belonging to the earliest mammals suggests they functioned like…

Credit: Mauricio Antón Three fossils found in a lignite mine in southeastern Yunan Province, China, are about 6.4 million years old, indicate monkeys existed in Asia at the same time as apes, and are probably the ancestors…

Credit: K-le Gomez. Scientists have found that as the world undergoes profound environmental change, identifying and protecting 'novel' communities of species can help prevent extinctions within vulnerable ecosystems. Professor…

International research team gains new insights into the evolution of fossil beetlesCredit: D. Peris & R. Kundrata et al. / Scientific Reports About a year ago, researchers found fossil specimens of beetles in an amber…

Some of the world's leading academics are discussing their work in a series of webinars organised by Durham University and the Chinese Academy of Sciences. The series, Knowledge Across Borders, will bring together researchers who are…

Ancient lizard's long, crocodile-like snout suggests it carved out a niche in a competitive marine ecosystem.Credit: Tatsuya Shinmura) A new species of an ancient marine reptile evolved to strike terror into the hearts of the…

Fossil records depict devastating effect of humans on birds in the BahamasCredit: (Kamella Boullé/Macaulay Library) Though some believe prehistoric humans lived in harmony with nature, a new analysis of fossils shows human arrival…