Fossils

The skull of the 1.77-million-year-old Stephanorhinus rhino.

1.7-Million-Year-Old Rhino Tooth Provides Oldest Genetic Information Ever Studied

Researchers read the proteins preserved in the tooth enamel of an ancient rhino, a trick that may allow them to sequence fossils millions of years old

Massive 'Ice Dragon' Ruled the Skies Above Ancient Alberta

The newly described pterosaur with a wingspan over 30-feet was one of the largest flying creatures to ever exist

Images and measurements of the fossil beetle that revealed it was a different kind of beetle than originally thought.

Fossil Mix-Up Could Rewrite the History of Beetles, the Largest Group of Animals on Earth

The reclassification of a 226-million-year-old beetle species could change our understanding of insect evolution

Leatherback sea turtle hatchlings rush toward the water

Baby Sea Turtles’ Fossilized Tracks Found in South Africa

Researchers recorded trackways left by relatives of modern loggerhead and leatherback turtles

By comparing the skulls of extinct dinosaurs to those of living relatives, such as crocodiles and wild turkeys, researchers have conclude that the prehistoric beasts had sophisticated thermoregulation systems in their skulls.

Special Skull Windows Helped Dinosaur Brains Keep Cool

Dinosaur skulls had many cavities and openings, some of which may have held blood vessels to help cool off the animals' heads

Using heavy picks, Smithsonian researchers in 1923 worked on excavations in Dinosaur National Monument on the border of Colorado and Utah.

How to Discover Dinosaurs

Smithsonian paleontologist Hans Sues reveals some of his tips for finding and excavating a Mesozoic monster

In a fit of pique, according to one of Aesop's fables, the god Hermes made the animal carry its house forever on its back.

How the Turtle Got Its Shell, With Apologies to Aesop

Smithsonian paleontologist Hans Sues unpacks the complicated evolution of how this creature grew a home upon its back

Europe's cave bear population started crashing around 40,000 years ago—roughly the time period when modern humans arrived on the continent

Ice Age Humans Likely Played Major Role in Cave Bears’ Extinction

Researchers have long debated whether human activity or climate change precipitated the species' demise

A Human-Sized Penguin Once Waddled Through New Zealand

The leg bones of Crossvallia waiparensis suggest it was more than five feet tall and weighed up to 176 pounds

Scientists think gigantic crinoids would cling to logs with anchor-like stems, creating a floating raft that likely supported a host of other species and enabled their long-distance transport across Jurassic seas.

Ancient Sea Life May Have Hitched Across Oceans on Giant Living Rafts

Enormous crinoids of the Jurassic era, related to sea stars and sea urchins, could have carried whole ecosystems around the world

Fossil Trees Reveal the Oldest Known Forest in Asia

The grove of lycopsid trees is 365 million years old and covers 2.7 million square feet

Reconstruction of the giant parrot Heracles, with small New Zealand wrens for scale.

This Chonky Ancient Bird Is the World’s Largest Known Parrot

Discovered in New Zealand, the bird has been dubbed ‘Squawkzilla’

Saber-toothed cats likely ambushed plant-eating prey in forests, not open grassland

Fossils Reveal Why Coyotes Outlived Saber-Toothed Cats

Contrary to popular belief, carnivorous cats and canines probably didn't hunt the same limited pool of prey

Ginkgo has survived three mass extinctions, including the one that killed the dinosaurs.

Smithsonian Scientists Are Using Ginkgo Leaves to Study Climate Change—They Need Your Help

Citizen scientists can submit leaf samples from their hometowns through the end of August

Ngwevu intloko skull

After 30 Years, a South African Dinosaur Is Identified as a New Species

The fossil, held for decades at the University of Witwatersrand, was previously thought to belong to the most common dinosaur species in South Africa

Opalised fossils from Lightning Ridge, N.S.W, Australia. From the collection of the Australian Opal Center. Clockwise from top left: freshwater snail; plesiosaur tooth; crocodile tooth; pine cone; pelvis bone of ornithopod dinosaur. Donated through the Australian Government’s Cultural Gifts Program by (respectively) Down to Earth Opals, Timothy Seekamp, Stephen Turner and Michael Poben.

Scientists and Miners Team Up to Preserve Opalized Fossils

An ambitious collaboration between paleontologists and a local mining community seeks to conserve the rare fossilized remains

A reconstruction of Cambroraster falcatus, a large predator arthropod of the Cambrian Period.

Prehistoric Ocean Predator Resembles a Large and Vicious Horseshoe Crab

“Prey would have been sucked into the circular mouth and shredded by the multiple rows of large teeth”

An artist's recreation of Hylonomus lyelli, a tiny reptile that lived more than 300 million years ago.

Tiny Animals Trapped in Fossil Trees Help Reveal How Fauna Moved Onto Land

New ancient animals will likely be discovered in 310 million-year-old fossilized trees in Nova Scotia

Hesperornithoides miessleri was a feathered dinosaur with many features we now associate with birds.

Discovery of Raptor-Like Dinosaur Adds a New Wrinkle to the Origin of Birds

A small, 150 million-year-old dinosaur unearthed in Wyoming ran on the ground, but it may have been closely related to some of the first fliers

Melanosomes linked with blue feathers are much longer than they are wide

Scientists Identify Blue Hues in Fossilized Bird Feathers for the First Time

A new study shows how the shapes of tiny pigment-carrying structures called melanosomes are associated with different colors

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