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Paleontologists

Nagatitan chaiyaphumensis was a long-necked, plant-eating dinosaur that lived in what is now Thailand between 100 million and 120 million years ago.

Cool Finds

A Man Spotted Strange-Looking Rocks Near a Pond in Thailand. They Turned Out to Be the Bones of a Massive New Dinosaur Species

Paleontologists have dubbed the long-necked, plant-eating creature “Nagatitan chaiyaphumensis.” It’s the 14th named dinosaur from Thailand, and it might be the biggest one ever found in Southeast Asia

Mountains in Montana’s Makoshika State Park, where some of the Hell Creek Formation lies.

250 Places to Celebrate America

The Hell Creek Formation Is North America’s Legendary Boneyard. See the Top Five Discoveries Found in the Iconic Fossil Bed

From preserved plants to T. rex, the material found in these Late Cretaceous rocks has resulted in countless breakthroughs for paleontologists

An artistic rendering of the successfully hunted straight-tusked elephant, which would have been an incredible source of food for Neanderthals

After Nearly 80 Years of Doubt, Scientists Say a Spear Lodged Between Elephant Ribs Offers Evidence That Neanderthals Hunted Big Game

In 1948, amateur archaeologists unearthed the remains, which should have shifted researchers’ views of Neanderthals. But poor documentation sowed skepticism in the scientific community

Two researchers wore goggles, snorkels and wet suits while exploring the underground stream.

These Snorkeling Scientists Stumbled Upon a Surprising Trove of Fossils in a Texas Water Cave

They found remains of animals that have never been uncovered in Central Texas. The fossils hint that the region was warm, moist and forested 100,000 years ago

Spinosaurus was the largest and most aquatic of the spinosaurs, a group of dinosaurs with crocodilian snouts.

Was Spinosaurus Really a ‘Hell Heron’? Digging Into the Star of Netflix’s ‘The Dinosaurs’

With an incredible sail and heavy bones that might have acted as ballast, Spinosaurus seems primed for snatching fish. The creature has long captivated the public, from its early mysteries to the recent discovery of a new species

When tickets went on sale for the “Pokémon Fossil Museum" exhibition, eager fans overwhelmed the Field Museum’s website.

This Museum Is Using Pokémon to Teach Visitors About Fossils. Fans Are Waiting for Hours to Snag Tickets

“Pokémon Fossil Museum” in Chicago compares “fossil Pokémon” from the popular franchise to the real-world creatures they’re based on

An artistic representation of Sonselasuchus cedrus, which may have lived in the forests in what is now Arizona around 215 million years ago

This Ancient Reptile Started Life on All Fours. As It Grew, It Stood Upright and Started Walking on Two Legs Instead

Scientists have identified a strange early crocodile relative that may have looked somewhat like a flightless bird

Spinosaurus mirabilis prowled around what is now Africa some 95 million years ago.

This Massive, Meat-Eating Dinosaur Was a ‘Hell Heron’ That Waded Into Shallow Waters to Nab Slippery Fish

Paleontologists unearthed a new species of Spinosaurus in the Sahara Desert in Niger, a discovery that adds to the debate over whether the prehistoric creatures were fully or semi-aquatic

Based on Andrewsarchus’ skull size and the skull-to-body-size ratios of other hoofed predators called mesonychids, scientists estimated in 1924 that the beast was more than 12 feet long and about 6 feet tall. Reassessments of Andrewsarchus’ evolutionary tree, however, suggest this estimate is inaccurate.

This Giant Carnivore Ran on Hooves. Scientists Are Investigating Its Massive Skull and Crushing Teeth to Decipher the Beast’s True Nature

For more than a century, paleontologists have been piecing together how the mysterious predator Andrewsarchus is related to other mammals, like the extinct “hell pigs” and “wolves with hooves”

Paleontologists have found early examples of theropods, the group that would eventually include tyrannosaurs. But precisely how another group of dinosaurs, known as the bird-hipped ornithischians, evolved remains a major question in paleontology.

An Asteroid Ended the Age of the Dinosaurs. But How Did Their Reign Begin? Mysterious Early Reptiles May Hold the Answer

Researchers are uncovering the evolutionary steps that set the stage for dinosaurs to rule the planet

The small dinosaur Patagonykus—one of an odd-looking group called alvarezsaurs—puzzled experts with its stout claws and bird-like bones.

Small, Stubby-Armed Dinosaurs Have Confounded Paleontologists. Are Answers Finally Within Reach?

Recent discoveries about an alvarezsaur called Manipulonyx have drawn renewed attention to this group of bird-like, clawed creatures and the mysteries around their anatomy and behavior

Paleontologists removed roughly 3,000 pounds of rocks and fossils from the site between mid-September and mid-October 2025.

Dinosaur National Monument Construction Work Turns Up New Fossils, Leading to the First Excavation at One Site in More Than a Century

Recent digs revealed roughly 20 feet of a long-necked dinosaur’s skeleton, and paleontologists suspect even more bones are lurking underground

Tyrannosaurus rex probably wasn't full-grown until around age 40, new research suggests.

Tyrannosaurus Rex Was Probably a Late Bloomer—and May Have Taken Around 40 Years to Grow Up

The behemoth dinosaurs grew more slowly and had longer life spans than previously thought, a new study suggests

Shovel-tusked elephants like Amebelodon were discovered nearly a century ago, and paleontologists have learned more about their anatomy and behavior with time. This 1932 illustration was later found to be inaccurate, as Amebelodon actually had a longer and narrower trunk.

Strange, Shovel-Tusked Elephants Puzzled Paleontologists, Until Experts Took a Closer Look at Their Teeth

The animals’ extended lower jaws were seemingly made for scooping, but research over the past few decades has found they could do a lot more than initially expected

An illustration of a member of the Prototaxites genus, which lived between 420 million and 375 million years ago

This Mysterious 407-Million-Year-Old Fossil May Represent a Previously Unknown Branch of Life

Earth’s first large land organisms—tree trunk-like beings that stood up to 26 feet tall—weren’t early fungi but, rather, something else entirely, a study suggests

A reconstruction of what Manipulonyx reshetovi may have looked like

This Dinosaur May Have Used Its Strange Clawed Hands to Pilfer and Pierce Eggs

A fresh analysis of a fossil found almost 50 years ago reveals a newly described genus named for its “manipulating claw”

Strange fossils reveal that predatory fish with a wide array of dental setups once stalked prehistoric waters.

Sharklike Fish With Weird, Buzz-Saw Jaws Sliced Through the Seas, Then Vanished. Now, Paleontologists Are Unraveling Their Secrets

These “total monsters of fishes” are extinct today, though new clues about their lives come from CT scans and their closest living relatives: the big-eyed ratfish of the deep sea

Newly discovered species filled gaps in dinosaur evolution and shed light on historic migrations, while other studies offered new ways to date remains and made key insights about diets.

The Top Ten Dinosaur Discoveries of 2025, From Preserved Blood Vessels to the Return of a Short King

With studies of fossilized bones, gut contents, eggshells and more, paleontologists revealed new and captivating details about the enormous reptiles that once roamed the Earth

Each strand of yarn traces the tracks that make up an ancient trackway.

This Site in Bolivia Boasts 16,600 Exposed Dinosaur Footprints—The Most Ever Found in One Location

Paleontologists counted the record-setting tracks and uncovered evidence of dinosaurs swimming and dragging their tails along what was a muddy superhighway for the animals millions of years ago

Scientists have identified a new species of non-biting midge—a type of small fly—from 151-million-year-old specimens discovered by an amateur fossil hunter.

This Amateur Fossil Hunter Discovered a 151-Million-Year-Old Insect—and It’s a New Species

Retired teacher Robert Beattie, now 82, has been digging up remnants of the past ever since he was a child

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