Paleontology

An artist's rendering of a newly described species of flying reptile named Kunpengopterus antipollicatus. The Jurassic-era pterosaur may be the earliest animal known to possess opposable thumbs.

A Prehistoric Flying Creature Nicknamed 'Monkeydactyl' May Have Climbed Trees Using Opposable Thumbs

The newly described Jurassic pterosaur may be the oldest animal known to possess opposable thumbs

The largest pterosaurs had wingspans like small aircraft and longer necks than giraffes.

Unique Bone Structure Helped Long-Necked Pterosaurs Fly

Bicycle wheel-like spokes connected the vertebrae’s central column to its outer surface, offering serious strength

These polished stones collected in Wyoming may have been carried some 600 miles from Wisconsin inside the stomachs of sauropods.

Stones Hint at Possible 600-Mile Dinosaur Migration From Wisconsin to Wyoming

Some 150 million years ago, prehistoric plant-eaters may have carried the rocks in their bellies to aid digestion

An illustration of the ancient shark Edestus heinrichi preying on a fish. Many ancient sharks had different jaws than modern sharks.

These Prehistoric Sharks Had Jaws Shaped Like Circular Saws and Sawtoothed Scissors

CT scans and visualization tools are now allowing scientists to recreate the weird cartilaginous structures of ancient predators

A new study suggests the lush, hyper-diverse rainforests of South America were shaped by the asteroid impact that killed off the dinosaurs.

How the Dinosaur-Killing Asteroid Spurred the Evolution of the Modern Rainforest

New evidence from fossil plants shows today’s South American rainforests arose in the wake of Earth’s fifth mass extinction

The eagle shark's long, slender side fins are one of its "most striking features," says first author Romain Vullo.

Discovery of a 95-Million-Year-Old 'Eagle Shark' Fossil Makes Waves

The ancient creature likely used its six-foot-wide wingspan to move with 'underwater flight'

The recently recovered oviratorosaur fossil found in southern China is missing its skull and part of its vertebrae, but remarkably, the nest of 24 oval-shaped eggs were well-preserved.

For the First Time, Paleontologists Unearth Fossil of Non-Avian Dinosaur Incubating a Nest of Eggs

The find is the first evidence that oviraptorosaurs—also called 'egg thief lizards'—were nurturing to their young

Juveniles from species of massive carnivorous dinosaurs, such as Tyrannosaurus rex, may have out-competed species that would have otherwise succeeded as medium-sized adults, according to new research.

Why Medium-Sized Dinosaurs Are Often Missing From the Fossil Record

Study suggests huge carnivores like T. rex may have occupied the ecological roles of medium-sized predators as juveniles

Sauropodomorphs are a group of massive, long-necked dinosaurs that are the largest dinosaurs and land animals that ever lived, and later evolved into Brachiosaurus and Apatosaurus.

Climate Change May Have Aided Dinosaurs' Journey From South America to Greenland

A shift in CO2 levels millions of years ago made conditions on Earth milder, allowing herbivores, like sauropodomorphs, to migrate to Greenland

Steppe mammoths evolved shaggy coats over a million years ago, a trait inherited by woolly mammoths.

Oldest DNA Sequenced Yet Comes From Million-Year-Old Mammoths

Genetic material from three ancient molars reveals secrets of about how the Ice Age elephants evolved

Podokesaurus holyokensis, lived during the Mid-Jurassic period, 195-180 million years ago, in what is now Massachusetts and could sprint up to 9 to 12 MPH.

Meet Massachusetts' Official State Dinosaur

The 'swift-footed lizard' won 60 percent of 35,000 total online votes

An artist's rendering of a new species of mosasaur named Xenodens calminechari. The marine reptile was about the size of a porpoise and had serrated shark-like teeth.

Newly Discovered Marine Reptile Sawed Prey With Serrated Teeth

Researchers say the new species of mosasaur had teeth unlike those of any known reptile

The four-inch-long footprint happened to be in a rock at about the height of a four-year-old child's shoulder.

Four-Year-Old Lives Every Child's Dream and Discovers a Dinosaur Footprint

Found on a beach in Wales, the fossil is 220 million years old and shows the details of the muscles and joints in the reptile's foot

This is a giant spindle magnetofossil, created by a mysterious creature over 50 million years ago. So far, the iron fossils have only been found during two periods of intense global warming.

New Way to Study Magnetic Fossils Could Help Unearth Their Origins

Now that scientists can detect these fossils in geologic materials faster, they will be able to look for past evidence of the fossils more efficiently

This image diagrams the difference between human and chimpanzee models of thumb muscles, which the researchers used to study the evolution of thumb dexterity.

How Dexterous Thumbs May Have Helped Shape Evolution Two Million Years Ago

Fossils and biochemical models show tool-wielding hominins used their hands like we do today

The worms that burrowed in these tunnels may have been the ancestors of modern Bobbit worms, Eunice aphtoditois, and is the earliest known fossil of an ambush predator

Enormous Prehistoric Marine Worms' Lair Discovered Along Sea Floor

Trace fossils suggest that sand strikers drilled these underground tunnels

A paleontologist excavating a 98 million-year-old fossil which may belong to the largest land animal ever. Researchers first started unearthing the creatures remains in 2012 at the Candeleros Formation in the Neuquen River Valley, Argentina.

Dinosaur Unearthed in Argentina Could Be Largest Land Animal Ever

The skeleton is still far from complete but paleontologists say what they've found suggests the dinosaur may be more than 120 feet long

The fossil of Aphelicophontes danjuddi, a new genus and species of assassin bug, accompanied by the fossil of a small beetle

Ancient Insect Genitals Found in 50-Million-Year-Old Fossil

A newly discovered assassin bug features a well-preserved phallus the size of a grain of rice

An artist's illustration of two gray wolves (lower left) vying with a pack of dire wolves for a bison carcass near the tar pits in Rancho La Brea roughly 15,000 years ago.

Dire Wolves Weren't Actually Wolves, DNA Analysis Reveals

Ancient DNA extracted from fossils shows the beast split off from Canis lupus and coyotes nearly 6 million years ago

Researchers say some of this woolly rhino's internal organs may still be preserved.

Melting Russian Permafrost Yields New Woolly Rhino Specimen

Russian researchers say this may be the best-preserved woolly rhino ever found

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