Paleontology

Although the asteroid strike that created Chicxulub crater in modern-day Mexico dramatically affected life on Earth, the fiery crash isn't the whole story of the fate of the dinosaurs.

We Still Don’t Know Why the Reign of the Dinosaurs Ended

The asteroid strike on the Yucatán Peninsula 66 million years ago is only part of the story

Early Mammals Were Thought to Be Small and Unseen in the Age of Dinosaurs. An Elephant-Sized Fossil Complicates That Story

At a time when proto-mammals and other creatures were getting smaller, this dicynodont bulked up with the thunder lizards

The marsupial lion (Thylacoleo carnifex) stalked Australian forests tens of thousands of years ago.

How a Changing Climate May Have Killed Off the Marsupial Lion

The fearsome predator, related to koalas and wombats, ruled the wilds of Australia until the loss of its habitat helped drive it to extinction

A figure representing the Kayentatherium babies found with an adult specimen. They are the only known fossils of babies from an extinct mammal relative that lived during the Early Jurassic.

Weasel-Like Fossils Reveal Evolutionary Clues of the First Mammals

A protomammal known as <i>Kayentatherium</i> was discovered with 38 babies in 185-million-year-old rock

Artist's rendition of Mirarce eatoni.

This Dino-Era Bird Was as Advanced as Modern Species. So Why Did It Disappear?

An enantiornithine fossil found in the western U.S. sat in storage for 25 years before it was officially described

The fossilized crania of three long-snouted cetaceans.

The Mystery of Ancient Dolphins’ Super-Long Snouts

A new study suggests the extinct cetaceans used their snouts to hit and stun prey, much as swordfish do

Ancient Ape Was Just the Size of a House Cat

12.5 million-year-old teeth found in Kenya belonged to a species that ate leaves, but was likely outcompeted by an explosion of monkeys

Assortment of bird eggs and a fossil theropod egg

Dinosaurs May Have Given Birds Their Colorful, Speckled Eggs

A new analysis of fossilized eggshells suggests diversely patterned eggs evolved much earlier than previously believed

Khoikhoi of South Africa dismantling their huts, preparing to move to new pastures—aquatint by Samuel Daniell (1805). Pastoralism has a rich history in Africa, spreading from the Saharan region to East Africa and then across the continent.

Ritual Cemeteries—For Cows and Then Humans—Plot Pastoralist Expansion Across Africa

As early herders spread across northern and then eastern Africa, the communities erected monumental graves which may have served as social gathering points

The 28 footprints capture an early reptile-like creature's unusual diagonal gait

The Grand Canyon’s Oldest Footprints Are 310 Million Years Old

Researcher Stephen Rowland says the creature that left the tracks was "doing a funny little side-walking step, line-dance kind of thing"

This Little Fish Was Nomming on Flesh 150 Million Years Ago

The Jurassic-era species found in southern Germany had jaws and teeth like a piranha and likely nipped off the fins of other fish

A Case of Mistaken Sea Monster Identity

Re-analysis of Kansas fossils show they come from a newborn Tylosaurus, which were born without their tell-tale toothy snouts

The Diplodocus dinosaurs were some of the largest to walk the planet.

Tiny Skull Illuminates the Lives of Giant Dinosaurs

The skull of a juvenile <i>Diplodocus</i> is one of the youngest of these dinosaurs ever found

Dynamoterror was about 30 feet long, hunting prey during the Late Cretaceous.

Newly Discovered Tyrant Dinosaur Stalked Ancient New Mexico

The <i>Dynamoterror</i>, a relative of <i>Tyrannosaurs rex</i>, lived millions of years before other known species of tyrannosaur

Comparison of Modern Human and Neanderthal skulls from the Cleveland Museum of Natural History.

Ancient Teeth With Neanderthal Features Reveal New Chapters of Human Evolution

The 450,000-year-old teeth, discovered on the Italian Peninsula, are helping anthropologists piece together the hominid family tree

New Fossil Dubbed 'Giant Thunderclap at Dawn' Shows How Big Dinos Went From Two Legs to Four

A new species discovered in South Africa shows how dinosaurs went from bipedal beasts to four-legged giants like brontosaurus

Researchers first discovered Dickinsonia fossils back in 1946.

The World's Earliest Known Animal May Have Been a Blob-Like Undersea Creature

Traces of fat found on a 558-million-year-old fossil suggest <em>Dickinsonia</em> was an animal rather than fungus, plant or single-celled protozoa

A photograph of the fossil turtle Eorhynchochelys sinensis, which lived about 228 million years ago and sported a beak but no shell.

Newly Discovered Turtle Ancestors Chomped With Beaks But Bore No Shells

A 228-million-year-old fossil fills gaps in the tale of turtle evolution—and raises a few questions

Two-horned Diceratherium rhinos

When Rhinos Once Roamed in Washington State

Road-tripping through prehistoric times on the West Coast

Caelestiventus hanseni.

Rare Desert Pterosaur Fossil Discovered in Utah

The rare Triassic fossil is the most complete early pterosaur ever found, and gives new insight into the evolution of the first flying vertebrates

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