News Paleontology

An ancient swimming revolution in the oceans may have never happened

Fossil analysis suggests the rise of creatures that could swim was gradual, not sudden

Dunkleosteus

STRONG SWIMMER  The armored, jawed fish Dunkleosteus was a top ocean predator around 380 million to 360 million years ago, during the late Devonian Period. 

AKKHARAT JARUSILAWONG/Shutterstock

By Carolyn Gramling

This article is only available to Science News subscribers.

Subscribers, enter your e-mail address to access our archives.

Not a subscriber?

Science News is a nonprofit.

Support us by subscribing now.

More Stories from Science News on Paleontology

  1. megalodon shark jaws
    Paleontology

    Newborn megalodon sharks were larger than most adult humans

    By Carolyn Gramling
  2. illustration of a long-necked dinosaur leaning down to drink from a river
    Paleontology

    How massive long-necked dinosaurs rose to rule the Jurassic herbivores

    By Carolyn Gramling
  3. ancient amphibian skull
    Life

    An ancient amphibian is the oldest known animal with a slingshot tongue

    By Carolyn Gramling
  4. ancient North American and South American animals
    Paleontology

    Why South America’s ancient mammals may have lost out to northern counterparts

    By Jake Buehler
  5. Ice Age woman carrying a toddler illustration
    Humans

    The longest trail of fossilized human footprints hints at a risky Ice Age trek

    By Aayushi Pratap
  6. Ambopteryx longibrachium
    Paleontology

    Bat-winged dinosaurs were clumsy fliers

    By Carolyn Gramling
  7. Megalodon shark illustration
    Paleontology

    Cannibalism in the womb may have helped megalodon sharks become giants

    By Carolyn Gramling
  8. Ancient ostracod species mating
    Animals

    A tiny crustacean fossil contains roughly 100-million-year-old giant sperm

    By Curtis Segarra

From the Nature Index

Paid Content