Paleontology
Zombifying fungi have been infecting insects for 99 million years
Two bits of amber discovered in a lab basement hold ancient evidence of a fungi famous for controlling the minds of its victims.
Paleontology
More Stories in Paleontology
- Paleontology
These crocodile-like beasts reached the Caribbean, outlasting mainland kin
Knife-toothed reptiles called sebecids went extinct on the mainland 10 million years ago. New fossil evidence puts them on an island 4 million years ago.
- Paleontology
Ancient, water-loving rhinos gathered in big, hippolike herds
Squat rhinos lived in North America about 12 million years ago, congregating in huge, water-bound herds much like modern hippos.
- Paleontology
Could Spinosaurus swim? The fierce dinosaur ignites debate
Researchers are still divided about whether Spinosaurus was a swimmer or a wader. What’s clear is that confirming the first swimming dinosaur would be a game-changer.
- Paleontology
Scotland’s Isle of Skye was once a dinosaur promenade
New dinosaur fossil tracks on the Isle of Skye reveal that the once-balmy environment was home to both fierce theropods and massive sauropods.
- Life
Dark coats may have helped the earliest mammals hide from hungry dinosaurs
During the age of dinosaurs, early mammals probably lacked the stripes and spots of their modern relatives, having uniformly dark, drab coats.
- Life
A skull found in Egypt shows this top predator stalked ancient Africa
Archaeologists uncovered a fossilized skull of an ancient sharp-toothed predator that likely hunted early elephants and primates.
- Paleontology
Giant camel-like creatures lived thousands of years longer than once thought
Fossilized teeth from two ancient megafauna suggest they roamed Brazil 3,500 years ago. The find “opens the door to rewrite South American history.”
- Paleontology
Earth’s first waterfowl may have lived in Antarctica 69 million years ago
A few fossilized body parts hinted at an enigmatic bird's close ties to waterfowl like ducks and geese. A newfound skull may bolster that idea.
- Paleontology
A mysteriously large pterosaur finally has an identity
A Jurassic pterosaur fossil, known to paleontologists for over 160 years, isn’t a new species. It is an odd specimen of Rhamphorhynchus muensteri.
