Paleontology

Paleontology

Fossils reveal what may be the oldest known case of the dino sniffles

A respiratory infection that spread to air sacs in the vertebrae of a 150-million-year-old sauropod likely led to now-fossilized bone lesions.

Paleontology

Fossils reveal that pterosaurs puked pellets

Fish scale–filled pellets found by two pterosaurs are the first fossil evidence the flying reptiles regurgitated undigestible food, like some modern birds.

Paleontology

See stunning fossils of insects, fish and plants from an ancient Australian forest

Thousands of fossils at an Australian site show a rare glimpse into the continent’s wetter history over 11 million years ago.

Paleontology

This dinosaur had a weapon shaped like an Aztec war club on its tail

The flat and spiky tail club of a newly discovered ankylosaur was unique, even for this often weirdly armored group of dinosaurs.

Paleontology

‘Penis worms’ may have been the original hermits

Soft-bodied critters called penis worms inhabited abandoned shells — a la modern-day hermit crabs — by about 500 million years ago, a study suggests.

Paleontology

Some dinosaurs may have lived in herds as early as 193 million years ago

A fossilized family gathering of long-necked Mussaurus may be the earliest evidence yet of herd behavior in dinosaurs.

Animals

Giant ground sloths may have been meat-eating scavengers

Contrary to previous assumptions, at least one ancient giant ground sloth was a meat eater.

Earth

A volcano-induced rainy period made Earth’s climate dinosaur-friendly

New physical evidence links eruptions 234 million to 232 million years ago to climate changes that let dinosaurs start their climb to dominance.

Paleontology

This is the oldest fossil evidence of spider moms taking care of their young

A spider trapped in amber 99 million years ago guarded her eggs and may have helped raise her young.

Paleontology

Fossil tracks may reveal an ancient elephant nursery

Fossilized footprints at a site in Spain include those of an extinct elephant’s newborns, suggesting the animals may have used the area as a nursery.

Humans

Fossils and ancient DNA paint a vibrant picture of human origins

Paleoanthropologists have sketched a rough timeline of how human evolution played out, centering the early action in Africa.

Paleontology

This big-headed pterosaur may have preferred walking over flying

The most intact fossil of a tapejarid pterosaur ever found yields new insight into how the ancient reptile lived.