Paleontology
- Paleontology
12 amazing fossil finds of 2015
From an ancient sponge ancestor to the Carolina Butcher, scientists learned a lot about life on Earth this year.
- Science & Society
These truisms proved false in 2015
Don’t always believe what you hear. These truisms turned out to be false in 2015.
- Paleontology
Bubbles may have sheltered Earth’s early life
Bubbles formed on ancient shorelines offer scientists a new place to look for traces of early life.
- Paleontology
New dating of dino ancestor challenges Triassic timeline
New dates for geologic layers of well-known fossil formation show that dinosaurs and their ancient relatives were separated by less time than researchers thought.
- Paleontology
Long-necked monsters roamed more than Scotland’s lochs
The discovery of sauropod footprints in Scotland suggest the dinosaurs lived in lagoons.
- Archaeology
Search for fossils from the comfort of home
The citizen science website FossilFinder.org lets anyone with an Internet connection look for fossils and characterize rocks at Kenya’s Lake Turkana Basin
- Animals
Snakes evolved from burrowing ancestor, new data suggest
A new X-ray analysis of inner ears is the latest to weigh in on whether modern snakes descended from a burrowing or a swimming reptile.
- Paleontology
Land life spared in Permian extinction, geologists argue
New rock layer dating in South Africa’s Karoo Basin suggests that extinctions of land species didn’t coincide with the Permian extinction around 252 million years ago.
- Paleontology
Ancient larvae built predator-thwarting mazes
Mazelike tunnels built by ancient insect larvae offered protection from predators, paleontologists propose.
- Paleontology
Vampire microbes sucked some ancient life dry
Hole-ridden fossils suggest that vampirelike microbes were among the first predators that targeted eukaryotes.
- Earth
New fascination with Earth’s ‘Boring Billion’
The Mesoproterozoic era, known as the boring billion, had very low oxygen, but it set the stage for the evolution of animals.
- Paleontology
Furry, spiky mammal scampered among dinosaurs
Early Cretaceous fur ball with spikes discovered in Spain.
