Paleontology

Paleontology

Irish elk survived after ice age ended

New fossil finds indicate that the so-called Irish elk, previously thought to have died out at the end of the last ice age, survived in some spots for several millennia more.

Paleontology

Early Bird: Fossil features hint at go-get-’em hatchlings

A well-preserved, 121-million-year-old fossilized bird embryo has several features that suggest that the species' young could move about and feed themselves very soon after they hatched.

Paleontology

Big Gulp? Neck ribs may have given aquatic beast unique feeding style

The fossilized neck bones of a 230-million-year-old sea creature have features suggesting that the animal's snakelike throat could flare open and create suction to pull in prey.

Paleontology

Growth Spurt: Teenage tyrannosaurs packed on the pounds

Detailed analyses of tyrannosaur fossils suggest that the creatures experienced an extended growth spurt during adolescence.

Paleontology

Bird Brain? Cranial scan of fossil hints at flight capability

Detailed computerized tomography scans of the fossilized braincase of an Archaeopteryx show that several flight-related regions of the feathered creature's brain were highly developed.

Paleontology

Early life forms had a modular structure

Fossils recently discovered in northeastern Newfoundland reveal that some of Earth's earliest large organisms had modular body plans whose main architectural element was a branching, frondlike structure.

Paleontology

Chipmunks in Wisconsin toughed out ice age

Analyses of DNA from chipmunks in parts of the U.S. Midwest hint that some populations of the creatures stayed in northern refuges rather than migrating south at the beginning of the last ice age.

Paleontology

Neck Bones on the Menu: Fossil vertebrae show species interaction

Three fossil neck bones from an ancient flying reptile—one of them with the broken tip of a tooth embedded in it—indicate that the winged creatures occasionally fell victim to meat eaters.

Paleontology

Fossil Fingerprints: Rare earths tie bones to burial ground

The soil in which fossilization occurs leaves a chemical imprint on the bones, suggesting that scientists can use this soil signature to identify more precisely a fossil's original home.

Paleontology

Crawling through Time: Fish bones reveal past climate change

The timing of ancient migrations of snakehead fish from the Indian subcontinent into Europe, Asia, and Africa tells scientists about temperature and humidity changes in those locations.

Paleontology

Rare English bits are oldest known charcoal

Analyses of small black chunks of material extracted from 420-million-year-old rocks found along the England-Wales border suggest that they're remnants of the earliest known wildfire.

Paleontology

Fossil confirms that early arthropods molted

A 505-million-year-old fossil provides hard proof of that ancient arthropods shed their exoskeletons during growth, just as their modern relatives do.