Paleontology

  1. Life

    Ancient ‘demon ducks’ may have been undone by their slow growth

    Mihirung birds grew to more than half a ton and took their time getting there. That slow growth may have been a vulnerability when humans got to Australia.

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  2. Paleontology

    This bizarre ancient critter has been kicked out of a group that includes humans

    A wee sea creature without an anus was thought to be the oldest deuterostome. New imaging showing it had spines led to its reclassification.

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  3. Paleontology

    50 years ago, the dinosaurs’ demise was still a mystery 

    In 1972, scientists blamed dinosaur biology for the reptiles’ demise. Years later, researchers ID’d the real killer: an apocalyptic asteroid.

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  4. Paleontology

    Mammal ancestors’ shrinking inner ears may reveal when warm-bloodedness arose

    An abrupt shift in inner ear shape of mammal ancestors 233 million years ago, during a time of climate swings, points to evolution of warm-bloodedness.

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  5. Paleontology

    A newfound dinosaur had tiny arms before T. rex made them cool

    A predecessor to Tyrannosaurus rex, Meraxes gigas had a giant head and puny but muscular arms, suggesting the limbs served some purpose.

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  6. Paleontology

    Feathers may have helped dinosaurs survive the Triassic mass extinction

    New data show that dinosaurs were able to weather freezing conditions about 202 million years ago, probably thanks to warm feathery coats.

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  7. Paleontology

    Megatooth sharks may have been higher on the food chain than any ocean animal ever

    Some megalodons and their ancestors were the ultimate apex predators, outeating all known marine animals, researchers report.

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  8. Paleontology

    Vampire squid are gentle blobs. But this ancestor was a fierce hunter

    New fossil analyses of 164-million-year-old ancestors of today’s vampire squid show the ancient cephalopods had muscular bodies and powerful suckers.

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  9. Paleontology

    How mammals took over the world

    In the book The Rise and Reign of the Mammals, paleontologist Steve Brusatte tracks the evolutionary innovations that made mammals so successful.

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  10. Paleontology

    Great white sharks may have helped drive megalodons to extinction

    Analyzing zinc levels in shark teeth hints that megalodons and great whites competed with each other for food.

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  11. Paleontology

    Pterosaurs may have had brightly colored feathers on their heads

    The fossil skull of a flying reptile hints that feathers originated about 100 million years earlier than scientists thought.

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  12. Paleontology

    Glowing spider fossils may exist thanks to tiny algae’s goo 

    Analyzing 22-million-year-old spider fossils from France revealed that they were covered in a tarry black substance that fluoresces.

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