Paleontology

Paleontology

Something mysteriously wiped out about 90 percent of sharks 19 million years ago

Deep sediments beneath the Pacific Ocean revealed a mystery: a massive shark die-off with no obvious cause.

Paleontology

T. rex’s incredible biting force came from its stiff lower jaw

T. rex could generate incredibly strong bite forces thanks to a boomerang-shaped bone that stiffened the lower jaw, a new analysis suggests.

Paleontology

‘Monkeydactyl’ may be the oldest known creature with opposable thumbs

A newly discovered pterosaur that lived during the Jurassic Period could have used its flexible digits to climb trees like a monkey.

Paleontology

The dinosaur-killing asteroid impact radically altered Earth’s tropical forests

The asteroid impact fundamentally reset the nature of Earth’s tropical rainforests, decreasing diversity at first and making them permanently darker.

Paleontology

An ancient shark’s weird fins helped it glide like a manta ray

Nicknamed eagle shark, the newly discovered ancient creature achieved underwater flight 30 million years before the first rays.

Paleontology

An ancient hippo-sized reptile may have been surprisingly agile

The skull of an Anteosaurus, a hefty reptile with a large snout, hints that it may have moved fast for its day.

Paleontology

Predatory octopuses were drilling into clamshells at least 75 million years ago

Holes found in ancient clams reveal that octopuses have been drilling into their prey for at least 25 million years longer than was previously known.

Paleontology

Climate change helped some dinosaurs migrate to Greenland

A drop in CO2 levels helped massive plant eaters called sauropodomorphs trek from South America to Greenland 214 million years ago, says a new study.

Earth

A magnetic field reversal 42,000 years ago may have contributed to mass extinctions

The weakening of Earth's magnetic field beginning around 42,000 years ago correlates with a cascade of environmental crises, scientists say.

Genetics

The oldest animal DNA ever recovered reveals mammoths’ evolution

Mammoths evolved to handle the cold over hundreds of thousands of years and North America may been home to a hybrid species, a new study finds.

Earth

Fossil mimics may be more common in ancient rocks than actual fossils

Evidence of early life may be harder to preserve than pseudofossils — structures that form abiotically but resemble living remnants.

Paleontology

This ancient sea reptile had a slicing bite like no other

Right up until 66 million years ago, the sea was a teeming evolutionary laboratory with a small, agile, razor-toothed mosasaur patrolling the waters.