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Palaeontology
Indian Fossils Support New Hypothesis for Origin of Hoofed Mammals
New research published today in the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology describes a fossil family that illuminates the origin of perissodactyls - the group of mammals that includes horses, rhinos, and tapirs.
Palaeontology
New Species of Ancient Cynodont, 220 Million Years Old
Fossilized jaw bone fragments of a rat-like creature found at the Petrified Forest National Park in Arizona last year by a Virginia Tech College of Science Ph.D. candidate are in fact a newly discovered 220-million-year-old species of cynodont or stem-mammal, a precursor of modern-day mammals.
Palaeontology
A 520-Million-Year-Old Five-Eyed Fossil Reveals Arthropod Origin
The arthropods have been among the most successful animals on Earth since the Cambrian Period, about 520 million years ago.
Palaeontology
Fossils Reveal Mammals Mingled in Age of Dinosaurs
The fossil remains of several small mammals discovered in tightly packed clusters in western Montana provide the earliest evidence of social behavior in mammals, according to a new study co-authored by a Yale scientist.
Palaeontology
Cracking the Secrets of Dinosaur Eggshells
Since the famous discovery of dinosaur eggs in the Gobi Desert in the early 1920s, the fossilized remains have captured the imaginations of paleontologists and the public, alike.
Palaeontology
Antarctica Yields Oldest Fossils of Giant Birds With 21-foot Wingspans
Fossils recovered from Antarctica in the 1980s represent the oldest giant members of an extinct group of birds that patrolled the southern oceans with wingspans of up to 21 feet that would dwarf the 11½-foot wingspan of today's largest bird, the wandering albatross.
Palaeontology
African Crocodiles Lived in Spain Six Million Years Ago
Millions of years ago, several species of crocodiles of different genera and characteristics inhabited Europe and sometimes even coexisted.
Palaeontology
Bat-Winged Dinosaurs That Could Glide
Despite having bat-like wings, two small dinosaurs, Yi and Ambopteryx, struggled to fly, only managing to glide clumsily between the trees where they lived, according to a new study led by an international team of researchers, including McGill University Professor Hans Larsson.
Palaeontology
Oldest Monkey Fossils Outside of Africa Found
Three fossils found in a lignite mine in southeastern Yunan Province, China, are about 6.4 million years old, indicate monkeys existed in Asia at the same time as apes, and are probably the ancestors of some of the modern monkeys in the area, according to an international team of researchers.
Palaeontology
Paleontologists Identify New Species of Mosasaur
A new species of an ancient marine reptile evolved to strike terror into the hearts of the normally safe, fast-swimming fish has been identified by a team of University of Alberta researchers, shedding light on what it took to survive in highly competitive ecosystems.
Palaeontology
Scientists Reconstruct Beetles From the Cretaceous
About a year ago, researchers found fossil specimens of beetles in an amber deposit in Myanmar, thereby describing a new beetle family that lived about 99 million years ago.
Palaeontology
Fossil Records Depict Devastating Effect of Humans on Birds in the Bahamas
Though some believe prehistoric humans lived in harmony with nature, a new analysis of fossils shows human arrival in the Bahamas caused some birds to be lost from the islands and other species to be completely wiped out.
