Paleontology
- Anthropology
Ancient primates’ unchipped teeth hint that they ate mostly fruit
Of more than 400 teeth collected, just 21 were chipped, suggesting that early primate diets were soft on their choppers.
- Physics
How neutron imaging uncovers hidden secrets of fossils and artifacts
The technique can complement X-ray scanning and other tools to uncover details of dinosaur fossils, mummies and more.
- Paleontology
Newfound fossil species of lamprey were flesh eaters
In China, paleontologists have unearthed fossils of two surprisingly large lamprey species from the Jurassic Period.
- Paleontology
Dinosaur feathers may have been more birdlike than previously thought
Feather proteins can change during fossilization, raising questions about what dinosaur feathers really can tell us about feather evolution.
- Paleontology
New computer analysis hints volcanism killed the dinosaurs, not an asteroid
Scientists take a creative approach to investigating what caused the mass extinction 66 million years ago, but the debate is far from settled.
- Paleontology
A one-of-a-kind trilobite fossil hints at what and how these creatures ate
The preserved contents suggest the trilobite fed almost continuously and had a gut environment with an alkaline or neutral pH, researchers say.
- Paleontology
This newfound birdlike dinosaur had surprisingly long legs
Early birdlike dinosaurs are mostly short-limbed and thought to have lived in trees, but Fujianvenator prodigiosus may have run or waded in swamps.
- Life
Around 13,000 years ago, humans and fire changed LA’s ecosystem forever
Rapid drying combined with human-made fires changed Southern California forever, killing off ancient bison, dire wolves and five other megafauna species there.
- Paleontology
Meet the tiny ancient whale named after King Tut
The newly discovered Tutcetus rayanensis lived about 40 million years ago. It was just 2.5 meters long and weighed less than 200 kilograms.
- Paleontology
A colossal ancient whale could be the heaviest animal ever known
Perucetus colossus may have tipped the scales at up to 340 metric tons, but some scientists are skeptical it could have sustained that mass.
- Paleontology
This ancient, Lovecraftian apex predator chased and pierced soft prey
Half a billion years ago, Anomalocaris canadensis probably used its bizarre headgear to reach out and snag soft prey with its spiky clutches.
- Life
A 407-million-year-old plant’s leaves skipped the usual Fibonacci spirals
Most land plants living today have spiral patterns involving the famous Fibonacci sequence of numbers. But an extinct, ancient plant did not.
