Stories by John Pickrell

Footprint Find Could Be a “Holy Grail” of Pterosaur Research

How early pterosaurs walked on the ground has been a complete mystery. Now the first known trackways of their footprints offer answers

February 11, 2020 — John Pickrell

The sites are rich in cultural history, but the blazes might also reveal some unknown ones, say archaeologists

January 27, 2020 — John Pickrell and Nature magazine

The raptorlike prints could also have been from juveniles of a larger species

April 5, 2019 — John Pickrell

Small throat bones from the prehistoric feline Smilodon suggest it used fearsome vocalizations to communicate

October 20, 2018 — John Pickrell

Feathered carnivore was dark on top and light underneath, with a raccoon-like face.

October 26, 2017 — John Pickrell and Nature magazine

A nebulous trade in forged and illegal fossils is an ever-growing headache for paleontologists

November 15, 2014 — John Pickrell

The world's oldest effort to regrow a rainforest suggests what the future may hold for other deforested regions

May 3, 2012 — John Pickrell