Paleontology
Dinosaurs' Air Sacs Evolved Many Times and Let Them Take Over the World
An extensive system of air sacs, evolved over and over, let dinosaurs grow larger without sacrificing strength
Stories by Riley Black
Paleontology
Five-Eyed, Nozzle-Nosed Oddity Lingered Far beyond the Cambrian Period
This ancient creature swam in surprisingly modern seas
Paleontology
Tiny Tyrannosaurs Used the Buddy System
Fossil trackways may show tyrannosaur tykes teaming up
Paleontology
Ancient Panda ‘Thumb’ Matches Modern Version
Walking on all fours helped shape the panda's “thumb”
Paleontology
New Dinosaur Species Is Oldest Ever Found in Africa
A small, speedy, omnivorous dinosaur was a forerunner of Brachiosaurus and other giant plant-eaters
Paleontology
Little Pterosaur Could Have ‘Pole-Vaulted’ into Flight from the Water
New fossil analysis offers the first physical evidence of this launch strategy
Animals
New Evidence Emerges in Mystery of When Mammals Became Warm-Blooded
Fossil animals’ inner ear structures offer clues on when endothermy, or warm-bloodedness, evolved
Paleontology
Dinosaur Diets May Help Explain Dramatic Diversity
Some species were constrained by their food sources, while others ranged widely
Paleontology
Pterosaurs May Have Had Brightly Colored Feathers, Exquisite Fossil Reveals
An amazingly well-preserved fossil suggests the common ancestor of dinosaurs and pterosaurs also had some type of feather or feather precursor
Evolution
Snakes’ and Lizards’ Slow and Steady Evolution Won the Race
A related lineage’s explosive growth leaves just one descendant today
Climate Change
Prehistoric Volcanoes Heated Earth in a Global Chain Reaction
New evidence suggests an origin to an exceptionally hot period in Earth’s history
Evolution
The Surprising Secret of Snakes’ Venomous Bites
Fangs evolved over and over because of this groovy process
Paleontology
Footprint Discovery Hints at Humans in the Americas More Than 20,000 Years Ago
Seeds found in fossilized tracks fuel new speculation about when—and how—people arrived
Evolution
New Process Helps Unscramble Dinosaur Boneyard Chaos
Piecing together a paleontological puzzle
Evolution
Prehistoric Plankton Became Predators to Survive a Mass Extinction
When the sun disappeared, tiny coccoliths turned to hunting
Biology
Story of Mammoth Survival Is in the Soil
Ancient DNA preserved in soil may rewrite what we thought about the Ice Age
EARTH
Earth’s Biodiversity Bursts Do Not Follow Expected Pattern
Life’s great radiations do not always line up with mass extinctions, a new study shows
Evolution
Dire Wolves Were Not Really Wolves, New Genetic Clues Reveal
The extinct giant canids were a remarkable example of convergent evolution
Evolution
Pterosaur Origins Flap into Focus
Fossils of small, delicate animals may reveal the early history of gigantic flying reptiles
Evolution
Why the World’s Biggest Dinosaurs Keep Getting Cut Down to Size
Debate erupts over how best to estimate the sizes of the largest creatures ever to have walked the earth
