Paleontology
The Oldest 3-D Heart from Our Vertebrate Ancestors Has Been Discovered
Fish fossils from Western Australia preserve the oldest 3-D hearts, livers, stomachs and intestines in a jawed vertebrate
Paleontology19 articles archived since 1845
Paleontology
Exquisite Fossils Show an Entire Rain Forest Ecosystem
The fossil-filled volcanic crater Foulden Maar was almost destroyed. A new book documents its ancient-ecosystem wonders
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
Dinosaurs
Feathers May Have Helped Dinosaurs Survive Their First Apocalypse
Geologic evidence for a freezing arctic suggests dinosaurs could have weathered an epoch-ending volcanic winter
Paleontology
Dinosaur Diets May Help Explain Dramatic Diversity
Some species were constrained by their food sources, while others ranged widely
Paleontology
Sex Life of One of Earth’s Earliest Animals Exposed
The first known male appendage from trilobites has been found in a 508-million-year-old fossil
Paleontology
How Mammals Conquered the World after the Asteroid Apocalypse
They scurried in the shadows of dinosaurs for millions of years until a killer space rock created a new world of evolutionary opportunity
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
Paleontology
Newly Discovered Saber-Toothed Predator Shows How Hypercarnivores Evolved
A well-preserved fossil introduces a new species that lived in what is now California around 42 million years ago
Paleontology
A Treasure Trove of Dinosaur Bones in Italy Rewrites the Local Prehistoric Record
New fossils are changing a decades-old story about the species that roamed the Mediterranean 80 million years ago.
Animals
New Augmented Reality Models Bring Ice Age Animals to Virtual Life
Researchers want their models to inspire more accurate reconstructions of extinct animals such as mammoths and saber-toothed cats
Paleontology
Fossilized Poop Shows How Ancient Dogs Adapted to People
Microbe DNA trapped in 3,500-year-old fossils shows canine adaptation to agricultural diets
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
Dinosaurs
Some Dinosaurs May Have Wagged Their Tail to Help Them Run
This may be for the same reason humans swing their arms when walking and running
Paleontology
Kids’ Fossilized Handprints May Be Some of the World’s Oldest Art
Ice age impressions in limestone show that human ancestors inhabited the area
Animals
Mammoth Tusk Analysis Reveals Epic Lifetime Journey around Alaska
Researchers find the mammoth walked far enough to circle the globe twice
Paleontology
The Incredible, Reanimated 24,000-Year-Old Rotifer
The last time this tiny wheel animalcule was moving around, woolly mammoths roamed the earth.
Agriculture
Ancient Peruvian Farmers Harnessed El Niño Floodwaters
Structures diverted the weather pattern’s floods to new farmlands 2,000 years ago
