Meet the Very First Mammals
Scientists have used new technology to analyze a fossil of one of the first mammals. The fossil reveals how the ancient animal lived.
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Dinosaur Diets at the Jurassic Dinner Table
Sauropods were the largest dinosaurs ever on earth and they had big dinosaur diets, so how do you think they all found enough food to eat?
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Prehistoric Crocodiles Ruled Ancient Peru
Today, the Amazon River basin is well known for its biodiversity, but the area also has a long history of abundant life. Thanks to an international team of researchers, we now know that thirteen million years ago at least seven different species of prehistoric crocodile hunted in the swampy waters of what is now northeastern Peru. Evidence of this hyperdiverse group of crocs was found in Amazon bone beds, and it shows the largest number of prehistoric crocodile species co-existing in one place at any time in Earth’s history. This…
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The Art of Scientific Illustration
Scientific illustration is more than just cool artwork. It conveys technical details about research that other tools cannot.
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The Case of Malignant Cancer in a Dinosaur
Did cancer kill the dinosaurs? A deformed dinosaur bone has given a glimpse of life as a 77-million-year-old cancer “survivor.”
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The Forgotten Mass Extinction
By Jacqueline Mattos Yes, we are in a mass extinction event Recent research has spotted a new major mass extinction, termed the “end-Guadalupian (259.8 Ma),” according to a scientific paper in the journal Historical Biology. Previously, scientists knew of only five mass extinctions in the history of Earth: the end-Ordovician (443.8 Ma), the Late Devonian (372.2 Ma), the end-Permian (251.9 Ma), the end-Triassic (201.4 Ma), and the end-Cretaceous (66 Ma). Our current biodiversity crisis has been called the sixth mass extinction, but with these new findings it will probably be…
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Sphenodontian Fossil from Ancient Gondwana Found in Brazil
A Clevosaurus hadroprodon fossil, recently discovered in Brazil, is the oldest known sphenodontian from Gondwana, the ancient supercontinent. By Jacqueline Mattos A new reptile fossil was recently discovered in Brazil, in the southern state of Rio Grande do Sul. The research was published in the journal Scientific Reports and describes the species Clevosaurus hadroprodon, which has turned out to be the oldest fossil of its kind from what was formerly Gondwana—the ancient supercontinent that split up into Africa, South America, Australia, Antarctica, the Indian subcontinent, and the Arabian Peninsula. The…
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Supernova: Exploding Stars and Life on Earth
Can exploding stars dozens of light years away affect life on earth? Learn how a supernova can affect the earth, from organisms ozone.
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Did Plant-Eating Dinosaurs Have Cheeks?
Did extinct these animals have cheeks? Paleontologists work from fossils of dinosaurs, so how can they know? An anatomist explains.
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Another Early Toothed Bird Raises Its Head
A team of paleontologists reveals new details about one of the most striking transformations in evolutionary history: a toothed bird. By Kate Stone Sometimes what you seek is right under your nose. Using fossils found in the 1870s, paleontologists have pieced together the skull of a toothed bird that represents a pivotal moment in the transition from dinosaurs to modern birds. “Right under our noses this whole time was an amazing, transitional bird.” Ichthyornis dispar is a key member of the evolutionary lineage that leads from dinosaurian species to today’s…
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