fossils(Page 3)

Latest in fossils

An illustration of an extinct species of giant penguins. Two penguins stand upright and one huddles down on a rocky island.

Schoolkids in New Zealand discovered a new species of giant penguin

This ancient ‘mothership’ used probing ‘fingers’ to scrape the ocean floor for prey

This ancient ‘mothership’ used probing ‘fingers’ to scrape the ocean floor for prey

By Kate Baggaley

New fossil reveals a fearsome shark-toothed dinosaur

A bird-like brown dinosaur with a huge red crest on its head, in a jungle.

Smugglers almost made off with a near-complete fossil of a bizarre flying reptile

tetrapod fossil

Our four-legged ancestors evolved from sea to land astonishingly quickly

By Philip Kiefer

An illustration of a best of hatchling baby turtles.

A fossilized egg laid by an extinct, human-sized turtle holds a rare jackpot

an illustration of a melting planet earth covered in lush trees and leaves

An ancient era of global warming could hint at our scorching future

a colorful illustration of long-tailed gray rodents carrying assorted objects such as buttons, bones, bugs, and flowers

What’s in a packrat’s petrified pee? Just a few thousand years of secrets.

By Jason Bittel

How bird brains thrived during a mass extinction

How bird brains thrived during a mass extinction

By Kate Baggaley

These fossils could represent the oldest animals ever found

These fossils could represent the oldest animals ever found

By Kate Baggaley

This fossil isn’t a hummingbird-sized dinosaur, but an unusual lizard

This fossil isn’t a hummingbird-sized dinosaur, but an unusual lizard

Dinosaur bones in museum.

The T. rex ‘dynasty’ reigned for more than 125,000 generations

The fossilized skull of the newly discovered L. aliocranianus dinosaur.

This newly discovered dinosaur is called ‘the one who causes fear’ for a reason

illustration of hatchling lamprey

These fossilized lamprey hatchlings disprove an age-old evolutionary theory

By Philip Kiefer

A reimagined prehistoric bird chasing a dragonfly over plants

Were rocks on the menu for these ancient birds?

By Erin Fennessy

This ancient fish-crocodile mashup snared its prey using a key adaptation

By Kate Baggaley

Psittacosaurus reconstruction

This fossilized butthole gives us a rare window into dinosaur sex

By Ellie Shechet

assasin bug preserved fossil

Feast your eyes on this 50-million-year-old assassin bug and its exquisite genitalia

By Kate Baggaley

Fossilized lizard

How fossil preservation and public health are intertwined

By Colella & McLean/The Conversation

Artist reconstruction of Wilamaya Patjxa vicuña hunt.

A female hunter’s remains hint at more fluid gender roles in the early Americas

By Kate Baggaley

An artist's rendering of Filikomys primaevus

These prehistoric rodents were social butterflies

A reconstruction of Ambopteryx in a glide.

Dinosaurs may have evolved into birds, but early flights didn’t go so well

By Kate Baggaley

Paleontologist Jingmai O'Connor birding with her mother in China

Birds are dinosaurs, and this fossil detective has rooms full of bones to prove it

By Science Friday

Could an ancient megashark still lurk in the deep seas?

south island new zealand

Mummified leaves offer a glimpse of Earth’s ancient climate—and our future

By Kate Baggaley

artist representation of Tanystropheus

This ancient reptile had a super long neck to sneak up on unsuspecting fish

By Kate Baggaley

Kongonaphon kely

This pocket-sized shaggy reptile hopped around a pre-dino world

By Kate Baggaley

Insects from the mid-Cretaceous period preserved in amber were found in present-day northern Myanmar.

These insects preserved in amber are still glowing 99 million years later

ancient ancestor of the modern crocodile, which walked on two feet.

Crocodiles’ ancient ancestors may have walked on two legs

By Kate Baggaley

artistic rendition of a dinosaur

Mummified ankylosaur offers a rare glimpse of a dinosaur’s last meal

By Kate Baggaley

dinosaur illustration

Dinosaur cannibalism was real, and Colorado paleontologists have the bones to prove it

By Kate Baggaley

Reconstruction of Spinosaurus in life

Most dinosaurs didn’t swim—but this ‘dino equivalent of Jaws’ sure did

By Sara Kiley Watson

ancient human tools

Anthropologists have identified the earliest evidence of Homo sapiens in Europe

By Kate Baggaley

a homemade fossil footprint

Stay-at-home science project: Leave some “fossil” footprints

By John Kennedy

An abelisaur, a short-snouted predatory dinosaur, rests while several pterosaurs fight over leftovers from a carcass.

The Sahara Desert was once flooded with history’s most vicious dinosaurs

By Kate Baggaley

How do we know what dinosaurs looked like?

By Sara Chodosh

the newly discovered dinosaur: Dineobellator notohesperus

These newly discovered raptors were like feather-covered cheetahs

By Kate Baggaley

Ancient forests that power the modern world

Photograph of Parasaurolophus fossil mount at the Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago, Illinois, 2017

Duck-billed dinosaurs had the same bone tumors as people

By Kate Baggaley

Mongolian woman milking an animal

The answer to lactose intolerance might be in Mongolia

By Andrew Curry

Homo erectus skull

The ‘granddaddy’ of all early hominins walked on Earth a lot longer than we thought

By Sara Kiley Watson

a dinosaur skull

This bone-eating dinosaur was constantly losing its teeth

To remain hidden, these beetles sparkle like jewels

These ancient trilobites are forever frozen in a conga line

These ancient trilobites are forever frozen in a conga line

This 25-foot-long dino discovery suggests raptors roamed farther than we realized

This 25-foot-long dino discovery suggests raptors roamed farther than we realized

By Sara Kiley Watson

Why are humans good at endurance running? The answer is murky.

Fitness & Exercise

Why are humans good at endurance running? The answer is murky.

By Timothy F. Kirn/Undark

The asteroid collision that changed life on Earth forever—without killing the dinosaurs

The asteroid collision that changed life on Earth forever—without killing the dinosaurs

By Birger Schmitz/The Conversation

Mammoth ivory may be bad for elephants—but should it be banned?

Mammoth ivory may be bad for elephants—but should it be banned?

By Rachel Nuwer/Undark

A dinosaur egg bonanza is helping ecologists understand prehistoric parenting

A dinosaur egg bonanza is helping ecologists understand prehistoric parenting

By Jason Gilchrist/The Conversation

This ancient predator had claws like rakes and a body like a spaceship

This ancient predator had claws like rakes and a body like a spaceship

fish shoal close up

A 50-million-year-old school of fish is etched forever in this rare fossil

By Donavyn Coffey

This ancient hypercarnivore had three sets of razor-sharp teeth

This ancient hypercarnivore had three sets of razor-sharp teeth

By Kaitlin Sullivan

This ancient sea creature had 45 tubular tentacles and will haunt your dreams

This ancient sea creature had 45 tubular tentacles and will haunt your dreams

By Kaitlin Sullivan

Four-legged whales once straddled land and sea

Four-legged whales once straddled land and sea

By Jan Hoole/The Conversation

Dinosaur extinction is an unsolved mystery. This ancient fish may have swallowed some crucial evidence.

Dinosaur extinction is an unsolved mystery. This ancient fish may have swallowed some crucial evidence.

By Neel V. Patel

These Chinese fossil deposits shed light on an explosive period in evolution

These Chinese fossil deposits shed light on an explosive period in evolution

By Jan Zalasiewicz and Mark Williams/The Conversation

Ancient poop is helping archaeologists understand a midwestern city’s demise

Ancient poop is helping archaeologists understand a midwestern city’s demise

By Kaitlin Sullivan

Two long-necked dinosaurs pose together in the rain

This newly discovered titanosaur had heart-shaped tail bones

By Jessica Boddy

Spider glowing eyes geology paleontology

Megapixels: This fossilized spider’s eyes are still glowing 110 million years later

By Eleanor Cummins

A macaroni penguin takes a little snooze on a rock.

Penguins may have islands to thank for their diverse looks

By Jessica Boddy

This ancient stegosaurus-platypus mashup has everything

This ancient stegosaurus-platypus mashup has everything

By Jessica Boddy

Siberian unicorns lived alongside humans, and they were so much cooler than the mythical version

Siberian unicorns lived alongside humans, and they were so much cooler than the mythical version

By Sara Chodosh

Did a gigantic bird really eat a Neanderthal child?

Did a gigantic bird really eat a Neanderthal child?

By Jillian Mock

Modern birds might have dinosaur lungs to thank for their existence

Modern birds might have dinosaur lungs to thank for their existence