fossils

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Scientist: This Dinosaur Died on the Day of Asteroid Strike

Leg was among many finds at North Dakota site that preserved the 'death blow'

(Newser) - The asteroid that hit the Earth around 66 million years ago brought an abrupt end to the Cretaceous period—and to the life of a Thescelosaurus dinosaur whose incredibly well-preserved leg was found at a North Dakota site. Researchers say they can pinpoint the day of the dinosaur's death...

Lost Continent Explains a 34M-Year-Old Extinction
Lost Continent Explains
a 34M-Year-Old Extinction
NEW STUDY
Mar 7, 2022 2:55 PM CST

Lost Continent Explains a 34M-Year-Old Extinction

Researchers discover Balkanatolia, an ancient island turned land bridge

(Newser) - About 34 million years ago, native fauna disappeared from Western Europe, as mammals from Asia took over. The extinction, known as the Grande Coupure or "great break," might as well have been called the great puzzle. For decades, researchers have been unable to explain how animals from eastern...

For These Cowboys, Payday Is Found Beneath the Soil

Hunting dinosaur fossils is a booming sideline at the moment

(Newser) - Clayton Phipps runs cattle on his Montana ranch, but that ranch may not have survived over the years if not for his side hustle, the one that has earned him the nickname "Dinosaur Cowboy." As a story by Andrew Zaleski at Bloomberg explains, the 48-year-old Phipps hunts dinosaur...

Fossil Could Be Oldest Known Animal by 350M Years
Fossil Could Be Oldest
Known Animal by 350M Years
NEW STUDY
Jul 28, 2021 7:20 PM CDT

Fossil Could Be Oldest Known Animal by 350M Years

Possible remains of ancient sponge found in Canada's far north

(Newser) - Fossils discovered in the far north of Canada could push back the proven timeline of animals on Earth back by around 350 million years—a period of time longer than that between the first dinosaurs and the present day. Geologist Elizabeth Turner says the tiny fossils found in the Northwest...

Remains of 9 Neanderthals Found, an 'Extraordinary Discovery'

Ancient landslide preserved fossils in caves near Rome

(Newser) - A major new discovery at a familiar prehistoric site was announced Saturday by Italy. Archaeologists have found the remains of nine Neanderthal men in Grotta Guattari, prehistoric caves near the Tyrrhenian Sea between Rome and Naples that were discovered—accidently, by workers—in 1939. The nation's culture minister called...

Discovery of Bones From Ice Age Slows Pool Project

That happens near Las Vegas, expert says

(Newser) - A couple in Las Vegas said they will have to wait to continue building their pool after construction crews unearthed a set of animal bones dating back to Earth's most recent ice age. Matt Perkins and his husband, who recently moved from Washington state to a newly built home...

Utah Discovery a &#39;Tipping Point&#39; on T. Rexes
Mass T. Rex Death Site
Births a Terrifying Theory
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Apr 25, 2021 10:30 AM CDT

Mass T. Rex Death Site Births a Terrifying Theory

The dino predators may have hunted in packs: researchers

(Newser) - Imagine being chased by a Tyrannosaurus rex. Now imagine being chased by six. That might've been the scenario for T. rex prey, according to new research suggesting the dino predator hunted in packs like wolves. The theory stems from a site discovered in 2014 at the Grand Staircase-Escalante National...

Scientists: 'Smallest Dinosaur' Wasn't Really a Dinosaur

They now believe Oculudentavis was a lizard

(Newser) - Oculudentavis khaungraawas was a strange and fascinating creature, scientists say—but it probably wasn't a dinosaur. Researchers who identified the hummingbird-sized animal as the smallest known dinosaur in a study published earlier this year have retracted their claim following new research and the discovery of another Oculudentavis fossil, NBC...

Forerunner to Dinosaurs Was Tiny Enough to Take Anywhere

Kongonaphon kely fed on bugs and was less than 4 inches tall, researchers say

(Newser) - Meet Kongonaphon kely, a pocket-size dinosaur forerunner that was smaller than your cellphone. The creature, which predated dinosaurs and flying pterosaurs, was just shy of 4 inches tall, according to a study published Monday in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. "Some of these things would...

Court: Fossils Worth Millions Belong to Montana Family

Mary Ann and Lige Murray own surface rights to land where 'dueling dinosaurs' found

(Newser) - Dinosaur fossils worth millions of dollars unearthed on a Montana ranch belong to the owners of the land’s surface rights, not the owners of the mineral rights, a US appeals court ruled. The June 17 ruling by the 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a 2016 decision by...

Frogs Hopped Around Ancient Antarctica
A Supercontinent Split.
The Frogs Ended Up Here
NEW STUDY
May 6, 2020 10:00 AM CDT

A Supercontinent Split. The Frogs Ended Up Here

Fossils in Antarctica are evidence of the breakup of Gondwana

(Newser) - "Frogs, nowadays, are known on all six other continents. Now we know they were also present on the seventh." That's according to Swedish scientist Thomas Mors, whose discovery of 40-million-year-old ancient horned frog fossils in Antarctica suggests frogs were transported around the globe by the breakup of...

Cave Bones Make Things a &#39;Lot More Interesting&#39;
Human Cousin Found
in Remote Cave
Apr 10, 2019 4:34 PM CDT

Human Cousin Found in Remote Cave

Fossils of a long-lost human relative found in the Philippines

(Newser) - Fossil bones and teeth found in the Philippines have revealed a long-lost cousin of modern people, which evidently lived around the time our own species was spreading from Africa to occupy the rest of the world, the AP reports. It's yet another reminder that, although Homo sapiens is now...

Scientists Stumble on 'Mindblowing' Find

The Qingjiang fossil site contains 53 new species

(Newser) - Scientists are expressing shock and elation over a fossil-find that revisits life half a billion years ago—and may just shake up our view of evolution, the Guardian reports. Reported in Science , the Qingjiang site in China includes at least 4,351 fossils representing 101 species, 53 of them new...

Study Confirms &#39;Missing Link&#39;
Study Confirms 'Missing Link'
new study
Jan 19, 2019 4:20 PM CST

Study Confirms 'Missing Link'

A new species apparently bridged the gap with our ape-like ancestors

(Newser) - Two early humans found in Africa 10 years ago appear to represent a "missing link" with our ape-like ancestors, CNN reports. A new study broke ground this week by saying the two-million-year-old partial skeletons are from a new species called Australopithecus sediba that walked upright but spent time in...

Good News After Devastating Brazil Museum Fire

80% of famed 'Luzia' skull has been recovered

(Newser) - A bit of good news after the catastrophic fire that ravaged Brazil's National Museum last month: One of the museum's most prized possessions has been mostly recovered. Museum director Alexander Kellner tells the AP that "Luzia," the oldest human fossil ever found in Latin America, was...

'Earth's Oldest Fossils' May Just Be Rocks

2016 find in Greenland may not be as exciting as previously thought

(Newser) - What were billed as the oldest fossils on Earth may just be some rocks, according to a new study. Two years ago a team of Australian scientists found odd structures in Greenland that they said were partly leftovers from microbes that lived on an ancient seafloor. They were said to...

Fat From This Fossil Solved Decades-Old Mystery
Fat From This Fossil
Solved Decades-Old Mystery
NEW STUDY
Sep 21, 2018 8:56 AM CDT

Fat From This Fossil Solved Decades-Old Mystery

Study says Dickinsonia is earliest confirmed animal in geological record

(Newser) - A researcher calls it "a decades-old mystery that has been the Holy Grail of paleontology": What, exactly, Dickinsonia was. It's one of a group of lifeforms called the Ediacaran biota, which the BBC describes as the "first complex multi-cellular organisms to appear on Earth." But for...

Scientists ID Largest Dino Foot Ever Found, 20 Years Later

Body part from Wyoming belongs to 'Bigfoot' brachiosaur

(Newser) - "Bigfoot" has been found, just not the apish version. An international team of paleontologists has announced the discovery of the largest known dinosaur foot, which belonged to a close relative of the Brachiosaurus now dubbed "Bigfoot." Appropriately so, as a nearly complete left hind-foot fossil totaling 13...

Sahara Desert Reveals 'Holy Grail' of Dino Discoveries

African dinosaur suggests link to Europe in late Cretaceous Period

(Newser) - Researcher Matt Lamanna calls it "the Holy Grail" of dinosaur discoveries. After decades of digging had left a 44-million-year gap in the fossil record for dinos in Africa, Lamanna says his jaw "hit the floor" when he saw photos of skull fragments, a lower jaw, neck and back...

Found in China: Dino With a &#39;Rainbow Glimmer&#39;
Found in China: Dino
With a 'Rainbow Glimmer'
NEW STUDY
Jan 15, 2018 9:01 AM CST

Found in China: Dino With a 'Rainbow Glimmer'

Jurassic Period's 'Caihong juji' had shimmering feathers like those found on hummingbirds

(Newser) - Scientists are now saying there may have been "a more colorful Jurassic World than we previously imagined," thanks to the recent discovery of a fossil in China's Hebei province. Reuters reports that a closer look at the "exquisitely preserved," almost completely intact fossil of a...

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