Riley Black

Riley Black

 

Riley Black is the author of The Last Days of the Dinosaurs and many other books. She is a science correspondent for Smithsonian magazine covering fossils and natural history, and she writes about the prehistoric past for a variety of publications. 

Short-finned pilot whale, Globicephala macrorhynchus, underwater off Isla San Marcos, Baja California Sur, Mexico.

Ancient Whale Fossil Helps Detail How the Mammals Took From Land to Sea

A 39-million-year-old whale with floppy feet, which may not have been very good for walking, helps illuminate the massive animals' transition to the oceans

Two Majungasaurus hunting down a Rapetosaurus.

Flesh-Ripping Dinosaurs Replaced Their Teeth Multiple Times a Year

A high rate of tooth turnover gave these prehistoric carnivores an edge

Although ammonoids died out around the same time as most dinosaurs, new computer models are revealing how these marine animals moved through the water.

Video Game-Inspired Models Demonstrate How Prehistoric Squid Relatives Swam Through the Seas

By simulating liquid flows around the shells of ammonoids, scientists study how these ancient animals moved

Life restoration of Fukuipteryx prima.

Newly Discovered Fossil Bird Fills in Gap Between Dinosaurs and Modern Fliers

A skeleton from the Cretaceous found in Japan reveals an early bird with a tail nub resembling the avians of today

CGI rendering of ancient Loxolophus mammal taken from the PBS NOVA special, Rise of the Mammals. In this recreation, Loxolophus scavenges for food in the palm dominated forests found within the first 300,000 years after the dinosaur extinction.

Fossil Site Reveals How Mammals Thrived After the Death of the Dinosaurs

Recent discoveries highlight how mammals lived before and after the asteroid impact that triggered the world's fifth mass extinction

A reconstruction of a Siamraptor skull based on fossil evidence.

Newly Discovered Dinosaur Was a Giant 'Shark Tooth' Carnivore

<i>Siamraptor suwati</i>, discovered in Thailand, sliced flesh with razor-sharp teeth rather than crushing the bones of its prey

An artist's depiction of an asteroid impacting the Earth.

What Happened the Day a Giant, Dinosaur-Killing Asteroid Hit the Earth

Using rock cores from Chicxulub crater, geologists piece together a new timeline of the destruction that followed impact

By comparing the skulls of extinct dinosaurs to those of living relatives, such as crocodiles and wild turkeys, researchers have conclude that the prehistoric beasts had sophisticated thermoregulation systems in their skulls.

Special Skull Windows Helped Dinosaur Brains Keep Cool

Dinosaur skulls had many cavities and openings, some of which may have held blood vessels to help cool off the animals' heads

A reconstruction of Cambroraster falcatus, a large predator arthropod of the Cambrian Period.

Prehistoric Ocean Predator Resembles a Large and Vicious Horseshoe Crab

“Prey would have been sucked into the circular mouth and shredded by the multiple rows of large teeth”

Hesperornithoides miessleri was a feathered dinosaur with many features we now associate with birds.

Discovery of Raptor-Like Dinosaur Adds a New Wrinkle to the Origin of Birds

A small, 150 million-year-old dinosaur unearthed in Wyoming ran on the ground, but it may have been closely related to some of the first fliers

An artist’s rendering of ancient Arctic hyenas belonging to the genus Chasmaporthetes. A new study reports that two enigmatic fossil teeth found in Yukon Territory in Canada belonged to Chasmaporthetes, making the teeth the first known fossils of hyenas found in the Arctic.

Prehistoric Hyena’s Teeth Show Bone-Crushing Carnivore Roamed the Arctic

The only hyena to live in North America, <i>Chasmaporthetes</i>, had the stature of a wolf and the powerful jaws of its modern relatives

The sequoia tree slab is an invitation to begin thinking about a vast timescale that includes everything from fossils of armored amoebas to the great Tyrannosaurus rex.

A 16-Million-Year-Old Tree Tells a Deep Story of the Passage of Time

To explain the exceedingly long life of the planet, the Smithsonian’s new fossil hall designers began with this arboreal wonder

Towering over the Fossil Hall is the plant-eating sauropod Diplodocus, which has been on display since 1931 and now is posed with tail in the air.

Amid All the Fossils, Smithsonian's New Dinosaur Exhibition Tells the Complex Story of Life

The much-anticipated exhibition is packed full of Mesozoic dinosaur drama, new science, hands-on discoveries and state-of-the-art museum artistry

Reconstructed color patterns of Sinosauropteryx based on the pigmentation of fossil plumage. The dinosaur is portrayed in the predicted open habitat in which it lived around the Jehol lakes, preying on the lizard Dalinghosaurus.

The Colors of Dinosaurs Open a New Window to Study the Past

Old fossils and new technology are coloring in life’s prehistoric palette

Life reconstruction of the bizarre membranous-winged Ambopteryx longibrachium.

Newly Discovered Bat-Like Dinosaur Reveals the Intricacies of Prehistoric Flight

Though <i>Ambopteryx longibrachium</i> was likely a glider, the fossil is helping scientists discover how dinosaurs first took to the skies

A partially exposed, 65-million-year-old fish from the Tanis deposit in North Dakota.

Fossil Site May Capture the Dinosaur-Killing Impact, but It’s Only the Beginning of the Story

The Tanis site in North Dakota contains evidence of the asteroid impact that killed off the dinosaurs

The Cambrian Period was a time of remarkable diversification of life when many of the animal groups that exist today first appear in the fossil record.

Fossil Treasure Trove of Ancient Animals Unearthed in China

The fossils from the Cambrian Period include dozens of new species and provide a window into life more than 500 million years ago

Fossilized bones from the distant past and the bones that constitute our skeletons today are perhaps the best tool to help scientists learn about the evolution of life.

How Bone Connects Life's Past, Present and Future

A new book dives into the history of osteology, the study of bones, and everything we can learn from the skeletons life leaves behind

By analyzing fossilized vomit and droppings, scientists have determined that Smok wawelski was one of the first predators to crush the bones of its prey.

Prehistoric Crocodile Cousin Crushed the Bones of Its Prey Long Before T. Rex

Fossilized feces filled with bone reveal the feeding habits of an ancient predator

With just two rows of teeth, Edestus slid its lower jaw to slice apart its prey.

Scientists Model How Prehistoric Shark Cut Through Prey With 'Scissor Jaws'

The 330-million-year-old species <i>Edestus</i> had one of the most unique bites in natural history

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