Scientists | smithsonianmag.comhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/rss/tag/scientists/RSS feed for ScientistsenThu, 18 Jun 2026 18:15:32 +0000A Vietnam Veteran Collected Fossils for 66 Years. One, Mislabeled 'Baby Lamprey,' Made Paleontologists Reconsider How Vertebrates Moved From Water to Landhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/a-vietnam-veteran-collected-fossils-for-66-years-one-mislabeled-baby-lamprey-made-paleontologists-reconsider-how-vertebrates-moved-from-water-to-land-180988981/The fossil turned out to be a hatchling of a crocodile-like creature, and it suggests, according to a new study, that early animals did not use metamorphosis to evolve to dwell on landThu, 18 Jun 2026 18:15:32 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/a-vietnam-veteran-collected-fossils-for-66-years-one-mislabeled-baby-lamprey-made-paleontologists-reconsider-how-vertebrates-moved-from-water-to-land-180988981/