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Fossils

Researchers identified that ancestral tarantulas arrived in the Americas 120 million years ago during the Cretaceous period.

How Tarantulas Spread to Every Continent Except Antarctica

A new study explains how the arachnids migrated before and after the Gondwana supercontinent split apart

To calculate how the tail propelled the T. rex, the researchers scanned and modeled an adult T. rex specimen at the Naturalis Biodiversity Center in Leiden known as "Trix," pictured here.

New Study Finds T. Rex Walked at a Slow Pace of Three Miles Per Hour

Dutch researchers calculated the surprising speed of the dinosaur based on 3-D reconstructions of its lengthy tail

Researchers calculated that the T-Rex population, at any given time was 20,000 adult individuals, continued for 127,000 generations, and each generation lasted for 19 years.

In All of Time, 2.5 Billion Tyrannosaurus Rexes Have Roamed Earth

The study used calculations based on body size and metabolism rate to estimate out how many dinosaurs lived throughout the species existence

Researchers discovered 87 Neanderthal footprints, as well as a number of tracks left by prehistoric animals.

Cool Finds

100,000-Year-Old Fossilized Footprints Track Neanderthals’ Trip to Spanish Coast

Some of the imprints appear to have been left by a child “jumping irregularly as though dancing,” researchers say

An artist's rendering of a newly described species of flying reptile named Kunpengopterus antipollicatus. The Jurassic-era pterosaur may be the earliest animal known to possess opposable thumbs.

New Research

A Prehistoric Flying Creature Nicknamed ‘Monkeydactyl’ May Have Climbed Trees Using Opposable Thumbs

The newly described Jurassic pterosaur may be the oldest animal known to possess opposable thumbs

Scientists excavate bones at Bacho Kiro Cave in Bulgaria. Four modern human bones were recovered from this layer along with a rich stone tool assemblage, animal bones, bone tools and pendants.

Some of Europe’s Oldest-Known Modern Humans Are Distantly Related to Native Americans

Genome sequencing shows some individuals share family ties with surprising populations, and all boast plenty of Neanderthal relatives

An illustration of the ancient shark Edestus heinrichi preying on a fish. Many ancient sharks had different jaws than modern sharks.

These Prehistoric Sharks Had Jaws Shaped Like Circular Saws and Sawtoothed Scissors

CT scans and visualization tools are now allowing scientists to recreate the weird cartilaginous structures of ancient predators

The recently recovered oviratorosaur fossil found in southern China is missing its skull and part of its vertebrae, but remarkably, the nest of 24 oval-shaped eggs were well-preserved.

For the First Time, Paleontologists Unearth Fossil of Non-Avian Dinosaur Incubating a Nest of Eggs

The find is the first evidence that oviraptorosaurs—also called ‘egg thief lizards’—were nurturing to their young

Sauropodomorphs are a group of massive, long-necked dinosaurs that are the largest dinosaurs and land animals that ever lived, and later evolved into Brachiosaurus and Apatosaurus.

Climate Change May Have Aided Dinosaurs’ Journey From South America to Greenland

A shift in CO2 levels millions of years ago made conditions on Earth milder, allowing herbivores, like sauropodomorphs, to migrate to Greenland

This fossilized dinosaur head and vertebrae were discovered in 1883 but only recently gained its name, Smitanosaurus agilis.

Smithsonian Voices

Scientists Name Old Dinosaur for the Smithsonian

A new study has reclassified a fossil discovered in 1883 as a dicraeosaurid—a family of long-necked dinosaurs rarely found in North America

At the Smithsonian, educators have used the pedagogy of game-based learning to create innovative programs and activities that open the door to vast content and collections for learners of all ages.

Smithsonian Voices

Changing the Game With Game-Based Learning

Educators stress that the mechanics for learning and embracing the playful are embedded in the structure of familiar games

Podokesaurus holyokensis, lived during the Mid-Jurassic period, 195-180 million years ago, in what is now Massachusetts and could sprint up to 9 to 12 MPH.

Meet Massachusetts’ Official State Dinosaur

The ‘swift-footed lizard’ won 60 percent of 35,000 total online votes

An artist's rendering of a new species of mosasaur named Xenodens calminechari. The marine reptile was about the size of a porpoise and had serrated shark-like teeth.

New Research

Newly Discovered Marine Reptile Sawed Prey With Serrated Teeth

Researchers say the new species of mosasaur had teeth unlike those of any known reptile

The four-inch-long footprint happened to be in a rock at about the height of a four-year-old child's shoulder.

Cool Finds

Four-Year-Old Lives Every Child’s Dream and Discovers a Dinosaur Footprint

Found on a beach in Wales, the fossil is 220 million years old and shows the details of the muscles and joints in the reptile’s foot

This is a giant spindle magnetofossil, created by a mysterious creature over 50 million years ago. So far, the iron fossils have only been found during two periods of intense global warming.

Smithsonian Voices

New Way to Study Magnetic Fossils Could Help Unearth Their Origins

Now that scientists can detect these fossils in geologic materials faster, they will be able to look for past evidence of the fossils more efficiently

These five skulls, which range from an approximately 2.5-million-year-old Australopithecus africanus on the left to an approximately 4,800-year-old Homo sapiens on the right, show changes in the size of the braincase, slope of the face and shape of the brow ridges over just less than half of human evolutionary history.

An Evolutionary Timeline of Homo Sapiens

Scientists share the findings that helped them pinpoint key moments in the rise of our species

Fossil remains of crocodiles from as early as the Jurassic period show identifying characteristics in modern crocodiles

Are Crocodiles Flawless? The Reptiles Haven’t Changed in 200 Million Years

For crocs, slow and steady wins the evolutionary race

The worms that burrowed in these tunnels may have been the ancestors of modern Bobbit worms, Eunice aphtoditois, and is the earliest known fossil of an ambush predator

Enormous Prehistoric Marine Worms’ Lair Discovered Along Sea Floor

Trace fossils suggest that sand strikers drilled these underground tunnels

A paleontologist excavating a 98 million-year-old fossil which may belong to the largest land animal ever. Researchers first started unearthing the creatures remains in 2012 at the Candeleros Formation in the Neuquen River Valley, Argentina.

New Research

Dinosaur Unearthed in Argentina Could Be Largest Land Animal Ever

The skeleton is still far from complete but paleontologists say what they’ve found suggests the dinosaur may be more than 120 feet long

This fossil is the oldest known preserved dinosaur cloacal vent.

3-D Reconstruction of Fossil Reveals Secret Sex Life of Dinosaurs

The newly discovered orifice is the oldest known fossilized cloacal vent in existence

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