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Fossils

Ngwevu intloko skull

After 30 Years, a South African Dinosaur Is Identified as a New Species

The fossil, held for decades at the University of Witwatersrand, was previously thought to belong to the most common dinosaur species in South Africa

Opalised fossils from Lightning Ridge, N.S.W, Australia. From the collection of the Australian Opal Center. Clockwise from top left: freshwater snail; plesiosaur tooth; crocodile tooth; pine cone; pelvis bone of ornithopod dinosaur. Donated through the Australian Government’s Cultural Gifts Program by (respectively) Down to Earth Opals, Timothy Seekamp, Stephen Turner and Michael Poben.

Scientists and Miners Team Up to Preserve Opalized Fossils

An ambitious collaboration between paleontologists and a local mining community seeks to conserve the rare fossilized remains

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”

An artist's recreation of Hylonomus lyelli, a tiny reptile that lived more than 300 million years ago.

Tiny Animals Trapped in Fossil Trees Help Reveal How Fauna Moved Onto Land

New ancient animals will likely be discovered in 310 million-year-old fossilized trees in Nova Scotia

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

Melanosomes linked with blue feathers are much longer than they are wide

Cool Finds

Scientists Identify Blue Hues in Fossilized Bird Feathers for the First Time

A new study shows how the shapes of tiny pigment-carrying structures called melanosomes are associated with different colors

An artist's interpretation of what life could have been like if ancient humans and ancient ostriches crossed paths.

Fossil of Ancient Bird Three Times Bigger Than an Ostrich Found in Europe

The fossil is about 1.8 million years old, meaning the bird may have arrived on the continent around the same time as Homo erectus

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.

Beyond Dinosaurs: The Secrets of Earth's Past

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

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

Using a geologist’s magnifying glass, Erin DiMaggio carefully scans a piece of volcanic ash in search of tiny minerals that hold the key to determining the age of nearby fossils.

Beyond Dinosaurs: The Secrets of Earth's Past

How Do Scientists Date Fossils?

Geologists Erin DiMaggio and Alka Tripathy-Lang explain techniques for targeting the age of a fossil find

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.

Beyond Dinosaurs: The Secrets of Earth's Past

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

How do parts of ancient creatures, like this fossil skull of an extinct herbivore, Miniochoerus from 33 million years ago, manage to survive and end up in a museum exhibition?

Beyond Dinosaurs: The Secrets of Earth's Past

How Do Fossils Form?

Learn from the Smithsonian’s curator of vertebrate paleontology Anna K. Behrensmeyer, a pioneer in the study of how organic remains become fossils

The nuance of the new exhibition, "Fossil Hall—Deep Time," plays out in elaborate art, entertaining digital displays and magnificent fossil displays. But don't miss the small stuff.

Beyond Dinosaurs: The Secrets of Earth's Past

Here Are 12 Things You Might Miss in the Smithsonian’s New Fossil Hall

Hidden among the dinosaurs and megafauna, are these small details that make “Deep Time” all the more impressive

From L to R: Kanlitas rock painting, enhanced version, isolated rendering of markings

Art Meets Science

Rock Art and Footprints Reveal How Ancient Humans Responded to Volcanic Eruption

New study dates the preserved footprints to 4,700 years ago, a full 245,000 years later than previously suggested

Were Saber-Toothed Cat Fangs Strong Enough to Puncture Bone?

Some experts think not, but a new study suggests that holes in two saber-toothed cat skulls were caused by in-fighting

Unlike modern beavers, which use their sharp-edged teeth to chop up trees and build dams, mega-sized ones were unable to alter their environment to fit their needs

Why Did These Human-Sized Beavers Go Extinct During the Last Ice Age?

A new study suggests the giant beavers disappeared after their wetland habitats dried up, depriving the species of its aquatic plant-based diet

Artist's reconstruction of Fostoria dhimbangunmal, a newly described iguanodontian dinosaur.

Beyond Dinosaurs: The Secrets of Earth's Past

Dinosaur Bones Shimmering With Opal Reveal a New Species in Australia

A discovery in an Australian opal mine remained unexamined for three decades—it turned out to be the most complete opalized dinosaur skeleton in the world

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Beyond Dinosaurs: The Secrets of Earth's Past

Beyond Dinosaurs: The Secrets of Earth’s Past

From the formation of Earth through the changing climates and creatures of the past, the Smithsonian’s new Hall of Fossils explores our planet’s Deep Time

"I’ve never lost the wonder," says Hans-Dieter Sues (above). "To be the first human to find and touch an extinct creature is a singular moment that cannot be easily put into words."

Beyond Dinosaurs: The Secrets of Earth's Past

How Do Paleontologists Find Fossils?

Smithsonian’s Hans-Dieter Sues, who has collected fossil vertebrates in the U.S. and around the world shares some of his tips

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.

Beyond Dinosaurs: The Secrets of Earth's Past

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

Ultimately, to understand how the Earth’s carbon cycle works is to appreciate the human influence currently impacting it.

Beyond Dinosaurs: The Secrets of Earth's Past

How Does Earth’s Carbon Cycle Work?

Stanford University’s Katharine Maher explains the mechanisms that heat and cool the planet

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