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Fossils

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This Fish Outlived Dinosaurs But Oil and Gas Drilling May Threaten Its Survival

Oil exploration is set to begin near the habitat of the critically endangered coelacanth, a type of fish that has survived over 400 million years

Caelestiventus hanseni.

New Research

Rare Desert Pterosaur Fossil Discovered in Utah

The rare Triassic fossil is the most complete early pterosaur ever found, and gives new insight into the evolution of the first flying vertebrates

An Ediacaran fossil from the National Earth Science Museum, Namibia.

Mysterious, Plant-Like Fossil May Have Been One of the Earliest Animals

New research suggests that soft-bodied organisms called Ediacarans may have been related to an animal of the Cambrian era

One of the meg's fearsome teeth, shown here in this extreme close-up.

The Real Science Behind the Megalodon

As The Meg hits theaters, dive into what we really know about this chompy predator

A "fossil" that was baked in a lab in about 24 hours.

Scientists Baked a “Fossil” in 24 Hours

The simulation could help researchers gain new insight into the fossilization process—without having to wait 10,000 years

New Research

Oldest Stone Tools Outside Africa Unearthed in China

Six artifacts date to 2.1 million years ago, potentially rewriting what we know about which species led the migration out of Africa

Ricardo Martínez digging up the arm of the dinosaur Ingentia prima in Triassic layers of Balde de Leyes, San Juan Province, Argentina.

New Research

The Most Massive of Dinos Evolved Earlier Than Previously Thought

A Triassic giant unearthed in Argentina suggests that dinosaurs took the path to greatness at least twice

The foot bones of an Australopithecus Afarensis toddler show that the species retained some ape-like traits.

New Research

Ancient Toddler Was at Home on the Ground and in the Trees

The foot of a 2.5-year-old Austrolopithecus afarensis shows it had a grippy big toe that let it cling to its mom and climb tree trunks

Due to their ubiquity at archaeological sites, teeth are like the pennies of ancient human remains. But unlike pennies, fossil chompers can be a treasure trove.

How Ancient Teeth Reveal the Roots of Humankind

From diet to evolution, prehistoric chompers tell archaeologists a surprising amount about our ancestors

New Research

Extinct Gibbon Species Discovered in 2,000-Year-Old Chinese Tomb

It’s believed the species represents a new genera of apes that may have died out just 300 years ago

The smart, menacing, powerful T. rex of 1993's Jurassic Park has lodged itself in the minds of millions.

How We Elected T. rex to Be Our Tyrant Lizard King

The true story behind our obsession with the last and largest of the tyrannosaurs

DNA from this panda skull, found in Cizhutuo cave in southern China, is the oldest panda DNA ever sequenced.

This Ancient Panda Skull Belongs to a Previously Unknown Lineage

The fossilized skull represents a panda line that split from today’s fluffy creatures 183,000 years ago

An artist's impression of an adult and juvenile Lyrarapax unguispinus — awww, how adorable!

This Prehistoric Sea Creature Had Fanged, Killer Babies

The discovery of a juvenile Lyrarapax unguispinus fossil reveals that even the tiny terrors had a developed claw-like appendage and sharp teeth

New Research

Oldest Footprints Show When Life On Earth Got Legs

Tiny fossil tracks found in South China firmly date appendages back to the Ediacaran period

In the early 20th century, pioneer paleontologist Annie Montague Alexander had to find socially acceptable fieldwork partners to avoid being accused of vague improprieties on her expeditions. She would go on to found the University of California Museum of Paleontology at Berkeley.

The Many Ways Women Get Left Out of Paleontology

The hurdles that prevent female fossil hunters from rising at the same rates as their male peers are myriad—but they are all interconnected

An artists rendition of the ancient leviathans.

Why Did Most Massive Bony Fish Behemoths Die Out?

Some researchers suggest metabolism might be to blame, but a new study suggests that’s not the case

The butchered rhino

New Research

700,000-Year-Old Butchered Rhino Pushes Back Ancient Human Arrival in the Philippines

The find changes the story of human migration, but scientists still don’t know what human species did the cutting

Liu Cun Yu, the director of the Beipiao Pterosaur Museum, poses in front of a full-scale model of a Moganopterus zhuiana, a species named after his wife.

The Great Chinese Dinosaur Boom

A gold rush of fossil-finding is turning China into the new epicenter of paleontology

New Research

Ocean Current That Keeps Europe Warm Is Weakening

Two new studies show the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation has decreased 15 to 20 percent over the last 150 years

New Research

This Ancient Reptile Was One of the Most Massive Creatures That Ever Lived

A fossil jawbone found in England suggests the ‘sea monster’ was nearly the size of a blue whale

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