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Fossils

Sauropod footprint on the Isle of Skye.

50 Rare Dinosaur Footprints Found on Scottish Island

The prints date to the Middle Jurassic period, which has yielded relatively few dinosaur fossils

An artist's impression of the tiny bird.

127-Million-Year-Old Baby Bird Fossil Offers Peek Into Ancient Avian Development

The baby enantiornithe had a soft sternum and likely could not fly

The handbones seen in the whale model in the center of this image tell the curious story of how whales went from land to water.

Ask Smithsonian

What’s a “Missing Link”?

While some still use the term, experts abhor it because it implies that life is a linear hierarchy

Thousands of years ago, a herd of Columbian mammoths trudged across present-day Oregon to an ancient lake, recording their interactions in the muddy sediments.

New Research

Rare Mammoth Tracks Reveal an Intimate Portrait of Herd Life

Researchers piece together a 43,000-years-old tableau of an injured adult and concerned young

Young Tourist Finds 90-Million-Year-Old Fish Fossil at Colombian Monastery

Palaeontologists were first alerted to the fossil by a 10-year-old tourist

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Cool Finds

Dinosaur and Ancient Mammal Stomping Ground Found in NASA Parking Lot

The slab is covered in 70 foot prints and is one of the best collections of animal traces yet found

Artist concept of Mansourasaurus shahinae on a lush coastline of what is now the Western Desert of Egypt approximately 80 million years ago.

African Titanosaur Discovery Helps Untangle Dinosaur Evolution

The creature reveals ancient connection between Africa, Europe, and Asia after the great Pangea broke apart

Close-up view of the of jawbone, showing details of the crown topography and dental features.

New Research

Earliest Human Remains Outside Africa Were Just Discovered in Israel

If accepted as Homo sapien, the jaw-dropping jawbone would push back the human exodus out of Africa by nearly 100,000 years

Artist's concept of Caihong, a crow-sized iridescent dinosaur from the Jurassic Period.

Newly Discovered Dino Had a Rainbow of Shiny Feathers

The fossilized creature was likely a blend of hummingbird and crow

Habelia optata

New Research

This Fierce 508-Million-Year-Old Relative of Scorpions Had Five Jaws and Body Armor

A new analysis of Habelia optata could help us understand the history of modern arthropods

The dino print, before it was smashed

Trending Today

Vandals Shatter 115-Million-Year Old Dino Track in Australia

Believed to be from a rare polar dinosaur, the damage was discovered by a school class visiting Bunurong Marine National Park

The rock from the Apex Chert in which the fossils were found

New Research

At 3.5 Billion Years Old, Are These the Oldest Fossils?

A new analysis of this decades-old find suggests that they were indeed once biological life—but not all are convinced

This dinosaur footprint was found in sandstone at Dinosaur Track at Hackberry Canyon in Grand Staircase-Escalante National. A proclamation recently signed by President Trump would reduce the protected area by half.

What Shrinking Fossil-Rich National Monuments Means for Science

Smithsonian.com asks paleontologists how their work will change after the decision to slash Bears Ears and Grand Staircase

New Research

99-Million-Year-Old Tick That Feasted on Dino Blood Found Trapped in Amber

Sorry, there’s no DNA left. But the find does provide the first strong evidence that the parasites preyed on dinosaurs

New Research

Gaze Into a 530-Million-Year-Old Eye, the Oldest Yet Discovered

Found on an Estonian trilobite, the eye once processed 100 “pixels” of information

What's a dinosaur, anyways? The answer is in the evolutionary tree.

Ask Smithsonian

What Makes a Dinosaur a Dinosaur?

The question may sound like a “duh,” but it gets to the heart of how we categorize and define nature

Artist’s concept of Halszkaraptor escuilliei, the newly discovered dinosaur that blends characteristics of raptors, penguins, swans, and ducks.

New Research

Newly Discovered Swimming Dinosaur Is Delightfully Bizarre

The cartoonish creature blends characteristics of velociraptors, penguins, swans, and ducks

Cool Finds

Little Foot, the Most Complete Australopithecus Fossil, Goes on Display

After 20 years of excavation and cleaning, the 3.67-million year old hominin is ready for her closeup

Hundreds of pterosaur eggs were found, 16 of which contained partial embryonic remains.

Cache of 120-Million-Year-Old Fossilized Pterosaur Eggs Found in China

Some of the eggs contained embryonic remains, offering unprecedented insight into the pterosaur’s early life phases

A new depiction of Anchoirnis and its contour feather.

New Research

This Dinosaur Was Much Fuzzier Than Scientists Once Thought

A new analysis shows the extent of ancient bird-like dino’s fluff

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