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Fossils

Crocodile-like sebecids were known to roam South America after dinosaurs went extinct. Recently found fossils suggest they inhabited the Caribbean as well—and thrived there long after they disappeared on the continent.

Fossils Reveal Enormous, Crocodile-Like Reptiles Survived for Millions of Years Longer Than Previously Thought

New discoveries in the Dominican Republic suggest sebecids roamed the Caribbean as recently as 4.5 million years ago, long after they vanished from South America

A Haast’s eagle attacks a moa pair.

Why Have Birds Never Gotten as Big as T. Rex?

Even the most massive birds have never reached the sizes of their dinosaur relatives

New research suggests that land-based echidnas descended from semi-aquatic mammals. 

A Single Prehistoric Bone Might Rewrite the History of the World’s Strangest Mammals

Analysis of the fossil suggests that the only two egg-laying mammals, platypuses and land-based echidnas, both descended from a semi-aquatic creature

The mosasaur vertebra measured more than seven inches wide.

Geologists Stumble Upon Remains of Giant ‘Sea Monster’ in Mississippi, Likely the Largest Mosasaur Ever Identified in the State

Researchers uncovered one vertebra, and based on its size, they estimate the massive creature was at least 30 feet long when it roamed the shallow seas that covered the region roughly 66 million years ago

The 113-million-year-old fossil of Vulcanidris cratensis is the first known hell ant preserved in rock rather than amber.

Scientists Discover the Oldest Known Ant Fossil, a 113-Million-Year-Old ‘Hell Ant’ Preserved in Rock in Brazil

The odd-looking specimen with scythe-like jaws indicates that early ants were spread widely across the globe while dinosaurs still roamed

Researchers took a closer look at fossilized footprints—including these cat-like tracks—found at John Day Fossil Beds National Monument in Oregon.

50-Million-Year-Old Footprints Open a ‘Rare Window’ Into the Behaviors of Extinct Animals That Once Roamed in Oregon

Scientists revisited tracks made by a shorebird, a lizard, a cat-like predator and some sort of large herbivore at what is now John Day Fossil Beds National Monument

An artist's impression of the Late Cretaceous crocodilian Deinosuchus riograndensis and a much smaller, early alligator relative.

The Ancient ‘Terror Crocodiles’ of North America Weren’t Alligators After All, DNA and Fossils Suggest

A new study indicates the giant reptile Deinosuchus is not a close relative of modern alligators, as scientists previously thought, and it might have thrived by tolerating saltwater

Fossils indicate a variety of marine reptiles swam through ancient seas.

From Massive Eyes to Shark-Like Tails, Seven Amazing Adaptations That Helped Prehistoric Reptiles Thrive at Sea

The creatures cruised the world’s oceans with features we often associate with marine mammals, such as coats of blubber and the ability to birth live young

Researchers extracted ancient proteins from the bone and tooth enamel.

Mysterious Jawbone Found at an Antique Shop in Taiwan Belonged to a Male Denisovan, Scientists Say

The fossil, called Penghu 1, is one of the few known pieces of physical evidence from the Denisovans, extinct relatives of modern humans. It suggests the species lived in diverse environments

An artistic rendering of the carnivorous theropods and herbivorous sauropods that left tracks at the same Scottish site.

‘Important’ Dinosaur Tracks Found in Scotland Suggest Carnivores and Their Prey Drank From the Same Watering Hole

Researchers analyzed 131 fossilized impressions on the Isle of Skye, some of which were previously considered fish burrows

A skull of the Triassic amphibian Buettnererpeton bakeri gets uncovered for the first time in 230 million years. Researchers found it in a cache of skeletons that were well-preserved and appear to be relatively undisturbed over time.

Enormous, Crocodile-Sized Amphibians Mysteriously Died Together in Wyoming 230 Million Years Ago

Paleontologists found a group of four-legged Triassic creatures preserved in the same bone bed—but they don’t know what killed the animals

The tusks of ancient elephants came in a variety of shapes and sizes.

Ten Exceptional Ancient Elephants, From Small Swimming Creatures to Shovel-Tusked Beasts

A wide variety of the exotic animals evolved on Earth over the past 60 million years

A newly described wasp species, Sirenobethylus charybdis, had a tail with paddles and trigger hairs that scientists say was used to catch and parasitize insects. The scale bar is 0.5 millimeters.

Ancient, Parasitic Wasp Used Its Rear End Like a Venus Flytrap to Catch Insects and Lay Its Eggs on Them, Study Suggests

Scientists say they’ve never seen anything like this “truly unique” species, which was found encased in amber

In the Gobi Desert, scientists discovered two fossilized claws of a large, feathered dinosaur now called Duonychus tsogtbaatari.

Cool Finds

Dinosaur With Two Massive, Sloth-Like Claws Is on ‘Another Level’ of Weird—Even Among Its Unusual Group of Relatives

Paleontologists discovered Duonychus tsogtbaatari from fossils uncovered in 2012. It was a giant, feathered creature adapted to grasp and feed on vegetation

The fish feasted on phantom midge larvae, insects and bivalves before they died.

Paleontologists Stumble Across 15-Million-Year-Old Fish Fossils That Are So Well Preserved, Their Last Meals Are Intact

Discovered in Australia, the fossils represent a new species that lived during the Miocene epoch and highlight how iron-rich rock can protect specimens over time

Researchers carefuly wrapped the tusk in strips of plaster-covered burlap for protection.

Cool Finds

A Hunter Was Out Looking for Deer in West Texas. He Found a Rare Mammoth Tusk Instead

Discovered in the drainage area of a creek bed, the tusk was initially thought to be “just an old stump”

The slab was donated to an Australian high school by a geologist who discovered it at a nearby coal mine.

Cool Finds

Students Walked Past This Rock for 20 Years. It Turned Out to Host 66 Dinosaur Footprints From the Jurassic Period

A paleontologist studied the 200-million-year-old prints that had been hiding in plain sight, then discovered even more tracks in another rock sitting in a nearby parking lot

A new study suggests that the lemon shark, pictured here, is a better analogue for the megalodon's size than a great white.

Megalodon Might Have Been Longer and Skinnier Than Previously Thought, Growing Up to 80 Feet

A new paper suggests the enormous, extinct shark looked less like a bulky great white and more like an elongated lemon shark

Researchers used a miniaturized laser mass spectrometer to identify signs of fossils in a gypsum quarry in Algeria. They suggest the same tool could find early fossils on Mars.

Scientists Hope This Tool Could Identify Tiny Fossils on Mars, Revealing Hints to Potential Early Life on the Planet

If Mars ever hosted microorganisms in its bygone oceans, their fossils might still be preserved in minerals—and now, we have a new potential way to find them

A mosquito stuck in resin is on its way to becoming a fossil preserved in amber.

How a Fragile Insect Living 100 Million Years Ago Becomes a Fossil

A bug, a dinosaur and a tree intersect, creating the perfect conditions for resin to capture a moment in time

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