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Paleontologists

An artist's interpretation of Fujianvenator prodigiosus

This ‘Weird,’ Bird-Like Dinosaur Had Really Long Legs

Paleontologists discovered the 150-million-year-old creature in southeast China

Sixteen-year-old Lindsey Stallworth cleans the whale skull in the lab at the Alabama School of Mathematics and Science.

Cool Finds

Teenager Helps Uncover 34-Million-Year-Old Whale Skull in Alabama

Working with one of her teachers, the 16-year-old student found the fossil, which may represent a new species, on her family’s property

An X-ray microcomputed tomography scan of a male Eucera bee mummified inside a cocoon.

Paleontologists Discover Mummified Bees Preserved in Their Cocoons for 3,000 Years

Some kind of “catastrophic” event, such as a sudden freeze or flood, likely killed all the young adult bees at once, according to a new study

An artist's interpretation of what Perucetus colossus would have looked like when it lived some 38 million years ago

This Massive Extinct Whale May Be the Heaviest Animal That Ever Lived

The newly discovered behemoth could unseat the blue whale for the title, but scientists can only make educated guesses about its weight

An artistic reconstruction shows a group of Burgessomedusa phasmiformis swimming in the Cambrian sea.

These 508-Million-Year-Old Fossils May Be Earth’s Oldest Swimming Jellyfish

Researchers found the rare remains in Canada

In the past decade, paleontologists have named several new dinosaur species and found that some previously discovered species belonged to their own groups.

How Many Dinosaurs Remain Undiscovered?

Paleontologists say more non-avian dinos are waiting to be uncovered than have previously been found

A variety of saber-toothed animals have evolved to fill different niches.

Eight Menacing Saber-Toothed Creatures That Stalked the Earth Long Ago

From before the dinosaurs to the Ice Age, several mammals and their forerunners sported the iconic, curved teeth

An artist's interpretation of how a rhynchosaur might have looked

These ‘Grinning’ Triassic Reptiles Likely Died of Starvation

Sheep-sized rhynchosaurs had an unusual way of chewing plants that wore down their teeth over time

An illustration of a predator decapitating Tanystropheus hydroides

These Long-Necked Marine Reptiles Were Decapitated

Tanystropheus fossils reveal how predators may have snapped the creatures’ necks with a powerful, swift bite from above

Iani smithi

New Beaked Dinosaur Species Found in Utah

The creature, dubbed Iani smithi, was identified from a 99-million-year-old fossil

Paleontologists discovered Oda's remarkably intact fossilized skeleton in Svalbard in 2008.

Unraveling the Mysteries of Oda the Ichthyosaur

Paleontologists used X-rays to identify the 240-million-year-old creature’s flattened and fossilized remains

Mammoth and elephant tusks are elongated incisors, so they're made of the same materials as other teeth.

Male Woolly Mammoths Had Testosterone-Fueled Aggressive Episodes

By studying preserved tusks, scientists suggest the mammals experienced a yearly condition known as musth, like male elephants do today

Fossils in Wales reveal a glimpse into marine life 462 million years ago. In this illustration based on the new finds, the tall sponge in the foreground is less than one inch in height.

This Trove of Fossils in Wales Is Revealing Secrets of Early Animal Life

Scientists have uncovered 170 species from around 462 million years ago, unveiling surprises about when tiny marine creatures evolved and disappeared

One of the many Edicaran biota fossils within the bounds of Nilpena Ediacara National Park, which is now open in South Australia.

The World’s Newest National Park Protects 550-Million-Year-Old Fossils

The 148,000-acre Nilpena Ediacara National Park in South Australia is helping scientists unravel the mysteries of life’s evolution on Earth

Many giant animals roamed the Earth after non-avian dinosaurs went extinct.

After Dinosaurs Went Extinct, These Ten Giant Creatures Roamed the Earth

Though we often think of the “terrible lizards” as behemoths, many later reptiles and mammals also grew to massive sizes

The fossil of Icaronycteris gunnelli

Paleontologists Discover 52-Million-Year-Old Bat

The fossil represents the earliest-known species of the flying mammal

Though this particular Arctic ground squirrel died during the Ice Age, these rodents still live in the Yukon Territory and Alaska today.

Cool Finds

This Mummified Ice Age Squirrel Was Found Frozen in Canada

Scientists identified the curled-up creature as an Arctic ground squirrel that likely died while hibernating some 30,000 years ago

The Tyrannosaurus rex may have had lips.

T. Rex Had Lips That Concealed Its Teeth, Study Says

Paleontologists say popular, toothy depictions of the dinosaur may have missed the mark

An artist’s reconstruction of Rhinesuchus, a rhinesuchid temnospondyl

Paleontologists Uncover Fossil Impressions of Giant, Alligator-Like Amphibians

The find reveals how the creatures swam and relaxed in prehistoric waterways

Many of the reptiles that thrived during the Triassic were crocodile relatives that dinosaurs would later mimic through evolutionary happenstance, such as Postosuchus (back) and Desmatosuchus (front).

Dinosaurs Were Evolutionary Copycats of These Long-Lost Look-Alikes

Before T. rex and ankylosaurus ruled the Earth, a host of similar Triassic reptiles reigned

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