Paleontology

An artist's renditon of the "alien goldfish." Scientists identified a toothy structure in the animal's gut, suggesting it was some kind of mollusk.

Mysterious ‘Alien Goldfish’ May Have Been a Mollusk

The bizarre creature’s anatomy had stumped scientists for decades

The newly discovered Opisthiamimus gregori preys on a now-extinct water bug.

Scientists Discover Bug-Eating Reptile That Lived Among Dinosaurs

Delicate fossil reveals a cousin of the modern tuatara

A Haast's eagle hunts moa.

How a Giant Eagle Once Came to Dominate New Zealand

Before the formidable bird went extinct, scientists say it likely hunted the flightless moa

Paleontologists uncovered vertebrae and ribs from an enormous sauropod in Portugal.

Portuguese Man Accidentally Finds 82-Foot-Long Dinosaur in His Backyard

Scientists say this could be the largest specimen ever discovered in Europe

Drought conditions caused Dinosaur Valley State Park's Paluxy River to dry up, revealing tracks not usually visible. 

Drought Exposes Dinosaur Tracks in Texas

The 113-million-year-old footprints were largely made by the carnivorous Acrocanthosaurus

At American Fossil Quarry, on privately owned land near Kemmerer, Wyoming, hammer- and chisel-wielding visitors pay $69 to $89 to spend up to four hours hunting for fossils. Finders, keepers.

The 50-Million-Year-Old Treasures of Fossil Lake

In a forbidding Wyoming desert, scientists and fortune hunters search for the surprisingly intact remains of horses and other creatures that lived long ago

Scientists scanned a fossil of the Jurassic cephalopod Vampyronassa, pictured here, and found clues that it was an active hunter.

What New Tech Is Revealing About Squishy, Prehistoric Cephalopods

Researchers have adopted innovative means, from cutting-edge scans to swimming robots, to reveal more about how the creatures lived

Mastodon skeletons stand on display at the University of Michigan Museum of Natural History in Ann Arbor.

Construction Crews Stumble Upon Mastodon Skeleton in Michigan

The massive animal was likely between 10 and 20 years old when it died roughly 12,000 years ago

An illustration of A. nikolovi 

These Extinct Pandas Once Roamed Bulgaria

The bears are a close relative of today's giant pandas and likely ate soft plant materials, not bamboo

A Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton named STAN is one of the most complete specimens ever found.

Study Refutes Controversial Research That Divided the T. Rex Into Three Species

Scientists published a rebuttal article that found “insufficient evidence for multiple species of Tyrannosaurus”

Qikiqtania wakei (top) was more suited to swimming than its larger cousin Tiktaalik (bottom).

After Fish Developed Limbs, Some Might Have Returned to Swimming

Scientists think a recently discovered fossil is evidence that evolution is more like a branching tree than a ladder

Researcher David Webster of the University of North Carolina Wilmington prepares the bones of an Atlantic gray whale for transfer to the National Museum of Natural History.

Scientists Find Most Complete Atlantic Gray Whale Skeleton Ever

The fossil, uncovered in North Carolina, shows signs of butchering

The trunk, ears and tail of this baby woolly mammoth, named Nun cho ga, are almost perfectly preserved.

Well-Preserved, 30,000-Year-Old Baby Woolly Mammoth Emerges From Yukon Permafrost

The mummified creature is helping to heal the rift between the Tr'ondëk Hwëch'in people and the miners and scientists who came to their lands

A Gorgosaurus skeleton measuring 10 feet tall is unveiled at Sothebys in New York, on July 05, 2022.

A Gorgosaurus Skeleton Will Be Privately Auctioned Off for the First Time

The specimen is expected to sell for $5 million to $8 million

Meraxes had a large skull and short arms, in the same proportions as Tarbosaurus, a relative of T. rex.

Paleontologists Uncover New Dinosaur With Tiny Arms Like T. Rex

The predator is among the most complete of its kind ever found

An 1897 painting by Charles R. Knight depicting two dinosaurs called “Laelaps” in an energetic fight, suggesting they may have been warm-blooded.

Paleontologists Are Still Puzzling Over Why Dinosaurs Ran Hot

New evidence reveals details about the physiology of animals that have been extinct for over 66 million years

A skeleton of the giant Triassic ichthyosaur Shonisaurus popularis hangs in the Nevada State Museum.

Whale-Sized Marine Reptiles Once Ruled the Seas

Paleontologists are beginning to learn how and why ichthyosaurs evolved into giants

A fossilized Modocia typicalis trilobite from Utah

Five Places to See Trilobites in the United States

In a new book, fossil collector Andy Secher takes readers on a worldwide trek of trilobite hotspots

Giraffes may have evolved such long necks, in part, because of sexual competition.

An Extinct, Head-Butting Animal May Help Explain Giraffes' Long Necks

The giraffe’s ancestor used its sturdy head and neck to fight for mates

Paleontologists are just beginning to uncover the evolutionary backstory of armored dinosaurs like the ankylosaur Euoplocephalus.

New Fossil Finds Track When Armored Dinosaurs Spread Around the World

Discoveries in Asia and Africa are rewriting the backstory of dinosaurs like <em>Stegosaurus</em>

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