Crocodile fossils found in Portsmouth seawalls
A group of students who headed to the beach last year for some fresh air amid the gloom of the pandemic, chanced upon a crocodile bone in the old seawall that led to the discovery of other fossils......»»
Fossils in Morocco reveal the astounding diversity of marine life 66 million years ago, just before the asteroid hit
Sixty-six million years ago, the Cretaceous period ended. Dinosaurs disappeared, along with around 90% of all species on Earth. The patterns and causes of this extinction have been debated since paleontology began. Was it a slow, inevitable decline,.....»»
Caribbean parrots thought to be endemic are actually relicts of millennial-scale extinction
In a new study published in PNAS, researchers have extracted the first ancient DNA from Caribbean parrots, which they compared with genetic sequences from modern birds. Working with fossils and archaeological specimens, they showed that two species t.....»»
Ediacaran fossils reveal origins of biomineralization that led to expansion of life on Earth
Life on Earth began from a single-celled microbe, while the rise to the multicellular world in which we live arose due a vital chemical process known as biomineralization, during which living organisms produce hardened mineralized tissue, such as ske.....»»
Researchers discover a new species of larger benthic foraminifer from the Ryukyu islands
Foraminifera are tiny, single-celled organisms that live in the oceans. Their hard shells, made of calcium carbonate, can withstand the test of time and their fossils reveal a lot about Earth's history, including past climates and environments......»»
The earliest deep-sea vertebrates revealed by unusual trace fossils
Scientists have discovered a missing evolution puzzle piece in 130-million-year-old rocks. The discovery is a result of an international collaboration, in which the Faculty of Sciences of the University of Lisbon (Portugal) is involved......»»
The modern sea spider had started to diversify by the Jurassic, study finds
An extremely rare collection of 160-million-year-old sea spider fossils from Southern France are closely related to living species, unlike older fossils of their kind......»»
Climate change threatens shaligrams, sacred fossils worshipped by Hindus and Buddhists for more than 2,000 years
For more than 2,000 years, Hinduism, Buddhism and the shamanic Himalayan religion of Bon have venerated shaligrams—ancient fossils of ammonites, a class of extinct sea creatures related to modern squids......»»
Study offers glimpse of 500-million-year-old sea worm named after "Dune" monster
Excavations by a University of Kansas paleontologist working in a treasure trove of fossils called the "Spence Shale Lagerstätte" have revealed an ancient sea worm unknown to science until now. The finding has now been published in the journal Histo.....»»
Ichnocoenoses reveal dynamic process of turbidity current–induced benthic-marine oxygenation
Trace fossils are fossilized structures produced on or within a substrate by the life processes of ancient organisms, including tracks, trails, burrows, borings, and other structures. Ichnocoenosis, a suite of trace fossils representing the work of a.....»»
Spurge purge: Plant fossils reveal ancient South America-to-Asia "escape route"
Anyone who has taken a long road trip or bike ride has used a product of the spurge plant family—rubber. The spurge family, or Euphorbiaceae, includes economically valuable plants like the rubber tree, castor oil plant, poinsettia and cassava. Newl.....»»
How We Can Adapt to Live with Extreme Heat
We can run from hurricanes, hide behind seawalls and buy wildfire insurance. Here’s how we can try to live with heat waves.....»»
Fossil trackways reveal first raptor-prey attack in Pleistocene Europe
Though we may often think of fossils purely as the bones of ancient organisms that roamed the Earth millions of years ago, in fact, we are actually able to see evidence of this past roaming itself......»»
Marine fossils are a reliable benchmark for degrading and collapsing ecosystems
Biologists attempting to conserve and restore denuded environments are limited by their scant knowledge of what those environments looked like before the arrival of humans. This is especially true of coastal ecosystems, many of which had already been.....»»
Marine fossils unearth story about Panama"s deep past
Between 6.4 and 5.8 million years ago, most of the land bridge that connects North and South America had already emerged and the channels connecting both Pacific and Atlantic oceans were shallow. Recent fossil discoveries in the northern Panama Canal.....»»
Belief in animals" capacity for emotion linked to better health and welfare
Working equids whose owners believe in their capacity to feel emotion have significantly better health and welfare outcomes than those whose owners do not, according to new research by the University of Portsmouth and international animal welfare cha.....»»
Researchers unearth rare carpoid fossil dating to the Devonian
A recent and unexpected discovery at Penn Dixie has provided new insight into the evolutionary history of an unusual group of fossils......»»
How the weight of the world fell on one geologist"s shoulders
In 1981, newly minted palaeobiologist Jan Zalasiewicz assumed he was headed for a discreet career retrieving and deciphering fossils from Earth's deep past......»»
Smelling in stereo—a surprising find on a fossilized shark
Fossils and modern experiments are telling us what a shark's nose knows. Enlarge / Artist's reconstruction of the shark as it once lived. (credit: Klug et. al.) Sharks are largely cartilaginous, a body structure that oft.....»»
Fossils reveal how ancient birds molted, could explain why modern birds survived while other dinosaurs died
Every bird you've ever seen—every robin, every pigeon, every penguin at the zoo—is a living dinosaur. Birds are the only group of dinosaurs that survived the asteroid-induced mass extinction 66 million years ago. But not all the birds alive at th.....»»
Scientists describe first known Jurassic vertebrate fossils found in Texas
A team led by scientists at The University of Texas at Austin has filled a major gap in the state's fossil record—describing the first known Jurassic vertebrate fossils in Texas......»»