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......»»
Rare fossilized algae, discovered unexpectedly, fill in evolutionary gaps
When geobiology graduate student Katie Maloney trekked into the mountains of Canada's remote Yukon territory, she was hoping to find microscopic fossils of early life. Even with detailed field plans, the odds of finding just the right rocks were low......»»
Cephalopods: Older than previously thought?
Possibly the oldest cephalopods in the Earth's history stem from the Avalon Peninsula in Newfoundland (Canada) discovered by scientists from Heidelberg University. The 522-million-year-old fossils could turn out to be the first known form of these hi.....»»
How ESA helps South Africa share water fairly
Clustered at the edge of the Crocodile River in Mpumalanga Province, South Africa, stand thousands of farms and small holdings growing fresh fruit and sugar cane. Water to irrigate the crops is taken from the river, but this slows its flow rate and l.....»»
Fossils in a Forgotten Ice Core Rewrite Greenland’s Icy Past
A secret Cold War project led to signs of ancient life—and a new warning about the future of the climate......»»
Neanderthals disappeared from Europe earlier than thought, says study
Neanderthal fossils from a cave in Belgium believed to belong to the last survivors of their species ever discovered in Europe are thousands of years older than once thought, a new study said Monday......»»
Paleontologists discover new insect group after solving 150-year-old mystery
For more than 150 years, scientists have been incorrectly classifying a group of fossil insects as damselflies, the familiar cousins of dragonflies that flit around wetlands eating mosquitoes. While they are strikingly similar, these fossils have odd.....»»
New fossil discovery illuminates the lives of the earliest primates
Stephen Chester, an assistant professor of anthropology and paleontologist at the Graduate Center, CUNY and Brooklyn College, was part of a team of 10 researchers from across the United States who analyzed several fossils of Purgatorius, the oldest g.....»»
Stromatolites—fossils of earliest life on Earth—may owe existence to viruses
As the Mars Rover sets out to look for evidence of life on another planet, scientists back on Earth suggest viruses played a key role in creating stromatolites, our planet's earliest lifeforms......»»
Quartz crystals in the stomach of fossil bird complicates the mystery of its diet
It's hard to know what prehistoric animals' lives were like—even answering seemingly simple questions, like what they ate, can be a challenge. Sometimes, paleontologists get lucky, and pristine fossils will preserve an animal's stomach contents or.....»»
Mammoth Genomes Shatter Record for Oldest DNA Sequences
Researchers extracted DNA from fossils that are more than a million years old, illuminating the origins of the woolly mammoth and the Columbian mammoth -- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com.....»»
Crocodile evolution rebooted by Ice Age glaciations
Crocodiles are resilient animals from a lineage that has survived for over 200 million years. Skilled swimmers, crocodiles can travel long distances and live in freshwater to marine environments. But they can't roam far overland. American crocodiles.....»»
Astronomers Detect Extended Dark Matter Halo Around Ancient Dwarf Galaxy
fahrbot-bot shares a report from Phys.Org: The Milky Way is surrounded by dozens of dwarf galaxies that are thought to be relics of the very first galaxies in the universe. Among the most primitive of these galactic fossils is Tucana II -- an ultrafa.....»»
Crocodile tears? Research findings can help to increase population size of endangered species
The findings of a new study examining the behaviors of alligator and caiman hatchlings have enhanced our understanding of how we can conserve, and increase, the population of endangered crocodilian species......»»
Mysterious magnetic fossils offer past climate clues
There are fossils, found in ancient marine sediments and made up of no more than a few magnetic nanoparticles, that can tell us a whole lot about the climate of the past, especially episodes of abrupt global warming. Now, researchers including doctor.....»»
Astronomers detect extended dark matter halo around ancient dwarf galaxy
The Milky Way is surrounded by dozens of dwarf galaxies that are thought to be relics of the very first galaxies in the universe. Among the most primitive of these galactic fossils is Tucana II—an ultrafaint dwarf galaxy that is about 50 kiloparsec.....»»
Endangered Siamese crocodile in rare sighting at Thai national park
The critically endangered Siamese crocodile has been spotted for only the second time in a decade at Thailand's largest national park, according to photos released on Saturday......»»
Using 100-million-year-old fossils and gravitational-wave science to predict Earth"s future climate
A group of international scientists, including an Australian astrophysicist, has used findings from gravitational wave astronomy (used to find black holes in space) to study ancient marine fossils as a predictor of climate change......»»
Ammonite: The remarkable real science of Mary Anning and her fossils
Palaeontologist Mary Anning is known for discovering a multitude of Jurassic fossils from Lyme Regis on England's Dorset Coast from the age of ten in 1809......»»
Fossils" soft tissues helping to solve puzzle that vexed Darwin
Remarkably well-preserved fossils are helping scientists unravel a mystery about the origins of early animals that puzzled Charles Darwin......»»
Leaf fossils show severe end-Cretaceous plant extinction in southern Argentina
The asteroid impact 66 million years ago that ushered in a mass extinction and ended the dinosaurs also killed off many of the plants that they relied on for food. Fossil leaf assemblages from Patagonia, Argentina, suggest that vegetation in South Am.....»»