Testosterone in tusks: Hormones in mammoth fossils excite paleontologists
The technique could allow us to link mammoth health and nutrition to mating. Enlarge / Mammoth tusks collected at Wrangel Island, where some of the samples tested for hormones originated. (credit: Alexei Tikhonov) Musth,.....»»
Paleontologists find omnivorous ancestor of the giant panda, revealing it was not always just a bamboo eater
The Hammerschmiede fossil site in southern Germany has yielded finds from about 11.5 million years ago that have rewritten evolutionary history. The sole species of bear discovered to date at the site was a relative of the giant panda. Its diet, howe.....»»
Trilobite fossils from upstate New York reveal "extra" set of legs
A new study finds that a trilobite species with exceptionally well-preserved fossils from upstate New York has an additional set of legs underneath its head. The research, led by the American Museum of Natural History and Nanjing University in China,.....»»
AI-based technique speeds up the analysis of fossils
Queensland Museum and James Cook University scientists are using AI to unlock the mysteries of our fossil past. The scientists have developed an AI-based technique that has sped up the analysis of fossils, taking a months-long process to just days. T.....»»
NASA"s Roman Space Telescope to investigate galactic fossils
The universe is a dynamic, ever-changing place where galaxies are dancing, merging together, and shifting appearance. Unfortunately, because these changes take millions or billions of years, telescopes can only provide snapshots, squeezed into a huma.....»»
Indonesia arrests man for selling rhino horn via social media
Indonesian authorities arrested a man trying to sell elephant tusks and the horns of critically endangered rhinos via social media......»»
Darwin"s fear was unjustified: Study suggests fossil record gaps not a major issue
Fossils are used to reconstruct evolutionary history, but not all animals and plants become fossils and many fossils are destroyed before we can find them (e.g., the rocks that contain the fossils are destroyed by erosion). As a result, the fossil re.....»»
NASA"s EXCITE mission prepared for scientific balloon flight
Scientists and engineers are ready to fly an infrared mission called EXCITE (EXoplanet Climate Infrared TElescope) to the edge of space......»»
Paleontologists discover new predatory dinosaur with a distinctive "eyebrow"
Theropod dinosaurs are one of the most important large groups of dinosaurs, including well-known predators, such as Tyrannosaurus and Allosaurus, as well as modern birds. A variety of theropods are known from the Mesozoic Era, the age of the dinosaur.....»»
Heterogeneous occurrence of evergreen broad-leaved forests revealed by plant fossils in East Asia
Evergreen broad-leaved forests (EBLFs) are the most characteristic biomes in East Asia. They assume a fundamental role in the biodiversity function and ecosystem services of the East Asiatic floristic kingdom. Hence, understanding the historical dyna.....»»
Paleontologists describe new examples of giant sea scorpions from the Silurian and Devonian in New South Wales
A team of paleontologists from the American Museum of Natural History, the Australian Museum Research Institute, and the WB Clarke Geoscience Center, in Australia, has added new evidential data for pterygotid eurypterids from the Silurian and Devonia.....»»
Fossil hotspots in Africa obscure a more complete picture of human evolution, study says
Much of the early human fossil record originates from just a few places in Africa, where favorable geological conditions have preserved a trove of fossils used by scientists to reconstruct the story of human evolution......»»
Understanding of early life ecosystems sheds light on evolution of life on Earth
With a new understanding of past life on the planet through fossils, a Mississippi State biological sciences faculty member is helping researchers better predict Earth's future......»»
New technology offers a better look at tardigrade fossils embedded in amber
A trio of evolutionary biologists at Harvard University's Museum of Comparative Zoology has learned more about the evolutionary history of tardigrades by studying two fossils embedded in amber. In their study, published in Communications Biology, Mar.....»»
New species of extinct walrus-like mammal discovered in the North Atlantic
A new discovery by a team of paleontologists, led by Dr. Mathieu Boisville (University of Tsukuba, Japan), has uncovered a new species of the extinct genus Ontocetus from the Lower Pleistocene deposits in the North Atlantic. This species, named Ontoc.....»»
Smallest arm bone in the human fossil record sheds light on the dawn of Homo floresiensis
A paper appearing today in Nature Communications reports the discovery of extremely rare early human fossils from the Indonesian island of Flores, including an astonishingly small adult limb bone......»»
New insights into one of Europe"s oldest dinosaurs
A comprehensive new description of Plateosaurus trossingensis provides valuable information on the evolution, lifestyle and family tree of early dinosaurs. During this analysis, bone injuries were discovered, which paleontologists investigated in mor.....»»
Sea level changes shaped early life on Earth, fossils show
A newly developed timeline of early animal fossils reveals a link between sea levels, changes in marine oxygen, and the appearance of the earliest ancestors of present-day animals......»»
New perspectives for using corals in climate research
Ancient ocean temperatures are most commonly reconstructed by analyzing the ratio of different oxygen atoms in the calcium carbonate remains of fossils. However, this presents many challenges, including a combination of biological processes known as.....»»
New species of tyrannosaurid dinosaur identified in China
A team of paleontologists at the Zhejiang Museum of Natural History in China reports a new species of tyrannosaurid dinosaur. Their find is published in the journal Scientific Reports......»»
Taco-shaped arthropod fossils give new insights into the history of the first mandibulates
A new study, led by paleontologists at the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) is helping resolve the evolution and ecology of Odaraia, a taco-shaped marine animal that lived during the Cambrian period......»»