paleontology5.62 min read
Epicyon: Miocene's bear-sized bone-crushing canid
11 hours ago•Source: BBC Wildlife Magazine
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8.905 min•2 days ago
Jurassic Katydids Sing in Ultrasound, Pre-Bat Era
Researchers reconstructed the calls of 165‑million‑year‑old insects from fossilized wings found in Inner Mongolia, China, using lasers, computer models and AI. Most species produced low calls around 5 kHz, but Sigmaboilus peregrinus likely vocalized above 20 kHz (ultrasonic), making it the oldest known ultrasonic animal vocalization and predating bats. The findings challenge the idea that bat predation was the sole driver of ultrasonic signaling and suggest predators beyond bats and acoustic niche competition shaped early insect communication. The work combined phylogenetics, laser vibrometry, wing‑vibration simulations, and machine learning, and was published in PNAS.
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New Armored Dinosaur Nipponopelta yezoensis Found in Japan
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Spoon-Teethed Triassic Marine Reptile Rewrites Early Sauropterygian Roots
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Batwing-Headed Jawless Fish Glided Devonian Seas, Study Finds
Paleontologists in China describe Bataspis crux, a new galeaspid (armored jawless fish) from Early Devonian rocks in Yunnan, whose batwing-shaped headshield, analyzed with 3D flow models, produced the highest lift-to-drag ratio yet seen in galeaspids and suggests it could glide through Devonian seas, expanding our understanding of how jawless stem-gnathostomes moved and how vertebrates began to diversify.
30-Million-Year-Old Canid Reveals Tree-Climbing Ancestor, Not a Runner
A nearly complete 30-million-year-old canid fossil from Oregon, Mesocyon coryphaeus, shows an animal built for climbing rather than running, with a rotatable elbow and a large dewclaw; the skeleton is among the most complete pre-Ice Age canids in North America and indicates this early dog sometimes climbed and grappled, not sprinting like modern dogs, and was identified as male by the preserved baculum. The discovery—initially misidentified as an oreodont—highlights how extinction erased a distinct early dog ecology that has no exact modern replacement.
Wyoming Fossil Finds Reveal Tiny Primate Tetonius varleyorum and New Primate-Evolution Clues
Paleontologists in southern Wyoming report Tetonius varleyorum, a new omomyid primate about the size of a mouse lemur from ~50 million years ago, based on jaw and tooth fragments found at Smiley Draw’s Tim’s Confession. The site also yielded Arapahovius gazini and Anemorhysis savage, making three omomyid species co-located at an early Eocene locality. Published in the Journal of Human Evolution, the findings expand the Tetonius story beyond the Bighorn Basin and suggest branching evolution (not a single, linear anagenetic path) in early primates, broadening the geographic and macroevolutionary context.
East Asia’s First Turiasaur Sauropod: A New Middle Jurassic Link from China
Paleontologists in southern China report Yantaloong lini, a Middle Jurassic sauropod likely within Turiasauria—the first turiasaurid documented in East Asia. The vertebrae fossils reveal a mosaic of advanced and primitive traits, suggesting a transitional form toward Neosauropoda and helping fill a gap in East Asian sauropod evolution, though its exact placement varies among analyses.
Ancient Chinese Fossil Reveals Earliest Cephalopod Siphuncle, Rewriting Buoyancy Evolution
Paleontologists describe Eoceras shaanxiense from China’s Early Cambrian (~520 million years ago) as the oldest siphuncle-bearing cephalopod, offering a crucial transitional step in buoyancy evolution between early chambered shells and later cephalopods. The study, based on 32 specimens from the Shuijingtuo Formation, suggests these ancient animals had a primitive buoyancy system and likely spent most of their lives on the seafloor; the findings are published in Nature.
Ancient Japanese Honeybee Fossil Bridges Two-Million-Year Gap
A 2.8–2.2 million-year-old fossil honeybee from Hyogo, Japan, named Apis aibai, is the youngest known extinct honeybee and the oldest fossil in the Apis subgenus, bridging gaps between the fossil record and genomic dates; its wing and leg morphology closely matches the living Apis nigrocincta, implying a broader ancient distribution and possibly ancestral ties to Apis cerana; the find supports timing estimates for the subgenus’s origin and was published in ZooKeys.
Argentavis: The Miocene Giant with a 7-Meter Wingspan
Argentavis magnificens, from Late Miocene Argentina, boasted a 7-meter wingspan and weighed about 72 kg, making it one of the largest flying birds. It resembled a condor and likely flew by soaring with short, flapping bursts, taking off from cliffs and slopes rather than moving well on the ground, suggesting it was primarily a scavenger rather than a predator.
Jurassic Pliosaur Liopleurodon Revisited: Not the 25-Meter Giant It Was Made Out to Be
New analysis of 37 Liopleurodon ferox specimens finds total body lengths of about 2.5–8.1 m, clustering around 5 m, with a skull about 24% of skeletal length—meaning Liopleurodon was a large apex predator but far smaller than the 25 m figure popularized by media. The study also notes indeterminate Oxford Clay pliosaurs that could reach 7–12 m, suggesting some giants swam with Liopleurodon in the Middle Jurassic. Published online July 16, 2026 in the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology.
Diminutive Middle Jurassic Sauropod Discovered in India Expands Early Neosauropod Range
Paleontologists in western India unearthed Ceratocaudia antiqua, a small Middle Jurassic neosauropod from the Kaladongar Formation in the Kachchh Basin. At about 7 meters long, it’s one of the oldest diagnosable neosauropods and, along with Chinese species, supports a global neosauropod distribution by the early Middle Jurassic.
Ancient Burmese Amber Gecko Reveals Earliest Known Male Reproductive Feature
Paleontologists describe Carinasquama rusmithii, a newly named genus and species of tiny gecko from roughly 99-million-year-old Kachin amber in Myanmar. One specimen bears a hemipenal bulge at the base of its tail, the external sign of male reproductive organs, making this among the oldest lizard fossils confidently identified as male. Scientists reconstructed the skeletons via micro-CT, noting skin details preserved in amber and tentatively placing the species within Pan-Gekkota. The find provides rare evidence of male Squamata anatomy from the mid-Cretaceous.