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Fossil

All articles tagged with #fossil

Ancient Axolotl Fossil in Mexico Redefines Its Deep Evolutionary History
science6 days ago

Ancient Axolotl Fossil in Mexico Redefines Its Deep Evolutionary History

UNAM researchers describe Ambystoma quetzalcoatli, the first formally identified fossil salamander from Mexico and the oldest Ambystoma record in the country, based on scans of specimens from Hidalgo. The fossils show distinctive skull and skeleton features, including an elongated skull opening, a unique palate, and 17 trunk vertebrae, setting it apart from living axolotls. By comparing with 13 extant Ambystoma species and modern CT data, they concluded the species likely exhibited neoteny and lived in a Pliocene-era lake system, expanding our understanding of axolotl evolution and Mexico’s ancient biodiversity.

via WIRED|
#ambystoma#axolotl#fossil
Antarctica’s first dinosaur fossil unearthed from decades-old drawer find
science10 days ago

Antarctica’s first dinosaur fossil unearthed from decades-old drawer find

A Titanosaur vertebra found in 1985 by a British Antarctic Survey team and stored in a museum drawer for decades has been reclassified as Antarctica’s first dinosaur fossil, dating to about 82 million years ago. The bone belongs to a small-to-mid-sized titanosaur, suggesting these long-necked giants once inhabited Antarctica’s forested past and hinting that southern continents remained connected via Gondwana for dinosaur dispersal.

via CNN|
#antarctica#dinosaurs#fossil
UK boy uncovers 1.8-million-year-old elephant tooth on Suffolk coast
world12 days ago

UK boy uncovers 1.8-million-year-old elephant tooth on Suffolk coast

An 11-year-old boy in Suffolk, England, Charlie Orchard-Lisle, found a four-inch, 1.8-million-year-old upper left molar from the extinct Anancus avernensis on East Lane beach at Bawdsey. Paleontologists say erosion likely freed the tooth from the Red Crag cliffs, and the enamel is well-preserved after hundreds of thousands of years. The discovery coincided with the boy’s love of elephants, making it a striking, wild coincidence and a notable paleontological find.

via New York Post|
#anancus-avernensis#elephant-tooth#fossil
Patagonia Uncovers New Horned Turtle Species From the Late Cretaceous
paleontology1 month ago

Patagonia Uncovers New Horned Turtle Species From the Late Cretaceous

Paleontologists have named Patagoniaemys aeschyli, a new meiolaniform turtle from northern Patagonia, Argentina, dating to the Maastrichtian (72–67 million years ago). The well-preserved Los Alamitos Formation fossil includes skull base, shell fragments, vertebrae, and limbs, with an about 80 cm carapace; its broad, relatively low shell bears thick bumps and a surface of pits and grooves. The discovery supports persistence of meiolaniform lineages across the Cretaceous–Paleogene boundary in Patagonia, indicating limited faunal turnover for southern turtles, and was described in Acta Palaeontologica Polonica (March 26, 2026).

via Sci.News|
#fossil#maastrichtian#meiolaniformes
Ancient arthropod fossil reshapes view of late Cambrian biodiversity
science1 month ago

Ancient arthropod fossil reshapes view of late Cambrian biodiversity

A 500-million-year-old arthropod from Québec, Magnicornaspis garwoodi, with two forward-projecting head spines, expands knowledge of rare corcoraniids in the late Cambrian. Found in the Rivière-du-Loup Formation and long stored in the Smithsonian, the specimen suggests the Furongian gap may reflect sampling bias rather than a true biodiversity collapse, implying diverse ecosystems persisted in the late Cambrian and that many fossils remain undiscovered in under-explored rocks and museum collections.

via The Conversation|
#cambrian#fossil#furongian-gap
Crab-Clawed Amber Insect from 100 Million Years Ago Redefines Insect Evolution
science1 month ago

Crab-Clawed Amber Insect from 100 Million Years Ago Redefines Insect Evolution

A 100-million-year-old true bug preserved in Myanmar amber reveals front legs ending in crab-like claws, a rare feature found in only a few insect groups. Using micro-CT, researchers assign a new genus and species, Carcinonepa libererrantes, and infer a predatory lifestyle in a Cretaceous forest; the claws illustrate convergent evolution across distant lineages, highlighting the diversity of ancient ecosystems.

via The Daily Galaxy|
#amber#claws#evolution
66-Million-Year-Old Dino Bone Reveals Surviving Collagen
science1 month ago

66-Million-Year-Old Dino Bone Reveals Surviving Collagen

A Liverpool-led study of a 66-million-year-old Edmontosaurus sacrum detected remnants of collagen and the amino acid hydroxyproline in a remarkably preserved fossil, using multiple analytical methods to rule out contamination. The findings suggest some original biomolecules can persist for tens of millions of years, offering new clues about dinosaur biology and evolution beyond bone structure.

via The Daily Galaxy|
#biomolecules#block#collagen
Ancient Fossil Rewrites Octopus History: It Was a Nautiloid All Along
science2 months ago

Ancient Fossil Rewrites Octopus History: It Was a Nautiloid All Along

A 300-million-year-old fossil long celebrated as the world’s oldest octopus (Pohlsepia mazonensis) has been reidentified as a nautiloid relative after synchrotron imaging revealed a radula with tooth-like structures that rule out an octopus. The discovery also preserves the oldest known nautiloid soft tissue and pushes octopus origins to the Jurassic, prompting a reevaluation of cephalopod evolution.

via SciTechDaily|
#fossil#nautiloid#octopus-evolution
Tiny 16-Centimeter Fossil Sheds Light on Ancient Rhynchocephalians Near a Jurassic Nest
science2 months ago

Tiny 16-Centimeter Fossil Sheds Light on Ancient Rhynchocephalians Near a Jurassic Nest

A near-complete 16 cm fossil of Opisthiamimus gregori, a rhynchocephalian, was found in Wyoming’s Morrison Formation near an Allosaurus nest. Researchers used micro-CT scans to create a detailed 3D reconstruction, suggesting an insectivorous diet and revealing jaw-tooth mechanics that can help classify other fossils and better understand this once-diverse group that declined long ago.

via The Daily Galaxy|
#fossil#jurassic#morrison-formation