All articles tagged with #paleontology
Researchers identified a new extinct crocodile species, Herugavialis cairensis, from fossils found in the limestone used to build the Great Sphinx. CT scans revealed distinct skull features that distinguish it from the false gharial, adding a new branch to the gavial family tree.
A team from the University of Texas at Austin has determined that the Ames meteor impact crater in Oklahoma is approximately 100 million years younger than previously thought. New zircon crystal dating places the impact at 370 million years ago, aligning it with the Late Devonian Frasnian-Famennian mass extinction rather than the older Ordovician Meteor Event. This reclassification removes the crater from a proposed global asteroid ring theory and links it to a period of severe marine life loss, potentially influencing theories on whether extraterrestrial impacts or volcanic activity drove major extinctions.
A coelacanth fossil stored for over 150 years at London’s Natural History Museum has been identified as a new species, Macropoma gombessae. Using non-invasive X-ray computed tomography, researchers revealed internal structures that bridge a 50-million-year gap in the evolutionary lineage of coelacanths. The discovery challenges the notion of coelacanths as static 'living fossils' and highlights the potential of modern imaging to unlock secrets in existing museum collections without damaging specimens.
Before modern paleontology, medieval and early modern Europeans misidentified giant fossils as mythical creatures or biblical giants. This belief persisted for centuries until scientists like Cuvier proved extinction was real.
A new study published in Science Advances suggests that animals may have evolved 200 million years earlier than previously believed. By using molecular clock analysis, researchers argue that the absence of fossils in certain ancient rocks does not mean animals were absent, proposing origins between 800 and 700 million years ago.
A newly described Early Cretaceous mammal, Dongoconodon platycauda, challenges long-held views of mammalian evolution by exhibiting polyphyodonty (multiple tooth replacements) and semi-aquatic adaptations similar to modern platypuses and nutrias. Found in China, this 120-million-year-old specimen suggests that key mammalian traits like dental replacement and ear structure evolved independently rather than as a single package.
A nearly complete fossil of Kayrasaurus changliensis, discovered in northeastern China, identifies the largest known therizinosaur. This Late Cretaceous herbivore featured massive claws, a unique tooth arrangement, and a heavy build, distinguishing it from smaller, more agile relatives.
A newly described 57-centimeter microraptorine dinosaur, Norellraptor barsboldi, from Liaoning province, China, provides evidence that flight evolved independently in birds and non-avian dinosaurs. The fossil, dated to 145–100 million years ago, shares 30% of flight-related adaptations with birds but in a different sequence, supporting convergent evolution over a shared ancestral flight apparatus.
A newly described 57-centimeter microraptorine dinosaur from China, Norellraptor barsboldi, suggests that flight evolved independently in birds and feathered dinosaurs through different developmental pathways, challenging the idea of a shared ancestral flight apparatus.
A new study in Science suggests Earth’s solid crust has tipped over multiple times in the last 320 million years, causing significant sea level changes during the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods. Researchers used ancient flooding maps to identify four rapid 'true polar wander' events, challenging previous views that this process was slow or negligible. These shifts, which occur as the planet reorients to balance mass distribution, may have profoundly impacted global climate and biology, though the exact triggers remain unknown.
A newly described 57-centimeter dinosaur, Norellraptor barsboldi, from 120-million-year-old Chinese rock beds, provides strong evidence that flight evolved independently in birds and their closest non-avian relatives. While sharing about 30% of anatomical features with birds, the sequence of these adaptations differs, challenging the idea of a shared ancestral flight blueprint.
A remarkably complete fossil from Mongolia’s Gobi Desert, named Tamirkhan balcarceli, has been published in Nature, revealing that zhelestids were not early placental mammals but a distinct group of insectivores. This discovery overturns decades of assumptions based on isolated teeth and highlights the limitations of reconstructing anatomy from partial remains.
New research indicates the Chicxulub impact crater, formed 66 million years ago, generated a hydrothermal system that persisted for 8 million years, potentially providing a long-term habitat for microbial life.
A new study in Nature reclassifies the Early Carboniferous fossil Westlothiana lizziae as a stem tetrapod rather than an early amniote, revealing that terrestrial adaptations evolved in a mosaic fashion within an amphibious context.
A newly described 57-centimeter microraptorine dinosaur, Norellraptor barsboldi, found in China, shows that flight-related adaptations in birds and non-avian dinosaurs likely evolved independently. The fossil, dated to 100–145 million years ago, shares about 30% of anatomical changes with birds but in a different sequence, supporting convergent evolution over a shared ancestral flight apparatus.