Paleontology

  1. A close up photo of a fossilized male katydid
    Paleontology

    Katydids had the earliest known insect ears 160 million years ago

    Fossils from the Jurassic Period show katydid ears looked identical to those of modern katydids and could pick up short-range calls.

    By Erin Garcia de Jesús
  2. Two heavily armored dinosaurs swing long tail clubs at one another, crossing against the sunset on a strangely barren landscape
    Paleontology

    Armored dinos may have used their tail clubs to bludgeon each other

    Broken and healed spikes on Zuul's flanks are consistent with the armored beast receiving a mighty blow from the tail club of another ankylosaur.

    By Jake Buehler
  3. A blonde woman points at a tooth on T. rex skull dubbed Maximus
    Paleontology

    Why the sale of a T. rex fossil could be a big loss for science

    At least half of the roughly 120 known T. rex fossils are owned privately and not available to the public. “Maximus” may join them.

    By Carolyn Gramling
  4. An illustration of a Natovenator polydontus sitting on top of a body of water with its feet visible below the water line
    Paleontology

    This dinosaur may have had a body like a duck’s

    Natovenator polydontus may have been adapted for life in the water, challenging the popular idea that all dinos were landlubbers.

    By Nikk Ogasa
  5. Computer artwork of extinct woolly mammoths (Mammuthus primigenius) in a snow-covered field. A bison stands in the distance.
    Paleontology

    Mammoths may have gone extinct much earlier than DNA suggests

    Ancient DNA in sediments may be leading paleontologists astray in attempts to figure out when woolly mammoths and woolly rhinos died out, a new study argues.

    By Bas den Hond
  6. An illustration of the ancient armored worm Wufengella, with knobby spikes on its top and clumps of bristles on its side
    Life

    This ancient worm might be an important evolutionary missing link

    A roughly 520-million-year-old fossil may be the common ancestor of a diverse collection of marine invertebrates.

    By Allison Gasparini
  7. Illustration of Dakota, a 12-meter-long duck-billed dinosaur and the fossilized scaly skin from its foot.
    Paleontology

    Dinosaur ‘mummies’ may not be rare flukes after all

    Bite marks on a fossilized dinosaur upend the idea that exquisite skin preservation must result from a carcass's immediate smothering under sediment.

    By Jake Buehler
  8. illustration of two Scleromochlus taylori reptiles surrounded by fern leaves
    Paleontology

    Pterosaurs may have evolved from tiny, fast-running reptiles

    A mysterious little ground-dwelling reptile unearthed in a Scottish sandstone over 100 years ago turns out to be part of a famous flying family.

    By Carolyn Gramling
  9. illustration of brown and tan Xiushanosteus mirabilis fish underwater
    Paleontology

    Ancient fish fossils highlight the strangeness of our vertebrate ancestors

    New fossils are revealing the earliest jawed vertebrates — a group that encompasses 99 percent of all living vertebrates on Earth, including humans.

    By Carolyn Gramling
  10. illustration of Pantolambda bathmodon
    Paleontology

    Living fast may have helped mammals like ‘ManBearPig’ dominate

    Staying in the womb for a while but being born ready to rock may have helped post-dinosaur mammals take over the planet.

    By Maria Temming
  11. illustration of 'demon ducks' eating in a grassland. The ducks are huge with red and black beaks
    Life

    Ancient ‘demon ducks’ may have been undone by their slow growth

    Mihirung birds grew to more than half a ton and took their time getting there. That slow growth may have been a vulnerability when humans got to Australia.

    By Jake Buehler
  12. a 3-D reconstruction of Saccorhytus coronarius, which looks like a purple spiky cylinder with a large mouth
    Paleontology

    This bizarre ancient critter has been kicked out of a group that includes humans

    A wee sea creature without an anus was thought to be the oldest deuterostome. New imaging showing it had spines led to its reclassification.

    By Anna Gibbs