Paleontology

A member of a mysterious dinosaur group has been discovered  in North and South Dakota, from roughly 66 million-year-old rocks of the Hell Creek Formation, which is already celebrated for its abundant fossils of famous dinosaurs such as Tyrannosaurus rex and Triceratops. The bizarre, bird-like dinosaur has been named Anzu wyliei and it provides paleontologists with their first good look at a dinosaur group that has been shrouded in mystery for the last century. Anzu was described from three specimens that collectively preserve almost the entire skeleton, giving scientists a remarkable…

After 13 years of excavation of the nearly complete skeleton of the Australopithecus fossil named Little Foot, researchers conclude that it is probably around 3 million years old, refute previous dating claims that suggested it is younger.  The Sterkfontein caves of Gauteng, South Africa have been world famous since 1936 for producing large numbers of fossils of the ape-man Australopithecus. However, for sixty years, these fossils consisted only of partial skulls and jaws, isolated teeth and fragments of limb bones. These were obtained by blasting or drilling and breaking of the…

A 70 million year old fossil found in the Late Cretaceous sediments of Alaska reveals a new small tyrannosaur named Nanuqsaurus hoglundi.   Tyrannosaurs, the lineage of carnivorous theropod ("beast feet") dinosaurs that include T. rex, have captivated our attention, but the majority of our knowledge about this group comes from fossils from low- to mid-latitudes of North America and Asia. In a new paper,  co-authors Anthony Fiorillo and Ronald S. Tykoski from the Perot Museum of Nature and Science, Texas, and colleagues, analyzed the partial skull roof, maxilla, and jaw,…

How do researchers know what color ancient fossils were when they lived? Paleontologists studying fossilized feathers have proposed that the shapes of certain microscopic structures inside the feathers can reveal the color of ancient birds but new research finds that it is not yet possible to tell if these structures – thought to be melanosomes – are what they seem, or if they are merely the remnants of ancient bacteria. Melanosomes are small, pigment-filled sacs located inside the cells of feathers and other pigmented tissues of vertebrates. They contain melanin, which can give feathers…

A new dinosaur species found in Portugal is one of the largest carnivorous dinosaurs from the Jurassic period - and may be the largest land predator discovered in Europe - 30 feet long and weighing up to 5 tons. Scientists discovered bones belonging to this dinosaur north of Lisbon. They were originally believed to be Torvosaurus tanneri, a dinosaur species from North America. Closer comparison of the shin bone, upper jawbone, teeth, and partial tail vertebrae suggest to the authors that it may warrant a new species name, Torvosaurus gurneyi. T. gurneyi had blade-shaped teeth up to 10 cm…

Fossilization is rare. It may seem common to find them because there have been billions of years and an entire planet on which to do it, but things really have to go right. An ancient fossil caught in the act of giving birth is bordering on spectacular. We often think of evolution as moving from water to land, Ichthyosaurs were giant marine reptiles that evolved from land reptiles and moved to water. Scientists have reported a new fossil specimen that belongs to Chaohusaurus (Reptilia, Ichthyopterygia), the oldest of Mesozoic marine reptiles that lived approximately 248 million years ago…

A team has characterized a new dinosaur based on fossil remains found in northwestern China. The species, a plant-eating sauropod named Yongjinglong datangi, roamed during the Early Cretaceous period, more than 100 million years ago. This sauropod belonged to a group known as Titanosauria, members of which were among the largest living creatures to ever walk the earth. At roughly 50-60 feet long, the Yongjinglong individual discovered was a medium-sized Titanosaur. Anatomical evidence, however, points to it being a juvenile; adults may have been larger. The find helps clarify relationships…

Dinosaur fossils are exceptionally rare in the Arabian Peninsula but researchers have uncovered the first record of dinosaurs from Arabia itself. What is now dry desert was once a beach littered with the bones and teeth of ancient marine reptiles and dinosaurs. A string of vertebrae from the tail of a huge "Brontosaurus-like" sauropod, together with some shed teeth from a carnivorous theropod represent the first formally identified dinosaur fossils from Arabia, and were found in the north-western part of the dictatorship run by the Al-Saud family, along the coast of the Red Sea. The remains…

A new species of fossil horse from 4.4 million-year-old fossil-rich deposits in Ethiopia,  Eurygnathohippus woldegabrieli, was about the size of a small zebra, Eurygnathohippus woldegabrieli, had three-toed hooves and grazed the grasslands and shrubby woods in the Afar Region, according to its naming in the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. The horse fills a gap in the evolutionary history of horses but is also important for documenting how old a fossil locality is and in reconstructing habitats of human forebears of the time, said Scott Simpson, professor of anatomy at Case Western…

The 3,000-kilometer-long Transantarctic Mountains are a dominant feature of the Antarctic continent, yet up to now scientists have been unable to adequately explain how they formed. In a new study, geologists report that the mountains appear to be the remnant edge of a gigantic high plateau that began stretching and thinning some 105 million years ago, leaving the peaks curving along the edge of a great plain. This study revolutionizes thinking about Antarctica’s evolution. Previous studies have discussed ways in which the mountains may have risen; the current study says they were already…