paleontology

A newly identified mosasaur from Texas suggests that some ancient marine predators were larger, more powerful, and possibly more aggressive than previously recognized. Bite marks, broken jaws, and a giant skull from Texas are helping scientists redraw the family tree of one of the ocean’s most fearsome ancient predators. The animal behind the evidence was [...]

Between 50,000 and 10,000 years ago, many of the world’s largest mammals disappeared. Picture creatures like saber-toothed cats with 7-inch fangs and elephant-sized sloths. Woolly mammoths whose curved tusks grew longer than 12 feet. Even a 3-ton wombat the size of a car. After roaming the Earth for millions of years, most large-bodied mammals — … The post Giants that vanished 10,000 years ago tr…

A team of South Korean scientists has uncovered new evidence that could help explain how Earth’s atmosphere became rich in oxygen, one of the most transformative events in the planet’s history. Researchers from the Korea Institute of Geoscience and Mineral Resources (KIGAM) report the finding of stromatolites, layered structures formed by microbial communities, within the Hapcheon impact crater o…

Scientists have peered inside the skull of a 380-million-year-old Antarctic fish that was closely related to the first animals to walk on land, revealing surprising clues about how life began its move out of the water. Using advanced neutron imaging, researchers discovered that Koharalepis jarviki had features suited for living near the water’s surface, including openings in its skull that may ha…

Nature Geoscience, Published online: 25 May 2026; doi:10.1038/s41561-026-01988-1 Dust derived from Antarctic sources measured in an ice core from the Allan Hills spanning the peak of the Last Interglacial suggests that the Ross Sea was probably open at the time, coincident with a reduction in the volume of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet.

Deep inside 100-million-year-old amber from Myanmar, scientists uncovered a bizarre ancient bug with clawed front legs that look more like a crab’s pincers than anything seen in modern insects. The discovery is so unusual that researchers say these crab-like “chelae” evolved independently in this lineage, making it only the fourth known example of such structures appearing in insects at all.

Buried in museum collections for years, this ancient predator turned out to be far more impressive than anyone realized, measuring nearly twice the length of the largest great white sharks.

Scientists have discovered a giant new species of mosasaur, a powerful marine reptile that ruled the oceans during the age of dinosaurs. The newly identified predator was so enormous and fearsome that researchers named it Tylosaurus rex, or T. rex for short, meaning “king of the tylosaurs.” Unlike the famous land-dwelling Tyrannosaurus rex, this creature […] The post Sea Monster King: Giant “T. r…

Carbonatites don’t come only from the mantle. Using petrological analysis of Himalayan meta-marls, we show that they can also form in the orogenic crust by melting carbonate-rich sediments.

Scientists have identified a new species of marine reptile which dominated the oceans more than 80 million years ago. The creature, named Tylosaurus rex, was a massive 43-foot-long mosasaur that inhabited waters covering present-day northern Texas. Researchers chose the name, which translates to "king of the tylosaurs," to set it apart from the famous land-dwelling Tyrannosaurus rex, meaning "tyr…

La Brea Tar Pits – the only urban, active ice age excavation site in world – gets a mammoth face lift for the first time in nearly 50 years Los Angeles is known for famous museum such as the Getty and the Lacma, but perhaps fewer people are aware that – in the heart of the city – lies a museum that contains one of the world’s most remarkable fossil sites. The La Brea Tar Pits and Museum is home t…

Deep beneath Antarctica’s frozen surface, researchers uncovered something extraordinary. Hidden inside the ice was the oldest air ever recovered, remarkably well preserved.

Preserved in an ancient lakebed, the tracks expose a rare Early Cretaceous scene where massive plant-eaters and predators crossed the same ground.

It helped to have a number of features to aid survival following the end-Cretaceous mass extinction.

More than 3 million years ago, early human relatives were not alone in ancient Africa. Researchers have identified a formidable crocodile fossil that may change how we picture one of the defining periods of human evolution.

A colossal new sea predator named Tylosaurus rex has been identified from fossils found in Texas, revealing a brutal 43-foot-long hunter that ruled ancient oceans 80 million years ago. The discovery not only introduces one of the biggest mosasaurs ever known, but also shakes up long-standing ideas about how these marine reptiles evolved.

A newly named crocodile species from Ethiopia likely lived alongside Lucy’s species and dominated the wetlands of Hadar more than 3 million years ago. More than 3 million years ago, when early human relatives such as the famous Lucy moved across the African landscape, they likely shared their world with a formidable crocodile that had [...]

Paleontologists have identified a new genus and species of pan-shinisaur lizard from a partial upper jaw discovered in southern France, pushing the presence of its lineage in Europe back by at least 30 million years. The post 83-Million-Year-Old Crocodile Lizard Fossil Unearthed in France appeared first on Sci.News: Breaking Science News .

A prehistoric predator to rival the most fearsome giant of them all has just been...

For decades, two massive fossil bones sat quietly in a museum, cataloged as part of Alaska’s Ice Age past, but recent investigations have uncovered a twist that no one expected.