paleontology-and-stratigraphy-of-fossils

For years, a mysterious predator haunted the fossil beds of Changma Basin in northwest China....

An ancient predator is once again at the center of attention, not because of how it lived millions of years ago, but because of the remarkable journey its fossils have taken in modern times.

A newly identified crocodile species nicknamed “Lucy’s hunter” prowled Ethiopia’s rivers when Lucy’s species walked the Earth more than 3 million years ago. The giant predator was likely the most dangerous animal in the ecosystem and may have regularly hunted early human relatives.

A newly discovered feathered dinosaur from China may help solve a long-standing mystery surrounding a fossil bed filled with ancient bird remains. For years, one fossil site in northwestern China has posed a mystery. The area contains hundreds of fossilized birds, many remarkably well preserved. Mixed among them are strange clusters of shattered bones compressed [...]

The Cambrian explosion was one of the most dramatic chapters in the history of evolution....

A Virginia Tech-led team of international scientists has solved one of the last major mysteries in millipede evolution, revealing new clues about a group of animals that helped pave the way for life on land. The findings, published in Current Biology, complete the first evolutionary history of all living millipede orders. By combining genomic data from living species with morphological evidence f…

Scientists thought they understood the timeline of early human-like walking. Then a set of ancient footprints from the Mediterranean revealed a story that few expected.

Ancient Australian fossils indicate that the earliest eukaryotes depended on oxygen, providing new evidence that oxygen helped enable the evolution of complex life. Stored in an open-air warehouse in tropical Darwin, Australia, are dozens of trays containing cylindrical cores of rock. They are from drill holes bored hundreds of meters below the surface by mineral [...]

A spectacular fossil fish discovered on a remote cliff in New Zealand nearly 30 years ago has finally revealed its full story thanks to an unexpected discovery: the original collector’s long-lost field notebooks. The 1.2-meter fossil, preserved in stunning three-dimensional detail, belonged to an ancient tarpon-like predator that cruised New Zealand waters about 55 million years ago.

Paleontologists have identified a previously unknown species of amphicyonid -- the extinct family of carnivorous mammals popularly known as bear-dogs -- from two specimens unearthed at a rich fossil site in the Vallès-Penedès Basin near Barcelona, Spain. The post New Species of Ancient Bear-Dog Identified in Spain appeared first on Sci.News: Breaking Science News .

Prehistoric squirrel droppings were analyzed and found to contain genetic material of numerous ice-age beasts, plants, microbes and fungi.

Nature Communications, Published online: 11 June 2026; doi:10.1038/s41467-026-74313-4 Hg isotopes reveal a negative Δ¹⁹⁹Hg–δ²⁰²Hg relationship restricted to Permian–Triassic crisis intervals, indicating enhanced volcanic Hg loading and providing a framework for tracing Siberian Traps eruptive pulses and environmental change.

A fossil skull discovered decades ago has revealed an unexpected secret after being reexamined with modern technology.

Nature, Published online: 10 June 2026; doi:10.1038/d41586-026-01878-x Evidence from fossilized poo reveals the diverse diet of ancient ground squirrels. Plus, the science behind the peptide craze and our innate tendency to wander anticlockwise.

Nature, Published online: 11 June 2026; doi:10.1038/d41586-026-01886-x The treasure trove of fossils and bones has already revealed a new species of extinct whale.

The fossil trove uncovered ancient birds, frogs, and extinctions long before humans arrived.

The asteroid impact that wiped out the dinosaurs 66 million years ago is often remembered as one of the most destructive events in Earth’s history. However, new research suggests that the same catastrophe may also have created an underground environment where life could thrive for millions of years. An international team of scientists has found […] The post Dinosaur-killing asteroid may have crea…

Co-creator of Walking with Dinosaurs returns with Surviving Earth, a blockbuster new series that shows ‘how life bounced back’ from deadly events throughout history Almost three decades have passed since producer Tim Haines reimagined natural history with Walking with Dinosaurs, using CGI and animatronics to bring to life the beasts that roamed these lands millions of years ago. With his latest p…