https://phys.org/biology-news/paleontology en-us News about paleontology, important paleontological discoveries and fossil studies A research group may have unraveled the mystery behind the locomotion of the ancient marine reptile, the plesiosaur, by recreating a bio-inspired control system that accounts for motion adjustment. https://phys.org/news/2024-11-reconstructing-plesiosaur-styles-bio.html Biotechnology Paleontology & Fossils Tue, 05 Nov 2024 08:56:12 EST news650019366 A team of researchers led by SNSB paleontologist Gertrud Rößner has discovered a new prehistoric dolphin species. Analyses of its inner ear confirm that this dolphin had excellent hearing abilities in the high-frequency range, which is very similar to modern dolphins. The animal lived about 22 million years ago in a coastal section of the Miocene Paratethys Sea in what is now Upper Austria. https://phys.org/news/2024-11-archaic-dolphin-high-frequency.html Paleontology & Fossils Tue, 05 Nov 2024 08:39:03 EST news650018341 Between about 120 million and 130 million years ago, during the age of dinosaurs, temperate forests and lakes hosted a lively ecosystem in what is now northeast China. Diverse fossils from that time remained pretty much undisturbed until the 1980s, when villagers started finding exceptionally preserved creatures, which fetched high prices from collectors and museums. https://phys.org/news/2024-11-world-dinosaurs-die-pompeii-events.html Paleontology & Fossils Mon, 04 Nov 2024 15:00:02 EST news649935152 Researchers including a Johns Hopkins University evolutionary biologist report they have analyzed a fossil of an extinct giant meat-eating bird—which they say could be the largest known member of its kind—providing new information about animal life in northern South America millions of years ago. https://phys.org/news/2024-11-fossil-huge-terror-bird-wildlife.html Paleontology & Fossils Mon, 04 Nov 2024 01:00:01 EST news649670941 Increased land management by Aboriginal people in southeastern Australia around 6,000 years ago cut forest shrub cover in half, according to our new study published in Science of fossil pollen trapped in ancient mud. https://phys.org/news/2024-11-ancient-mud-reveals-australia-history.html Ecology Paleontology & Fossils Sun, 03 Nov 2024 10:00:02 EST news649674022 A study published in PeerJ has reshaped our understanding of the evolutionary history of sea stars, particularly the family Asteriidae. The study, titled "Phylogenetic and taxonomic revisions of Jurassic sea stars support a delayed evolutionary origin of the Asteriidae," introduces new findings that challenge longstanding assumptions about the evolutionary timeline of these marine invertebrates. https://phys.org/news/2024-10-reveals-delayed-evolutionary-asteriidae-sea.html Evolution Paleontology & Fossils Thu, 31 Oct 2024 08:00:01 EDT news649499943 A team of paleontologists recently discovered that an ancient seascape known for its diverse assemblage of exceptionally preserved fossils represents an unexpected oceanic setting, placing the fossils in an environmental context that is dramatically different from other fossil assemblages of the Cambrian age. The team has published their findings in the journal Science Advances . https://phys.org/news/2024-10-remarkable-fossil-assemblage.html Paleontology & Fossils Wed, 30 Oct 2024 16:25:03 EDT news649524301 Large herbivores like bison or elk have continuously lived in the Yellowstone National Park region for about 2,300 years, according to a new analysis of chemicals preserved in lake sediments. John Wendt of Oklahoma State University, U.S., and colleagues present these findings in the open-access journal PLOS ONE on October 30, 2024. https://phys.org/news/2024-10-dung-large-herbivores-yellowstone-national.html Ecology Paleontology & Fossils Wed, 30 Oct 2024 14:00:01 EDT news649500087 Scientists have discovered the oldest-known fossil of a giant tadpole that wriggled around over 160 million years ago. https://phys.org/news/2024-10-ancient-tadpole-fossil-oldest.html Paleontology & Fossils Wed, 30 Oct 2024 13:47:14 EDT news649514812 Geneticists from Trinity College Dublin, together with an international team of researchers, have deciphered the prehistory of aurochs—the animals that were the focus of some of the most iconic early human art—by analyzing 38 genomes harvested from bones dating across 50 millennia and stretching from Siberia to Britain. https://phys.org/news/2024-10-ancient-dna-life-history-iconic.html Molecular & Computational biology Paleontology & Fossils Wed, 30 Oct 2024 12:00:01 EDT news649500108 An international team of paleobiologists have found that the sinuses of ocean-dwelling relatives of modern-day crocodiles prevented them from evolving into deep divers like whales and dolphins. https://phys.org/news/2024-10-sinuses-prehistoric-crocodile-deep-paleobiologists.html Evolution Paleontology & Fossils Tue, 29 Oct 2024 20:10:01 EDT news649439290 A team of researchers led by Associate Professor Luke Parry, Department of Earth Sciences, University of Oxford, have unveiled a spectacular new 450-million-year-old fossil arthropod (the group that contains spiders, centipedes, and insects). Besides being an extraordinary-looking new scientific species, the specimens are entirely preserved by fool's gold. https://phys.org/news/2024-10-gold-bugs-fossil-arthropod.html Paleontology & Fossils Tue, 29 Oct 2024 11:00:01 EDT news649409402 A pair of paleontologists at The Open University, working with a colleague from the National Museum of Scotland, have identified a new species of ancient cockroach excavated from a site in Gloucestershire, U.K. In their paper published in the journal Papers in Palaeontology, Emily Swaby, Angela Coe and Andrew Ross describe where the fossil was found, its condition, and where it fits in the cockroach family tree. https://phys.org/news/2024-10-ancient-species-cockroach-uk.html Paleontology & Fossils Tue, 29 Oct 2024 10:10:06 EDT news649415400 A team of paleobiologists and zoologists at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Linyi University and Wageningen University has found evidence that the evolution of insect-eating birds likely drove relatively swift changes to the wings of ancient cicadas. In their paper, published in Science Advances, the group examined evolutional changes in more than 80 species of cicada wings during the Mesozoic era. https://phys.org/news/2024-10-ancient-cicada-wings-evolved-evolutionary.html Evolution Paleontology & Fossils Mon, 28 Oct 2024 11:30:01 EDT news649332006 Mammals, including humans, stand out with their distinctively upright posture, a key trait that fueled their spectacular evolutionary success. Yet, the earliest known ancestors of modern mammals more resembled reptiles, with limbs stuck out to their sides in a sprawled posture. https://phys.org/news/2024-10-reveals-mammal-evolution-sprawling-upright.html Evolution Paleontology & Fossils Fri, 25 Oct 2024 14:00:01 EDT news649063859 Fossils from more than 600,000 years ago reveal how Southern Europe's animal community shifted between warm and cold climate fluctuations, according to a study published October 23, 2024 in the open-access journal PLOS ONE by Beniamino Mecozzi from the Sapienza Università di Roma, Italy and colleagues. https://phys.org/news/2024-10-mammalian-fossils-reveal-southern-europe.html Ecology Paleontology & Fossils Wed, 23 Oct 2024 15:56:36 EDT news648917793 The transition from water to land is one of the most significant events in the history of life on Earth. Now, a team of roboticists, paleontologists and biologists is using robots to study how the ancestors of modern land animals transitioned from swimming to walking, about 390 million years ago. https://phys.org/news/2024-10-paleo-robots-experimental-approach-fish.html Evolution Paleontology & Fossils Wed, 23 Oct 2024 14:00:01 EDT news648894795 A team of paleontologists working near Rangely, Colorado, has uncovered a new (or, more accurately, very old) state resident—a fossil mammal about the size of a muskrat that may have scurried through swamps during the Age of Dinosaurs. https://phys.org/news/2024-10-paleontologists-colorado-swamp-dweller-mammal.html Paleontology & Fossils Wed, 23 Oct 2024 14:00:01 EDT news648894767 Officials in Hong Kong said Wednesday they have discovered dinosaur fossils in the city for the first time on a remote, uninhabited island that's part of a geopark. https://phys.org/news/2024-10-dinosaur-fossils-hong-kong.html Paleontology & Fossils Wed, 23 Oct 2024 13:02:41 EDT news648907349 Pterosaurs ruled the skies during the age of the dinosaurs. Over millions of years, they evolved into an enormous variety of forms, including giant species with wingspans of up to 12 meters. But little is known about how and what these pterosaurs ate. https://phys.org/news/2024-10-fossilized-stomach-contents-insights-diet.html Paleontology & Fossils Wed, 23 Oct 2024 12:55:04 EDT news648906902 The symbiotic relationship between corals and their photosynthetic algal partners (photosymbionts) goes back at least to the Devonian (385 million years ago), a Nature paper suggests. This is important for our understanding of earlier coral reef ecosystems. https://phys.org/news/2024-10-early-evidence-symbiosis-ancient-coral.html Ecology Paleontology & Fossils Wed, 23 Oct 2024 12:41:24 EDT news648906080 A small international team of biologists, geologists and paleontologists has found evidence that a bird-sized dinosaur from the early Cretaceous used its wings to run faster. In their study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the group analyzed both the footprints and the creature that left them and reported evidence for wing-assisted running. https://phys.org/news/2024-10-tracks-left-bird-sized-dinosaur.html Paleontology & Fossils Tue, 22 Oct 2024 09:23:48 EDT news648807818 A team of paleontologists, geoscientists and evolutionary specialists affiliated with multiple institutions in China has found that a fossilized egg unearthed in 2021 is the smallest dinosaur egg ever found. In their paper published in the journal Historical Biology, the group describes where the eggs were found, the techniques used to study them, and what the researchers learned about them. https://phys.org/news/2024-10-smallest-dinosaur-egg-china.html Paleontology & Fossils Mon, 21 Oct 2024 09:48:33 EDT news648722904 A team of Australian researchers has described a new species of now-extinct sawfly from an extremely well-preserved fossil found in central NSW. https://phys.org/news/2024-10-extremely-fossil-sawfly-evolution-insects.html Evolution Paleontology & Fossils Fri, 18 Oct 2024 04:29:12 EDT news648444546 Paleontologist Rodrigo Temp Muller with Universidade Federal de Santa Maria, working with colleagues in Brazil, has confirmed the finding of one of the oldest dinosauromorph fossils ever uncovered in South America. https://phys.org/news/2024-10-fossil-unearthed-brazil-million-year.html Paleontology & Fossils Wed, 16 Oct 2024 09:26:36 EDT news648289592 A new species of small, venomous reptile, Microzemiotes sonselaensis, has been discovered in the Late Triassic Chinle Formation in northeastern Arizona. The findings, recently published in PeerJ, shed new light on the evolution of venomous feeding strategies in reptiles and offer insights into the ancient ecosystems of the southwestern United States. https://phys.org/news/2024-10-venomous-reptile-species-late-triassic.html Paleontology & Fossils Tue, 15 Oct 2024 11:44:03 EDT news648211442 An analysis by Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, Germany, on the manual capabilities of early hominins reveals that some Australopithecus species exhibited hand use similar to modern humans. https://phys.org/news/2024-10-ancient-hominins-humanlike-indicating-earlier.html Evolution Paleontology & Fossils Tue, 15 Oct 2024 07:10:04 EDT news648119378 In the shadow of South Australia's largest mountain range beneath the outback soil lies a fossil record that reveals a rich history of life on Earth. Fossils found at Nilpena Ediacara National Park preserve a pivotal moment in the history of evolution: the crucial period during which single-celled organisms began to evolve into the planet's first complex, visible animals. https://phys.org/news/2024-10-scientists-earth-earliest-animals-australian.html Evolution Paleontology & Fossils Mon, 14 Oct 2024 12:54:08 EDT news648129242 The giant fossil skull of an extinct elephant, discovered in northern India's Kashmir Valley in 2000, sheds light on a poorly known episode in elephant evolutionary history. https://phys.org/news/2024-10-giant-prehistoric-elephant-skull-india.html Evolution Paleontology & Fossils Mon, 14 Oct 2024 12:28:38 EDT news648127713 A team of geologists, life scientists and biologists affiliated with several institutions in China has found one of the earliest examples of a winged seed in a mine in Anhui Province. Their paper is published in the journal eLife. https://phys.org/news/2024-10-earliest-examples-winged-seed-china.html Evolution Paleontology & Fossils Sun, 13 Oct 2024 09:10:01 EDT news647774722