Paleontogly

An incomplete crocodile skull found near the city of Altdorf in Bavaria, southern Germany, in the 1770s has been recognized as Mystriosaurus laurillardi, which lived in tropical waters during the Jurassic period. Life reconstruction of Mystriosaurus laurillardi. Image credit: Julia Beier. “Mystriosaurus laurillardi is one of the first marine crocodile …

An analysis of the skull biomechanics of Simosthenurus occidentalis, a species of giant short-faced kangaroo that persisted until about 42,000 years ago, indicates that the extinct animal had a capacity for high-performance crushing of foods, suggesting feeding behaviors more similar to the modern-day giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) than modern-day kangaroos. …

Cretaceous pterosaur remains discovered in the Dinosaur Park Formation in Alberta have been identified as a new genus and species, Cryodrakon boreas. Cryodrakon boreas. Image credit: David Maas. Cryodrakon boreas lived about 77 million years ago and had a wingspan of 33 feet (10 m). The flying reptile belongs to …

Tyrannosaurus rex, a species of carnivorous dinosaur that lived about 68 million years ago, had an internal thermostat in its head, according to a study published in the journal Anatomical Record. A graphic thermal image of a T. rex with its dorsotemporal fenestra glowing on the skull. Image credit: Brian …

A new study led by Uppsala University researchers provides the first direct evidence of filter feeding in Jurassic pterosaurs and shows that they had a similar diet to the Chilean flamingo (Phoenicopterus chilensis). An artist’s impression of the Cretaceous pterosaur Pterodaustro. Image credit: Nobu Tamura, spinops.blogspot.com / CC BY 3.0. …

A new species of cynodont has been identified from a fossilized skull found in the San Juan province, Argentina. An artist’s impression of Pseudotherium argentinus. Image credit: Agencia CTyS-UNLaM. The extinct mammal relative, named Pseudotherium argentinus, lived during the Triassic period, about 231 million years ago. “Pseudotherium argentinus lived in …

A team of researchers from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and the University of Texas Austin has used a new technique to analyze tiny amounts of gas trapped inside 215-million-year-old rocks from the Colorado Plateau and the Newark Basin. Their results show that oxygen levels in these rocks leapt by nearly a …

Paleontologists in Morocco have found fossil fragments from a new genus and species of stegosaur that walked the Earth about 168 million years ago (Jurassic period). Adratiklit boulahfa is closely related to the European stegosaurs Dacentrurus and Miragaia (seen here). Image credit: Nobu Tamura, spinops.blogspot.com / CC BY 3.0. Stegosaurs …

The fossilized bones of a large-sized penguin species that lived during the Paleocene epoch (between 66 and 56 million years ago) have been discovered in New Zealand. A pair of extant penguins. Image credit: Martin Fuchs. Named Crossvallia waiparensis, the ancient penguin was about 5.2 feet (1.6 m) tall — …

Paleontologists have discovered a 360-million-year-old (Devonian period) fossilized forest of lycopsid trees near Xinhang in China’s Anhui province — the oldest known fossil forest in Asia. Reconstruction of the Xinhang forest landscape. Image credit: Wang et al, doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2019.06.053. The Xinhang forest covered an area of at least 62 acres …