Paleontogly

Modern birds inherited their egg color from non-avian dinosaur ancestors that laid eggs in fully or partially open nests, according to new research led by Yale University researcher Jasmina Wiemann. The colors found in modern birds’ eggs did not evolve independently, as previously thought, but evolved instead from dinosaurs. This …

Perhaps among the world’s finest known fossils is Archaeopteryx. With its magnificently preserved plumes, it has long been considered the very first bird in the fossil record, and is often called “ the icon of evolution”. Just a handful of specimens have ever been found, its elusivity including to its …

The recently extinct Malagasy elephant birds included the largest birds ever discovered. Seven species are recognized across two genera, including the larger Aepyornis and the smaller, gracile Mullerornis. The neuroanatomy of these enigmatic birds is understudied but can shed light on their lifestyle. In a study published in the journal …

Archaeopteryx was first described as the ‘missing link’ between reptiles and birds in 1861 — and is now regarded as the link between dinosaurs and birds. Only 12 specimens have ever been found and all are from the late Jurassic of Bavaria, Germany, dating back approximately 150 million years. Now, …

New evidence indicates the primary cause of the extinction of one of Australia’s top predators, the marsupial lion (Thylacoleo carnifex), around 40,000 years ago was likely a result of changing weather patterns and loss of habitat, not human impacts. The aridificaiton of Australia impacted the hunting effectiveness or preybase of …

A remarkable new species of predatory fish that lived about 152 million years ago (Jurassic period) has been identified from a fossil found in Germany. Piranhamesodon pinnatomus, 2.8 inches (7.1 cm) long, from the Late Jurassic of Ettling, Solnhofen Archipelago, Germany. Image credit: M. Ebert. The ancient fish, named Piranhamesodon …

A team of scientists led by University of California, Riverside’s Professor Gordon Love has found the oldest evidence yet of animal life, dating back 100 million years before the famous Cambrian explosion. The yellow pot sponge (Rhabdastrella globostellata), a modern species of demosponge that makes the same 26-mes steroids that …

Sauropods are a group of plant-eating dinosaurs which exceeded all other terrestrial vertebrates in body size. A new, in-depth anatomical description of the best preserved specimens of Sarahsaurus aurifontanalis, a sauropod relative from North America, could help paleontologists with unraveling the mystery of why these dinosaurs got so big. Life …

An international team of paleontologists has found the world’s oldest flying squirrel fossil — an 11.63-million-year-old specimen of an extinct species called Miopetaurista neogrivensis — at the Abocador de Can Mata site in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. Life appearance of the fossil flying squirrel Miopetaurista neogrivensis showing the animal ready to …

Fossils of a diplodocoid sauropod dinosaur unearthed more than a decade ago in Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, northwest China, have been recognized as belonging to a new species. An artist’s impression of Lingwulong shenqi. Image credit: Zhang Zongda. Lingwulong shenqi, which lived approximately 174 million years ago (Middle Jurassic epoch), …