Tag Archives: giant

Paleontologists in Argentina have found a fossilized jaw of the extinct bat species Desmodus draculae inside an ancient burrow of a giant sloth. Desmodus draculae in a burrow of a giant sloth. Image credit: Daniel Boh / Museo de Ciencias Naturales de Miramar. Desmodus draculae is an extinct species of …

Wild giant pandas (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) not only frequently sniff and wallow in fresh horse manure at low ambient temperatures, but also actively rub the fecal matter all over their bodies. Beta-caryophyllene and caryophyllene oxide-induced horse manure rolling behavior of Ginny, the giant panda at Beijing Zoo. Image credit: Zhou et …

  Humanity launched the first satellite in 1957, and since then we’ve put thousands of objects in orbit with little regard for the future. Along with about 3,000 active satellites, we now have 900,000 pieces of space junk larger than 10 centimeters. The results could be catastrophic if even a …

Paleontologists have described new fossils of pelagornithid birds from the middle Eocene Submeseta Formation on Seymour Island, Antarctica. An artist’s depiction of ancient albatrosses harassing a pelagornithid as penguins frolic in the oceans around Antarctica 50 million years ago. Image credit: Brian Choo. Pelagornithids are an extinct group of large …

A new species of crocodilian related to modern alligators has been identified from fossils found in Mississippi and Alabama, the United States. Named Deinosuchus schwimmeri, it lived between 75 and 82 million years ago (Cretaceous period) and had teeth the ‘size of bananas,’ capable to take down even the very …

An international team of marine biologists has for the first time genetically identified a larva of the bump-head sunfish (Mola alexandrini). A larval sunfish (Mola sp.) collected off New South Wales coast, Australia. Image credit: Kerryn Parkinson / Australian Museum. The bump-head sunfish, also known as the southern sunfish or …

Giant Cloud Reappears above Martian Volcano The Visual Monitoring Camera (VMC) on ESA’s Mars Express spacecraft has captured new images of a giant cloud over the 20-km (12.4-mile) high Arsia Mons volcano, the southernmost in a trio of giant Martian shield volcanoes known collectively as Tharsis Montes. These images, taken …

Meet Tongoenas burleyi, Extinct Giant Pigeon from Tonga A new extinct genus and species of pigeon has been identified from fossils found on six islands (Foa, Lifuka, ‘Uiha, Ha‘afeva, Tongatapu, and ‘Eua) in the Kingdom of Tonga. Tongoenas burleyi (right) likely featured the brightly colored plumage of other canopy-dwelling pigeons …

Giant Penguin-Like Seabirds Lived in Northern Hemisphere About 30 Million Years Ago Paleontologists have discovered striking similarities between the fossilized bones of giant penguins that lived 62 million years ago in what is now New Zealand and those of the plotopterids, a group of flightless seabirds that lived in North …

Giant Wombat-Like Marsupials Roamed Australia 25 Million Years Ago Paleontologists have identified a giant wombat-like marsupial that lived 25 million years ago (Oligocene epoch) in what is now Australia. Named Mukupirna nambensis, the prehistoric creature was at least five times larger than living wombats and so different that the researchers …