Paleo in the News

Monkeys use crafty techniques to get junk food from tourists

New Scientist - 6 hours 54 min ago
At the Dakshineswar temple complex in India, Hanuman langurs beg for food by grabbing visitors’ legs or tugging on their clothes – and they don’t stop until they get their favourite snacks
Categories: Fossils

Cave spiders use their webs in a way that hasn't been seen before

New Scientist - Mon, 03/31/2025 - 12:00
Cave-dwelling orb spiders have adapted their webs so they act as tripwires for prey that crawl on the walls of the caves
Categories: Fossils

The anus may have evolved from a hole originally used to release sperm

New Scientist - Fri, 03/28/2025 - 08:00
The long-standing question of how animals came to have an anus may have been solved by studies of which genes are active during development in various animals
Categories: Fossils

New species revealed after 25 years of study on 'inside out' fossil -- and named after discoverer's mum

Science Daily - Paleontology - Wed, 03/26/2025 - 21:15
A new species of fossil is 444 million years-old with soft insides perfectly preserved. Research 'ultramarathon' saw palaeontologist puzzled by bizarre fossil for 25 years.
Categories: Fossils

New species revealed after 25 years of study on 'inside out' fossil -- and named after discoverer's mum

Science Daily - Fossils - Wed, 03/26/2025 - 21:15
A new species of fossil is 444 million years-old with soft insides perfectly preserved. Research 'ultramarathon' saw palaeontologist puzzled by bizarre fossil for 25 years.
Categories: Fossils

Ancient wasp may have used its rear end to trap flies

New Scientist - Wed, 03/26/2025 - 20:00
Bizarre parasitic wasps preserved in amber about 99 million years ago had trap-like abdomens that they may have used to immobilise other insects
Categories: Fossils

Stunning new animated series tells the story of a cure-all mushroom

New Scientist - Wed, 03/26/2025 - 13:00
A naturalist finds a hallucinogenic mushroom with the power to cure all ailments in the animated series Common Side Effects. Big Pharma is hot on his trail in this beautifully made show, says Bethan Ackerley
Categories: Fossils

Camera trap spots endangered elephant mother and calf on the move

New Scientist - Wed, 03/26/2025 - 13:00
A weatherproof box and motion-trigger camera help photographer Will Burrard-Lucas capture images of rarely seen African elephants
Categories: Fossils

Why do giraffes have spots? Not for the reason you might think

New Scientist - Wed, 03/26/2025 - 12:00
The size and shape of a giraffe’s spots seem to influence how well the animals survive when temperatures get hotter or colder than normal
Categories: Fossils

Sharks aren’t silent after all

New Scientist - Tue, 03/25/2025 - 18:01
A species of houndshark called Mustelus lenticulatus makes sharp clicking noises when handled. Until now, sharks as a group were thought to be universally quiet
Categories: Fossils

Bizarre fossil may have been an entirely new type of life

New Scientist - Fri, 03/21/2025 - 10:00
Chemical analysis suggests the 400-million-year-old fossil Prototaxites was neither plant, animal or fungus – hinting at a mysterious life form that went extinct long ago
Categories: Fossils

From dinosaurs to birds: the origins of feather formation

Science Daily - Paleontology - Thu, 03/20/2025 - 13:46
Feathers, essential for thermoregulation, flight, and communication in birds, originate from simple appendages known as proto-feathers, which were present in certain dinosaurs.By studying embryonic development of the chicken, researchers from the University of Geneva (UNIGE) have uncovered a key role of a molecular signalling pathway (the Shh pathway) in their formation. This research provides new insights into the morphogenetic mechanisms that led to feather diversification throughout evolution.
Categories: Fossils

From dinosaurs to birds: the origins of feather formation

Science Daily - Dinosaurs - Thu, 03/20/2025 - 13:46
Feathers, essential for thermoregulation, flight, and communication in birds, originate from simple appendages known as proto-feathers, which were present in certain dinosaurs.By studying embryonic development of the chicken, researchers from the University of Geneva (UNIGE) have uncovered a key role of a molecular signalling pathway (the Shh pathway) in their formation. This research provides new insights into the morphogenetic mechanisms that led to feather diversification throughout evolution.
Categories: Fossils

Monkeys choose babysitters based on who has more parenting experience

New Scientist - Thu, 03/20/2025 - 12:00
Young female black-and-white snub-nosed monkeys often want to hold other females’ infants, but mothers are much more permissive of experienced caregivers
Categories: Fossils

Two-fingered dinosaur used its enormous claws to eat leaves

New Scientist - Thu, 03/20/2025 - 11:00
A dinosaur fossil discovered in Mongolia boasts the largest ever complete claw, but the herbivorous species only used it to grasp vegetation
Categories: Fossils

Why you don't need to worry about 'over-potting' your plants

New Scientist - Wed, 03/19/2025 - 13:00
Traditional advice tells us to only move growing plants to a pot one size larger. The science shows that you don't need to bother with this slow transition, says James Wong
Categories: Fossils

Budgie brains have a map of vocal sounds just like humans

New Scientist - Wed, 03/19/2025 - 11:00
Recordings of brain activity in budgerigars reveal sets of brain cells that represent different sounds like keys on a keyboard – a structure never seen before in any bird brain
Categories: Fossils

Genetic study reveals hidden chapter in human evolution

Science Daily - Paleontology - Tue, 03/18/2025 - 13:14
Modern humans descended from not one, but at least two ancestral populations that drifted apart and later reconnected, long before modern humans spread across the globe.
Categories: Fossils

Genetic study reveals hidden chapter in human evolution

Science Daily - Fossils - Tue, 03/18/2025 - 13:14
Modern humans descended from not one, but at least two ancestral populations that drifted apart and later reconnected, long before modern humans spread across the globe.
Categories: Fossils

New fossil discovery reveals how volcanic deposits can preserve the microscopic details of animal tissues

Science Daily - Paleontology - Tue, 03/18/2025 - 13:07
An analysis of a 30,000-year-old fossil vulture from Central Italy has revealed for the first time that volcanic rock can preserve microscopic details in feathers -- the first ever record of such a preservation. An international team discovered a new mode of preservation of soft tissues that can occur when animals are buried in ash-rich volcanic sediments. The new research reveals that the feathers are preserved in a mineral phase called zeolite, a mode of preservation of soft tissues never reported before.
Categories: Fossils

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