Science Daily - Paleontology

A new study estimates that more than 9000 insects and other native invertebrates have become extinct in Australia since European arrival in 1788 and between 1-3 additional species become extinct every week.

Geoscientists have created a new climate record for early Antarctic ice ages. It reveals that the early Antarctic ice sheet melted more rapidly than previously thought.

Research has revealed that several groups of meat-eating dinosaur stalked the Bexhill-on-Sea region of coastal East Sussex 135 million years ago.

Scientists have uncovered the first direct evidence that ancient Americans relied primarily on mammoth and other large animals for food. Their research sheds new light on both the rapid expansion of humans throughout the Americas and the extinction of large ice age mammals.

Newly discovered insect fossils are so small they can barely be seen by the human eye but have been preserved in an 'extraordinary' way.

More than a million years ago, on a hot savannah teeming with wildlife near the shore of what would someday become Lake Turkana in Kenya, two completely different species of hominins may have passed each other as they scavenged for food. Scientists know this because they have examined 1.5-million-year-old fossils they unearthed and have concluded they represent the first example of two sets of hominin footprints made about the same time on an ancient lake shore. The discovery will provide more insight into human evolution and how species cooperated and competed with one another, the scientists said.

Paleoindians at Wyoming's LaPrele mammoth site made needles from the bones of fur-bearers, likely to creat garments from the animals' furs to keep warm in a cool climate.

Analysis of 216 extinct species by biologists found birds endemic to islands, occupied ecologically specific niche, lacking flight, with large bodies and sharply angled wings were the ones likely to disappear the soonest after 1500.

Brain size increased gradually within each ancient human species rather than through sudden leaps between species.

Researchers have been able to identify undigested food remains, plants and prey in the fossilized feces of dinosaurs. These analyses of hundreds of samples provide clues about the role dinosaurs played in the ecosystem around 200 million years ago.

A storeroom specimen that changed the origins of modern lizards by millions of years has had its identity confirmed.

Scientists have presented results on the acoustic characteristics of a physical model of the Parasaurolophus' crest. They created a physical setup made of tubes to represent a mathematical model that will allow researchers to discover what was happening acoustically inside the crest. The physical model, inspired by resonance chambers, was suspended by cotton threads and excited by a small speaker, and a microphone was used to collect frequency data.

Wings may be the obvious choice when studying the connection between dinosaurs and birds, but a pair of paleontologists prefer drumsticks. That part of the leg, they say, is where fibular reduction among some dinosaurs tens of millions of years ago helped make it possible for peacocks to strut, penguins to waddle, and turkeys to trot.

A newly discovered pterosaur fossil is shedding light on the evolutionary journey of these ancient flying reptiles. This complete specimen, named Skiphosoura bavarica, provides crucial insights into how pterosaurs transitioned from early, smaller forms to the later, gigantic species. By analysing the unique features of Skiphosoura, paleontologists can now trace the step-by-step evolution of pterosaurs, including changes in head size, neck length, wing structure, and tail length. This groundbreaking discovery offers a clearer understanding of how these magnificent creatures soared through the prehistoric skies.

The history of a major animal group, composed of millions of species of insects, arachnids, and nemotodes, has been elusive -- until now. A team has now identified the oldest known ecdysozoan in the fossil record and the only one from the Precambrian period.

A 'one of a kind' fossil discovery could transform our understanding of how the unique brains and intelligence of modern birds evolved, one of the most enduring mysteries of vertebrate evolution.

Could social bonds be the key to human big brains? A study of the fossil teeth of early Homo from Georgia dating back 1.77 million years reveals a prolonged childhood despite a small brain and an adulthood comparable to that of the great apes. This discovery suggests that an extended childhood, combined with cultural transmission in three-generation social groups, may have triggered the evolution of a large brain like that of modern humans, rather than the reverse.

A series of rocks hiding around Colorado's Rocky Mountains may hold clues to a frigid period in Earth's past when glaciers several miles thick covered the entire planet.

Geoscientists employed current-day stratigraphic, depositional and paleontological models, along with modern technological muscle to provide updated insights of the Cambrian period of the Grand Canyon.

Scientists believe individuals of the most recently discovered 'hominin' group (the Denisovans) that interbred with modern day humans passed on some of their genes via multiple, distinct interbreeding events that helped shape early human history. Scientists outline evidence suggesting that several Denisovan populations, who likely had an extensive geographical range from Siberia to Southeast Asia and from Oceania to South America, were adapted to distinct environments. They further outline a number of genes of Denisovan origin that gave modern day humans advantages in their different environments.