Paleo in the News

Climate change and asteroids are linked with animal origin and extinction -- and plate tectonics also seems to play a key evolutionary role, 'groundbreaking' new fossil research reveals. The discovery of an exceptionally well preserved ancient primitive Devonian coelacanth fish in remote Western Australia has been linked to a period of heightened tectonic activity, or movement in the Earth's crust, according to the new study.

Climate change and asteroids are linked with animal origin and extinction -- and plate tectonics also seems to play a key evolutionary role, 'groundbreaking' new fossil research reveals. The discovery of an exceptionally well preserved ancient primitive Devonian coelacanth fish in remote Western Australia has been linked to a period of heightened tectonic activity, or movement in the Earth's crust, according to the new study.

What is it like to be a dog? And what can we learn from them? Mark Rowlands's take, in his book The Happiness of Dogs, is full of insights, finds Abigail Beall

Neanderthal remains recently discovered in a cave in France support well-known theory of why the Neanderthals became extinct, researchers behind a new study say.

Neanderthal remains recently discovered in a cave in France support well-known theory of why the Neanderthals became extinct, researchers behind a new study say.

Since their invention in the 1920s, jungle gyms and monkey bars have become both fixtures of playgrounds and symbols of childhood injury that anxious caretakers want removed. Anthropologists mark 100 years of the iconic playground equipment by arguing that risky play exercises a biological need passed on from apes and early humans for children to independently test and expand their physical and cognitive abilities in a context in which injury is possible but avoidable.

Cleaner wrasse use their reflection to build a mental image of their body size, which they use to compare themselves to rivals before picking a fight

Aotearoa New Zealand's flightless parrot, the k k p , evolved two different color types to potentially help them avoid detection by a now-extinct apex predator, researchers report.

When worker ants are exposed to a pathogenic fungus, they build nests that are more compartmentalised to reduce the risk of an epidemic

From migrating sauropods and semi-aquatic predators to doting parents, palaeontologists are finally uncovering the mysteries of the lifestyles of dinosaurs

X-ray videos of Japanese eels swallowed whole by dark sleeper fish have revealed how the eels can make a daring escape from being digested

A camera trap at an Australian nature refuge has captured a boisterous interaction between a northern hairy-nosed wombat and an echidna

Some species of pterosaurs flew by flapping their wings while others soared like vultures, demonstrates a new study. Findings include a new pterosaur with a five-meter wingspan, which is one of the most complete pterosaurs ever recovered from Afro-Arabia.

Some species of pterosaurs flew by flapping their wings while others soared like vultures, demonstrates a new study. Findings include a new pterosaur with a five-meter wingspan, which is one of the most complete pterosaurs ever recovered from Afro-Arabia.

Breaching is a common behaviour in a wide range of sharks and rays, and it is thought to have functions related to courtship, birthing and hygiene

The largest pterosaurs, ancient reptiles that were the first vertebrates to master flight, may have mostly soared while smaller ones flapped their wings, a pattern that persists in today's birds

Cyanobacteria exposed to shorter days are better at surviving cold conditions, showing that even simple organisms can prepare for the arrival or summer and winter

The deeply researched podcast series Tested tells the stories of Namibian sprinter Christine Mboma and Kenya’s Maximila Imali, and how their early successes made their womanhood suspect to some

The books, TV, games and more that New Scientist staff have enjoyed this week

These images are taken from a new book, Seeds: Time capsules of life, which explores how plant life has flourished in the past 360 million years