Paleo in the News

Wasps use face-recognition brain cells to identify each other

New Scientist - Thu, 04/25/2024 - 15:57
The neurons in wasp brains that help them recognise hive mates are similar to those in the brains of primates, including humans
Categories: Fossils

Modern rose hybrids have a worrying lack of genetic diversity

New Scientist - Thu, 04/25/2024 - 09:00
Intensive breeding since the 19th century has created thousands of varieties of rose, but a reduction in genetic diversity could leave them vulnerable to diseases and climate change
Categories: Fossils

These giant, prehistoric salmon had tusk-like teeth

Science Daily - Fossils - Wed, 04/24/2024 - 15:03
Oncorhynchus rastrosus, a giant species of salmon that lived in the North American Pacific Northwest a few million years ago, sported a pair of front teeth that projected out from the sides of its mouth like tusks, according to a new study.
Categories: Fossils

Culling predatory starfish conserves coral on the Great Barrier Reef

New Scientist - Wed, 04/24/2024 - 14:00
Targeted culling of crown-of-thorns starfish has resulted in parts of the Great Barrier Reef maintaining and even increasing coral cover, leading researchers to call for the programme to be dramatically scaled up
Categories: Fossils

Huge genetic study redraws the tree of life for flowering plants

New Scientist - Wed, 04/24/2024 - 11:00
Using genomic data from more than 9500 species, biologists have mapped the evolutionary relationships between flowering plants
Categories: Fossils

Researchers find oldest undisputed evidence of Earth's magnetic field

Science Daily - Paleontology - Wed, 04/24/2024 - 10:15
A new study has recovered a 3.7-billion-year-old record of Earth's magnetic field, and found that it appears remarkably similar to the field surrounding Earth today.
Categories: Fossils

Researchers find oldest undisputed evidence of Earth's magnetic field

Science Daily - Fossils - Wed, 04/24/2024 - 10:15
A new study has recovered a 3.7-billion-year-old record of Earth's magnetic field, and found that it appears remarkably similar to the field surrounding Earth today.
Categories: Fossils

Huge dinosaur footprints belonged to one of the largest raptors ever

New Scientist - Wed, 04/24/2024 - 00:00
A set of large, distinctive footprints suggest a raptor dinosaur that lived in East Asia 96 million years ago grew to a length of 5 metres
Categories: Fossils

Bioluminescence first evolved in animals at least 540 million years ago

Science Daily - Fossils - Tue, 04/23/2024 - 19:41
Bioluminescence first evolved in animals at least 540 million years ago in a group of marine invertebrates called octocorals, according to the results of a new study. The study focuses on an ancient group of marine invertebrates that includes soft corals, pushes back the previous oldest dated example of trait by nearly 300 million years.
Categories: Fossils

Exquisite fossils of Cretaceous shark solve mystery of how it hunted

New Scientist - Tue, 04/23/2024 - 19:01
Six full-body fossils of Ptychodus sharks have been formally analysed for the first time, revealing that they were fast swimmers that preyed on shelled creatures
Categories: Fossils

Fossil frogs share their skincare secrets

Science Daily - Paleontology - Tue, 04/23/2024 - 10:30
Palaeontologists have solved a hundred-year-old mystery of how some fossil frogs preserve their fleshy parts -- it's all down to their skin. Palaeontologists studied 45-million-year-old fossil frogs from the Geiseltal site in central Germany. Remarkably, the fossils show full body outlines of the soft tissues. The team discovered that the excellent condition of the fossil frogs is due to preservation of ancient skin remnants.
Categories: Fossils

Fossil frogs share their skincare secrets

Science Daily - Fossils - Tue, 04/23/2024 - 10:30
Palaeontologists have solved a hundred-year-old mystery of how some fossil frogs preserve their fleshy parts -- it's all down to their skin. Palaeontologists studied 45-million-year-old fossil frogs from the Geiseltal site in central Germany. Remarkably, the fossils show full body outlines of the soft tissues. The team discovered that the excellent condition of the fossil frogs is due to preservation of ancient skin remnants.
Categories: Fossils

Some scientists say insects are conscious – it doesn't settle anything

New Scientist - Mon, 04/22/2024 - 16:03
A group of around 40 scientists signed a declaration calling for formal acknowledgement of consciousness in a range of animals, including insects and fish – but the evidence is still lacking
Categories: Fossils

Nocturnal ants use polarised moonlight to find their way home

New Scientist - Mon, 04/22/2024 - 01:00
An Australian bull ant is the first animal known to use the patterns produced by polarised moonlight to navigate its environment
Categories: Fossils

Songs that birds 'sing' in their dreams translated into sound

New Scientist - Fri, 04/19/2024 - 12:00
By measuring how birds’ vocal muscles move while they are asleep and using a physical model for how those muscles produce sound, researchers have pulled songs from the minds of sleeping birds
Categories: Fossils

Fossil snake discovered in India may have been the largest ever

New Scientist - Thu, 04/18/2024 - 11:00
The vertebrae of Vasuki indicus, a snake that lived 47 million years ago, suggest it could have been as long as 15 metres
Categories: Fossils

First evidence of human occupation in lava tube cave in Saudi Arabia

Science Daily - Fossils - Wed, 04/17/2024 - 17:27
New research has highlighted an area in Arabia that once acted as a key point for cultural exchanges and trades amongst ancient people -- and it all took place in vast caves and lava tubes that have remained largely untapped reservoirs of archaeological abundance in Arabia. Through meticulous excavation and analysis, the international team uncovered a wealth of evidence at Umm Jirsan, spanning from the Neolithic to the Chalcolithic/Bronze Age periods (~10,000-3,500 years ago).
Categories: Fossils

Ice age climate analysis reduces worst-case warming expected from rising CO2

Science Daily - Paleontology - Wed, 04/17/2024 - 17:27
A detailed reconstruction of climate during the most recent ice age, when a large swath of North America was covered in ice, provides information on the relationship between CO2 and global temperature. Results show that while most future warming estimates remain unchanged, the absolute worst-case scenario is unlikely.
Categories: Fossils

Paleontologists unearth what may be the largest known marine reptile

Science Daily - Paleontology - Wed, 04/17/2024 - 17:26
The fossilized remains of a second gigantic jawbone measuring more than two meters long has been found on a beach in Somerset, UK.
Categories: Fossils

Paleontologists unearth what may be the largest known marine reptile

Science Daily - Fossils - Wed, 04/17/2024 - 17:26
The fossilized remains of a second gigantic jawbone measuring more than two meters long has been found on a beach in Somerset, UK.
Categories: Fossils

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