Paleo in the News

Bizarre worm lizard not seen for 90 years found by landmine removers

New Scientist - Wed, 02/07/2024 - 06:00
A subspecies of the Somali sharp-snouted worm lizard was found by a landmine clearance team, the first official sighting since 1931
Categories: Fossils

Ancient Australian air-breathing fish from 380 million years ago

Science Daily - Paleontology - Tue, 02/06/2024 - 14:14
The rivers of Australia, which once flowed across its now dry interior, used to host a range of bizarre animals -- including a sleek predatory lobe-finned fish with large fangs and bony scales. The newly described fossil fish discovered in remote fossil fields west of Alice Springs has been named Harajicadectes zhumini by palaeontologists.
Categories: Fossils

Ancient Australian air-breathing fish from 380 million years ago

Science Daily - Fossils - Tue, 02/06/2024 - 14:14
The rivers of Australia, which once flowed across its now dry interior, used to host a range of bizarre animals -- including a sleek predatory lobe-finned fish with large fangs and bony scales. The newly described fossil fish discovered in remote fossil fields west of Alice Springs has been named Harajicadectes zhumini by palaeontologists.
Categories: Fossils

Lager could get array of novel flavours thanks to new strains of yeast

New Scientist - Tue, 02/06/2024 - 04:00
Researchers have recreated the hybridisation of two wild yeast species that led to the first lager yeasts, generating new varieties that could make beer with a range of new flavours
Categories: Fossils

Extinct elk species had antlers that were too big to make sense

New Scientist - Mon, 02/05/2024 - 15:21
For decades we thought the Irish elk’s body size alone explained why it had enormous antlers, but the truth may be more complicated
Categories: Fossils

Deaths from shark attacks across the world doubled in 2023

New Scientist - Mon, 02/05/2024 - 08:00
There were 69 unprovoked shark attacks on people and 10 fatalities in 2023 worldwide, with four of the deaths occurring in Australia
Categories: Fossils

Rare 3D fossils show that some early trees had forms unlike any you've ever seen

Science Daily - Paleontology - Fri, 02/02/2024 - 10:47
In the fossil record, trees typically are preserved with only their trunks. They don't usually include any leaves to show what their canopies and overall forms may have looked like. In a new study, researchers describe fossilized trees from New Brunswick, Canada with a surprising and unique three-dimensional crown shape.
Categories: Fossils

Rare 3D fossils show that some early trees had forms unlike any you've ever seen

Science Daily - Fossils - Fri, 02/02/2024 - 10:47
In the fossil record, trees typically are preserved with only their trunks. They don't usually include any leaves to show what their canopies and overall forms may have looked like. In a new study, researchers describe fossilized trees from New Brunswick, Canada with a surprising and unique three-dimensional crown shape.
Categories: Fossils

Some animal cells contain tiny tornadoes that mix up their contents

New Scientist - Fri, 02/02/2024 - 07:00
Researchers studying fruit fly egg cells have discovered that they stir up the fluid inside them with a twister-like current
Categories: Fossils

Huge study of dog longevity reveals which breeds live the longest

New Scientist - Thu, 02/01/2024 - 10:00
Shiba inus and miniature dachshunds are among the longest-lived dog breeds while flat-faced dogs tend to die younger, a comprehensive study of UK pets has found
Categories: Fossils

Weird anglerfish mating strategy may have helped them evolve

New Scientist - Thu, 02/01/2024 - 02:00
Tiny male anglerfish fuse their bodies into the larger females, and this strange strategy may have helped the fish diversify widely in the deep sea
Categories: Fossils

Why bioabundance is just as important as biodiversity

New Scientist - Thu, 02/01/2024 - 01:00
The abundance of wild birds, fish, amphibians, reptiles and insects has drastically declined over the past 50 years, but the scale and seriousness of this loss is often lost when we focus on the number of species in an area
Categories: Fossils

Did dementia exist in ancient Greek and Rome?

Science Daily - Fossils - Wed, 01/31/2024 - 17:35
Did the ancient Greeks and Romans experience Alzheimer's? Medical texts from 2,500 years ago rarely mention severe memory loss, suggesting today's widespread dementia stems from modern environments and lifestyles, a new analysis shows.
Categories: Fossils

India's first snow leopard survey puts population at just 718

New Scientist - Wed, 01/31/2024 - 09:37
Officials set up almost 2000 camera traps covering 120,000 square kilometres to estimate the number of snow leopards in India’s mountainous regions
Categories: Fossils

Watch parrots use their beaks for a newly identified form of motion

New Scientist - Tue, 01/30/2024 - 18:01
Not only can parrots fly and walk, they can also swing along branches using their beaks, in a technique researchers are calling beakiation
Categories: Fossils

Scientists pinpoint growth of brain's cerebellum as key to evolution of bird flight

Science Daily - Paleontology - Tue, 01/30/2024 - 16:28
Evolutionary biologists report they have combined PET scans of modern pigeons along with studies of dinosaur fossils to help answer an enduring question in biology: How did the brains of birds evolve to enable them to fly?
Categories: Fossils

Scientists pinpoint growth of brain's cerebellum as key to evolution of bird flight

Science Daily - Dinosaurs - Tue, 01/30/2024 - 16:28
Evolutionary biologists report they have combined PET scans of modern pigeons along with studies of dinosaur fossils to help answer an enduring question in biology: How did the brains of birds evolve to enable them to fly?
Categories: Fossils

Scientists pinpoint growth of brain's cerebellum as key to evolution of bird flight

Science Daily - Fossils - Tue, 01/30/2024 - 16:28
Evolutionary biologists report they have combined PET scans of modern pigeons along with studies of dinosaur fossils to help answer an enduring question in biology: How did the brains of birds evolve to enable them to fly?
Categories: Fossils

Spider webs collect DNA that reveals the species living nearby

New Scientist - Tue, 01/30/2024 - 10:00
DNA analysis of spider webs from two locations in Australia identified dozens of vertebrate species, suggesting a new approach to wildlife monitoring
Categories: Fossils

Orangutan calls have an intricate structure resembling human language

New Scientist - Tue, 01/30/2024 - 02:06
Calls made by male orangutans to attract females have short sequences nested inside longer sequences – a feature called recursion that was thought to be unique to human language
Categories: Fossils

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