Paleo in the News

A new fossil, named 'Attenborough's strange bird' after naturalist and documentarian Sir David Attenborough, is the first of its kind to evolve a toothless beak. It's from a branch of the bird family tree that went extinct in the mass extinction 66 million years ago, and this strange bird is another puzzle piece that helps explain why some birds -- and their fellow dinosaurs -- went extinct, and others survived to today.

Five elephant calves have been found buried in drainage ditches on tea-growing estates in India in a rare example of burial behaviour in non-human animals

Five new varieties of Penicillium roqueforti, the fungus used to make blue cheese, might rescue the fungus from a genetic dead end and produce pharmaceutical compounds

Genetic analysis of the California two-spot octopus reveals that the species has sex chromosomes, and they may have originated up to 378 million years ago

Tracking data shows that young white storks spend more time exploring new places, while older ones take a more direct route on their annual migrations

A technique originally devised to extract DNA from woolly mammoths and other ancient archaeological specimens can be used to potentially identify badly burned human remains, according to research.

A technique originally devised to extract DNA from woolly mammoths and other ancient archaeological specimens can be used to potentially identify badly burned human remains, according to research.

Massive volcanic events in Earth's history that released large amounts of carbon into the atmosphere frequently correlate with periods of severe environmental change and mass extinctions. A new method to estimate how much and how rapidly carbon was released by the volcanoes could improve our understanding of the climate response, according to an international team.

A 30 million year-old fossil whale may not be the heaviest animal of all time after all, according to a new analysis by paleontologists. The new analysis puts Perucetus colossus back in the same weight range as modern whales and smaller than the largest blue whales ever recorded.

A 30 million year-old fossil whale may not be the heaviest animal of all time after all, according to a new analysis by paleontologists. The new analysis puts Perucetus colossus back in the same weight range as modern whales and smaller than the largest blue whales ever recorded.

For the first time in nearly a century, a new genus of plant has been discovered in Japan, but it looks more like a squid or an alien than a plant

If an unfamiliar person spends 15 minutes following a dog, it tends to follow them back in a possible sign of friendship

Researchers have identified 26 chemical compounds responsible for the flavour of oranges, which could help efforts to develop disease-resistant hybrids

Sausage-shaped pyrosomes are blooming in great numbers during marine heatwaves, but their success comes at the cost of other animals, including fish

A study estimating humpback whale numbers in the North Pacific Ocean from crowdsourced photos reveals a sharp decline from 2012 to 2021 after decades of slow population growth

Although they are carnivores, black-backed jackals are partial to the melon-like fruits of the !nara plant and help to disperse its seeds across the desert

The hingemouth, an African freshwater fish, can stick out a proboscis for feeding or breathing thanks to the unique arrangement of its jaw anatomy

The drumming sound of the 12-millimetre-long fish Danionella cerebrum can hit 140 decibels – now scientists have figured out how they do it

Ancient and fragile papyrus samples are at risk of being damaged by fungi, but a wasabi-based treatment can disinfect them without damage

It may seem counterintuitive, but trophy hunting leads to a lot of land being protected instead of being used for agriculture or logging – which can ultimately benefit animals