A 95-million-year-old crocodyliform fossil, affectionately nicknamed Elton, was discovered in Montana by student Harrison Allen. Unlike most crocs, it lived on land and ate a varied diet. The find led to the naming of a new species, Thikarisuchus xenodentes, offering insights into croc evolution and burrow-based fossil preservation. For Allen, it was a life-changing project that launched him into a career in paleontology.
Read moreMore than a century after its discovery, a mysterious fossil from South Wales has finally been confirmed as belonging to a new species of predatory dinosaur. Using cutting-edge digital scanning, researchers reconstructed the long-lost jawbone, revealing unique features that warranted a new name: Newtonsaurus.
Read moreA newly discovered fossil in Mongolia’s Gobi Desert has revealed the oldest and most complete pachycephalosaur ever found, offering a rare glimpse into the early evolution of these dome-headed dinosaurs. Named Zavacephale rinpoche, or “precious one,” this juvenile specimen dates back 108 million years, pushing the group’s fossil record back by 15 million years.
Read moreThe discovery of a nearly complete dromaeosaurid Saurornitholestes langstoni specimen is providing critical information for the evolution of theropod dinosaurs, according to new research.
Read moreDifferent dinosaur groups independently evolved gigantic body sizes, but they all faced the same problems of overheating and damaging their brains.
Read moreResearchers have uncovered evidence of the storage and delayed consumption of animal bone marrow at Qesem Cave near Tel Aviv. The research provides direct evidence that early Paleolithic people saved animal bones for up to nine weeks before feasting on them inside the cave.
Read moreFossils discovered in Thailand represent a new genus and species of predatory dinosaur, according to a new study.
Read moreAn international research team has discovered a new and well-preserved fossil stingray with an exceptional anatomy, which greatly differs from living species. The find provides new insights into the evolution of these animals and sheds light on the recovery of marine ecosystems after the mass extinction occurred 66 million years ago.
Read moreTo study the diet of ancient crocodiles, two researchers combined mathematical analyses of the animals' shapes, surveys of modern crocodiles' diet, modeling methods for reconstructing the diet of fossil groups, and forensic-style interpretations of damaged bones from the distant past.
Read moreA Tyrannosaurus rex could bite hard enough to shatter the bones of its prey. But how it accomplished this feat without breaking its own skull bones has baffled paleontologists. That's why scientists are arguing that the T. rex's skull was stiff much like the skulls of hyenas and crocodiles, and not flexible like snakes and birds as paleontologists previously thought.
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