Fossils
Paleontologists Uncover Rare Skull of 500-Pound 'Thunder Bird' in Australia
The most complete skull of the extinct, flightless bird ever found has revealed adaptations that might have made the creature well-adapted for a life near water
World's Largest Stegosaurus Skeleton Ever Found Heads to Auction, With Mixed Reactions
Some scientists are concerned that offering the 150-million-year-old dinosaur, called "Apex," to the highest bidder could land the fossil in private hands, where it is unavailable to researchers
Austrian Man Discovers Hundreds of Mammoth Bones While Renovating His Wine Cellar
Owner Andreas Pernerstorfer thought he'd found a piece of wood, but then he remembered something his grandfather had said about finding teeth in the cellar decades ago
More Than 1,000 Fossils, Including Rare Dinosaurs, Gifted to Brazil's National Museum Following Fire
The massive donation was made by Burkhard Pohl, a Swiss-German collector, as the museum works to replenish its collections after a devastating blaze in September 2018
Tracking Humans’ First Footsteps in North America
At a site in New Mexico, a new discovery rewrites the human history of the continent
Chicago Museum Unveils the 'Most Important Fossil Ever Discovered': the Feathered Dinosaur Archaeopteryx
Archaeopteryx provided the missing link between dinosaurs and the avians of today, serving as critical evidence for Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution
Massive Mosasaurs May Have Evolved More Than Once
The predators, which were made famous in the “Jurassic World” franchise, likely arose at least three times
Paleontologists Discover Massive Dinosaur Tracks in China, Hinting at One of the Largest Known Raptors
The footprints, left behind by a 16-foot-long creature some 96 million years ago, represent the biggest raptor tracks ever found
These Massive, Extinct Salmon Had Spiky Teeth Like a Warthog's Tusks
For decades, scientists thought the teeth pointed downward, similar to those of a saber-toothed cat, but now they believe the fish's chompers jutted out sideways
Paleontologists Unravel Secrets of 'Enigmatic' 33-Foot Prehistoric Shark After Fossil Discovery
Scientists didn't know much about Ptychodus, an ancient shark genus, because its remains were usually just fragments. Now, complete fossils reveal its body shape and hunting habits
Scientists Uncover Bones of Massive Extinct Snake, Comparable in Size to the 43-Foot Titanoboa
The 27 vertebrae discovered in India suggest the enormous creature, dubbed Vasuki indicus, was between 36 and 50 feet long
11-Year-Old Uncovers Fossils of Giant Ichthyosaur in England, the Largest Marine Reptile Ever Found, Scientists Say
The jawbone fragments belonged to an 82-foot-long creature that represents a new species, according to a new study
You Can Visit the World's Largest Continuous Dinosaur Trackway, Now on Protected Public Land
In the Late Jurassic, a long-necked dinosaur made a 270-degree turn while walking in present-day Colorado—and left behind a rare treat for paleontologists
New Extinct Species of Giant Dolphin Discovered in Peru From a 16-Million-Year-Old Skull
Pebanista yacuruna is the largest freshwater dolphin ever found, but it is more closely related to today's river dolphins of South Asia than those in the Amazon
Alaska's Frigid North Slope Was Once a Lush, Wet, Dinosaur Hotspot, Fossils Reveal
Conditions north of the Arctic Circle, where dinosaurs roamed in abundance during the mid-Cretaceous, were warmer than today, with rainfall comparable to “modern-day Miami”
Archaeologists Keep Finding Preserved Human Brains. But How Do the Organs Remain Intact?
Scientists have unearthed more than 4,400 human brains—some more than 12,000 years old—making them less rare than thought, a new study finds
Why Did Seals and Sea Lions Never Commit to a Life Fully at Sea?
While whales moved from living on land to an existence immersed in water, pinnipeds embraced an amphibious lifestyle
Ten Wild Facts About Octopuses: They Have Three Hearts, Big Brains and Blue Blood
These bizarre creatures have been around for hundreds of millions of years, and for humans, they’ve inspired horror, admiration and culinary prestige
'Strange' New Prehistoric Bird Discovered in China and Named for David Attenborough
The proto-bird lived some 120 million years ago and did not have teeth—a trait more similar to birds of today than to birds of its time—sharpening scientists' understanding of avian evolution
Fossil Hunter Discovers Gigantic Crab in New Zealand—a New, Extinct Species
The massive creature is 8.8 million years old, and its modern descendants in Australia can grow to be the weight of a human toddler
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