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1+ hour, 30+ min ago (1214+ words) At the Museum of the Earth in Ithaca, N.Y., visitors wander through extinct ecosystems that start at the dawn of complex life on Earth and then run to the steppes of ice age mastodons. But the museum now faces a battle for its survival as a financial crisis threatens to permanently shutter it. The Paleontological Research Institution, a hub for paleontologists all over the world that established the museum in 2003, is also at risk. Since it was formed nearly a century ago, the institution has amassed more than seven million fossils, one of the largest troves in North America. The collection will be broken up and scattered to new owners if P.R.I. cannot cover its debts. "No one has ever experienced trying to rehouse a collection like this," said Warren Allmon, the director of the institution and a professor of paleontology at…...

1+ hour, 32+ min ago (997+ words) Home - Science - Archaeologists discover the hands and feet of an ancient human relative from 1.5 million years ago in Kenya A partial skeleton found near Lake Turkana in northern Kenya includes the first hand and foot bones ever linked to Paranthropus boisei. The fossils, about 1.52 million years old, show a tool ready grip and a fully upright stride. Researchers excavated the bones at Koobi Fora on the lake's eastern shore, a place known for early human history. The find points straight at how this stocky cousin of ours moved and used its hands. Lead researcher Carrie Mongle of Stony Brook University (SBU) reports a study describing a skeleton with hand bones, three foot bones, teeth, and skull fragments. The team labels the find KNM-ER 101000 and this is a standard Kenyan museum catalog code. The hand shows a long thumb relative to…...

1+ hour, 52+ min ago (796+ words) Understanding how birds learned to fly has fascinated scientists for decades. Feathers, wings, and flight are often seen as a straight line of progress from dinosaurs to modern birds. But new research suggests the story was not that simple. Some dinosaurs may have developed the ability to fly, only to lose it later in their evolutionary history. A recent study of rare feathered dinosaur fossils offers fresh insight into just how complex the evolution of flight really was. The study was led by Dr. Yosef Kiat at the School of Zoology and the Steinhardt Museum of Natural History at Tel Aviv University. The team examined dinosaur fossils preserved with their feathers and found that some of these animals had lost the ability to fly. According to the researchers, this is an extremely rare discovery. It provides a window into the…...

2+ hour, 14+ min ago (96+ words) A wildlife photographer was following tracks of deer and vulture when he stumbled across thousands of dinosaur tracks spanning hundreds of meters. Thousands of dinosaur footprints from the Late Triassic period were found in the Italian Alps near where some of the 2026 Winter Olympics games will be held. Here & Now's Scott Tong speaks with Italian paleontologist Cristiano Dal Sasso about the significance of this discovery and what it can tell us about the dinosaurs that once roamed the earth. This segment aired on December 18, 2025. The audio for this segment is not available....

3+ hour, 6+ min ago (1096+ words) Are you fascinated by carnivorous animals? Have you ever wondered which of these amazing creatures top the list regarding ability, size, and power?With predators found in jungles, on the savannahs, and even beneath the ocean's surface, this guideline provides an overview of those animals considered some of the fiercest predators: from big cats to grizzly " The post The Top 10 Carnivorous Animals appeared first on Animals Around The Globe. Are you fascinated by carnivorous animals? Have you ever wondered which of these amazing creatures top the list regarding ability, size, and power? With predators found in jungles, on the savannahs, and even beneath the ocean's surface, this guideline provides an overview of those animals considered some of the fiercest predators: from big cats to grizzly bears, powerful crocs to lightning-fast cheetahs. Join us as we explore the world's Top 10 Carnivorous…...

3+ hour, 39+ min ago (1368+ words) When we think of birds, flight is typically the defining characteristic that comes to mind. However, throughout evolutionary history, some of the most impressive avian species never took to the skies. These flightless giants dominated various ecosystems across the planet, with some reaching sizes that seem almost mythical by today's standards. From the elephant birds " The post How the Largest Birds in History Couldn't Even Fly appeared first on Animals Around The Globe. When we think of birds, flight is typically the defining characteristic that comes to mind. However, throughout evolutionary history, some of the most impressive avian species never took to the skies. These flightless giants dominated various ecosystems across the planet, with some reaching sizes that seem almost mythical by today's standards. From the elephant birds of Madagascar to the moa of New Zealand, these feathered behemoths evolved…...

4+ hour, 11+ min ago (1380+ words) Imagine a world where gigantic dinosaurs roamed, volcanoes erupted, and meteors threatened all life. Now, picture the daring survivors'the underdogs of the ancient world'who managed to outlive the mighty T. rex and the towering Brachiosaurus. It's almost unbelievable, but some reptiles from the age of dinosaurs are still with us today, quietly gliding through rivers, " The post 15 Reptiles That Survived the Dinosaurs appeared first on Animals Around The Globe. Imagine a world where gigantic dinosaurs roamed, volcanoes erupted, and meteors threatened all life. Now, picture the daring survivors'the underdogs of the ancient world'who managed to outlive the mighty T. rex and the towering Brachiosaurus. It's almost unbelievable, but some reptiles from the age of dinosaurs are still with us today, quietly gliding through rivers, basking on sunlit rocks, and watching the world change over millions of years. Their survival stories are not…...

5+ hour, 10+ min ago (907+ words) For decades, the blue whale has reigned supreme as the largest animal known to science, stretching up to 100 feet long and weighing as much as 200 tons. These magnificent marine mammals have become the benchmark for enormous size in the animal kingdom. However, recent paleontological discoveries have revealed something truly extraordinary " creatures that " The post The Largest Animal Ever to Walk the Earth " It Was Bigger Than a Blue Whale appeared first on Animals Around The Globe. For decades, the blue whale has reigned supreme as the largest animal known to science, stretching up to 100 feet long and weighing as much as 200 tons. These magnificent marine mammals have become the benchmark for enormous size in the animal kingdom. However, recent paleontological discoveries have revealed something truly extraordinary " creatures that once walked the Earth's surface that dwarfed even these ocean giants. This…...

8+ hour, 11+ min ago (1382+ words) In the lush rainforests of northern Madagascar, a tiny miracle of evolution has been discovered that challenges our understanding of how small vertebrates can actually be. Meet Brookesia nana, or the nano-chameleon, a reptile so diminutive that it could perch comfortably on the tip of your finger with room to spare. Officially documented in 2021, " The post The Smallest Reptile Ever Found " It's the Size of a Matchstick appeared first on Animals Around The Globe. In the lush rainforests of northern Madagascar, a tiny miracle of evolution has been discovered that challenges our understanding of how small vertebrates can actually be. Meet Brookesia nana, or the nano-chameleon, a reptile so diminutive that it could perch comfortably on the tip of your finger with room to spare. Officially documented in 2021, this chameleon species has claimed the title of the world's smallest reptile,…...

9+ hour, 16+ min ago (512+ words) One of the most important steps in the evolution of modern mammals was the development of highly sensitive hearing." The middle ear of mammals, with an eardrum and several small bones, allows us to hear a broad range of frequencies and volumes, which was a big help to early, mostly nocturnal mammal ancestors as they tried to survive alongside dinosaurs." New research by paleontologists from the University of Chicago shows that this modern mode of hearing evolved much earlier than previously thought. Working with detailed CT scans of the skull and jawbones of"Thrinaxodon liorhinus, a 250-million-year-old mammal predecessor, they used engineering methods to simulate the effects of different sound pressures and frequencies on its anatomy." Their models show the creature likely had an eardrum large enough to hear airborne sound effectively, nearly 50 million years before scientists previously thought this…...