News
Some pterosaurs may have boasted bold iridescence
4+ hour, 28+ min ago (518+ words) Microscopic structures in a fossil suggest the animal had colors that shift with viewing angle Artists have long imagined pterosaurs in vivid hues. A new fossil analysis suggests at least one species really did shimmer in iridescent greens and magentas....
Crabs' sideways walk may have evolved just once
3+ week, 3+ day ago (288+ words) A study of 50 crab species in Japan traces the iconic sideways walk to a single ancestor, suggesting the trait drove the group's remarkable diversity....
If wings came before flight, what were they for?
1+ mon, 5+ min ago (585+ words) Simulated dinosaurs suggest early wings helped hunt prey An artist's reconstruction shows dinosaurs displaying their feathers and tails to flush insects out into the open. Simulated versions of the dinosaurs hint that the feathers were for show before they were…...
Neandertals used rhinoceros teeth as tools
1+ mon, 2+ day ago (387+ words) The teeth of extinct rhinos, found in Spain and France, were likely used to shape stone tools The narrow-nosed rhinoceros, Stephanorhinus hemitoechus, was common in Western Europe before going extinct about 40, 000 years ago. There's evidence that Neandertals ate them and…...
Dinosaur teeth reveal some were picky eaters
9+ mon, 4+ week ago (463+ words) Calcium in fossilized dino teeth determined the animals" diets An analysis of tooth enamel from animals that roamed the western United States about 150 million years ago, including (from left) Allosaurus, Apatosaurus, a herd of Diplodocus and two Camptosaurus, suggests the…...
Evolution didn't wait long after the dinosaurs died
3+ mon, 3+ week ago (726+ words) Marine ecosystems began recovering within just a few thousand years after the asteroid strike This artist's rendition depicts three forms of new plankton species (top left) and algae (middle left) that arose within a few thousand years after the Chicxulub…...
Mummified reptile hints at the origins of how we breathe
2+ mon, 4+ hour ago (285+ words) Ancient specimens have preserved rib cage and cartilage for pumping air to lungs About 289 million years ago, a lizardlike Captorhinus died in a cave, as shown in this artist's rendition. Oil and mineralized groundwater seeping into the body helped mummify…...
The 'oldest fossil octopus' is probably another animal
2+ mon, 21+ hour ago (367+ words) The over 300-million-year-old Pohlsepia may be a nautilus called Paleocadmus A'Paleocadmus'nautilus decays on the seafloor more than 300 million years ago in what will become Illinois. The separated shell is visible in the background. Other animals are visible, such as the…...
Fossils reveal many complex animals existed before the Cambrian explosion
2+ mon, 6+ day ago (275+ words) New fossils from the Ediacaran Period show that some animal groups are older than we thought April 2, 2026 at 2: 00 pm This is a human-written story voiced by AI. Got feedback? Take our survey. (See our AI policy here.) More than 539 million…...
Fossil reveals that an early relative of spiders had claws
2+ mon, 1+ week ago (267+ words) The fossil helps show how the front appendages of spiders" kin may have evolved An early relative of modern spiders and scorpions (illustrated) lived in water, was about the size of a human hand " and already had the characteristic claws…...