9+ hour, 39+ min ago  (523+ words) An unusual phenomenon that has been recognized around the world for more than a century has finally been resolved: what are the origins of the distinctive, stair-like ridges that form on steep hillsides? These features, known as “terracettes,” have long…...

1+ mon, 3+ day ago  (522+ words) An analysis of dental tartar containing traces of human diets dating back over 33,000 years has revealed that ancient Europeans and many early Asian populations likely only ate insects by accident, perhaps as larvae in the carcasses of dead animals. Conversely,…...

1+ mon, 1+ week ago  (624+ words) An international team of researchers studying 520-million-year-old rocks from the Xiannüdong Formation of southern Shaanxi Province, China, has discovered Bryozoan fossils from the Cambrian explosion, an era when essentially all other major animal groups on Earth were already represented in…...

1+ mon, 1+ week ago  (311+ words) For much of the past century, fossils from East Africa have shaped our understanding of ape evolution. Now, a jawbone found in the Egyptian desert adds a new dimension to that story. “We spent five years searching for this kind…...

1+ mon, 1+ week ago  (420+ words) A newly described fossil from Ghost Ranch, New Mexico, belongs to the crocodile family tree, but unlike most crocodile-line archosaurs, it walked on two legs, had small arms, and a toothless beak. Researchers from the Natural History Museum of Los…...

1+ mon, 3+ week ago  (501+ words) A recent fossil discovery in Canada is reshaping scientists’ understanding of early animal evolution. Deep in the Canadian Northwest Territories, researchers from the American Museum of Natural History and Dartmouth College have uncovered more than 100 fossils belonging to the Ediacaran…...

1+ mon, 3+ week ago  (513+ words) While most fruit flies are known for their attraction to fermenting fruit, one species has evolved to hunt in fast-moving streams in Africa, taking on the role of a predator. “We’re talking about a fruit fly that has completely turned…...

2+ mon, 1+ week ago  (535+ words) Deep in human evolutionary history, before anything recognizable as a vertebrate existed, one of our oldest relatives had a single eye sitting on top of its head. Now, according to new research, this ancient, cyclops-like creature may represent the evolutionary…...

3+ mon, 2+ week ago  (505+ words) When paleontologists entered a cave on private property in Comal County, Texas, they had hoped they might find some clues about the region’s ancient past. However, the rare ancient discovery they made upon entering hadn’t been on their bingo card....

4+ mon, 1+ week ago  (399+ words) England’s Jurassic Coast is infamous for the discovery of thousands of ichthyosaur fossils. Despite this long history, a major gap exists in the fossil record, spanning a period when entire families of these ancient marine reptiles vanished, and new groups…...