Paleontology
Ancient megavolcanoes killed half the world's species
Mar 21, 2013 14:12 EDT
New rock dating techniques have helped narrow the timeframe of a chain of massive volcanic eruptions that wiped out half the world's species 200 million years ago, a study said Thursday.
Remains of huge fossilized flying reptile displayed in Rio
Mar 20, 2013 20:06 EDT
The fossilized remains of a huge prehistoric flying reptile was unveiled Wednesday at the Rio de Janeiro National Museum where an international congress on the extinct species is to be held in May.
Early birds had four wings, not two: study
Mar 14, 2013 16:07 EDT
Some primitive birds boasted four wings, before evolution led them to ditch their hind feathers in favor of webbed or scaly feet, scientists in China said on Thursday.
Asteroid strike did in the dinosaurs: study
Feb 07, 2013 17:37 EST
Scientists said Thursday they are a step closer to proving the death blow for dinosaurs 66 million years ago was a gigantic comet or asteroid that struck near Mexico.
Study traces humanity's extended family tree
Feb 07, 2013 15:08 EST
Humans may have descended from apes, but long before that there was a small, four-legged insect-eating critter, according to new research out Thursday in the US journal "Science."
Archaeologists unearth new fox species
Jan 23, 2013 12:27 EST
Archaeologists digging outside Johannesburg have unearthed a fossilised species of previously unknown fox, which they hope will help flesh out the evolutionary journey of modern canines.
DNA shows ancestry of present-day Asians, Native Americans
Jan 22, 2013 21:41 EST
Present-day Asians and Native Americans are descended from a group of people who were already in China 40,000 years ago, according to an analysis of fossil DNA published this week.
Ancient critter could be the granddaddy of shellfish
Jan 17, 2013 12:56 EST
A weird marine creature that lived 500 million years ago at a time of explosive growth in Earth's biodiversity could be a forerunner of worms and molluscs, a study published on Thursday said.
Dinosaur 'thief' pleads guilty to smuggling
Dec 27, 2012 18:47 EST
A man accused of smuggling 70-million-year-old dinosaur skeletons, including a Tyrannosaur, into the United States pleaded guilty in court Thursday.
Dakar Rally rapped over 20 million year fossil damage
Dec 15, 2012 14:50 EST
Palaeontologists have warned that the Dakar Rally, which will thunder through Peru and Chile next month, poses a serious risk to whale and dolphin fossils dating back more than 20 million years.
Dakar rapped over 20 million year fossil damage
Dec 15, 2012 14:03 EST
Palaeontologists have warned that the Dakar Rally, which will thunder through Peru and Chile next month, poses a serious risk to whale and dolphin fossils dating back more than 20 million years.
Fossil find challenges tree of life as we know it
Dec 12, 2012 14:21 EST
Organisms long thought to have been the ancestors of early marine creatures may in fact have lived on land, said a fossil study Wednesday that may prompt an overhaul of the tree of animal life.
Fossil find could be oldest dino of all
Dec 05, 2012 10:31 EST
Fossilised bones unearthed by a British palaeontologist in colonial Tanzania in the 1930s may be those of the oldest dinosaur ever found, researchers reported on Wednesday.
Fossil find could be oldest dino of all
Dec 04, 2012 19:09 EST
Fossilised bones unearthed by a British palaeontologist in colonial Tanzania in the 1930s may be those of the oldest dinosaur ever found, researchers reported on Wednesday.
Giant penguin fossils found in Antarctica
Nov 21, 2012 11:05 EST
Argentine experts have discovered the fossils of a two-meter (6.5 foot) tall penguin that lived in Antarctica 34 million years ago.
Father of flying fish found in China: palaeontologists
Oct 30, 2012 21:29 EDT
Palaeontologists in China say they have found the world's oldest flying fish, a strange, snub-nosed creature that glided over water in a bid to evade predators some 240 million years ago.
First feathered dinosaur fossils found in North America
Oct 25, 2012 18:33 EDT
Scientists in Canada have unearthed the first fossils of a feathered dinosaur ever found in the Americas, the journal Science reported on Thursday.
Human ancestor walked like man, climbed like ape
Oct 25, 2012 16:12 EDT
More than three million years ago, ancient ancestors of humans were walking upright -- but they could still climb trees like monkeys, a study showed Thursday in the US journal "Science."
Dinosaur 'thief' arrested in Florida
Oct 17, 2012 19:57 EDT
A US man accused of smuggling 70 million year old dinosaur skeletons into the United States, including a toothy relative of the bigger Tyrannosaurus rex, was arrested on Wednesday in Florida, officials said.
