Some pterosaurs may have boasted bold iridescence

Paleontologists have described an assemblage of marine fish fossils from the 62.2-million-year-old site of Qreiya 3 in the Eastern Desert of Egypt, providing a window into this transition.
The post Fish Fossils from Early Paleocene Fill 10-Million-Year Gap after Dinosaur Extinction appeared first on Sci.News: Breaking Science News.

Near-complete bovine skeletons unearthed the Early Pliocene site of Camp dels Ninots in northeastern Spain reveal that the ancestors of todayβs buffalo and cattle were already growing to impressive sizes long before humans arrived on the continent.
The post Half-Ton Cattle Relatives Roamed Europe 4 Million Years Ago appeared first on Sci.News: Breaking Science News.

Jian changmaensis is the first non-avian dinosaur found at a paleontological site that has yielded more than 100 specimens of Early Cretaceous birds.
The post New Microraptorine Dinosaur Discovered in China appeared first on Sci.News: Breaking Science News.

Paleontologists have confirmed that Praearcturus gigas, a creature that prowled shallow waters during the Devonian period, 415 million years ago, is the largest scorpion ever found.
The post Giant Scorpions Ruled Ancient Britain during Devonian Period appeared first on Sci.News: Breaking Science News.

Tiny colonial animals called bryozoans were long thought to have appeared tens of millions of years after the Cambrian explosion.
The post Complex Colonial Life Was Already Thriving during Cambrian Explosion appeared first on Sci.News: Breaking Science News.

Chemical traces preserved in ancient rocks indicate that marine environments were deteriorating long before the catastrophe that wiped out vast numbers of species at the end of the Triassic period, around 201 million years ago.
The post Ancient Oceans Began Losing Oxygen Millions of Years before End-Triassic Mass Extinction appeared first on Sci.News: Breaking Science News.
A newly discovered crocodile relative from the Triassic had a beak, tiny arms, and walked on two legs, making it look more like an ostrich-like dinosaur than a crocodile. During the Triassic Period, the ancestors of many modern animal groups were branching into an astonishing variety of shapes and lifestyles. Evolution was experimenting with body [...]
Scientists have uncovered a fish-hunting raptor from Patagonia that may have stalked prey like a giant prehistoric heron. A newly identified dinosaur from Patagonia is giving scientists fresh insight into how some raptor relatives lived during the final chapter of the age of dinosaurs. The species, named Kank australis, appears to have spent much of [...]




























A newly identified prehistoric crocodile relative, Eosphorosuchus lacrimosa, was discovered alongside another croc species in New Mexico fossils dating back 210 million years. Around 210 million years ago, two crocodile relatives about the size of modern jackals stood together along a humid riverbank in what is now northern New Mexico. One of them, Hesperosuchus agilis, [...] 
Paleontologists have identified a new species of the axolotl genus Ambystoma from several fossilized specimens found deep in the rocky outcrops of the Mexican state of Hidalgo.
The post New Species of Fossil Axolotl Unearthed in Mexico appeared first on Sci.News: Breaking Science News.
Field notebooks from the late Richard KΓΆhler allowed researchers to finally catalog a remarkable fossil tarpon from Aotearoa New Zealand. Recently disclosed notebooks from a late paleontologist supplied the missing details researchers needed to complete their study of a βremarkableβ fossil found nearly 30 years ago. Dr. Richard KΓΆhler discovered the fossil fish in 1999 [...]
A newly described fossil goose shows that New Zealandβs bird history involved repeated arrivals, extinctions, and rapid island evolution. A rare fossil goose found in the remains of an ancient lake in Central Otago is changing how scientists understand the bird history of Aotearoa New Zealand, according to a researcher at the University of Otago [...] 
Paleontologists have recovered the fossilized remains of three hyaenodont species, including one previously unknown to science, from Miocene sediments in Pakistan.
The post Paleontologists Identify New Hyaenodont Species in Pakistan appeared first on Sci.News: Breaking Science News.