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Paleontologists Identify New Hyaenodont Species in Pakistan

Metapterodon anari. Image credit: Steven Jasinski / SergeyAtrox1.

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.

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490-Million-Year-Old Arthropod Fossil Fills Puzzling Gap in Fossil Record

Life reconstruction of Magnicornaspis garwoodi. Image credit: Thomas Turner.

A new species of corcoraniid arthropod that lived during the Furongian epoch, between 497 and 487 million years ago, has been identified from an exceptionally preserved specimen found near Québec, Canada.

The post 490-Million-Year-Old Arthropod Fossil Fills Puzzling Gap in Fossil Record appeared first on Sci.News: Breaking Science News.

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New Dinosaur Species from Argentina May Have Specialized in Catching Fish

Life reconstruction of Kank australis. Image credit: Gabriel Díaz Yantén.

Paleontologists in Argentina have identified a previously unknown species of unenlagiid dinosaur that stalked freshwater wetlands during the Late Cretaceous epoch, adding to evidence that some dinosaurs specialized in catching fish.

The post New Dinosaur Species from Argentina May Have Specialized in Catching Fish appeared first on Sci.News: Breaking Science News.

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Fungi Bloomed Twice around End-Cretaceous Mass Extinction

The end-Cretaceous mass extinction was marked by both the Chicxulub asteroid impact and the ongoing eruptions of the Deccan Traps volcanoes.

By studying fungal microfossils in 66-million-year-old rock samples from the Denver Basin in Colorado, Johns Hopkins University microbiologists have confirmed that the dinosaur-killing asteroid impact triggered a worldwide fungal takeover, and uncovered a second, previously unknown ecological crisis just before it.

The post Fungi Bloomed Twice around End-Cretaceous Mass Extinction appeared first on Sci.News: Breaking Science News.

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Cretaceous Bird from China Had Pair of Tail Feathers Twice as Long as Its Body

Plumadraco bankoorum is a new bohaiornithid enantiornithine bird with a pair of exceptionally long rectrices. Image credit: Ville Sinkkonen.

Named Plumadraco bankoorum, the newly-described species of enantiornithine bird lived in what is now northeastern China during the Cretaceous period, roughly 121 million years ago.

The post Cretaceous Bird from China Had Pair of Tail Feathers Twice as Long as Its Body appeared first on Sci.News: Breaking Science News.

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Toothless, Bipedal Crocodile Relative Lived in New Mexico 212 Million Years Ago

Labrujasuchus expectatus navigated the world on two legs with tiny arms and a toothless mouth tipped in a beak. Image credit: Jorge Gonzalez / NHMLAC Dinosaur Institute.

Paleontologists have described a new species of bipedal shuvosaurid archosaur from New Mexico, shedding light on a group of creatures that roamed North America during the Triassic period, more than 200 million years ago.

The post Toothless, Bipedal Crocodile Relative Lived in New Mexico 212 Million Years Ago appeared first on Sci.News: Breaking Science News.

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Study: Early Complex Life Forms Were Bottom-Dwellers

Fossil eukaryotes from Northern Territory, Australia. Image credit: Lechte et al., doi: 10.1038/s41586-026-10533-4.

Analyzing 1.75-billion-year-old microfossils from ancient Australian seabeds, paleontologists say ancient eukaryotes -- the ancestors of every plant, animal and fungus -- huddled in oxygenated seafloor patches for over a billion years before breaking free into open water.

The post Study: Early Complex Life Forms Were Bottom-Dwellers appeared first on Sci.News: Breaking Science News.

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Rare Ostrich-Like Dinosaur Fossil Found on Canadian Island

Life restoration of Quipalong henanesnsis, an ornithomimosaurian dinosaur that lived in what is now China during the Maastrichtian age of the Late Cretaceous, between 72 and 67 million years ago. Image credit: PaleoNeolitic / Sci.News.

Paleontologists in Canada say they have recovered a dinosaur tail vertebra from 75- to 80-million-year-old marine rocks on a small island off the coast of British Columbia, providing the clearest evidence yet that bird-like ornithomimosaurs once roamed the ancient Pacific coastline of North America.

The post Rare Ostrich-Like Dinosaur Fossil Found on Canadian Island appeared first on Sci.News: Breaking Science News.

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83-Million-Year-Old Crocodile Lizard Fossil Unearthed in France

Paleoartistic reconstruction of Acutodon villeveyracensis, the oldest known member of the pan-shinisaur lineage ever found in Europe. Image credit: Olivier Jansen.

Paleontologists have identified a new genus and species of pan-shinisaur lizard from a partial upper jaw discovered in southern France, pushing the presence of its lineage in Europe back by at least 30 million years.

The post 83-Million-Year-Old Crocodile Lizard Fossil Unearthed in France appeared first on Sci.News: Breaking Science News.

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