Fossils News

Famed paleoanthropologist Richard Leakey envisions the future with a view that remembers the past Looking Back: A family world famous for discovery. Richard Leakey and his parents, Louis and Mary…

Modern-day Nile crocodile Researchers excavating a coal mine in Colombia have discovered a previously unknown species of prehistoric crocodile. The beast is described in the September 15 issue of the…

Scientists have announced the discovery of a new species of carnivorous dinosaur which lived 230 million years ago in what is today Argentina. Eodromaeus, which means "dawn runner", weighed only…

Scientists have discovered an extinct massive stork, standing nearly 6 feet tall (1.8 meter) and weighing 35 pounds (15 kilograms), which would have shared the island of Flores with the…

Paleontologists have unearthed fossil remains of a giant species of penguin that roamed the Earth 36 million years ago, according to research published in Science. Excavating a site in Peru,…

Scientists discovered two previously unknown species of dinosaur in southern Utah, reports the Associated Press. The species are described in the current issue of the journal PLoS ONE. Both species…

A dinosaur mystery over a hundred years old has been unraveled according to a new study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. In 1895 a woman discovered…

Sauropod babies for breakfast A fossilized snake has been discovered inside a titanosaur nest in India, leading researchers to conclude that the snake fed on newly-hatched dinosaur babies, rather than…

One of the most well-known animals, the polar bear, is a newcomer on the world stage, according to research published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. By…

For over a century and a half researchers have debated whether humans or climate change killed off Australia's megafuana. A new paper in Science argues with new evidence that Australia's…

It sounds like something out of Greek mythology: a half-goat, half-reptilian creature. But researchers have discovered that an extinct species of goat, the Balearic Island cave goat or Myotragus balearicus,…

Arctic researcher: 'we have entered unchartered territory' The Arctic should be growing cooler, but a new sediment core taken from an Arctic lake reveals that the lake's ecology and chemistry…

The long-held assumption that Madagascar has lost 90 percent of its forest cover due to fire and slash-and-burn agriculture may be overstated, argues new research published in Conservation Letters. Analyzing…

Extinction can be set in motion millions of years before a species' actual demise, suggesting that present-day drivers of habitat destruction and degradation may have already doomed many species to…

A new study, published in the journal Geology, estimates the age of the Amazon river at 11 million years. Conducting analysis of sedimentological and paleontological data obtained by drilling deep…

Two hundred and sixty million years ago the Earth experienced its worst mass extinction: 95 percent of marine life and 70 percent of terrestrial life vanished. Long a subject of…

Missing link between fish and land animals discovered Missing link between fish and land animals discovered By Morgan Erickson-Davis, special to mongabay.com November 7, 2008 New fossil brings more insight…

Past climate change drove mass extinction in Pakistan Past climate change drove mass extinction in Pakistan Jeremy Hance, mongabay.com September 26, 2008 Past climate change cut mammal biodiversity by over…

Researchers devise new comparison of mass extinction events Researchers devise new comparison of mass extinction events mongabay.com September 2, 2008 Researchers have created a new way to compare historical mass…

Humans - not climate - drove extinction of giant Tasmanian animals Humans - not climate - drove extinction of giant Tasmanian animals mongabay.com August 11, 2008 Humans — not climate…

Humans and global warming responsible for extinction of mammoths Humans and global warming responsible for extinction of mammoths mongabay.com March 31, 2008 Study confirms that habitat fragmentation, caused by climate…

10-pound 'Giant Frog From Hell' ate baby dinosaurs 10-pound 'Giant Frog From Hell' discovered in Madagascar mongabay.com February 18, 2008 Researchers have discovered the remains of what may be the…

New duck-billed dinosaur discovered in Mexico New duck-billed dinosaur discovered in Mexico mongabay.com February 12, 2008 A previously unknown species of dinosaur has been discovered in Mexico, shadding new light…

Two strange carnivorous dinosaurs discovered in the Sahara Two strange carnivorous dinosaurs discovered in the Sahara mongabay.com February 13, 2008 Two previously unknown species of dinosaur discovered in the Sahara…

Mini-pterodactyl discovered in China Mini-pterodactyl discovered in China mongabay.com February 11, 2008 Scientists have discovered a previously unknown species of pterodactyl in northeastern China. Life reconstructions of Nemicolopterus crypticus, a…

Global warming to increase insect attacks on plants Global warming to increase insect attacks on plants mongabay.com February 11, 2008 Global warming will increase attacks on plant leaves by insects,…