Fossils | Science News for Students

Fossils

two Microdocodon gracilis fossils side by side

The shrew-sized early mammal relative Microdocodon gracilis lived about 165 million years ago. Its fossil reveals that the shape of a flexible bone structure called a hyoid that aids in chewing and is similar to that of modern mammals.

Z.-X. Luo/Univ. of Chicago

Fossils
 
Aug 13, 2019
A flexible bone that aids mammals in chewing arose during the Jurassic
modern crocodile

Today’s primarily meat-eating crocodiles have simple, cone-shaped choppers. But some of their ancient kin had more complex teeth, suggesting they ate plants.

Paul Cools/iNaturalist (CC BY-NC 4.0)

Animals
 
Jul 29, 2019
Ancient crocodiles may have preferred chomping plants, not meat
an illustration of an asteroid impacting the Earth

A massive asteroid hit the Earth 66 million years ago. The explosive collision rattled the planet and changed its climate. The devastating changes it triggered abruptly wiped out the dinosaurs — and most other living species.

solarseven/iStock/Getty Images Plus

Earth
 
Jun 13, 2019
Reliving the last day of the dinosaurs
an illustration of Suskityrannus hazelae

At about 1 meter (39 inches) tall at the hip, the newly identified Suskityrannus hazelae (illustrated) suggests tyrannosaurs gained fearsome traits before they got really big.

Andrey Atuchin

Fossils
 
Jun 11, 2019
This tiny dinosaur is officially T. rex’s cousin
fossilized egg

This ancient bird is Avimaia schweitzerae. It lived about 110 million years ago in what is now northwestern China. When the bird died, its body held an unlaid egg (the lighter brown smudge).

A.M. BAILLEUL ET AL/NATURE COMMUNICATIONS 2019

Fossils
 
Apr 29, 2019
Paleontologists find the first fossilized egg inside an ancient bird
an illustration of Moros intrepidus

About the size of a deer, the newly discovered Moros intrepidus (illustrated) is one of the smallest tyrannosaurs known.

Jorge Gonzalez, © L. Zanno

Fossils
 
Mar 22, 2019
Mini tyrannosaur fills big evolutionary gap
a photo of a fossil of developing baby plesiosaur skeleton inside the mother's skeleton

The bones of a developing baby (encircled) can be seen inside the skeleton of this plesiosaur.

NHMLA

Fossils
 
Mar 8, 2019
Bones show ancient marine reptile was a big baby
A short video clip of the OroBOT walking as seen from overhead

Researchers built a robot called OroBOT to re-create the way that Orobates pabsti might have walked. That four-legged creature lived some 290 million years ago.

Tomislav Horvat and K. Melo/EPFL Lausanne

Fossils
 
Feb 15, 2019
This robot shows how an ancient creature might have walked
860_whiskered_pterosaur_fuzz.png

This pterosaur (seen here in an illustration) was covered in different sorts of hairlike fuzz. Their structure is the same as the protofeathers that covered some dinosaurs.

Yang Zhang

Fossils
 
Feb 4, 2019
These fuzz-covered flying reptiles had catlike whiskers
a photo of Ron Clarke, a pealeoanthropologist, excavating the skull of a skeleton embedded in a cave

Paleoanthropologist Ron Clarke excavates the skull of a skeleton called Little Foot. This adult female hominid lived in southern Africa nearly 3.7 million years ago. Researchers can’t agree on what species she belonged to.

University of the Witwatersrand

Human evolution
 
Jan 16, 2019
A skeleton named ‘Little Foot’ causes big debate