Fossils

Fossils

An ancient ichthyosaur graveyard may have been a breeding ground

Some 230 million years ago, huge dolphin-like reptiles appear to have gathered to breed in safe waters, just as many whales do today.

Fossils

Armored dinos may have used tail clubs to bash each other

Broken spikes on a fossil dino’s sides are consistent with the armored beast having received a mighty blow from another ankylosaur’s tail club.

Fossils

Let’s learn about pterosaurs

These ancient flying reptiles were not dinosaurs, but they were close relatives.

Fossils

Sprinting reptiles may have been forerunners of soaring pterosaurs

A new analysis of an old fossil supports the idea that winged pterosaurs evolved from swift and tiny two-legged ancestors.

Fossils

Dinosaur ‘mummies’ may not be as rare as once thought

Bite marks found on a fossilized dino show that skin can be preserved even when a carcass is not immediately smothered by sediment.

Fossils

Bizarre ancient critter has spines but no anus 

The spiny discovery moves this minion lookalike off a distant limb on the human family tree.

Animals

Analyze This: Bulky plesiosaurs may not have been bad swimmers after all

Long-necked plesiosaurs were thought to be slow swimmers. But new research suggests the animals’ large size helped them overcome water resistance.

Fossils

Ancient ‘ManBearPig’ mammal lived fast — and died young

Developing in the womb for a while — but being born ready to take on the world — may have helped post-dinosaur mammals rise to dominance.

Fossils

Warm feathers may have helped dinos survive mass Triassic die-off

Dinosaurs may have weathered freezing conditions about 202 million years ago, thanks to warm feathery coats.

Fossils

This big dino had tiny arms before T. rex made them cool

A predecessor to Tyrannosaurus rex, Meraxes gigas had a giant head. But the muscularity of its puny arms suggests those limbs served some purpose.

Fossils

Great white sharks may be partly to blame for the end of megalodons

Zinc levels in shark teeth hint that megalodons and great whites competed for food — and great whites won.

Fossils

Bright-colored feathers may have topped pterosaurs’ heads

Fossil remains of a flying reptile hint that their vibrant crests may have originated 250 million years ago in a common ancestor with dinosaurs.