Paleontology – Science News https://www.sciencenews.org INDEPENDENT JOURNALISM SINCE 1921 Thu, 07 May 2026 16:26:03 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9.4 https://www.sciencenews.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/01/cropped-favicon.jpg?w=32 Paleontology – Science News https://www.sciencenews.org 32 32 250169482 If wings came before flight, what were they for? https://www.sciencenews.org/article/wings-flight-evolution-insects-dinosaur Fri, 08 May 2026 17:00:00 +0000 https://www.sciencenews.org/?p=3170659 3170659 Giant, kraken-like octopuses may have ruled the Cretaceous deep https://www.sciencenews.org/article/kraken-octopus-largest-invertebrate Thu, 23 Apr 2026 18:00:00 +0000 https://www.sciencenews.org/?p=3170197 3170197 Mummified reptile hints at the origins of how we breathe https://www.sciencenews.org/article/mummified-reptile-origins-breathing Wed, 08 Apr 2026 15:00:00 +0000 https://www.sciencenews.org/?p=3169360 3169360 The ‘oldest fossil octopus’ is probably another animal https://www.sciencenews.org/article/oldest-fossil-octopus-another-animal Tue, 07 Apr 2026 23:01:00 +0000 https://www.sciencenews.org/?p=3169330 3169330 Fossils reveal many complex animals existed before the Cambrian explosion https://www.sciencenews.org/article/fossils-complex-early-animals-diversity Thu, 02 Apr 2026 18:00:26 +0000 https://www.sciencenews.org/?p=3168965 3168965 A fossil reveals early relatives of spiders — armed with claws https://www.sciencenews.org/article/fossil-claws-spider-scorpions-evolution Wed, 01 Apr 2026 15:00:00 +0000 https://www.sciencenews.org/?p=3168807 3168807 Early apes may not have evolved in East Africa https://www.sciencenews.org/article/early-apes-not-evolved-east-africa Thu, 26 Mar 2026 18:00:00 +0000 https://www.sciencenews.org/?p=3168545 3168545 A large fossil leg bone hints at T. rex’s origins, but scientists disagree https://www.sciencenews.org/article/fossil-leg-t-rex-origins-bones-dinosaur Thu, 12 Mar 2026 16:00:00 +0000 https://www.sciencenews.org/?p=3167888 T. rex ancestors came from North America instead of Asia. Not everyone agrees. ]]> 3167888 The ancient human ancestor ‘Little Foot’ gets a new face https://www.sciencenews.org/article/human-ancestor-little-foot-new-face Mon, 02 Mar 2026 14:00:00 +0000 https://www.sciencenews.org/?p=3167389 Australopithecus specimen helps add details about the origins of our own species.]]> 3167389 A mouth built for efficiency may have helped the earliest bird fly https://www.sciencenews.org/article/mouth-earliest-bird-fly-archaeopteryx Thu, 19 Feb 2026 16:00:00 +0000 https://www.sciencenews.org/?p=3166971 Archaeopteryx generate enough energy to fly. ]]> 3166971 Evolution didn’t wait long after the dinosaurs died https://www.sciencenews.org/article/evolution-dinosaurs-chicxulub-asteroid Fri, 13 Feb 2026 16:00:00 +0000 https://www.sciencenews.org/?p=3166844 3166844 Fossilized vomit reveals 290-million-year-old predator’s diet https://www.sciencenews.org/article/fossilized-vomit-reveal-predator-diet Wed, 11 Feb 2026 14:00:00 +0000 https://www.sciencenews.org/?p=3166615 3166615 This dino’s fossil claw suggests it snatched eggs, not insects https://www.sciencenews.org/article/dinosaurs-fossil-claw-snatched-eggs Wed, 14 Jan 2026 21:00:00 +0000 https://www.sciencenews.org/?p=3165894 3165894 These fossil finds shed new light on the past in 2025 https://www.sciencenews.org/article/favorite-fossil-finds-2025 Tue, 30 Dec 2025 15:00:00 +0000 https://www.sciencenews.org/?p=3163585 3163585 Big Neandertal noses weren’t made for cold https://www.sciencenews.org/article/big-neandertal-werent-nose-cold-climate Fri, 05 Dec 2025 16:00:00 +0000 https://www.sciencenews.org/?p=3163112 3163112 Nanotyrannus is still not a teenage T. rex https://www.sciencenews.org/article/nanotyrannus-still-no-teenage-t-rex Thu, 04 Dec 2025 19:00:00 +0000 https://www.sciencenews.org/?p=3163231 Nanotyrannus wasn’t a juvenile T. rex but a petite adult of a separate species, a new study of fossil hyoid bones finds, bolstering a recent report. ]]> 3163231 This bright orange life-form could point to new dino discoveries https://www.sciencenews.org/article/lichen-dinosaur-fossils Tue, 25 Nov 2025 13:00:00 +0000 https://www.sciencenews.org/?p=3162523 3162523 40,000-year-old woolly mammoth RNA offers a peek into its last moments https://www.sciencenews.org/article/woolly-mammoth-ancient-rna-ice-age Fri, 14 Nov 2025 16:00:00 +0000 https://www.sciencenews.org/?p=3162299 3162299 What causes the rainbow shimmer of ammolite gems? https://www.sciencenews.org/article/rainbow-shimmer-ammolite-gems-crystals Fri, 07 Nov 2025 15:03:03 +0000 https://www.sciencenews.org/?p=3161923 3161923 Nanotyrannus was not a teenaged T. rex https://www.sciencenews.org/article/nanotyrannus-not-teenaged-t-rex Thu, 30 Oct 2025 16:36:11 +0000 https://www.sciencenews.org/?p=3161783 Nanotyrannus fossil suggests the diminutive dino lived alongside T. rex in the late Cretaceous Period.]]> 3161783