Paleontology news archive

2011

• Jan-Mar
• Giant prehistoric dinosaur cousin of T. rex identified
• Prehistoric reptile skin secrets revealed in new image
• Dinosaur named 'thunder-thighs'
• Fossil find puts 'Lucy' story on firm footing
• Humans 'left Africa much earlier'
• Two-clawed and parrot-sized: new T.rex cousin unveiled
• Did pterosaurs fly out of their eggs?
• 'Dawn runner' casts light on birth of the dinosaurs
• Ammonite diet revealed in X-rays
• Sabertooth cats threatened most ancient human ancestor

2010

• Oct-Dec
• Neanderthals cooked and ate vegetables
• Ancient humans, dubbed 'Denisovans', interbred with us
• Crocs dispel 'living fossil' myth
• Giant fossil bird found on 'hobbit' island of Flores
• Pterosaurs' wings 'key to their size'
• Pterosaur reptile used "pole vault" trick for take-off
• Eggs with the oldest known embryos of a dinosaur found
• 'Balloon head' dolphin discovered
• Ancient bugs found in 50-million-year-old Indian amber
• T. rex was a cannibal in Argentina
• Fossils of earliest land plants discovered in Argentina
• Dinosaur origins pushed further back in time
• Trademark swimsuit gave penguin ancestors the edge


• Jul-Sep
• Fossils of new species of horned dinos found in Utah
• Hump-backed dinosaur may yield clues to origin of birds
• Fossils may be 'earliest animals'
• Woolly mammoth extinction 'not linked to humans' years ago
• Tool-making and meat-eating began 3.5 million years ago
• Morph-osaurs: How shape-shifting dinosaurs deceived us
• Divers find ancient monkey fossil
• Fossil links humans and monkeys
• Humans' early arrival in Britain


• Apr-Jun
• 'Sea monster' whale fossil unearthed
• Ancient macrofossils unearthed in West Africa
• Horned dinosaurs 'island-hopped' from Asia to Europe
• Oldest mammalian hair found
• Fossil find resolves ancient extinction mystery
• Soft tissue remnants discovered in Archaeopteryx fossil
• Neanderthal genes 'survive in us'
• Woolly mammoth's survival secret? Antifreeze blood
• Neanderthals may have interbred with humans
• South African fossils could be new hominid species
• Fossil find shows Velociraptor eating another dinosaur


• Jan-Mar
• Southern 'cousin' of T. rex found
• DNA identifies new ancient human dubbed 'X-woman'
• Dinosaur fossil caught in collapsing sand dune
• Dinosaurs' dominance 'helped by mass volcanism'
• Velociraptor's cousin discovered
• 'Hobbit' island's deeper history
• DNA of extinct birds extracted from ancient eggshell
• Dinosaur extinction link to crater confirmed
• Dinosaur's oldest relative found
• Giant predatory shark fossil unearthed in Kansas
• How a hobbit is rewriting the history of the human race
• Giant fish swam prehistoric seas
• Sail-backed dinos had semiaquatic lifestyle
• Analysis of hair DNA reveals ancient human's face
• China dinosaur footprints found in Zhucheng
• New dinosaur discovery solves evolutionary bird puzzle
• Dinosaur had ginger feathers
• Alligators and birds share lung structure and ancestor
• Neanderthal 'make-up' discovered
• Fossil tracks record 'oldest land-walkers'

2009

• Oct-Dec
• Bird-like dinosaur was 'venomous'
• T.rex 'little cousin' discovered
• Ancient Mediterranean flood mystery solved
• Dung helps reveal why mammoths died out
• Missing link dinosaur discovered
• Oldest T. rex relative identified
• Spider web confirmed as 'oldest'
• Colossal 'sea monster' unearthed
• Primate fossil 'not an ancestor'
• New flying reptile fossils found
• Baby dinosaur made tracks as it fled for its life
• Mammoth remains from the Russian permafrost offer up rich bounty
• Fossil finds extend human story


• Jul-Sep
• Dinosaurs had 'earliest feathers'
• Tiny ancestor is T. rex blueprint
• Velociraptor's 'killing' claws were for climbing
• A skull that rewrites the history of man
• Ancient spiders yield 3D secrets
• Oldest dinosaur burrow discovered
• Dinosaur mummy gives up organic material


• Apr-Jun
• New dinosaur gives bird wing clue
• Giant dinosaurs 'held heads high'
• Scientists hail stunning fossil
• Hobbits 'are a separate species'
• Ancestor of T rex found in China


• Jan-Mar
• Canadian dig yields tiny dinosaur
• Norwegian fossil hunters unearth a Jurassic sea monster
• Earliest 'human footprints' found
• Fish fossil clue to origin of sex
• First draft of Neanderthal genome
• Ancient sponges leave their mark
• The snake that was so big it ate crocodiles
• Fossil illuminates jaw evolution
• Genetic secrets from Tamanian tiger
• Dino feathers 'were for display'

2008

• Oct-Dec
• China finds major dinosaur site
• New flying reptile species found
• Did Neanderthal cells cook as the climate warmed?
• 'Grape' is key to fossil puzzle
• Frozen hair gives up first mammoth genome
• Woolly rhino's ancient migration
• Sabretooth tigers hunted in packs
• New feathered dinosaur discovered
• Rock records dino 'dance floor'


• Jul-Sep
• Neanderthals 'enjoyed broad menu'
• Did we out-breed slow-maturing Neanderthals?
• Ancient trees recorded in mines
• 'Rare' mammoth skull discovered
• Tech-savvy Neanderthals couldn't blame their tools
• Fossils date Dry Valleys' origin


• Apr-Jun
• Brain size 'not key to intellect'
• Fossil reveals oldest live birth
• Fossil prints reveal giant winged reptile was a stalker
• New dinosaur tracks discovered
• Tasmanian tiger DNA 'resurrected'


• Jan-Mar
• Spain dig yields ancient European
• Volcanoes fingered for 'crime of the Cretaceous'
• Island find stirs Hobbit debate
• New twist in Hobbit-human debate
• Sea reptile is biggest on record
• 'Frog from hell' fossil unearthed
• New meat-eating dinos identified
• Bat fossil solves evolution poser
• Flying reptiles came in miniature
• Gigantic fossil rodent discovered
• Dinosaurs 'grew fast, bred young'

2007

• Oct-Dec
• Whale 'missing link' discovered
• New meat-eating dinosaur unveiled
• Ancient polar bear jawbone found
• Amazing find of dinosaur 'mummy'
• Man-sized sea scorpion claw found
• New African ape fossil discovered
• Dinosaurs breathed like penguins
• Gliding mammal linked to humans
• Neanderthals 'were flame-haired'
• Cave clue to 'first beachcombers'
• Ancient reptile tracks unearthed
• 'Giant dino' found in Argentina
• Dino print could be T. rex mark
• River reveals 'Jurassic dragon'


• Jul-Sep
• Velociraptor dino 'had feathers'
• 'Hobbit' wrists 'were primitive'
• Georgia clues to human origins
• Orchids date to time of the dinos
• Fossils belong to new great ape
• T. rex 'would outrun footballer'
• Ancient forest found in Hungary
• Finds test human origins theory
• Greek mastodon find 'spectacular'
• Dinosaurs' slow rise to dominance
• Baby mammoth discovery unveiled
• DNA reveals Greenland's lush past
• Ancient American bird was glider


• Apr-Jun
• 'First west Europe tooth' found
• Tropical giant penguin discovered
• Feathered dino was twice your height and had claws
• Fossil traces deep dinosaur roots
• T. rex was 'slow-turning plodder'
• Upright walking 'began in trees'
• Genes shed light on fish fingers
• Tracks suggest dinos could swim
• Giant fossil rainforest unearthed
• Fossilized trees mystery solved
• Protein links T. rex to chickens


• Jan-Mar
• Dinosaur den diggers discovered
• Ancient lizard extended its rib bones to glide
• Ancient chimps 'used stone tools'
• 'Hobbit' human 'is a new species'
• Caverns give up huge fossil haul
• Flying dinos had bi-plane design

2006

• Oct-Dec
• Europe's largest dinosaur unearthed in Spain
• Earliest flying mammal discovered
• Ancient 'Jaws' had monster bite
• Neanderthal DNA secrets unlocked
• Ice-age genome project faces cold storage
• Bee fossil, DNA generate a buzz
• Tiny fossils reveal inner secrets
• 'Monster' fossil find in Arctic


• Jul-Sep
• 'Lucy's baby' found in Ethiopia
• Neanderthals' 'last rock refuge'
• Fossils suggest chaotic recovery from mass extinction
• Ancient whale 'truly weird'
• Flying reptile mystery 'solved'
• Fossil frogs yield 'soft tissues'
• Geneticists shoot for Neanderthal genome in two years
• The bigger the dinosaur, the hotter its blood
• Newfound reptile swam in dinosaur era
• Gene reveals mammoth coat colour


• Apr-Jun
• Ancient web spins evolution story
• China fossils fill out bird story
• Early web-spinner found in amber
• Ancient rocks 'built by microbes'
• Mini-dinosaurs emerge from quarry
• New twist in 'hobbit' human story
• Mammoth skeleton found in Siberia
• New research suggests 'hobbit' was not a new species
• Did humans and chimps once interbreed?
• Neanderthal yields nuclear DNA
• Neanderthals and humans: perhaps they never met
• Geologists dredge up dinosaur from the deep
• Oldest snake fossil shows a bit of leg
• Fossils fill gap in human lineage
• Arctic fossils mark move to land
• Doubt cast on 'ancient asexual'


• Jan-Mar
• Ancient skull found in Ethiopia
• Streeeetch! Long-neck dinosaur sets new standard
• Baby Triceratops skull suggests reasons for horns
• 'Jurassic beaver' found in China