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Paleontologists
9 posts
Paleontologists Discover New Species of Ancient Crocodile
A new species of early crocodyloid crocodilian being named Asiatosuchus oenotriensis has been discovered by a team of paleontologists from the Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia and the Universidad de Salamanca in Spain. Skull of Asiatosuchus oenotriensis, holotype, from the Middle Eocene site of Casaseca de Campeán, Spain. Image credit: Narváez et al., doi:
Paleontologists Debunk Popular Claim that Protoceratops Fossils Inspired Legend of Griffin
Among the most widely promoted examples of fossil folklore is a supposed link between the Central Asian horned dinosaur Protoceratops and the griffin, a gold-guarding mythical creature combining features of lions and birds. First proposed in the 1990s, this geomyth postulates that tales of Protoceratops fossils were transmitted westward along trade routes from Asian gold
Paleontologists Identify New Species of Saber-Toothed Cat
The newly-identified species — the earliest and most primitive member of the saber-toothed cat genus Amphimachairodus — had craniodental adaptations to social behavior and open environment. An artist’s reconstruction of two Amphimachairodus hezhengensis defending their prey (Hezhengia bohlini) from two Dinocrocuta gigantea. Image credit: Oscar Sanisidro. Amphimachairodus hezhengensis lived in what is now northern China
Paleontologists Uncover First Theropod Fossils in Chilean Patagonia
Paleontologists have described new specimens of theropods — a dinosaur group that includes both modern birds and their closest non-avian dinosaur relatives — from the Late Cretaceous deposits of the Río de las Chinas Valley in the Chilean portion of Patagonia. A time averaged artist’s interpretation of Patagonia during the Late Cretaceous epoch, about 66-78
Paleontologists Solve Mystery of Problematic Tubular Fossils from Cambrian Period
Paleontologists have examined the 514-million-year-old specimens of Gangtoucunia aspera, a tube-building marine animal from the Guanshan Lagerstätte of Yunnan province, China. Their results appear in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B. Specimen of Gangtoucunia aspera preserved in situ in a dwelling tube with soft tissues and life reconstruction: (a) overview of oralmost region
Paleontologists Identify New Species of Long-Necked Dinosaur
A new genus and species of sauropod dinosaur has been identified from a fossilized bone found in China almost 30 years ago. Life restoration of Mamenchisaurus youngi, the best-known member of the family Mamenchisauridae. Image credit: Steveoc 86 / CC BY-SA 2.5. The new dinosaur species roamed Earth during the Late Jurassic epoch, approximately 155…
The fossilized dinosaur egg from the Hekou Formation, Ganzhou, Jiangxi province, southern China, is elongate ovoid in shape with dimensions of 16.7 cm long by 7.6 cm wide, and has characteristics typical of the egg family Elongatoolithidae. Dubbed ‘Baby Yingliang,’ the embryo belongs to an oviraptorosaur, a toothless theropod dinosaur closely related to birds. Among…
Paleontologists Find 25-Million-Year-Old Eagle-Like Bird Fossil in Australia
A new genus and species of extinct predatory bird has been identified from a fossilized partial skeleton unearthed in South Australia. Life reconstruction of Archaehierax sylvestris. Image credit: Jacob Blokland / Taylor & Francis Online. The newly-identified bird species lived during the Late Oligocene epoch approximately 25 million years ago. Dubbed Archaehierax sylvestris, it belongs…
Paleontologists Find Chromatin Threads in Fossilized Dinosaur Cartilage
Paleontologists have analyzed cartilage material from Caudipteryx, an oviraptorosaurid dinosaur that lived in what in now China some 125 million years ago (Early Cretaceous epoch) and was part of the famous Jehol Biota. Photograph and line drawing of the Caudipteryx specimen. Image credit: Zheng et al., doi: 10.1038/s42003-021-02627-8. “Geological data has accumulated over the years…