Dinosaurs

Most fossils are just bones, but occasionally striking specimens turn up bearing skin or feathers, encased in gemstones, and even preserving traces of DNA against all odds. Here's a look at some of the most incredible fossil finds of recent years.

Made famous in the movie Jurassic Park, the raptor dinosaurs are scientifically known as the dromaeosaurids. A newly-discovered member has recently been added the group, and it was likely one of the last raptors to exist.

A tiny, 99-million-year-old skull found in a piece of Burmese amber in Myanmar may not only be the smallest known dinosaur of the Mesozoic era, but it could also provide new insights into the evolution of birds.

Earth’s rotation is changing how many hours are in a day and days in a year. Now palaeontologists have managed to precisely measure how long days and years were back in the age of the dinosaurs – and it’s all thanks to a humble mollusk fossil.

Palaeontologists claim to have discovered evidence of cartilage cells, proteins, chromosomes and even DNA preserved inside 75-million year old dinosaur fossils, suggesting these molecules can survive for far longer than we thought.

An older relative of the famous Tyrannosaurus rex with the very cool name meaning "reaper of death" has been identified by paleontologists. Uncovered in Alberta, Thanatotheristes degrootorum lived 79 million years ago.

A study has found dinosaur footprints in sandstone embedded between fossilized lava dating back 183 million years. During this time, a mass extinction was taking place and parts of the world were being transformed into a world of fire by volcanism.

Wouldn't it be neat if there had been a pint-size Tyrannosaurus? Well, sorry, but there wasn't. According to new research, skeletons that were thought to belong to a pygmy relative are actually from teenage T. Rexes.

Fossilized shells have now revealed that Earth’s systems were already stressed before the asteroid impact that killed the dinosaurs, as volcanic eruptions may have heated the oceans and raised mercury levels to dangerous heights.

From lost cities, civilizations and stone circles to a startlingly well-preserved dinosaur, here’s a look back at five of the most significant archaeological finds and breakthroughs of the last decade.

New research led by Michael D. D'Emic, an assistant professor of biology at Adelphi University, indicates that a 70-million-year-old dinosaur called Majungasaurus shed and replaced its teeth like a shark about every two months.

About 65 million years ago, a huge asteroid slammed into the Earth and wiped out three quarters of all life on Earth, including the dinosaurs. Now, Yale researchers have found evidence that oceans became too acidic for marine animals to take.