Fossils

New analysis of fossilized bones unearthed 47 years ago in Australia has revealed a previously unknown giant relative of the wombat. About the size of a black bear, it's so different from other marsupials that it's been placed in a family all of its own.

Although many fossils are simply lying exposed on the soil's surface, finding all of them would require a great deal of walking over varying terrain. A new autonomous hexacopter drone could help, as it uses a laser to hunt for fossils at night.

A strange fossil discovered in Antarctica almost a decade ago has finally been identified. Researchers at the University of Texas at Austin have determined that the object is a giant, soft-shell egg, most likely laid by an ancient marine reptile.

A strange set of fossilized footprints has been discovered in South Korea which look like crocodile tracks – but the stride is that of a bipedal animal. Scientists concluded that ancient ancestors of crocodiles were walking around on two legs.

Palaeontologists have gathered fascinating new insights into dinosaurs from the stomach contents of an incredibly well-preserved nodosaur. They can tell not just what its last meal was, but how it browsed for food and even what time of year it died.

Researchers claim to have identified the world's oldest bug. The specimen is a millipede found on an island in Scotland, and it dates back 425 million years. The team says that the finding implies that insects underwent a rapid phase of evolution.

Although the great white shark is one of the ocean's top predators, it's still a vulnerable species. Now, scientists have discovered what they say is a prehistoric nursery site for the sharks, and it could have implications for protecting them today.

Measuring more than 5 m (16 ft) long, Titanichthys was a giant armored fish that swam the oceans 380 million years ago. It may sound intimidating, but new research suggests that it fed in a manner much like that of today's harmless basking shark.

Paleontologists in Australia have uncovered a strange new species of dinosaur. It's an elaphrosaur, placing it in the theropod family along with the Tyrannosaurus rex and Velociraptor – but this one had a long neck, no teeth and an unusual diet.

The first fossil of a Spinosaurus tail has been discovered, revealing large spines that indicate a paddle shape like a crocodile’s tail. That means this gigantic predator was a proficient swimmer, making it the first aquatic dinosaur.

If you were studying the diet of ancient humans, it certainly wouldn't help if you got their preserved feces confused with those of their dogs. A new analytical system known as coproID is designed to keep that from happening.

The human family tree is being shuffled around again. A new study suggests that Homo erectus existed 100,000 to 200,000 years earlier than previously thought, meaning they lived alongside species they were once thought to have descended from.