Fossils
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Scientists have uncovered the oldest fossilized forest, dating back 390 million years. The ancient forest was made up of the first trees to ever grow on Earth – bizarre “prototype” trees that had to rip their skeletons apart in order to grow.
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A 280-million-year-old fossil from the Italian Alps is pretty much just black paint in the lizard-shaped grooves of a rock. So say researchers who examined the specimen and laid to rest questions that have long puzzled paleontologists.
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Upending existing theories, there was no peaceful transition of power from hunter-gathers to the first farmers. New DNA analysis reveals that instead it was a deadly takeover – one that completely wiped out the hunter-gathers within a few generations.
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Most of us picture megalodon as a Jason-Statham-hunting monster that looked like a giant great white shark, but that probably wasn’t the case. A new study re-examines fossil evidence and suggests the creature was longer and more slender than thought.
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Genetic and isotopic analyses have pieced together a remarkable narrative of a 20-year-old female woolly mammoth, detailing her health, status, travels and ultimate ending in interior Alaska – even though her story is now more than 14,000 years old.
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If T. rex is too mainstream, discerning 10-year-olds may now have a new answer when asked their favorite dinosaur – Tyrannosaurus mcraeensis. The newly identified species appears to be more primitive than its famous cousin, but just as big and scary.
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The debate rages on about the identity of fossils of small tyrannosaurs. A new study claims to have found evidence that a mini tyrannosaur species stomped around alongside its famous, giant cousin – but other scientists aren’t convinced.
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Still prized at the dinner table today, it appears the drumstick was just as popular with tyrannosaur kids 75 million years ago. A fascinating find in a dinosaur's stomach offers clues as to why these giant predators became the most successful on Earth.
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A fungus that attacked plants 407 million years ago has been unearthed among fossils at the Natural History Museum, making it the oldest of its kind to have ever been found. What's more, its new name celebrates one very famous fungi aficionado.
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The cascading effects of a giant asteroid impact is credited for killing off the dinosaurs. Now scientists have identified a new factor – fine silicate dust that hung in the atmosphere for well over a decade, blocking sunlight and cooling the planet.
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A 2021 study caused a stir by claiming that a set of fossilized human footprints were 20,000 years old – much earlier earlier than humans were thought to have set foot in North America. Now two extra dating methods have seemingly confirmed the age.
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Some 465 million years ago this marine scavenger was caught unawares by a mud current that would bury it alive. It had spent its last hours feasting on a large range of seafood, and now, thanks to the latest imaging tech, its last meal has been revealed.
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