Paleontology
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Some 180 million years ago, there lived an early mammal – built a lot like the guilty looking fella above – that became the earliest-known ancestor to all mammals on Earth, from the blue whale, to the camel, the rhino, the koala, and your good self.
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Soft tissues don’t fossilize well, so scientists have to infer organ anatomy from bones. But an unexpected treasure trove of new information has been discovered in Australia, with a 380-million-year-old fish fossil preserving the oldest heart ever found.
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The most discerning of dinosaur-obsessed kids always knew that Triceratops was the coolest. And now, the coolest specimen of this coolest dinosaur has just gone on public display for the first time – Horridus, the world's most complete Triceratops.
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Tyrannosaurus rex is one of the few dinosaurs that has its full scientific name in wide use. But now a new analysis of known fossils reveals that T-rex might be three separate species, including the newly proposed T-imperator and the T-regina.
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Researchers have discovered one of the oldest and best-preserved brains in the fossil record. A 310-million-year-old horseshoe crab was found with its complete brain intact, thanks to a previously unknown preservation method.
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It’s easy to assume tyrannosaurs didn’t need much help bringing down prey. But contrary to the popular image of these predators being lone hunters, new analysis of a mass grave site adds to evidence that tyrannosaurs may have lived and hunted in packs.
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Pterosaurs included the largest flying animals ever, and a new study has uncovered biological secrets that helped them grow so large. CT scans revealed that the neck vertebrae of giant pterosaurs had a supporting structure unlike any other animal.
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A new study published in the journal Nature is describing the extraction and sequencing of the oldest known sample of DNA. The sample comes from an ancient species of mammoth found in the Siberian permafrost and dates back nearly 1.2 million years.
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The latest amber time capsule discovery comes from Oregon State University researchers who have identified a completely new, previously unknown genus and species of flower dating back 100 million years to the mid-Cretaceous period.
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A tyrannosaur and a triceratops, locked in combat for 67 million years, will soon be on public display for the first time. Known as the Dueling Dinosaurs, the incredible fossil captures predator and prey preserved together, seemingly mid-battle.
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The bones of the only dinosaurs to be found on the island of Ireland have been confirmed by researchers. The two bone fragments were found to belong to two different individuals and date from the early Jurassic period, or about 200 million years ago.
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Researchers have discovered the longest known set of fossilized human footprints, and they tell an amazing story. The tracks were left by a woman carrying a small child, rushing, and after a few hours she made a return journey – without the child.
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