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New Species of Freshwater Mosasaur Identified in France

France fossil Mosasaurus new species

Fossils from southeastern France reveal a previously unknown, roughly 2.5-m (8-foot) long tethysaurine mosasaur that appears to have lived in a freshwater lake, not the sea. The post New Species of Freshwater Mosasaur Identified in France appeared first on Sci.News: Breaking Science News.

05/10/2026 sci-news

First Animals May Have Appeared 200 Million Years Earlier than Their Oldest Fossils Suggest

Ediacaran fossil evolution

The oldest undisputed animal fossils, from the Ediacaran biota, are about 574 million years old, but chemical traces left by sponges, known as lipid biomarkers, hint that animals were around before 635 million years ago. The post First Animals May Have Appeared 200 Million Years Earlier than Their Oldest Fossils Suggest appeared first on Sci.News: Breaking Science News.

02/10/2026 sci-news

Dinosaur-Era Mammal Swam Like Platypus and Replaced Its Teeth Multiple Times

China Dinosauria mammals

Dongoconodon platycauda, a small eutriconodontan mammal that lived alongside dinosaurs in what is now northeastern China paddled through the water with webbed, platypus-like hands and feet, and replaced its teeth multiple times. The post Dinosaur-Era Mammal Swam Like Platypus and Replaced Its Teeth Multiple Times appeared first on Sci.News: Breaking Science News.

01/10/2026 sci-news

Dinosaurs May Have Dined on Seaweed, Study Suggests

Cretaceous fossil Dinosauria isotope study

Paleontologists studying Cretaceous fossils have repeatedly found that the teeth of many ancient animals contain more of a heavier carbon isotope, carbon-13, than their presumed plant-based diets would predict. The post Dinosaurs May Have Dined on Seaweed, Study Suggests appeared first on Sci.News: Breaking Science News.

01/10/2026 sci-news

New Feathered Dinosaur Suggests Flight Evolved More Than Once among Birds’ Closest Relatives

flight China Dinosauria Norellraptor bird new species

Norellraptor barsboldi, a new species of small microraptorine dinosaur from the 120-million-year-old rock beds of China’s Liaoning province, challenges the idea that the earliest fliers shared a common blueprint for taking to the air. The post New Feathered Dinosaur Suggests Flight Evolved More Than Once among Birds’ Closest Relatives appeared first on Sci.News: Breaking Science News.

01/10/2026 sci-news

New Enantiornithine Bird Joins Australia’s Sparse Fossil Record

Australia Cretaceous fossil bird

Tenuicruris piscanexum is only the second Cretaceous bird species named from the Australian continent. The post New Enantiornithine Bird Joins Australia’s Sparse Fossil Record appeared first on Sci.News: Breaking Science News.

30/09/2026 sci-news

120-Million-Year-Old Fossil Pushes Back Origin of Marsupial Lineage

China fossil mammals new species

A new species of deltatheroidan mammal from China may be the oldest confirmed ancestor of marsupials yet found, offering fresh evidence that Asia played a central role in the deep evolutionary split between marsupials and placental mammals. The post 120-Million-Year-Old Fossil Pushes Back Origin of Marsupial Lineage appeared first on Sci.News: Breaking Science News.

28/09/2026 sci-news

Chemosymbiosis between Animals and Microbes May Predate the Cambrian: Study

Cambrian study

A tubular marine creature that lived on the seafloor more than 540 million years ago may have survived in toxic, sulfur-rich waters by teaming up with bacteria. The post Chemosymbiosis between Animals and Microbes May Predate the Cambrian: Study appeared first on Sci.News: Breaking Science News.

28/09/2026 sci-news

Trogons Once Had Ordinary Feet, 55-Million-Year-Old Fossil Shows

Denmark Eocene fossil

A newly described trogon species from the Early Eocene of Denmark, one of the earliest members of the group, lacked a fully reversed second toe. The post Trogons Once Had Ordinary Feet, 55-Million-Year-Old Fossil Shows appeared first on Sci.News: Breaking Science News.

25/09/2026 sci-news

Fossilized Vomit Reveals How Plesiosaurs Dined on Jurassic Seafloor

feeding Jurassic Plesiosauria Plesiosaurus

Dr. Dirk Knaust, a geologist with the Norwegian energy company Equinor ASA, has identified plesiosaur regurgitalites -- the technical term for fossilized vomit -- from preserved in rock cores drilled beneath the North Sea, offering a rare window into how these long-necked marine reptiles fed in the Middle and Late Jurassic seas. The post Fossilized Vomit Reveals How Plesiosaurs Dined on Jurassic Seafloor appeared first on Sci.News: Breaking Science News.

23/09/2026 sci-news

Titanosaurs Nested Far South of Equator, Fossil Eggshells Reveal

nest Argentina Ecuador fossil Dinosauria Titanosauria

Paleontologists working in Patagonia, Argentina, have uncovered fossilized eggshells that push the known range of dinosaur nesting deeper into the southern hemisphere than previously documented. The post Titanosaurs Nested Far South of Equator, Fossil Eggshells Reveal appeared first on Sci.News: Breaking Science News.

23/09/2026 sci-news

New Therizinosaurian Dinosaur Unearthed in China

China Dinosauria Kayrasaurus Therizinosauria new species skeleton

Paleontologists have described a new genus and species of therizinosaur based on a nearly complete skeleton found in northeastern China. The post New Therizinosaurian Dinosaur Unearthed in China appeared first on Sci.News: Breaking Science News.

21/09/2026 sci-news

Tyrannosaurus rex Had Mammal-Like Body Temperature, Study Finds

tooth metabolism predator Tyrannosaurus study

A new analysis of Tyrannosaurus rex teeth indicates the ancient predator maintained a body temperature of about 36.3 degrees Celsius (97.3 degrees Fahrenheit), close to that of Indian and African elephants and far warmer than its cold-blooded reptile neighbors. The post Tyrannosaurus rex Had Mammal-Like Body Temperature, Study Finds appeared first on Sci.News: Breaking Science News.

18/09/2026 sci-news

Paleontologists Uncover New Mosasaur Species in Egypt’s Western Desert

Egypt Cretaceous fossil Dinosauria Halisaurus

Paleontologists have described a previously unknown species of mosasaur -- a group of extinct marine reptiles that patrolled Cretaceous seas alongside dinosaurs on land -- based on fossils unearthed in Egypt’s Dakhla Oasis. The post Paleontologists Uncover New Mosasaur Species in Egypt’s Western Desert appeared first on Sci.News: Breaking Science News.

16/09/2026 sci-news

New Dicynodont Species from Tanzania Suggests Younger Age for Rocks Tied to Earliest Dinosaurs

Tanzania fossil specimen Dinosauria new species

Paleontologists have identified a new species of ancient, distant mammal relative from two fossil specimens found decades apart in the Manda Beds of Tanzania. The post New Dicynodont Species from Tanzania Suggests Younger Age for Rocks Tied to Earliest Dinosaurs appeared first on Sci.News: Breaking Science News.

15/09/2026 sci-news

Spanish Amber Deposit Offers Rare Window into Cretaceous Life

Spain Cretaceous fossil

El Soplao, a fossil site tucked into the hills of Cantabria in northern Spain, stands out for yielding amber pieces with a blue-violet hue and abundant bioinclusions, according to a new review paper. The post Spanish Amber Deposit Offers Rare Window into Cretaceous Life appeared first on Sci.News: Breaking Science News.

14/09/2026 sci-news

Diplodocus, Long Thought Exclusively American, Turns Up in Spain

Spain fossil Diplodocia Diplodocus

Paleontologists from Fundación Dinópolis have identified the first confirmed fossils of the genus Diplodocus found outside North America. The post Diplodocus, Long Thought Exclusively American, Turns Up in Spain appeared first on Sci.News: Breaking Science News.

14/09/2026 sci-news

Devonian Armored Fish Show Multiple Ways to Crush Hard-Shelled Prey

armor prey Devonian fish

Long before sharks or reptiles ruled the seas, armor-plated fish called placoderms were already experimenting with different jaw designs to crush hard-shelled prey. The post Devonian Armored Fish Show Multiple Ways to Crush Hard-Shelled Prey appeared first on Sci.News: Breaking Science News.

14/09/2026 sci-news

Ancient Alligator Relative Lived Right After Dinosaur-Killing Asteroid

Dinosauria new species

Paleontologists have identified a new species of extinct alligatorid that lived in what is now Colorado just a few hundred thousand years after the asteroid impact that wiped out the non-avian dinosaurs. The post Ancient Alligator Relative Lived Right After Dinosaur-Killing Asteroid appeared first on Sci.News: Breaking Science News.

11/09/2026 sci-news

Ichthyosaurs Had Surprisingly Dense Ribs, New Study Finds

museum Ichthyosauria study

New research from the Natural History Museum at the University of Oslo suggests ichthyosaurs’ rib cages may have done a job modern whale ribs don’t: acting as ballast to help them dive. The post Ichthyosaurs Had Surprisingly Dense Ribs, New Study Finds appeared first on Sci.News: Breaking Science News.

11/09/2026 sci-news