ScienceDaily: Fossil News

Agriculture in China predates domesticated rice: Discovery of ancient diet shatters conventional ideas of how agriculture emerged

Fri, 17 May 2013 08:57:57 EDT

Archaeologists have made a discovery in southern subtropical China which could revolutionize thinking about how ancient humans lived in the region. They have uncovered evidence for the first time that people living in Xincun 5,000 years ago may have practiced agriculture -- before the arrival of domesticated rice in the region.

Paleontology: The eloquence of otoliths seen in a 23-million-year-old fish fossil

Thu, 16 May 2013 10:52:52 EDT

Fish fossils that are about 23 million years old give unprecedented insight into the evolutionary history of the gobioid order, one of the most species-rich groups among the modern bony fishes.

Actor Johnny Depp immortalized in name of fossilized creature with 'scissor hand' claws

Thu, 16 May 2013 06:38:38 EDT

A scientist has discovered an ancient extinct creature with 'scissor hand-like' claws in fossil records and has named it in honor of his favourite movie star. The 505-million-year-old fossil called Kooteninchela deppi, which is a distant ancestor of lobsters and scorpions, was named after the actor Johnny Depp for his starring role as Edward Scissorhands -- a movie about an artificial man named Edward, an unfinished creation, who has scissors for hands.

Clam fossils divulge secrets of ecologic stability

Wed, 15 May 2013 17:40:40 EDT

Clam fossils from the middle Devonian era now yield a better paleontological picture of the capacity of ecosystems to remain stable in the face of environmental change, according to new research.

Billion-year-old water could hold clues to life on Earth and Mars

Wed, 15 May 2013 13:15:15 EDT

Scientists have discovered ancient pockets of water, which have been isolated deep underground for billions of years and contain abundant chemicals known to support life. This water could be some of the oldest on the planet and may even contain life. Not just that, but the similarity between the rocks that trapped it and those on Mars raises the hope that comparable life-sustaining water could lie buried beneath the Red Planet's surface.

Fossil saved from mule track revolutionizes understanding of ancient dolphin-like marine reptile

Tue, 14 May 2013 21:31:31 EDT

Scientists have revealed a new species of ichthyosaur (a dolphin-like marine reptile from the age of dinosaurs) from Iraq, which revolutionizes our understanding of the evolution and extinction of these ancient marine reptiles.

Mum and dad dinosaurs shared the work

Tue, 14 May 2013 21:31:31 EDT

A study into the brooding behavior of birds has revealed their dinosaur ancestors shared the load when it came to incubation of eggs.

Research helps paint finer picture of massive 1700 earthquake

Tue, 14 May 2013 19:06:06 EDT

In 1700, a massive earthquake struck the west coast of North America, but a lack of local documentation has made studying this historic event challenging. Now, researchers have helped unlock this geological mystery using a fossil-based technique. Their work provides a finer-grained portrait of this earthquake and the changes in coastal land level it produced, enabling modelers to better prepare for future events.

Oldest fossil hominin ear bones ever recovered: Discovery could yield important clues on human origins

Mon, 13 May 2013 17:43:43 EDT

Anthropologists could shed new light on the earliest existence of humans. The study analyzed the tiny ear bones, the malleus, incus and stapes, from two species of early human ancestor in South Africa.

Prehistoric ear bones could lead to evolutionary answers

Mon, 13 May 2013 17:40:40 EDT

The tiniest bones in the human body -- the bones of the middle ear -- could provide huge clues about our evolution and the development of modern-day humans, according to researchers.

Justinianic Plague was caused by bacterium Yersinia pestis, DNA of skeletal remains shows

Fri, 10 May 2013 07:54:54 EDT

Ancient DNA analyses of skeletal remains of plague victims from the 6th century AD provide information about the phylogeny and the place of origin of this pandemic.

Four new dinosaur species identified

Wed, 08 May 2013 17:21:21 EDT

Just when dinosaur researchers thought they had a thorough knowledge of ankylosaurs, a family of squat, armor-plated, plant-eaters, along comes a graduate student with some other ideas.

Oldest? New 'bone-head' dinosaur hints at higher diversity of small dinosaurs

Tue, 07 May 2013 12:48:48 EDT

Scientists have named a new species of bone-headed dinosaur (pachycephalosaur) from Alberta, Canada. The plant-eating Acrotholus audeti was approximately six feet long and weighed about 40 kgs in life. It represents the oldest bone-headed dinosaur in North America, and possibly the world.

New dinosaur fossil discovered in China: Meat-eating dinosaur from late Jurassic period was less than a year old

Fri, 03 May 2013 13:27:27 EDT

Fossil remains in northwestern China have been identified as a new species of small theropod, or meat-eating, dinosaur.

Killer entrance suspected in mystery of unusually large group of carnivores in ancient cave

Wed, 01 May 2013 19:31:31 EDT

An assortment of saber-toothed cats, hyenas, an extinct 'bear-dog', ancestors of the red panda and several other carnivores died under unusual circumstances in a Spanish cave near Madrid approximately 9-10 million years ago. It now appears that the animals may have entered the cave intentionally and been trapped there, according to new research.

Fossil of great ape sheds light on evolution

Wed, 01 May 2013 13:21:21 EDT

An integrative anatomy expert says the shape of an 11.8-million-year-old specimen's pelvis indicates that it lived near the beginning of the great ape evolution, after the lesser apes had started to develop separately but before the great ape species began to diversify.

Bird fossil sheds light on how swift and hummingbird flight came to be

Wed, 01 May 2013 09:18:18 EDT

A tiny bird fossil discovered in Wyoming offers clues to the precursors of swift and hummingbird wings. The fossil is unusual in having exceptionally well-preserved feathers, which allowed the researchers to reconstruct the size and shape of the bird's wings in ways not possible with bones alone.

First land animals kept fishlike jaws for millions of years

Tue, 30 Apr 2013 13:11:11 EDT

For the first time, fossil jaw measurements confirm that land animals developed legs millions of years before their feeding systems changed enough to let them eat a land-based diet. The pattern had been hypothesized previously, but not really tested.

What happened to dinosaurs' predecessors after Earth's largest extinction 252 million years ago?

Mon, 29 Apr 2013 16:49:49 EDT

Predecessors to dinosaurs missed the race to fill habitats emptied when nine out of 10 species disappeared during Earth's largest mass extinction 252 million years ago.

First snapshot of organisms eating each other: Feast clue to smell of ancient Earth

Mon, 29 Apr 2013 15:41:41 EDT

Tiny 1,900-million-year-old fossils from rocks around Lake Superior, Canada, give the first ever snapshot of organisms eating each other and suggest what the ancient Earth would have smelled like.

Dinosaur predecessors gain ground in wake of world's biggest biodiversity crisis

Mon, 29 Apr 2013 15:40:40 EDT

Newly discovered fossils from 10 million years after Earth's greatest mass extinction reveal a lineage of animals thought to have led to dinosaurs taking hold in Tanzania and Zambia in the mid-Triassic period, many millions of years before dinosaur relatives were seen in the fossil record elsewhere on Earth.

New excavations in Sweden indicate use of fertilizers 5,000 years ago

Fri, 26 Apr 2013 11:48:48 EDT

Researchers have spent many years studying the remains of a Stone Age community in Karleby outside the town of Falköping, Sweden. The researchers have for example tried to identify parts of the inhabitants' diet. Right now they are looking for evidence that fertilizers were used already during the Scandinavian Stone Age, and the results of their first analyses may be exactly what they are looking for.

Museum find proves exotic ‘big cat’ prowled British countryside a century ago

Wed, 24 Apr 2013 22:24:24 EDT

The rediscovery of a mystery animal in a museum’s underground storeroom proves that a non-native ‘big cat’ prowled the British countryside at the turn of the last century. The animal’s skeleton and mounted skin was analyzed and Aberystwyth universities and found to be a Canadian lynx – a carnivorous predator more than twice the size of a domestic cat.

Ancient DNA reveals Europe's dynamic genetic history

Tue, 23 Apr 2013 13:40:40 EDT

Ancient DNA recovered from a series of skeletons in central Germany up to 7,500 years old has been used to reconstruct the first detailed genetic history of modern Europe.

Iron in primeval seas rusted by bacteria

Tue, 23 Apr 2013 11:07:07 EDT

Researchers have been able to show for the first time how microorganisms contributed to the formation of the world's biggest iron ore deposits. The biggest known deposits -- in South Africa and Australia -- are geological formations billions of years old. They are mainly composed of iron oxides -- minerals we know from the rusting process. These iron ores not only make up most of the world demand for iron -- the formations also help us to better understand the evolution of the atmosphere and climate, and provide important information on the activity of microorganisms in the early history of life on Earth.

New carnivorous dinosaur from Madagascar raises more questions than it answers

Thu, 18 Apr 2013 21:40:40 EDT

The first new dinosaur named from Madagascar in nearly a decade, Dahalokely tokana was a carnivore measuring 9-14 feet long. Its fossils were found in 90-million-year-old rocks of northernmost Madagascar, from the time when Madagascar and India were a single isolated land mass. Dahalokely is potentially ancestral to later dinosaurs of both regions, and shortens a 95-million-year gap in Madagascar's dinosaur fossil record by 20 million years.

Coelacanth genome surfaces: Unexpected insights from a fish with a 300-million-year-old fossil record

Wed, 17 Apr 2013 13:18:18 EDT

An international team of researchers has decoded the genome of the African coelacanth. The species was once thought to be extinct, but a living coelacanth was discovered off the African coast in 1938. Coelacanths today closely resemble the fossilized skeletons of their more than 300-million-year-old ancestors. Its genome confirms what many researchers had long suspected: genes in coelacanths are evolving more slowly than in other organisms.

Fossilized teeth provide new insight into human ancestor: Species identified in 2010 is one of closest relatives to humans

Thu, 11 Apr 2013 14:29:29 EDT

A dental study of fossilized remains found in South Africa in 2008 provides new support that this species is one of the closest relatives to early humans.

World's oldest dinosaur embryo bonebed yields organic remains

Wed, 10 Apr 2013 13:12:12 EDT

A 190-million-year-old dinosaur bonebed near the city of Lufeng, in Yunnan, China has revealed for the first time how dinosaur embryos grew and developed in their eggs.

Unusual anal fin offers new insight into evolution

Wed, 10 Apr 2013 08:22:22 EDT

An unusual fossil fish that has fins behind its anus could have implications for human evolution.

Schoolboy finds 300 million year old fossil

Sun, 07 Apr 2013 14:58:58 EDT

A schoolboy has discovered what appears to be an extremely rare fossil of footprints from more than 300 million years ago.

Dwarf whale survived well into Ice Age

Thu, 04 Apr 2013 12:21:21 EDT

Research detailing the fossil of a dwarf baleen whale from Northern California reveals that it avoided extinction far longer than previously thought.

Ancient pool of warm water questions current climate models

Wed, 03 Apr 2013 13:13:13 EDT

A huge pool of warm water that stretched out from Indonesia over to Africa and South America four million years ago suggests climate models might be too conservative in forecasting tropical changes. Present in the Pliocene era, this giant mass of water would have dramatically altered rainfall in the tropics, possibly even removing the monsoon. Its decay and the consequential drying of East Africa may have been a factor in Hominid evolution. The missing data for this phenomenon could have significant implications when predicting the future climate.

Ancient climate questions could improve today's climate predictions

Wed, 03 Apr 2013 13:13:13 EDT

Climate models for the early Pliocene might be missing key processes. If researchers can uncover these missing processes, they can apply them to models of modern climate and improve future climate predictions.

Diversification in ancient tadpole shrimps challenges the term 'living fossil'

Tue, 02 Apr 2013 09:16:16 EDT

The term 'living fossil' has a controversial history. For decades, scientists have argued about its usefulness as it appears to suggest that some organisms have stopped evolving. New research has now investigated the origin of tadpole shrimps, a group commonly regarded as 'living fossils' which includes the familiar Triops. The research reveals that living species of tadpole shrimp are much younger than the fossils they so much resemble, calling into question the term 'living fossil'.

Massive prehistoric bird extinction linked to human colonization

Mon, 01 Apr 2013 11:16:16 EDT

Research by Alison Boyer, a research assistant professor in ecology and evolutionary biology, and an international team studied the extinction rates of nonperching land birds in the Pacific Islands from 700 to 3,500 years ago. The team uncovered the magnitude of the extinctions and insight into how and why human impacts varied across the region.

Early prehistoric marine reptiles: Evidence of a placodont that originated in Europe

Wed, 27 Mar 2013 13:24:24 EDT

Placodonts were among the first marine reptiles. With their trademark crushing teeth, they fed on shellfish and crustaceans. However, when and where these highly specialized marine reptiles originated remained unclear until now. A 246-million-year-old skull of a juvenile placodont was recently discovered in the Netherlands. Paleontologists have now demonstrated that it is one of the earliest examples of these saurians and that it originated in Europe.

Dusting for prints from a fossil fish to understand evolutionary change

Wed, 27 Mar 2013 10:41:41 EDT

In 370-million-year-old red sandstone deposits in a highway roadcut, scientists have discovered a new species of armored fish in north central Pennsylvania. Studying and describing this fish's anatomy, they took advantage of a technique that may look like it was stolen from crime scene investigators.

What a bunch of dodos! Catastrophic mass extinction of birds in Pacific Islands followed arrival of first people

Mon, 25 Mar 2013 16:05:05 EDT

The demise of the dodo is one of the better known bird extinctions in the world, but its sad fate was anticipated a thousand times over by its Pacific cousins.

First migration from Africa less than 95,000 years ago: Ancient hunter-gatherer DNA challenges theory of early out-of-Africa migrations

Fri, 22 Mar 2013 11:48:48 EDT

Recent measurements of the rate at which children show DNA changes not seen in their parents -- the "mutation rate" -- have challenged views about major dates in human evolution. In particular these measurements have made geneticists think again about key dates in human evolution, like when modern non-Africans split from modern Africans. The recent measurements push back the best estimates of these dates by up to a factor of two. Now, however scientists present results that point again to the more recent dates.

Fossil bird study on extinction patterns could help today's conservation efforts

Thu, 21 Mar 2013 20:48:48 EDT

A new study of nearly 5,000 Haiti bird fossils shows contrary to a commonly held theory, human arrival 6,000 years ago didn't cause the island's birds to die simultaneously. Although many birds perished or became displaced during a mass extinction event following the first arrival of humans to the Caribbean islands, fossil evidence shows some species were more resilient than others. The research provides range and dispersal patterns from A.D. 600 to 1600 that may be used to create conservation plans for tropical mountainous regions, some of the most threatened habitats worldwide.

Roman mausoleum tested for ancient earthquake damage

Wed, 20 Mar 2013 15:52:52 EDT

A Roman mausoleum was knocked off-kilter, and the likely cause was an earthquake, according to a new detailed model.

Neanderthal brains focused on vision and movement leaving less room for social networking

Tue, 19 Mar 2013 09:36:36 EDT

Neanderthal brains were adapted to allow them to see better and maintain larger bodies, according to new research. Although Neanderthals' brains were similar in size to their contemporary modern human counterparts, fresh analysis of fossil data suggests that their brain structure was rather different. Results imply that larger areas of the Neanderthal brain, compared to the modern human brain, were given over to vision and movement and this left less room for the higher level thinking required to form large social groups.

Skulls of early humans carry telltale signs of inbreeding

Mon, 18 Mar 2013 18:04:04 EDT

Buried for 100,000 years at Xujiayao in the Nihewan Basin of northern China, the recovered skull pieces of an early human exhibit a now-rare congenital deformation that indicates inbreeding might well have been common among our ancestors, new research suggests.

Oxygen-poor 'boring' ocean challenged evolution of early life

Mon, 18 Mar 2013 15:15:15 EDT

Biogeochemists have filled in a billion-year gap in our understanding of conditions in the early ocean during a critical time in life's history on Earth. During the period 1.8 to 0.8 billion years ago, oxygen likely remained low in the atmosphere and ocean, with marine life dominated by bacteria. The ocean was oxygen-free and iron-rich in the deepest waters and hydrogen sulfide-containing over limited regions on the ocean margins.

Dinosaur-era climate change study suggests reasons for turtle disappearance

Thu, 14 Mar 2013 14:43:43 EDT

Dramatic climate change was previously proposed to be responsible for the disappearance of turtles 71-million-years ago, because they were considered to be "climate-sensitive" animals. Results of this research, however, show that the disappearance of turtles came before the climate cooled and instead closely corresponds to habitat disturbances, which was the disappearance of wetlands.

Five-million-year-old saber-toothed cat in newly discovered genus discovered in Florida

Thu, 14 Mar 2013 14:09:09 EDT

A new genus and species of extinct saber-toothed cat has been discovered in Polk County, Florida. The 5-million-year-old fossils belong to the same lineage as the famous Smilodon fatalis from the La Brea Tar Pits in Los Angeles, a large, carnivorous apex predator with elongated upper canine teeth. Previous research suggested the group of saber-toothed cats known as Smilodontini originated in the Old World and then migrated to North America, but the age of the new species indicates the group likely originated in North America.

Strange phallus-shaped creature pushes fossil record back 200 million years

Wed, 13 Mar 2013 14:14:14 EDT

Scientists have unearthed a major scientific discovery - a strange phallus-shaped creature they found in Canada’s Burgess Shale fossil beds, located in Yoho National Park. The fossils were found in an area of shale beds that are 505 million years old.

Four dinosaur egg species identified in Lleida, Spain

Tue, 12 Mar 2013 13:49:49 EDT

Scientists have for the first time documented detailed records of dinosaur egg fossils in the Coll de Nargó archaeological site in Lleida, Spain. Up until now, only one type of dinosaur egg had been documented in the region.

Earliest tobacco use in Pacific Northwest discovered

Tue, 12 Mar 2013 10:10:10 EDT

Native American hunter-gatherers living more than a thousand years ago in what is now northwestern California ate salmon, acorns and other foods, and now we know they also smoked tobacco -- the earliest known usage in the Pacific Northwest, according to a new study.

Mummy CT scans show preindustrial hunter gatherers had clogged arteries

Mon, 11 Mar 2013 09:15:15 EDT

Like nearly 4.6 million Americans, ancient hunter-gatherers also suffered from clogged arteries, revealing that the plaque build-up causing blood clots, heart attacks and strokes is not just a result of fatty diets or couch potato habits.

Light shed on ancient origin of life

Thu, 07 Mar 2013 11:06:06 EST

Researchers discovered important genetic clues about the history of microorganisms called archaea and the origins of life itself in the first ever study of its kind. Results of their study shed light on one of Earth's oldest life forms.

Siberian fossil revealed to be one of the oldest known domestic dogs

Wed, 06 Mar 2013 22:11:11 EST

Analysis of DNA extracted from a fossil tooth recovered in southern Siberia confirms that the tooth belonged to one of the oldest known ancestors of the modern dog.

Human Y chromosome much older than previously thought

Tue, 05 Mar 2013 14:58:58 EST

The discovery and analysis of an extremely rare African American Y chromosome push back the time of the most recent common ancestor for the Y chromosome lineage tree to 338,000 years ago. This time predates the age of the oldest known anatomically modern human fossils.

New fossils of crocodilian, hippo-like species from Panama

Tue, 05 Mar 2013 14:51:51 EST

Paleontologists have discovered remarkably well-preserved fossils of two crocodilians and a mammal previously unknown to science during recent Panama Canal excavations that began in 2009.

Remains of extinct giant camel discovered in High Arctic

Tue, 05 Mar 2013 13:10:10 EST

Remains of an extinct giant camel have been discovered on Ellesmere Island in Canada's High Arctic. The evidence collected is from 30 fragments of a leg bone, dating to about three-and-a-half million years ago from the mid-Pliocene Epoch, when the planet was undergoing a global warm phase.

Ancient DNA solves 320-year-old mystery: Origins of now extinct Falkland Islands wolf

Tue, 05 Mar 2013 13:04:04 EST

Researchers have found the answer to one of natural history's most intriguing puzzles -- the origins of the now extinct Falkland Islands wolf and how it came to be the only land-based mammal on the isolated islands -- 460 kilometers from the nearest land, Argentina.

'True grit' erodes assumptions about evolution of Earth's first grasslands

Mon, 04 Mar 2013 21:15:15 EST

New work in Argentina where scientists had previously thought Earth's first grasslands emerged 38 million years ago, shows the area at the time covered with tropical forests rich with palms, bamboos and gingers. Grit and volcanic ash in those forests could have caused the evolution of teeth in horse-like animals that scientists mistakenly thought were adaptations in response to emerging grasslands.

Alligator relatives slipped across ancient seaways

Mon, 04 Mar 2013 15:17:17 EST

The uplift of the Isthmus of Panama 2.6 million years ago formed a land-bridge that has long thought to be the crucial step in the interchange of animals between the Americas. However, scientists now describe fossil crocodilians that shed a surprising new light on the history of interchange and animal distributions between the Americas.

Feeding limbs and nervous system of one of Earth's earliest animals discovered

Wed, 27 Feb 2013 13:44:44 EST

Unique fossils literally 'lift the lid' on ancient creature's head to expose one of the earliest examples of food manipulating limbs in evolutionary history, dating from around 530 million years ago.