Fossils - Page 38

May 2, 2016

Car-size salamander with toilet-seat head ruled ancient rivers

A small-car-size "super salamander" with a toilet-seat-shaped head may have perished some 220 million to 230 million years ago alongside hundreds of its kin when its lake home dried up, researchers say

May 2, 2016

Weird 'water tongue' lets fish feed on land

A fish that uses water as a sort of tongue to feed on land could shed light on how animals with backbones first invaded land, researchers say

May 2, 2016

9-foot 'butcher crocodile' likely ruled before dinosaurs

A 9-foot-tall beast with bladelike teeth once stalked the warm and wet environs of what is now North Carolina some 230 million years ago, before dinosaurs came onto the scene there, scientists have found

May 2, 2016

17-million-year-old whale skull helps place humanity's first steps

A 17-million-year-old beaked whale fossil is helping researchers solve a puzzle about the likely birthplace of humanity in East Africa, a new study finds

May 2, 2016

Prehistoric 'sea monster' had more legs than thought

A 480-million-year-old fossil is giving paleontologists new insights into a sea monsterlike creature called an anomalocaridid, which is an ancestor of modern-day arthropods such as lobsters and scorpions, a new study finds

May 2, 2016

Scientists say jaw bone fragment dating back 2.8 million years evidence of earlier evolution

A fragment of jawbone found in Ethiopia is the oldest known fossil from an evolutionary tree branch that eventually led to modern humans, scientist reported Wednesday.

May 2, 2016

World's oldest sea turtle fossil discovered

The world's oldest sea turtle fossil shows the ancient animal swam the oceans at least 120 million years ago, when dinosaurs still roamed the Earth, according to a recent analysis

May 2, 2016

Dino Down Under sported claws the size of kitchen knives

The largest meat-eating dinosaur ever discovered in Australia had sickle-shaped claws the size of chef's knives, a daunting feature that likely made up for its fairly delicate jaws and small teeth, a new study finds

May 2, 2016

Ancient human-size fish breathed with lungs

Before the dinosaur age, the coelacanth — a hefty, mysterious fish that now breathes with its gills — sported a well-developed lung, a new study finds

May 2, 2016

How armored dinosaur got its bone-bashing tail

Armored, squat, and built like a tank, ankylosaurs were a type of dinosaur known for their bony, protective exterior and distinct, sledgehammer-shaped tails.