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Fossil of Giant Flying Reptile Found

Newly discovered species had car-sized wingspan

(Newser) - Scientists have uncovered a new species of gigantic reptile that flew the skies over Brazil 115 million years ago, the BBC reports. The reptile, by far the largest of its kind ever found, had a wing span of over 16 feet. Lacusovagus—meaning lake wanderer—had a huge jaw, suggesting...

Ancient Fish Grew a Neck, Began Move Toward Land

(Newser) - Meet the newest member of the family tree: a 9-foot fish that lived 375 million years ago. Scientists say its fossil is providing the best look to date at how creatures made the transition from water to land, the New York Times reports. The “fishapod”—thought to be...

For TB Clues, Researchers Turn to Bones

Key to disease's evolution may lie in 6,000-year-old DNA

(Newser) - Scientists are analyzing bones found in the ancient city of Jericho, in what's now the West Bank, for clues to fighting tuberculosis. The German, Israeli, and Palestinian researchers hope the 6,000-year-old DNA they're studying will reveal how the disease evolves and how to combat it.

Tyrannosaurus Rex: Tastes Like Chicken?

Study says birds are dinosaurs' closest living descendants

(Newser) - Dinosaurs are more closely related to birds than reptiles, protein extracted from a Tyrannosaurus rex bone suggests. T. rex collagen, the main protein in bones, is similar to chicken and ostrich collagen but much different than material from alligators and lizards, scientists say. The findings could remap the evolutionary tree...

Fossil Feces Revise History
 Fossil Feces Revise History 
Apr 3, 2008 9:43 PM CDT

Fossil Feces Revise History

Evidence shows humans arrived in North America much earlier than thought

(Newser) - Fossilized feces found in an Oregon cave have scientists rethinking how and when humans first came to North America. At 14,300 years old, the ancient poop was deposited at least 1,000 years before humans were thought to roam the area, National Geographic reports. Discoveries like this "help...

New Fossil Rocks Human History
 New Fossil Rocks Human History
Mar 27, 2008 8:05 AM CDT

New Fossil Rocks Human History

Indicates man settled in Europe far earlier than thought

(Newser) - An incredibly old jawbone discovered in a Spanish cave could rewrite human history, scientists say. The bone with teeth is 1.2 million years old and belongs to a long-extinct human ancestor called Homo antecessor. It's at least 300,000 years older than any other human fossil found in Europe....

BC Movie Critters Strong on Terror, Not Accuracy

Still, most of the beasts in the new flick did exist somewhere at some point

(Newser) - The computer-generated critters in the movie 10,000 BC—due out Friday—all actually existed at some point, but their portrayal in the film is scientifically sketchy. Saber-toothed tigers and woolly mammoths weren't as big as portrayed, and the film's huge terror birds died out 40 million years ago. One...

Tiny Monkey Fossil Spurs Scientific Flap

Did oldest primate in North America arrive from east or west?

(Newser) - A diminutive fossil recently found in Mississippi is the oldest primate discovered in North America, and its exact age is raising questions about the timing of prehistoric animal migrations, reports the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. The existence of the tiny, tarsier-like creature, which could fit in the palm of a human hand,...

'Frog From Hell' Fossil Turns up in Madagascar

'Beelzebufo' munched on baby dinosaurs

(Newser) - Fossil hunters digging in Madagascar have discovered a 70 million-year-old, 10 pound ancestor of the horned frog. Over twice as large as its modern-day descendants, the  "slightly squashed beach-ball" shaped creature probably lunched on small lizards and baby dinosaurs, and has earned the charming nicknames "frog from hell"...

Sparrow-Sized Pterodactyl Found
Sparrow-Sized Pterodactyl Found
Feb 12, 2008 8:00 AM CST

Sparrow-Sized Pterodactyl Found

Bird ancestor lived in trees, ate insects

(Newser) - Fossil hunters in China's Liaoning province have discovered the remains of a never-before-seen pterodactyl no bigger than a sparrow. Nemicolopterus crypticus, or hidden flying forest-dweller, had curved toes, which means it spent most of its time perched in trees. Unlike giant pterodactyls, the Nemicolopterus had no teeth and ate insects,...

'Mummified' Dinosaur Body Unearthed
'Mummified' Dinosaur Body Unearthed
Dec 3, 2007 10:05 AM CST

'Mummified' Dinosaur Body Unearthed

'Breathtaking' rare find reveals well-preserved soft tissue, skin

(Newser) - A remarkably well-preserved hadrosaur discovered in North Dakota offers valuable clues about the appearance of dinosaurs, paleontologists say. Soft tissue such as skin and muscle were effectively "mummified" after the dinosaur died near a river, the Washington Post reports. "It's a dinosaur that was turned into stone, essentially,...

Creation Geologists Rock World
Creation Geologists Rock World
Nov 25, 2007 7:10 AM CST

Creation Geologists Rock World

They're well-credentialed and unafraid of data

(Newser) - Today's creationist geologists are not who the secular may think. Numerous and thriving, many hold advanced degrees from top universities, and are making evangelicals more open to scientific evidence. And they are experts for the nearly half of Americans who believe God created the Earth in the last 10,000...

Arachnophobia! 8-Foot Fossil Scorpion Is Biggest Bug

Creepy swam sea with other giant crawlies

(Newser) - Scientists digging in Germany have found the fossilized claw of what is thought to be the largest bug ever to roam the earth—or, in the case of this 400-million-year-old scorpion, to navigate the seas. The eight-foot-long arachnid is an "amazing discovery" that highlights the remarkable sizes of ancient...

Long-Necked Dinosaur Grazed Like a Cow

Study finds plant-eater munched on ferns

(Newser) - The long-necked plant-eating dinosaur Nigersaurus ate its meals off the ground rather than reaching into trees, National Geographic reports. Fossils of the 30-foot-long creature reveal that the animal probably nibbled on plants such as ferns and horsetails. “We have seen nothing like this dinosaur,” said a paleontologist at...

Huge New Dinosaur Species Found in Argentina

(Newser) - The recently discovered fossil of a giant dinosaur that roamed South America 80 million years ago is not only remarkably complete but also represents a new species, Brazilian and Argentine paleontologists announced today. Futalognkosaurus dukei, a four-legged, long-necked herbivore, measured about 110 feet from head to tail and was four...

'Hobbits' Were, Indeed, a Different Kind of Human

Wrist-bone analysis shows link to apes

(Newser) - A new study of three wrist bones from an 18,000-year-old fossil shows that the so-called hobbits of Indonesia were, indeed, a separate human species. When the bones were discovered in 2003, scientists trumpeted the find as evidence of a smaller species, Homo floresiensis. But skeptics argued that the hobbit,...

New Georgian Fossils May Link 'Lucy' and Homo Erectus

Less-evolved specimens in Europe indicate earlier emigration from Africa

(Newser) - Archaeologists have unearthed four fossilized skeletons of a human ancestor that shares characteristics with the humanesque Homo erectus and the earlier, smaller Australopithicus afarensis, of which the famous 'Lucy' skeleton is a member. The fossils in the republic of Georgia contradict the previously held idea that hominids developed all key...

Lucy Debuts in Houston
Lucy Debuts
in Houston
Aug 29, 2007 5:20 AM CDT

Lucy Debuts in Houston

But dem bones ain't made for traveling, say scientists

(Newser) - Lucy kicks off her public debut  at the Houston Museum of Natural Science tomorrow amid controversy that the world's favorite human ancestor should never have left her home in Ethiopia. The public wants the chance to the 3.2 million-year-old remains, but scientists say Lucy's too fragile to travel.

Racing T-Rex? You'll Need a Head Start

Computer projection shows 6-ton carnivore was fleet of foot

(Newser) - If a professional soccer player raced a T-Rex, chances are the athlete would wind up a dino snack, according to a new computer model projection. The simulation, which is the first to rely mainly on data from fossils rather than modern descendants of prehistoric beasts, showed the 6-ton carnivore steaming...

Kenyan Fossil Rattles Human Family Tree

Skull suggests two precursors were actually concurrent

(Newser) - Two of our ancestors apparently lived alongside each other in Africa rather than evolving from one to the next on the path to Homo sapiens, as scientists once believed. National Geographic reports that a Homo habilis skull dug up in Kenya is surprisingly young, making its 1.4 million-year-old owner...

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