Feature Channels: Paleontology

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Newswise: Dinosaur claws used for digging and display
Released: 27-Feb-2023 5:05 AM EST
Dinosaur claws used for digging and display
University of Bristol

Dinosaur claws had many functions, but now a team from the University of Bristol and the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology (IVPP) in Beijing has shown some predatory dinosaurs used their claws for digging or even for display.

Newswise: New study reveals biodiversity loss drove ecological collapse after the “Great Dying”
24-Feb-2023 8:15 AM EST
New study reveals biodiversity loss drove ecological collapse after the “Great Dying”
University of Bristol

By exploring the stability and collapse of marine ecosystems during the Permian-Triassic mass extinction, researchers gain insights into modern biodiversity crisis

Newswise: Back to the time of the first Homo Sapiens with a futuristic clock, the new Radiocarbon 3.0
Released: 15-Feb-2023 6:50 PM EST
Back to the time of the first Homo Sapiens with a futuristic clock, the new Radiocarbon 3.0
Universita di Bologna

It is called Radiocarbon 3.0: it is the newest method developments in radiocarbon dating, and promises to reveal valuable new insights about key events in the earliest human history, starting with the interaction between Homo Sapiens and Neanderthals in Europe.

Newswise: Insect bite marks show first fossil evidence for plants’ leaves folding up at night
Released: 15-Feb-2023 3:35 PM EST
Insect bite marks show first fossil evidence for plants’ leaves folding up at night
Cell Press

Plants can move in ways that might surprise you. Some of them even show “sleep movements,” folding or raising their leaves each night before opening them again the next day.

Newswise: Large-scale fossil study reveals origins of modern-day biodiversity gradient 15 million years ago
Released: 15-Feb-2023 1:25 PM EST
Large-scale fossil study reveals origins of modern-day biodiversity gradient 15 million years ago
University of Oxford

Today, species richness peaks in equatorial regions but until now there has been no clear explanation for this.

14-Feb-2023 2:05 PM EST
Before global warming, was the Earth cooling down or heating up?
Northern Arizona University

A review article published today in Nature addresses this conflict between models and evidence, known as the Holocene global temperature conundrum. Lead author Darrell Kaufman, a Regents’ professor in the School of Earth and Sustainability, and University of Arizona postdoctoral researcher Ellie Broadman, a co-author who worked on this study while earning her Ph.D. at NAU, analyzed a broad swath of available data from the last 12,000 years to break down the conundrum.

Newswise: Researchers solve a 150-year-old mystery
Released: 13-Feb-2023 2:05 PM EST
Researchers solve a 150-year-old mystery
University of Bonn

Aetosaurs had a small head and a crocodile-like body. The land dwellers were up to six meters long and widely distributed geographically. They died out about 204 million years ago, at the end of the Triassic.

Newswise: 2.9-million-year-old butchery site reopens case of who made first stone tools
Released: 9-Feb-2023 7:25 PM EST
2.9-million-year-old butchery site reopens case of who made first stone tools
Smithsonian Institution

Along the shores of Africa’s Lake Victoria in Kenya roughly 2.9 million years ago, early human ancestors used some of the oldest stone tools ever found to butcher hippos and pound plant material, according to new research led by scientists with the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History and Queens College, CUNY, as well as the National Museums of Kenya, Liverpool John Moores University and the Cleveland Museum of Natural History.

Released: 8-Feb-2023 3:45 PM EST
How did ancient extreme climate affect sand in the deep sea?
Stanford University

Geologists are interested in the sedimentary cycle – erosion from mountains that forms sand that is carried out to the ocean – because it’s foundational for understanding how the planet works.

Newswise: Past Records Help to Predict Different Effects of Future Climate Change on Land and Sea
Released: 8-Feb-2023 2:35 PM EST
Past Records Help to Predict Different Effects of Future Climate Change on Land and Sea
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution

Ongoing climate change driven by greenhouse gas emissions is often discussed in terms of global average warming. For example, the landmark Paris Agreement seeks to limit global warming to 1.5 ⁰C, relative to pre-industrial levels. However, the extent of future warming will not be the same throughout the planet. One of the clearest regional differences in climate change is the faster warming over land than sea. This “terrestrial amplification” of future warming has real-world implications for understanding and dealing with climate change.

Newswise: Caribou have been using same Arctic calving grounds for 3,000 years
Released: 8-Feb-2023 1:25 PM EST
Caribou have been using same Arctic calving grounds for 3,000 years
University of Cincinnati

Caribou have been using the same Arctic calving grounds for more than 3,000 years, according to a new study by the University of Cincinnati.

Newswise: Evolution of wheat spikes since the Neolithic revolution
Released: 2-Feb-2023 7:20 PM EST
Evolution of wheat spikes since the Neolithic revolution
Universidad De Barcelona

Around 12,000 years ago, the Neolithic revolution radically changed the economy, diet and structure of the first human societies in the Fertile Crescent of the Near East.

Newswise: Mistaken fossil rewrites history of Indian subcontinent for second time
Released: 1-Feb-2023 4:20 PM EST
Mistaken fossil rewrites history of Indian subcontinent for second time
University of Florida

Scientists discovered the first-ever Dickinsonia fossil in India two years ago, changing our understanding of how the continent came to be. Now, new research shows the "fossil" was just a beehive all along, changing our understanding for a second time, and the original scientists now support the new findings.

Released: 31-Jan-2023 9:00 AM EST
Tying past mass extinctions with low atmospheric CO2 is false
Newswise

Attempts to discredit human-caused climate change by touting graphs of prehistoric atmospheric carbon dioxide and temperature changes are not something new. Peter Clack has once again tried to make a point that current atmospheric carbon dioxide levels are comparatively low compared to past eras. But just because we're in an advantageous era compared to past eras, it does not negate the cause for alarm concerning our current warming trend.

Newswise: 52-million-year-old fossils show near-primates were cool with colder climate
Released: 25-Jan-2023 6:40 PM EST
52-million-year-old fossils show near-primates were cool with colder climate
University of Kansas

Two sister species of near-primate, called “primatomorphans,” dating back about 52 million years have been identified by researchers at the University of Kansas as the oldest to have dwelled north of the Arctic Circle.

Newswise:Video Embedded new-pterosaur-species-with-hundreds-of-tiny-hooked-teeth-discovered
VIDEO
Released: 23-Jan-2023 6:05 AM EST
New pterosaur species with hundreds of tiny hooked teeth discovered
University of Portsmouth

An unusual new species of pterosaur has been identified, which had over 400 teeth that looked like the prongs of a nit comb.

Newswise: Family tree secrets: Island tree populations older, more diverse than expected
Released: 20-Jan-2023 7:30 PM EST
Family tree secrets: Island tree populations older, more diverse than expected
University of Tsukuba

It's often assumed that island plant and animal populations are just the simple, fragile cousins of those on the mainland.

Newswise: Malformed seashells, ancient sediment provide clues about Earth’s past
Released: 19-Jan-2023 5:55 PM EST
Malformed seashells, ancient sediment provide clues about Earth’s past
Northwestern University

Nearly 100 million years ago, the Earth experienced an extreme environmental disruption that choked oxygen from the oceans and led to elevated marine extinction levels that affected the entire globe.

Newswise: Ancient chimaeras were suction feeders, not shell crushers, new research shows
Released: 17-Jan-2023 1:20 PM EST
Ancient chimaeras were suction feeders, not shell crushers, new research shows
University of Birmingham

A rare three-dimensional fossil of an ancient chimaera has revealed new clues about the diversity of these creatures in the Carboniferous period, some 300 million years ago.

Newswise: Rare fossilized feathers reveal secrets of paleontology hotspot during Cretaceous period
Released: 17-Jan-2023 1:20 PM EST
Rare fossilized feathers reveal secrets of paleontology hotspot during Cretaceous period
Frontiers

The site of Jehol Biota in China is famous for stunning fossils which preserve soft tissue – skin, organs, feathers, and fur.

Newswise: Early humans: Annual cycles in tooth enamel provide insights into life histories
Released: 17-Jan-2023 1:00 PM EST
Early humans: Annual cycles in tooth enamel provide insights into life histories
Goethe University Frankfurt

If you take a magnifying glass and a torch and look at your teeth very carefully in the mirror, in places you can spot a pattern of fine, parallel lines running across your teeth. These correspond to the striae of Retzius that mark the growth of our tooth enamel.

   
Newswise: Ocean warming reduced the body sizes of fishes in the
Released: 17-Jan-2023 2:20 AM EST
Ocean warming reduced the body sizes of fishes in the "twilight zone" in past interglacial
University of Vienna

Fishes living in the twilight zone of the oceans reduce atmospheric carbon dioxide and are a huge food resource, but little is known about their response to climate warming. Geologist-Palaeontologist Konstantina Agiadi from the University of Vienna led a study funded by the Austrian Science Fund (FWF) that used fossils to answer this question. The results, published by the international team in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, suggest that mesopelagic fishes overall shrink with warming.

Newswise: New biography of famous palaeontologist Mary Anning unearthed from University of Bristol archives
9-Jan-2023 6:05 AM EST
New biography of famous palaeontologist Mary Anning unearthed from University of Bristol archives
University of Bristol

A short biography of pioneering scientist Mary Anning, written in the final ten years of her life, has been made public for the very first time.

Newswise: New Research Finds Satellite Imagery Could Improve Fossil-Hunting at Remote Sites
Released: 9-Jan-2023 6:50 PM EST
New Research Finds Satellite Imagery Could Improve Fossil-Hunting at Remote Sites
University of Oregon

Paleontologists discover satellite imagery could help paleontologists spot promising fossil sites before trekking into remote places.

   
Newswise: Surf, Sand and Seaweed: The latest breakthroughs in Marine Science
Released: 4-Jan-2023 1:40 PM EST
Surf, Sand and Seaweed: The latest breakthroughs in Marine Science
Newswise

Here are some of the latest articles that have been added to the Marine Science channel on Newswise, a free source for media.

Released: 21-Dec-2022 11:30 AM EST
Fossil offers first known evidence of a dinosaur eating a mammal
University of Alberta

Preserved gut contents of Microraptor show the species had a more diverse diet than previously thought.

Newswise: Early forests did not significantly change the atmospheric CO2
Released: 20-Dec-2022 7:40 PM EST
Early forests did not significantly change the atmospheric CO2
University of Nottingham

Scientists have discovered that the atmosphere contained far less CO2 than previously thought when forests emerged on our planet, the new study has important implications for understanding how land plants affect the climate.

Newswise: What the inner ear of Europasaurus reveals about its life
Released: 20-Dec-2022 10:05 AM EST
What the inner ear of Europasaurus reveals about its life
University of Vienna

Europasaurus is a long-necked, herbivorous dinosaur that lived in the Late Jurassic, about 154 million years ago, on a small island in modern-day Germany. Recently, scientists from the universities of Vienna and Greifswald examined fossil braincase material of Europasaurus with the aid of micro-computed tomography (micro-CT). The digital reconstruction of the inner ear of Europasaurus gave the researchers new insights not only into its hearing ability, but also into its reproductive and social behaviour. The study was recently published in eLife.

Newswise: Fossil CSI: Analysis of giant extinct marine reptile graveyard suggests mysterious site was ancient birthing grounds
12-Dec-2022 2:10 PM EST
Fossil CSI: Analysis of giant extinct marine reptile graveyard suggests mysterious site was ancient birthing grounds
University of Utah

Marine giants make migrations across the ocean to give birth where predators are scarce, congregating annually along the same stretches of coastline. A study suggests that 200 million years before whales evolved, school bus-sized marine reptiles called ichthyosaurs may have made similar migrations.

Newswise: Climate change played key role in dinosaur success story
Released: 16-Dec-2022 6:20 PM EST
Climate change played key role in dinosaur success story
University of Birmingham

Climate change, rather than competition, played a key role in the ascendancy of dinosaurs through the Late Triassic and Early Jurassic periods.

Newswise: Scientists discover what was on the menu of the first dinosaurs
14-Dec-2022 4:05 AM EST
Scientists discover what was on the menu of the first dinosaurs
University of Bristol

The earliest dinosaurs included carnivorous, omnivorous and herbivorous species, according to a team of University of Bristol palaeobiologists.

Released: 14-Dec-2022 4:35 PM EST
3D imaging of shark embryos reveals evolution of pelvic fins
Curtin University

Curtin University researchers have revealed how the pelvic fins of fish such as sharks and chimaeras have evolved from their sudden appearance in the fossil record over 410 million years ago.

Newswise: Fossil site reveals giant arthropods dominated the seas 470 million years ago
Released: 13-Dec-2022 1:15 PM EST
Fossil site reveals giant arthropods dominated the seas 470 million years ago
University of Exeter

Discoveries at a major new fossil site in Morocco suggest giant arthropods – relatives of modern creatures including shrimps, insects and spiders – dominated the seas 470 million years ago.

Newswise: True giant wombat gives Diprotodon podium a wobble
Released: 12-Dec-2022 5:35 PM EST
True giant wombat gives Diprotodon podium a wobble
Griffith University

If you thought Australia was home to only one ancient ‘giant wombat’, think again.

Newswise: Smilodon's sabre teeth
Released: 8-Dec-2022 8:00 PM EST
Smilodon's sabre teeth
University of Liege

A team of researchers led by Narimane Chatar, a doctoral student at the EDDyLab of the University of Liège (Belgium), has tested the biting efficiency of Smilodon, an extinct species of carnivore close to the extant felines.

Released: 8-Dec-2022 7:35 PM EST
Palaeontology: No supersonic boom for dinosaur tails
Scientific Reports

Diplodocids – large herbivorous dinosaurs with long necks and tails – may have been able to move their tails like bullwhips at speeds of up to 33 metres per second (more than 100 kilometres per hour), according to a modelling study published in Scientific Reports.

Newswise: Fossil discovery in storeroom cupboard shifts origin of modern lizard back 35 million years
30-Nov-2022 5:05 AM EST
Fossil discovery in storeroom cupboard shifts origin of modern lizard back 35 million years
University of Bristol

A specimen retrieved from a cupboard of the Natural History Museum in London has shown that modern lizards originated in the Late Triassic and not the Middle Jurassic as previously thought.

Newswise:Video Embedded teleport-600-million-years-and-virtually-explore-the-flinders-ranges
VIDEO
Released: 30-Nov-2022 6:25 PM EST
Teleport 600 million years and virtually explore the Flinders Ranges
University of South Australia

One of Australia’s most captivating landscapes can now be explored virtually, thanks to a University of South Australia project that documents the geological and cultural significance of the Flinders Ranges.

Released: 28-Nov-2022 1:35 PM EST
What Ancient Underwater Food Webs Can Tell Us About the Future of Climate Change
University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV)

UNLV analysis challenges the idea that ocean ecosystems have barely changed over millions of years, pointing scientists down a new path on conservation efforts and policy.

Newswise: Ancient Iowan superpredator got big by front-loading its growth in its youth
Released: 28-Nov-2022 11:50 AM EST
Ancient Iowan superpredator got big by front-loading its growth in its youth
Field Museum

The Field Museum in Chicago is home to the best, most-complete fossils of a prehistoric superpredator-- but one that lived hundreds of millions of years before SUE the T. rex. Whatcheeria was a six-foot-long lake-dwelling creature with a salamander-like body and a long, narrow head; its fossils were discovered in a limestone quarry near the town of What Cheer, Iowa.

Newswise: World’s oldest meal helps unravel mystery of our earliest animal ancestors
Released: 22-Nov-2022 7:35 PM EST
World’s oldest meal helps unravel mystery of our earliest animal ancestors
Australian National University

The contents of the last meal consumed by the earliest animals known to inhabit Earth more than 550 million years ago has unearthed new clues about the physiology of our earliest animal ancestors, according to scientists from The Australian National University (ANU).

Released: 22-Nov-2022 5:55 PM EST
FSU researchers find decrease in crucial trace element preceded ancient mass extinction
Florida State University

A decline in the element molybdenum across the planet’s oceans preceded a significant extinction event approximately 183 million years ago, new research from Florida State University shows.

Newswise: Earth might be experiencing 7th mass extinction, not 6th
Released: 22-Nov-2022 12:20 PM EST
Earth might be experiencing 7th mass extinction, not 6th
University of California, Riverside

Earth is currently in the midst of a mass extinction, losing thousands of species each year. New research suggests environmental changes caused the first such event in history, which occurred millions of years earlier than scientists previously realized.

Newswise: Welsh “weird wonder” fossils add piece to puzzle of arthropod evolution
Released: 15-Nov-2022 7:10 PM EST
Welsh “weird wonder” fossils add piece to puzzle of arthropod evolution
Harvard University, Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology

The most famous fossils from the Cambrian explosion of animal life over half a billion years ago are very unlike their modern counterparts.

Newswise: Prehistoric predator? Artificial intelligence says no
Released: 15-Nov-2022 3:00 PM EST
Prehistoric predator? Artificial intelligence says no
University of Queensland

Artificial intelligence has revealed that prehistoric footprints thought to be made by a vicious dinosaur predator were in fact from a timid herbivore.

Newswise: New pterosaur species found in sub-Saharan Africa
Released: 11-Nov-2022 10:05 AM EST
New pterosaur species found in sub-Saharan Africa
Southern Methodist University

With wings spanning nearly 16 feet, a new species of pterosaurs has been identified from the Atlantic coast of Angola.

Newswise: Old bone links lost American parrot to ancient Indigenous bird trade
Released: 8-Nov-2022 10:05 PM EST
Old bone links lost American parrot to ancient Indigenous bird trade
University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin)

For centuries, Indigenous communities in the American Southwest imported colorful parrots from Mexico.

Newswise: Human Expansion 1,000 Years Ago Linked to Madagascar’s Loss of Large Vertebrates
Released: 4-Nov-2022 7:30 PM EDT
Human Expansion 1,000 Years Ago Linked to Madagascar’s Loss of Large Vertebrates
Cell Press

The island of Madagascar—one of the last large land masses colonized by humans—sits about 250 miles (400 kilometers) off the coast of East Africa.

Newswise: Glowing Fossils: Fluorescence Reveals Colour Patterns of Earliest Scallops
Released: 1-Nov-2022 5:30 PM EDT
Glowing Fossils: Fluorescence Reveals Colour Patterns of Earliest Scallops
University of Göttingen

UV light makes it possible to see intricate structures of fossils that are barely visible in normal daylight.

Newswise: New Scottish Fossil Sheds Light on the Origins of Lizards
Released: 26-Oct-2022 7:15 PM EDT
New Scottish Fossil Sheds Light on the Origins of Lizards
University of Oxford

A fossil discovery from Scotland has provided new information on the early evolution of lizards, during the time of the dinosaurs.



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