Popular Paleontology

The oceans of the Cretaceous usually bring to mind apex predatory vertebrates such as Mosasaurus, plesiosaurs, giant fishes, and large sharks. These animals held an advantage in predation and competition through immense body size, powerful locomotion, sharp sensory abilities, and advanced cognition. In contrast, invertebrates across this long interval have often been regarded as smaller prey animals, with many groups gradually developing hard external shells as protection aga

Archaeopteryx was an early-diverging member of Avialae, known from fossils preserved in the Solnhofen Limestone of southern Germany. It lived roughly 150 million years ago, during the Tithonian stage of the Late Jurassic, in a warm, predominantly dry archipelago that was seasonally wet. Its habitat was probably a semi-arid landscape of bushy conifers, cycads, ferns, and low vegetation. For Archaeopteryx, flight, climbing, terrestrial locomotion, and feeding behavior all have

Prior to the Carboniferous, insects were terrestrial arthropods lacking both flight muscles and articulated wing joints. With the onset of the Carboniferous, winged insects began to appear, and the earliest known fossil representative is Delitzschala bitterfeldensis, a member of the extinct order Palaeodictyoptera from the Serpukhovian stage, approximately 325 million years ago. Reconstruction of the hypothetical ancestral winged insect（Courtesy of A.G. Ponomarenko） Fossil of

Haolong dongi is an iguanodontian dinosaur discovered in the Lower Cretaceous Yixian Formation of western Liaoning, China. The generic name means "spiny dragon," while the species name honors Dong Zhiming, a pioneering figure in Chinese dinosaur research. The holotype specimen, AGM 16793, is housed in the Anhui Geological Museum. The skeleton measures approximately 2.45 meters in length. The absence of fusion between the vertebral centra and neural arches, along with incomple

Tyrannosauroidea is a carnivorous clade of theropod dinosaurs that ranged from the Middle Jurassic to the end of the Cretaceous. Its members varied greatly in body size, from animals only about 2 meters long to giants approaching 12 meters, and included Tyrannosaurus rex and its closest relatives. Tyrannosauroids are often recognized by their massive skulls, powerful bodies, and shortened forelimbs, yet their teeth preserve an equally rich record of their biology. Since the m

The transition from the Devonian to the Carboniferous marks a period of profound upheaval in vertebrate history. During this interval, sarcopterygians underwent major environmental disruptions and ecological reorganization, accompanied by far-reaching morphological changes that ultimately set the stage for the emergence of vertebrates on land. Sarcopterygians include modern coelacanths and lungfishes, as well as all tetrapods, and their evolutionary history extends back to th

Misidentifications and subsequent corrections are not rare in paleontology; they are, in fact, a fundamental part of how the field advances. A fossil discovered in 2025 from the Romualdo Formation of Brazil and named Bakiribu waridza provides a striking example. This specimen was initially described as a pterosaur and even interpreted as the regurgitated remains of prey expelled by a predator. However, with more detailed comparative and anatomical analyses, this conclusion w

It has long been assumed that more primitive stem tetrapods declined rapidly and vanished following the environmental upheavals at the end of the Carboniferous, with two major lineages—temnospondyl amphibians and amniotes—rising to replace them. However, a fossil from the early Permian of Brazil, assigned to the species Tanyka amnicola, represents a Gondwanan stem tetrapod belonging to a lineage previously thought to have disappeared much earlier. Its persistence into a later

The red floodplain deposits around Salas de los Infantes, in the Province of Burgos, Spain, date to the late Barremian to early Aptian of the Lower Cretaceous. During this time, the Iberian Peninsula lay within the final stages of rift-related geological activity, where fluvial systems and floodplains intertwined to produce a highly variable depositional environment. These conditions contributed to a rich and diverse record of continental vertebrate fossils. Within this geolo

A fossil from the Mazon Creek Lagerstätte in Illinois, USA—Pohlsepia mazonensis—was once regarded as the oldest known octopus, and even pushed the origin of the entire octopod lineage back by more than 150 million years. However, with the advancement of analytical techniques, this conclusion has gradually come into question. Specimen of Pohlsepia mazonensis PE51727, part and counterpart（Image source：Clements T et al. (2026)， CC BY 4.0 ） This fossil was discovered within a sid

Myanmar amber has long been famous for preserving a wide variety of fossils, and fossil flowers in particular have often attracted the attention of researchers. This time, two pieces of Myanmar amber from the Hukawng Valley in Kachin State, Myanmar, were found to contain a large number of well-preserved granules, including both winged and wingless forms. These amber specimens date to the early Cenomanian of the Cretaceous, approximately 98.79 million years ago. Two pieces of

Tyrannosaurus is one of the most well-known carnivorous dinosaurs among the general public. With its massive and robust body, reaching lengths of over 12 meters, it has become a favorite among dinosaur enthusiasts. However, its enormous size has also led to considerable debate. Some paleontologists argue that such a large body would have prevented Tyrannosaurus from running quickly, making it difficult to catch prey. Combined with its keen sense of smell, this has led to th

Research from the Lehringen site in Germany suggests that around 125,000 years ago, Neanderthals living at the northern edge of Europe may have successfully hunted one of the largest land animals of their time, the straight-tusked elephant ( Palaeoloxodon antiquus ). Geographic location of Lehringen, Germany（Image source：Verheijen I et al. (2026)， CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 ） Lehringen first became famous because of the discovery in 1948 of a 2.38-meter-long wooden thrusting spear. At

Troodontid dinosaurs were bird-like in appearance, small-bodied, and agile. Their enlarged pedal claws and serrated teeth make them seem, at first glance, like typical small predators. In reality, however, their diet may have differed somewhat from what we have long imagined. Theropod dinosaurs have traditionally been pictured as primarily flesh-eating predators, such as tyrannosaurs, but to understand troodontids we first need to set aside that stereotype. These animals live

For a long time, dinosaur research in Korea has shown an intriguing pattern: trackways and egg fossils are exceptionally abundant, yet direct skeletal evidence has remained very scarce. This imbalance has left Korean paleontologists with relatively limited anatomical material for studying the morphology, taxonomy, and evolutionary relationships of the region's dinosaurs. Against that background, the discovery of a small dinosaur skeleton represents an important find. This fos

Here is your science article translated into English, with wording aligned to the terminology and interpretations used in the referenced paper: Fossils do not only record the anatomy of organisms—they can also preserve their behavior. Traces such as footprints, trackways, burrows, and borings are known as trace fossils, representing the activities left behind by ancient organisms. By studying these traces, researchers can infer how animals moved, foraged, and even whether the

Deep beneath Earth's surface lies a realm that has long remained largely unknown. Unlike the dynamic water cycle at the surface, water in the deep continental crust can become trapped within rock fractures and mineral structures, potentially remaining isolated for immense spans of geological time. A research team working in a mine near Timmins in Ontario, Canada collected water and gas samples from fractures in rocks roughly 2.4 kilometres below the surface. These rocks belon

The habitat preferences of different members within fossil communities are an important aspect of understanding ancient ecosystems. The preferences of different biological groups help researchers infer their diets, living spaces, and interactions with other organisms sharing the same habitat. However, due to the rarity of fossils, preservation and sampling biases make it very difficult to accurately estimate the habitat preferences of ancient organisms. For example, the Late

In middle-school geography classes, many students learn that limestone can form through both chemical precipitation and biological activity. Among biologically produced limestones, coral-reef limestone is the most famous example. From the Cambrian to the present day, corals have played a central role in reef construction for most of the history of animal life. Yet within this long coral-dominated history of marine ecosystems, there was an unusual interval when a very differen

Does a rhinoceros necessarily need a sharp horn on its nose? If a rhinoceros lacks that iconic spike, can it still be called a rhinoceros? And if an animal carries a pair of tusks, should we think of a rhino—or a wild boar? In previous discussions, we have explored many animals that resembled rhinoceroses, such as brontotheres and other massive herbivores that once roamed prehistoric landscapes. Yet the rhinoceros family itself contains a remarkable diversity of forms, many o