Dinosaurs & Fossils News

A recently discovered fossilized jaw of a carnivore is seen at Smithsonian Research Institute in Panama City, July 18, 2008. Engineers digging to widen the Panama canal have uncovered more than 500 fossils including teeth and bones of rodents, horses, crocodiles and turtles that lived before a land bridge linked North and South America. REUTERS/Camilo Montes/Smithsonian Research Institute/Handout

Canal fossils give clue to formation of Americas

Reuters - Thu Jul 17, 5:43 PM ET

PANAMA CITY (Reuters) - Scientists in Panama have unearthed hundreds of animal fossils dating back 20 million years, which could shed more light on how and when the American continent became connected.

  • Ancient Reptiles Had Parachutes LiveScience.com - Tue Jul 15, 10:41 AM ET

    The Jurassic Period's Archaeopteryx is famous as the world's first known bird, but now-extinct reptiles such as pterosaurs and kuehneosaurs were flying as far back as 225 million years ago, during the Triassic and before large dinosaurs roamed the Earth.

  • Tasmanian Devils Fight Cancer with Sex LiveScience.com - Mon Jul 14, 5:15 PM ET

    Tasmanian devils have for some years been plagued with a mysterious and lethal cancer. Now, the dog-sized mammals are fighting back: They are breeding at younger ages. Devils are furry marsupials, mammals that have no true placentas - females usually have pouches to carry and suckle newborns. They reside only on the island of Tasmania, though fossil evidence suggests that long ago Tasmanian devils (Sarcophilus harrisii) were spread across the Australian mainland. Devils are known for their offensive odor, disturbing screeches and viciousness when they eat, mostly carrion.

  • This undated handout image shows an evolutionary tree with the gradual anatomical changes in the evolution of flatfishes resulting in the origin of their extraordinary, modern body plan. Some odd-looking fish fossils discovered in the bowels of several European museums may help solve a lingering question about evolutionary theory, U.S. researchers said on July 9, 2008. (M. Friedman/The Field Museum/Handout./Reuters)
    Fish fossils plug hole in evolutionary theory Reuters - Wed Jul 9, 1:48 PM ET

    CHICAGO (Reuters) - Some odd-looking fish fossils discovered in the bowels of several European museums may help solve a lingering question about evolutionary theory, U.S. researchers said on Wednesday.

  • Freaky Fish Was Cockeyed LiveScience.com - Wed Jul 9, 1:40 PM ET

    A funky fish with one eye atop its head and another on its side lurked in Europe's reef shallows about 50 million years ago, newfound transitional fossils suggest.

  • Feather Fossils Could Yield Dinosaur Colors LiveScience.com - Tue Jul 8, 6:21 PM ET

    Artists may now be able to paint dinosaurs and ancient birds and mammals in their true colors, thanks to the discovery of pigment residues in fossilized feathers. In recent years, paleontologists have found fossil feathers in about 50 rock formations pegged to dates ranging from the Jurassic period (from about 200 million to 150 million years ago) to the late Tertiary (from 65 million to about 2 million years ago). These feathers are preserved as residues of carbon that were previously thought to be traces of feather-degrading bacteria. ...

  • Museum confirms discovery of rare fossil AP - Thu Jun 26, 4:55 PM ET

    MARTINSVILLE, Va. - Scientists with the Virginia Museum of Natural History have confirmed the discovery of a 500 million-year-old fossil called a stromatolite.

  • This undated handout artist rendering provided by Philip Renne shows a Ventastega. Scientists have found the fossil skull of the most primitive four-legged critter in Earth's history, a key point in the evolution from fish to animals that eventually walked on on land. At lower left are two Bothriolepis. (AP Photo/Philip Renne)
    Fossil of most primitive 4-legged creature found AP - Wed Jun 25, 8:12 PM ET

    WASHINGTON - Scientists unearthed a skull of the most primitive four-legged creature in Earth's history, which should help them better understand the evolution of fish to advanced animals that walk on land.