In 2017, scientists discovered Chromosphaera perkinsii, a single-celled protist species found in marine sediments near Hawaii. This ancient organism dates back more than a billion… Read More »Ancient Organism Challenges the Origins of Multicellularity
The evolutionary adaptations that allowed ancient pterosaurs to grow to enormous sizes have been pinpointed for the first time by paleontologists in the Center for… Read More »New Research Reveals the Evolutionary Adaptability of Pterosaurs
Imagine a creature with dozens of legs, stretching nearly nine feet long, that once crawled through ancient forests—a monstrous, now-extinct arthropod known as Arthropleura. Despite… Read More »Scientists Discover the Head of the Giant Arthropod Arthropleura
The Hell Creek Formation in what’s now the Dakotas, Montana, and Wyoming was once home to some of the world’s most beloved dinosaurs, like Triceratops… Read More »New Bird Species Discovered in Dinosaur Era
The discovery of a giant elephant skull in northern India’s Kashmir Valley has illuminated an enigmatic chapter in the evolutionary history of elephants. Unearthed in… Read More »Scientists Discover New Species of Giant Elephant in Kashmir
Geneticists from Trinity College Dublin, alongside an international research team, have uncovered the prehistory of the aurochs, one of the most significant animals in early… Read More »Researchers Uncover the Complex Genetic History of Aurochs
Researchers, including Federico J. Degrange and Siobhán Cooke, Ph.D., from Johns Hopkins University, recently analyzed a fossil of an extinct giant, meat-eating bird commonly known… Read More »Terror Bird Fossil Found in Northern South America
From the colorful parades of Rio de Janeiro’s Carnival to the shoulders of pirates, parrots are known around the world for their vibrant feathers. With… Read More »Researchers Uncover the Genetic Switch Behind Parrot Colors
Between about 120 million and 130 million years ago, during the age of dinosaurs, temperate forests and lakes hosted a lively ecosystem in what is… Read More »New Research Challenges Traditional Explanations for Yixian Fossil Preservation
Anecdotes abound of wildlife behaving “drunk” after eating fermented fruits, but despite this, nonhuman consumption of ethanol has been assumed to be rare and accidental.… Read More »The Evolutionary Significance of Ethanol Consumption in Wildlife