Five-eyed fossil shrimp could be 'missing link' in arthropod evolution
Discovery of a five-eyed shrimp-like creature that lived about 520 million years ago may end a long-running debate about the evolution of Earth's most common animals.
Tool discovery dramatically alters perceived timeline of humans in America
Tools excavated from a cave in central Mexico are strong evidence that humans were living in North America at least 30,000 years ago, some 15,000 years earlier than previously thought, scientists said Wednesday.
Ancient string provides further evidence of Neanderthals' talents
Neanderthals used plant fibers to create string more than 40,000 years ago at a site in France where they hunted reindeer, further evidence according to scientists of the ingenuity and cognitive capabilities of our closest extinct human relatives. Researchers on Thursday described a string fragment ...
Inside the stout fins of a fish that, about 380 million years ago, prowled the shallow waters of an estuary in what is now eastern Canada, scientists have found what they call the evolutionary origins of the human hand. The researchers were examining a remarkably ...
Dinosaur prints from mysterious middle Jurassic Period found in Scotland
On a crag of rock called Brother's Point on Scotland's Isle of Skye, scientists have identified two bustling footprint sites that reveal an abundance of dinosaurs that thrived 170 million years ago including an early member of a celebrated group. Researchers on Wednesday said about ...
Red pandas, the bushy-tailed and russet-furred bamboo-munchers that dwell in Asian high forests, are not a single species, according to the most comprehensive genetic study to date on these endangered mammals. Scientists said on Wednesday they had found substantial divergences between the two species — ...
Scientists examining the genomes of West Africans have detected signs that a mysterious extinct human species interbred with our own species tens of thousands of years ago in Africa, the latest evidence of humankind's complicated genetic ancestry. The study indicated that present-day West Africans can ...
Dinosaurs grew feathers differently from birds, fossil of a 'dancing dragon' shows
An exquisite fossil of a fierce little Chinese dinosaur dubbed the "dancing dragon" that lived 120 million years ago — an older cousin of the Velociraptor — is showing scientists that feathers grew differently on dinosaurs than on birds. The two-legged Cretaceous Period dinosaur, called ...
Post-apocalyptic fossils show fast rise of mammals after dinosaur demise
A revelatory cache of fossils dug up in central Colorado details as never before the rise of mammals from the post-apocalyptic landscape after an asteroid smacked Earth 66 million years ago and annihilated three-quarters of all species, including the dinosaurs. The fossils, described by scientists ...
There's a problem with the human family tree
New findings from fossils and DNA should expand our thinking about our species.
Gulp! Jurassic mammal was the first one able to eat politely
A shrew-like primitive mammal that inhabited China 165 million years ago represents a milestone in mammalian evolution, scientists said on Thursday, boasting a key anatomical trait in its throat that helped usher in the era of polite table manners. Scientists described an exquisitely preserved Jurassic ...
Bat-winged dinosaur was intriguing, brief detour in evolution of flight
A fossil unearthed in northeastern China of a feathered dinosaur a bit bigger than a blue jay that possessed bat-like wings represents a remarkable but short-lived detour in the evolution of flight and the advent of birds, scientists said on Wednesday. The dinosaur, named Ambopteryx ...
