MS-LS4-1
Analyze and interpret data for patterns in the fossil record that document the existence, diversity, extinction, and change of life forms throughout the history of life on Earth under the assumption that natural laws operate today as in the past.
- Fossils
One of the earliest meat-eating mammals was saber-toothed
Millions of years before the evolution of saber-toothed cats, a newly discovered "hypercarnivore" prowled the forests of what is now San Diego.
- Animals
The end of the dinosaurs appears to have come in springtime
Fish fossils from North Dakota suggest when the Chicxulub asteroid devastated Earth, triggering the mass extinction of dinosaurs and other species.
- Archaeology
Our species may have reached Europe while Neandertals were there
Archaeological finds from an ancient French rock-shelter show periodic settlements by both populations, just not at the same time.
- Animals
Mysterious kunga is the oldest known human-bred hybrid animal
People bred these animals — part donkey, part wild ass — some 4,500 years ago, probably for use in fighting wars.
- Animals
Scientists discover the first true millipede
The newfound deep-living species tunnels belowground using a whopping 1,306 legs!
- Fossils
‘Penis worms’ could have been the original hermits
These soft-bodied critters lived in abandoned shells about 500 million years ago, a new study suggests.
- Fossils
Fossils point to earliest dinosaurs that lived in herds
A fossilized family gathering of long-necked Mussaurus from 193 million years ago is the earliest evidence yet of herd behavior in dinos.
- Animals
Explainer: The age of dinosaurs
Take a trip back to the Mesozoic Era to explore how geologic events, ecosystems and evolution were connected during the so-called age of dinosaurs.
- Humans
Genetics show humans likely trace back to Africa
Our history began looking ever more complex once geneticists revealed our ancestors picked up new DNA as they traveled across time and continents.
- Humans
The ultimate genealogical search hunts for our earliest ancestors
The complex search to identify humans’ most distant cousins is long, complex and far from straightforward. It’s also far from over.
- Animals
Will the woolly mammoth return?
Scientists are using genetic engineering and cloning to try to bring back extinct species or save endangered ones. Here’s how and why.
- Fossils
Baby pterosaurs may have been able to fly right after hatching
A bone crucial for lift-off was stronger in hatchling pterosaurs than in adults. The baby reptiles also had shorter, broader wings than grown-ups.
