Fossils

Fossils

Spiked tail to the rescue!

A stegosaur’s bony ‘armor’ didn’t just fend off a predator’s teeth. The tail spikes could gore attackers, ultimately killing them, fossils now show.

Fossils

Early dino-era start for modern mammals

Fossils of an extinct group of rodent-sized mammals suggest they were related to modern mammals. These ancient remains push back the origin of mammals by many millions of years.

Fossils

Biggest dino ever?

This plant-eater would have towered over even a T. rex. A truly huge brute, Dreadnoughtus means ‘fear nothing.’

Fossils

Feathers: What every dino wore?

A dino discovery in Siberia suggests feathers were common among the ancient ‘lizards.’

Fossils

Dinos ‘quickly’ shrunk into birds

Scientists had long known birds descended from dinosaurs. A study now shows that the morphing from dinos into birds went along with a quick and steady shrinking of their body sizes.

Fossils

Some Arctic dinos lived in herds

Fossil footprints retrieved from Alaska indicate that plant-eating duckbill dinos not only traveled as extended families but also spent their entire lives in the Arctic.

Fossils

Newly dated footprints: Oldest human tracks?

These footprints, found nearly a half-century ago, may be almost four times older than first thought, scientists now report.

Fossils

Mega-bird!

What may have been the bird world’s biggest flier ever had wings so long, they would have had trouble flapping fast enough to keep it aloft in tough winds. But this behemoth would have been able to soar both far and fast.

Fossils

This dino-bird is super-feathered

This late-Jurassic dino was also a bird. Its ample coat of feathers emerged before any need for flight.

Fossils

Hot-blooded dinos? Try lukewarm

New study finds these reptiles may have had an internal furnace that sort of resembled some sharks. It appeared to run neither hot nor cold.

Fossils

Fossil hunting can start as child’s play

Paleontology isn’t just for professionals. You don’t even need to be a teen to sometimes make startling — and scientifically important — contributions.

Fossils

Explainer: How a fossil forms

Minerals can replace any bone, shell or once-living tissue and also fill in the spaces between these hard parts, birthing a fossil.