Fossils
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Animals
Megalodons may have become megahunters by running hot
O. megalodon sharks were warm-blooded mega-predators. But when food sources dwindled, colder-blooded sharks may have had an evolutionary edge.
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Fossils
T. rex may have hidden its teeth behind lips
Dinosaurs like Tyrannosaurus have long been portrayed with their big teeth bared. But new research suggests this wasn’t so.
By Jake Buehler -
Fossils
This ancient bird rocked a head like a T. rex
This bird from 120 million years ago had a head like a dinosaur and a body more like today’s birds.
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Fossils
Ancient jellyfish? Upside down this one looks like something else
A new look at an ancient sea animal called Essexella suggests it may have been a type of burrowing sea anemone, not a floating jelly.
By Meghan Rosen -
Fossils
Ocean life may have bounced back after the ‘Great Dying’
Marine ecosystems may have been back in action just a million years after the most severe extinction event known.
By Nikk Ogasa -
Fossils
An ancient ichthyosaur graveyard may have been a breeding ground
Some 230 million years ago, huge dolphin-like reptiles appear to have gathered to breed in safe waters, just as many whales do today.
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Fossils
Armored dinos may have used tail clubs to bash each other
Broken spikes on a fossil dino’s sides are consistent with the armored beast having received a mighty blow from another ankylosaur’s tail club.
By Jake Buehler -
Fossils
Let’s learn about pterosaurs
These ancient flying reptiles were not dinosaurs, but they were close relatives.
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Fossils
Sprinting reptiles may have been forerunners of soaring pterosaurs
A new analysis of an old fossil supports the idea that winged pterosaurs evolved from swift and tiny two-legged ancestors.
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Fossils
Dinosaur ‘mummies’ may not be as rare as once thought
Bite marks found on a fossilized dino show that skin can be preserved even when a carcass is not immediately smothered by sediment.
By Jake Buehler -
Fossils
Bizarre ancient critter has spines but no anus
The spiny discovery moves this minion lookalike off a distant limb on the human family tree.
By Anna Gibbs -
Animals
Analyze This: Bulky plesiosaurs may not have been bad swimmers after all
Long-necked plesiosaurs were thought to be slow swimmers. But new research suggests the animals’ large size helped them overcome water resistance.