#paleomedia

244-million-year-old fossil preserves earliest reptilian digestive system

An exquisitely preserved specimen of a long-necked marine reptile from the Triassic of China, contains a fossilized stomach, liver and intestines, offering paleontologists their oldest detailed glimpse yet of how early reptiles digested food. Image credit: Gabriel Ugueto.

Fossils from Wyoming's Smiley Draw deepen understanding of early primate evolution

A new study from the University of Kansas complicates the picture of primates living in North America some 55 million years ago during the Eocene, a warm period that allowed mammals to diversify quickly.

60,000-year-old ostrich eggshell engravings reveal a surprisingly sophisticated human mind

More than 60,000 years ago, humans in southern Africa were engraving ostrich eggshells with intricate geometric patterns that appear far more organized than previously realized. Image credit: Pierre-Jean Texier, Diepkloof project.

Meteorite that smashed through a New Jersey roof reveals clues to life’s origins

A rare meteorite that crashed through a New Jersey roof contains evidence of ancient salty fluids, organic compounds, and amino acids from a primitive asteroid. Its pristine chemistry could offer new clues about how space rocks helped supply early Earth with some of the ingredients needed for life.

It had a massive 50cm leg span and was hailed as a giant, terrifying prehistoric spider – but scientists got it spectacularly wrong…

In 1980, a palaeontologist announced the discovery of the largest ‘spider’ ever; except this eight-legged giant wasn’t a spider, but a sea scorpion that would have to wait 25 years for its true identity to be revealed…

New Troodontid Dinosaur Genus Identified from Fossil Bone Found Decades Ago in New Mexico | Sci.News

Paleontologists have described a new genus of small, bird-like dinosaur that lived in what is now New Mexico approximately 73 million years ago. Image credit: Sergey Krasovskiy.

567-million-year-old fossils rewrite the dawn of animal life

A spectacular fossil site in Canada contains 567-million-year-old creatures that may represent some of the earliest animals to move, reproduce sexually, and develop recognizable body plans. Image credit: Alex Boersma.

Scientists find unexpected life on Ötzi the Iceman’s 5,300-year-old body

More than 5,000 years after his death, Ötzi the Iceman still harbors ancient microbes, including traces of gut bacteria and cold-loving yeasts that may have survived with him in the glacier. Image credit: South Tyrol Museum of Archaeology/Eurac Research/Marion Lafogler