Palaeontology
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There’s more than one way to grow a beak
Madagascar fossil adds new twist to bird evolution.
A new fossil discovered on the ever-surprising island of Madagascar suggests ancient Mesozoic bird beaks and faces we...
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Conversation
NZ fossils reveal a new southern seal
And that’s changed thinking about a rare marine mammal.
By James Patrick Rule and Justin Adams, Monash University, Erich Fitzgerald, Museums Victoria, and Felix Georg Marx, ...
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Were there rainforests in Australia’s deserts?
Prehistoric fossil evidence suggests the answer is ‘yes’.
Australia’s dry, red centre used to be green, according to fossil evidence of plants that thrive in rainforests. An i...
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Conversation
Earliest example of a rapid-fire tongue
This tiny amphibian had an incredible weapon.
By Joseph Bevitt, Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation The Yaksha perettii specimen is preserved...
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These early mammals were social creatures
Palaeontologists make an important find at Egg Mountain.
Mammals appear to have been social creatures much earlier than previously thought, according to US palaeontologists. ...
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Have wings will glide – at best
Two small dinosaurs struggled in the air, analysis suggests.
Just having wings doesn’t mean you can fly. Yi qi and Ambopteryx longibrachium, it seems, were barely able to glide. ...
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Scientists argue origins of a famous feather
New study suggests the old theory is right after all.
It’s not yet a war of words, but an interesting debate is brewing over the origins of the first fossil feather ever f...
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A new old ape and fish that could walk
The things you can discover with CT scanning.
Scientists say they have found an important ancient ape and more fish they suspect could probably walk. Two differ...
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Conversation
So, how do you weigh a dinosaur?
Turns out there are two ways and they’re both right.
The most emblematic feature of dinosaurs is their body size. Some dinosaurs reached enormous sizes during the Mesozoi...
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It took time to really know this dinosaur
Scelidosaurus’s anatomy described, 160 years on.
The first complete dinosaur skeleton ever found has been studied in detail more than 160 years after it was first dis...
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FossilWatch: Stats, sex, skulls and sleep
Scientists learn more about hibernation and dinosaurs.
Sleeping through tough times US scientists have discovered fossil evidence of a hibernation-like state in an anima...
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Crocodiles bound for America
New research suggests they went via Africa.
How crocodiles first reached the Americas has long been a matter of debate. Now Italian researchers are suggesting th...