Årets øglegraverekspedisjon på Svalbard er over, og graverne er storfornøyd med årets fangst, skriver forskning.no.
Tre fiskeøgleskjeletter skal graves ut på Spitsbergen. Området er så fullt av forhistoriske knokler at man nesten snubler i dem. Hvorfor har ikke øglene blitt funnet før? Les mer på forskning.no.
Følg utgravingen direkte
— A unique blob-like creature that lived in the ocean approximately 425 million years ago is revealed in a 3D computer model, sciencedaily.com writes.
Da dinosaurene dominerte landjorda, var havet fullt av ichthyosaurer. Med store øyne og delfinlignende kropper konkurrerte den med haien om blekksprut og fisk i havet som lå der Svalbard ligger i dag, skriver forskning.no.
— A discovery of fossilized footprints reveals when reptiles first conquered dry land. Read more at sciencedaily.com.
— The discovery of a remarkable 15-million-year-old Australian fossil limestone cave packed with even older animal bones has revealed almost the entire life cycle of a large prehistoric marsupial, from suckling young in the pouch still cutting their milk teeth to elderly adults, sciencedaily.com writes.
- New York State Paleontologist Dr. Ed Landing is the lead author of an article published in the June issue of “Geology” that provides the first definitive proof that all major animal groups with internal and external skeletons appeared in the Cambrian geological period (543–489 million years ago). Read more at artdaily.com.
Everybody likes a good soak in a hot bath from time to time. But new research suggests that some dinosaurs took it to the extreme, laying their eggs in the steaming hot soils near hot springs and Old Faithful-like geysers in what is now northwestern Argentina, discovery.com writes.
The discovery in Gabon of more than 250 fossils in an excellent state of conservation has provided proof, for the first time, of the existence of multicellular organisms 2.1 billion years ago, sciencedaily.com writes.
Tiny balls of fungus and feces may disprove the theory that a huge space rock exploded over North America about 12,900 years ago, triggering a thousand-year cold snap, according to a new study. Read more at nationalgeographic.com.
Hornene kunne bli opptil 1,2 meter lange på denne dinosauren, mener forskere. Til tross for den gedigne gaffelen over øynene var dette en planteeter, skriver forskning.no.
Sånn kan det ha sett ut for 500 millioner år siden, da moderne blekkspruter ennå var en fjern drøm. I stedet svømte denne merksnodige mollusken rundt i havet, skriver forskning.no.
One way that geologists try to decipher how cells functioned as far back as 3 billion years is by studying modern microbial mats, known as stromatolites, the layered rock formations are considered to be the oldest fossils on Earth, sciencedaily.com writes.
The complex organisms emerging in the Cambrian came to an abrupt demise, disappearing with few traces in the later fossil record. Not everyone was convinced, and now a trove of 480-million-year-old fossils in Morocco appears to strike a blow to the idea of a major extinction, nytimes.com writes.
Fedexia striegeli is one of only a very few relatively large amphibian fossils to display evidence of a predominantly terrestrial (land-based) life history so early in geologic time, sciencedaily.com writes.
Until now, paleontologists have generally believed that the closest relatives of dinosaurs possibly looked a little smaller in size, walked on two legs and were carnivorous. Recent discovery to dispel this hypothesis, sciencedaily.com writes.
A fossil that was celebrated last year as a possible "missing link" between humans and early primates is actually a forebearer of modern-day lemurs and lorises, utexas.edu writes.
Les også om saken på db.no
Hunter and hunted were frozen in time at key moment. Entombed at the moment of attack, a fossil serpent and sauropod are the first solid proof that prehistoric snakes ate dinosaurs, a new study says. Read more at nationalgeographic.com.
Paleontologer har oppdaget fossiler av en hittil ukjent dinosaur i Utahs sandstein. - Et fantastisk funn, sier paleontolog Jørn Hurum om oppsiktsvekkende fossiler, til dagbladet.no
Large-sized gastropods dating from only 1 million years after the greatest mass extinction of all time, the Permian-Triassic extinction, call into question the existence of a "Lilliput effect", sciencedaily.com writes.
Forskning på fossiler gir ikke bare et innblikk i livets utvikling og mangfoldet i fortiden, skriver Jesper Hansen i Museumsstipendiatenes blogg på forskning.no.
Trails found in rocks dating back 565 million years are thought to be the earliest evidence of animal locomotion ever found, sciencedaily.com says.
It's been long thought that the ancestors of ostriches, emus, and other flightless birds that once flew were flightless too. But a new study says that they only began exploring the ground in earnest after dinosaurs were wiped out about 65 million years ago, nationalgeographic.com writes.
En modell av dinosauren Microraptor glir elegant over en gressbakke ved University of Kansas. Modellen viser at flygekunsten trolig oppstod ved glideflukt fra trærne, og ikke med flaksing fra bakken, skriver forskning.no.
En gang før menneskene kom var det gigantiske gnagere, krypdyr og enorme fugler som ikke kunne fly som regjerte over det australske kontinentet. Men for mellom 40 og 50 tusen år siden forsvant nesten alle, skriver forskning.no.
The first vertebrates to walk the Earth emerged from the sea almost 20 million years earlier than previously thought, say scientists who have discovered footprints from an 8-foot-long (2.4-meter-long) prehistoric creature. Read more about the footprints on nationalgeographic.com.
Today I'd like to introduce you to "Antonio," a remarkable dinosaur that represents a new species, Tethyshodros insularis, discovery.com says.
En tidlig slektning av Tyrannosaurus rex er funnet i New Mexico i USA. Oppdagelsen gjør at forskere tror de første dinosaurene kom fra Sør-Amerika og senere vandret nordover, skriver forskning.no.
Forskere har lenge grublet over hvordan skilpaddene fikk skall. Et rekordgammelt fossil kan kanskje gi svaret, skriver forskning.no.
