Sign up for CNN’s Wonder Theory science newsletter. Explore the universe with news about fascinating discoveries, scientific developments and more. CNN — A piece of woolly mammoth skin excavated from the permafrost of Siberia contains fossil chromosomes, the first discovery of its kind, a new study shows. Researchers unearthed the 52,000-year-old remains in 2018 near … Read more
A team of scientists has made a remarkable discovery in the tiny molecules of a giant creature: immaculately preserved genome architecture in the 52,000-year-old remains of a woolly mammoth. The desiccated skin is so well preserved that it contains intact mammoth chromosomes, giving researchers an unprecedented glimpse into the ancient animal’s biology. The last mammoths … Read more
A new study challenges the view that ammonites declined before their extinction 66 million years ago, showing instead that they remained globally diverse and robust. The research highlights that their extinction was influenced by a range of geographic and environmental factors, rather than an inevitable outcome. Ammonites bask in the Late Cretaceous sun. Credit: Artwork … Read more
Painting of a griffin, a chimera of a lion bird of prey, next to the fossils of Protoceratopesa horned dinosaur. The latter would have influenced the lore and appearance of the former, but our study suggests there is no compelling connection between dinosaurs and griffins. Credit: Dr Mark Witton A new study refutes the theory … Read more
Microtomographic reconstruction of the head and anterior trunk (“body”) limbs of the trilobite Protolenus (Hupeolenus) in ventral view. Credit: Arnaud Mazurier, IC2MP, Univ. Poitiers Researchers have described some of the best-preserved three-dimensional trilobite fossils ever discovered. The fossils, which are more than 500 million years old, were collected in the High Atlas of Morocco and … Read more
Hundreds of millions of years ago, trilobites were everywhere on Earth. Clad in tough exoskeletons, the animals left behind countless fossils that can be studied by paleontologists today. Despite all these preserved shells, scientists have not been able to understand certain aspects of trilobite anatomy after centuries of research, especially the soft internal structures of … Read more
Researchers identified a prehistoric marine reptile found in 1935 as a thalattosaur and not a choristodere, using CT scans and a new specimen. Reconstruction of Pachystrofeus rhaeticuspictured next to a hybodont shark feeding on a Birgeria fish. Credit: James Ormiston Scientists have reclassified a prehistoric marine reptile discovered in 1935 as one of the last … Read more
The small predatory reptile lived among the largest apex predators. June 20, 2024, 11:21 am ET • 8 minutes reading Paleontologists have discovered a new species of ancient crocodilian reptile that once roamed the lands and waters of Brazil. The fossils, found in a fossil-rich locality called “Linha Várzea 2” in southern Brazil, are now … Read more
Paleontologists have discovered a new species of ancient crocodilian reptile that once roamed the lands and waters of Brazil. The fossils, found in a fossil-rich locality called “Linha Várzea 2” in southern Brazil, are now called Parvosuchus aurelioi, a new ancient genus of small predatory reptiles dating back about 237 million years, according to an … Read more
Researchers have used a detailed global dataset of foraminifera fossils to study shifts in marine community structures before mass extinctions, providing an early warning system for future biodiversity losses due to climate change. Led by Anshuman Swain and Adam Woodhouse, the study highlights the importance of monitoring ecological changes to predict future extinctions, potentially shaping … Read more