Officials found the fossil of a giant dinosaur jawbone while investigating a suspicious package on a bus in the mountains of Peru on Tuesday. The fossil, weighing some 19 pounds (8.7 kilograms), was found in the cargo hold of the bus, which was headed for the capital of Lima, and had been sent on the bus company's package service. picked by AutumnLotus 2 years ago

Scientists from Oregon State University and the Natural History Museum in London have announced the discovery of the oldest known fossil of a gecko, with body parts that are forever preserved in life-like form after 100 million years of being entombed in amber. picked by AutumnLotus 1 year ago

The fiercest reptile ever to terrorise the oceans has been identified from a fossil on a frozen Arctic island.

The huge pliosaur, dubbed The Monster, dated from 150 million years ago and boasted 60 dagger-like teeth the size of cucumbers, which it used to rip chunks out of prey. picked by AutumnLotus 2 years ago

Researchers have discovered the first fossil orchid, a 15 to 20-million-year-old pollen specimen encased in amber, in the Dominican Republic. It suggests that the first orchids bloomed about 84 million years ago. picked by misswinkle 2 years ago

Norwegian researchers have discovered a second rare fossil in the Arctic of a pliosaur, a giant reptile described by experts as the "T-Rex of the oceans". picked by AutumnLotus 2 years ago

The traces of organic material found in fossil feathers are remnants of pigments that once gave birds their color, according to Yale scientists whose paper in Biology Letters opens up the potential to depict the original coloration of fossilized birds and their ancestors, the dinosaurs. picked by AutumnLotus 1 year ago

The nearly intact fossil of an ancient sloth that lived 5 million years ago has been unearthed in Peru, a find about 4 million years older than similar ones discovered in the Americas, researchers said.

The sloth was found beneath the cement floor of a house in the Andean region of Espinar in southern Peru when workers were installing a water system. picked by AutumnLotus 6 months ago

Australian scientists have found a remarkable 380 million year old fossil placoderm fish with intact embryo and mineralised umbilical cord. Video included. picked by AutumnLotus 1 year ago

A newly found species small enough to fit in the palm of a hand is North America's oldest known primate, according to a new study. The fossil is 55 million years old. picked by MandolinOrange 2 years ago

Discovery of an exceptional fossil specimen in southeastern Morocco that preserves evidence of the animal’s soft tissues has solved a paleontological puzzle about the origins of an extinct group of bizarre slug-like animals with rows of mineralized armor plates on their backs. picked by AutumnLotus 2 years ago

Scientists have created an entirely natural and renewable method for producing hydrogen to generate electricity which could drastically reduce the dependency on fossil fuels in the future. picked by AutumnLotus 11 months ago

How did piranhas -- the legendary freshwater fish with the razor bite -- get their telltale teeth? Researchers from Argentina, the United States and Venezuela have uncovered the jawbone of a striking transitional fossil that sheds light on this question. picked by AutumnLotus 5 months ago

A 260-million-year-old fossil is the oldest known tree-dwelling creature, according to researchers.

Scientists described the finding as the earliest evidence in the fossil record of an "opposable thumb". picked by AutumnLotus 4 months ago

Brazilian paleontologists Thursday unveiled a fossil of a creature that they said is the "missing link" between prehistoric and present-day crocodiles. picked by AutumnLotus 2 years ago

An ancient fossil crocodile coated in armadillo-like body armor was unveiled yesterday at an environmental museum in Brazil.

Dubbed Armadillosuchus arrudai, the newly described species of crocodile roamed the arid interior of Brazil about 90 million years ago, during the late Cretaceous period, scientists said. picked by AutumnLotus 4 months ago

For a team of paleontologists interested in fossil mammals, the Fayum district of Egypt summons an impressive history that extends much further back in time than the Sphinx. The latest issue of the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology reports the discovery of six new bat species dating to around 35 million years ago, which sheds new light on the early evolution of bats. picked by AutumnLotus 2 years ago

While cutting through some Egyptian limestone recently, stone masons in Italy made an interesting discovery. A whale fossil. They called in experts who confirmed this was a 40 million year old whale.Then the fun really began. Well, fun for the archeologists that is. They went to the place where the stone was extracted and found prehistoric bone fragments and more. A bigger dig is currently underw... read full post picked by bingo 7 months ago

The fossil hand of a long-necked, ostrich-like dinosaur recently found in China may help solve the mystery of how bird wings evolved from dinosaur limbs, according to a new study. picked by suebe 5 months ago

Scientists have uncovered what they are calling the oldest full-body impression of a flying insect, possibly an ancient mayfly. "[The fossil] captures a moment in time over 300 million years ago when a flying insect just happened to land on a damp, muddy surface leaving almost a perfect impression of its body behind." picked by AutumnLotus 1 year ago

Scientists had theorized that pinnipeds evolved from land-dwelling ancestors but had little fossil evidence to support that claim. The new finding could be the missing link in pinniped evolution. picked by stinkobinko 7 months ago