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Otter-like critter swam lakes and rivers in the age of dinosaurs

Otter-like critter swam lakes and rivers in the age of dinosaurs

By Will Dunham Oct 8 (Reuters) - About 165 million years ago, a furry critter that swam like a platypus, hunted like an otter and had a tail similar to a beaver's frolicked in the lakes and rivers of what is now China pursuing fish and salamanders, the oldest-known example of a semiaquatic lifestyle
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Scientists just found a crocodile they never knew existed

Scientists just found a crocodile they never knew existed

A new species of extinct crocodile has been identified from fossils originally discovered in the same limestone used to build the Great Sphinx.
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520-Million-Year-Old Fossilized Larva Discovered with Intact Brain and Nervous System

520-Million-Year-Old Fossilized Larva Discovered with Intact Brain and Nervous System

Paleontologists have unearthed a 520-million-year-old fossilized larva from the Cambrian period, remarkably preserving its internal organs, including a brain and digestive tract. This discovery challenges previous assumptions about the fossilization of soft-bodied organisms, as such delicate tissues typically decompose before mineralization can occur. Lead researcher Martin Smith expressed surprise at the level of detail maintained over half a billion years. The specimen, an ancient ancestor of arthropods like insects, crabs, and lobsters, offers a rare glimpse into the early organization of life during the Cambrian Explosion. Advanced imaging technology, specifically synchrotron X-ray tomography, was used to create 3D reconstructions of the larva, revealing a preserved brain, digestive glands, a primitive circulatory system, and nerve fibers connected to its limbs and eyes. Co-author Katherine Dobson highlighted the almost perfect preservation achieved through natural fossilization.
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New Study Suggests Animal Life May Have Evolved 200 Million Years Earlier Than Previously Thought

New Study Suggests Animal Life May Have Evolved 200 Million Years Earlier Than Previously Thought

A new study led by the University of Oxford, published in Science Advances, suggests that the animal kingdom may have begun significantly earlier than indicated by the oldest undisputed animal fossils. Researchers propose that animals could have evolved between 800 and 700 million years ago, pushing back the estimated origin by up to 200 million years. This re-evaluation challenges the long-held belief that animal origins were tied to the Ediacaran Period, around 590 million years ago, based on the Weng'an Biota in southern China. The Oxford-led team re-examined the logic behind this timeline by studying the younger Kheseen Biota in Mongolia. Despite excellent preservation of microfossils, no animal remains were found there, even though animals were known to exist elsewhere at that time. This finding weakened the argument that the absence of animal fossils in the Weng'an Biota meant animals hadn't yet appeared. By recalibrating molecular clock analyses with older geological anchors from Norway, Australia, ...
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Tunnel Boring Machine Unearths Mastodon Remains in Virginia

Tunnel Boring Machine Unearths Mastodon Remains in Virginia

During the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel expansion project in Virginia, a 46-foot tunnel boring machine named Mary, operating 110 feet beneath the harbor, unearthed mastodon remains. An operator at the slurry treatment plant spotted a mastodon tooth among the excavated material, leading to the discovery. The machine processes up to 16,000 gallons of slurry per minute, and operators are primarily trained to identify objects that could damage the cutterhead, such as metal. The mastodon tooth, with its distinctive pointed ridges, stood out from typical seabed contents. This discovery marks only the third mastodon found in Virginia. The project's soil data suggests the remains are between 12,000 and 50,000 years old. Experts from the Virginia Museum of Natural History, William & Mary, and Virginia’s historic-resources department believe the animal likely died in a mud pit within a freshwater river that once flowed through the area when sea levels were lower.
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New Study Suggests Animals May Have Evolved 200 Million Years Earlier Than Previously Thought

New Study Suggests Animals May Have Evolved 200 Million Years Earlier Than Previously Thought

A new study led by the University of Oxford suggests that animals may have evolved up to 200 million years earlier than current fossil evidence indicates. Published in *Science Advances*, the research challenges the conventional understanding that animal life appeared relatively suddenly just before the Cambrian Period (539 to 487 million years ago). The study re-evaluates how scientists have used the fossil record to set a maximum age for the origin of animals. Previously, the 590-million-year-old Weng'an Biota in China, which preserves microscopic organisms but no definitive animals, led scientists to infer that animals originated after this period. However, the research team, including members from the University of California, Berkeley, ETH Zürich, and Yale University, conducted a comprehensive survey of microfossils from the Kheseen Biota in Mongolia. This biota is over 40 million years younger than Weng'an, and while it also shows exceptional preservation of microfossils, it lacks definitive animal f...
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New Study Identifies Arthropods as Likely Creators of Ancient Paleodictyon Fossils

New Study Identifies Arthropods as Likely Creators of Ancient Paleodictyon Fossils

A new study published in Earth-Science Reviews suggests that marine arthropods are the most probable creators of the enigmatic hexagonal fossilized burrows known as Paleodictyon. These geometric patterns, found in sedimentary rock in Italy's Apennine mountains and observed in modern oceans, have long puzzled scientists regarding their origin. Researchers Andrea Baucon and his team conducted over 1,000 measurements of Paleodictyon specimens, analyzing interior angles, vertex distances, and burrow widths from museum archives and new field discoveries. Their findings indicate a high level of precision and uniformity in the hexagonal structures, with interior angles averaging just 8.5 degrees off a perfect 120-degree angle and side lengths varying by only 0.5 millimeters. This architectural complexity, combined with the straight lines and sharp angles of the tunnels, points away from soft-bodied creatures like worms and towards hard-bodied arthropods with exoskeletons and jointed appendages, which can cut thro...
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New Saber-Toothed Predator Discovered in Argentina Challenges Extinction Timelines

New Saber-Toothed Predator Discovered in Argentina Challenges Extinction Timelines

A new species of saber-toothed predator, named Pampaluctor calibar, has been identified from fossil fragments found in Argentina. This discovery challenges previous beliefs about the extinction timeline of thylacosmilids, a group of meat-eating metatherians that includes modern-day marsupials. The fossil, dating to the end of the Pliocene or early Pleistocene epoch, suggests that this lineage survived longer than previously assumed and coexisted with early 'northern newcomers' in South America. Paleontologist Eric del Campo, lead author of the study published in Alcheringa: An Australasian Journal of Palaeontology, noted that the animal was massive, weighing about 100 kg (220 pounds), making it one of the largest known mammalian predators in South America. Its thick neck bones and heavily muscled front legs indicate it was an ambush hunter that pinned down prey with brute force.
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Scientists Determine Tyrannosaurus Rex Body Temperature at 97°F, Confirming Warm-Blooded Nature

Scientists Determine Tyrannosaurus Rex Body Temperature at 97°F, Confirming Warm-Blooded Nature

UCLA scientists have successfully measured the body temperature of the Tyrannosaurus rex, finding it to be approximately 97°F (36°C), a temperature comparable to that of humans. This groundbreaking research, published in Science Advances, utilized a refined method to analyze the chemical bonds of rare isotopes of carbon and oxygen within fossilized tooth enamel. The number of these bonds decreases in warmer temperatures, allowing researchers to act as a 'geologic thermometer.' The study used small portions of two teeth from 'Thomas the T. rex,' a well-preserved specimen from the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County. This finding provides empirical evidence supporting theories that T. rex was a warm-blooded, active predator or scavenger, rather than a cold-blooded, slow-moving reptile. The method involved using a dental drill to remove enamel, dissolving the powder in phosphoric acid to release carbon dioxide gas, and then measuring isotope ratios with a mass spectrometer. This advanced technique re...
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‘Jodi,’ Sotheby’s Newly-Minted Nanotyrannus, Hits the Auction Block With $9 M. Estimate

‘Jodi,’ Sotheby’s Newly-Minted Nanotyrannus, Hits the Auction Block With $9 M. Estimate

According to a statement from Sotheby’s, “Jodi” is one of only three known Nanotyrannus specimens.
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Scientists Identify New Ancient Crocodile Species from Great Sphinx Bedrock

Scientists Identify New Ancient Crocodile Species from Great Sphinx Bedrock

Paleontologists have identified a new species of ancient crocodilian, named Herugavialis cairensis, from fossilized remains discovered in the Mokattam Formation in northern Egypt. This limestone bedrock is the same material used to construct the Great Sphinx and the pyramids at Giza. The species, which roamed a shallow sea approximately 45 million years ago, adds to the understanding of gharial diversity and evolution. One key fossil, a nearly complete skull unearthed in the 1920s, notably resembles the Sphinx due to its missing snout tip, inspiring the genus name 'Herugavialis' after the Egyptian god Horus. Initially misclassified as Tomistoma cairense in 1927 due to its resemblance to the false gharial, new evolutionary analyses and CT scans revealed it to be a distinct genus. Herugavialis cairensis possessed razor-sharp, pointed teeth and a long, thin snout adapted for catching fish, with eyes protruding like a telescope, similar to the modern Indian gharial. The Mokattam Formation has preserved numerou...
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This Ultra-Rare Nanotyrannus Fossil Could Fetch $9 Million at Auction

This Ultra-Rare Nanotyrannus Fossil Could Fetch $9 Million at Auction

'Jodi' is one of just three such skeletons known to exist.