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palaeontology

Life

Tiny T. rex fossils may be distinct species – but not everyone agrees

Palaeontologists can’t agree on whether fossils from several small dinosaurs represent juvenile Tyrannosaurus rex or smaller adults of a separate species that lived alongside them

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Unknown animals left birdlike footprints long before birds existed

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Fossil footprints are the oldest traces of birds in Australia

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Wonthaggi bird tracks affected by modern erosion and marine organisms at Footprint Flats locality.

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Sun-blocking dust from asteroid impact drove the dinosaur extinction

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A chimaera fish

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Fish adapted to the deep sea 80 million years earlier than we thought

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Brush-footed spider

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Exquisite spider fossils from Australia offer clues to their evolution

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The Neanderthal woman was re-created and built by Dutch artists Andrie and Alfons Kennis. Research including fossil anatomy and a detailed study of DNA is present in the color of the skin and eyes. (Photo by Joe McNally/Getty Images)

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The Naked Neanderthal review: Looking for the real Neanderthals

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Reconstruction of an ancient marsupial ecosystem

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Ancient mini koala may help solve mystery of early marsupial evolution

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Humans

These ancient sand drawings could be a fifth type of palaeoart

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Environment

Extreme fires caused by ancient humans wiped out Californian megafauna

A series of catastrophic fires killed off many large mammals in southern California by 13,000 years ago, and they were largely due to the arrival of humans

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Professor Lee Berger, palaeontologist, explorer and member of The National Geographic Society, gestures as he explains the scientific relevance of discovering Homo Naledi in the Rising Star caves system in The Cradle of Human Kind, on May 11, 2023. The news shakes the foundations of human evolution: world-renowned paleontologist Lee Berger announced on Monday that he had discovered the oldest graves ever found in South Africa, pushing back the first traces of mortuary practices by some 100,000 years . The oldest tombs discovered so far were found in Israel and Egypt at the beginning of the 20th century. They date from around 100,000 years before our era and house the remains of Homo sapiens, the direct ancestor of man. The burials unearthed in South Africa date from -200,000 to -300,000 years. (Photo by Luca Sola / AFP) (Photo by LUCA SOLA/AFP via Getty Images)

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Cave of Bones review: Lee Berger on the discovery of Homo naledi

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The newly discovered Perucetus colossus, an ancient species of whale, is thought to be one of the largest and heaviest animals on record, reports a study published in Nature. Estimates of its size and weight, based on a partial skeleton, rival those of the blue whale, which was previously thought to be the heaviest animal ever to exist. The findings suggest that the trend towards gigantism in marine mammals may have begun earlier than previously thought. Reconstruction of Perucetus colossus in its coastal habitat. Estimated body length: ~20 meters. Credit: Alberto Gennari

Life

Ancient whale might have been the heaviest animal that ever lived

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Amazing fossil hints mammals hunted dinosaurs three times their size

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Fossil of pregnant ground sloth discovered with fetus inside

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