News

MIT study finds Earth’s first animals were likely ancient sea sponges

tracks discovery geology study

Scientists at MIT have found compelling chemical evidence that Earth’s earliest animals were likely ancient sea sponges. Hidden inside rocks over 541 million years old are rare molecular “fingerprints” that match compounds made by modern demosponges. After testing rocks, living sponges, and lab-made molecules, researchers confirmed the signals came from life — not geology. The discovery suggests sponges were thriving in the oceans well before most other animal groups appeared.

27/02/2026 sciencedaily-paleo

Scientists compared dinosaurs to mammals for decades but missed this key difference

predator juvenile Dinosauria mammals

Baby dinosaurs weren’t coddled like lion cubs or elephant calves—they were more like prehistoric latchkey kids. New research suggests that young dinosaurs quickly struck out on their own, forming kid-only groups and surviving without much parental help, while their massive parents lived entirely different lives. Because juveniles and adults ate different foods, faced different predators, and moved through different parts of the landscape, they may have functioned almost like separate species wit

27/02/2026 sciencedaily

Lost fossils reveal sea monsters that took over after Earth’s greatest extinction

predator Australia Madagascar fossil extinction

A lost cache of 250-million-year-old fossils from Australia has rewritten part of the story of life after Earth’s worst mass extinction. Instead of a single marine amphibian species, researchers uncovered evidence of a surprisingly diverse community of early ocean predators. One of these creatures had relatives stretching from the Arctic to Madagascar, showing that some of the first sea-going tetrapods spread across the globe with remarkable speed.

25/02/2026 sciencedaily

40,000-year-old signs show humans were recording information long before writing

study

More than 40,000 years ago, Ice Age humans were carving repeated patterns of dots, lines, and crosses into tools and small ivory figurines. A new computational study of more than 3,000 of these Paleolithic signs reveals that they were not random decorations but structured sequences with measurable complexity. Surprisingly, their information density rivals that of proto-cuneiform, the earliest known writing system that emerged around 3,000 B.C.E.

25/02/2026 sciencedaily-paleo

190-million-year-old “Sword Dragon” fossil rewrites ichthyosaur history

United Kingdom Jurassic fossil Ichthyosauria evolution skeleton

A newly identified ichthyosaur from the UK’s Jurassic Coast is rewriting part of the prehistoric playbook. Nicknamed the “Sword Dragon of Dorset,” the three-meter-long marine reptile lived during a poorly understood window of evolution when major ichthyosaur groups were disappearing and new ones emerging. Its beautifully preserved skeleton — complete with a blade-like snout and possible last meal — helps pinpoint when this dramatic transition occurred.

24/02/2026 sciencedaily

A giant blade-crested spinosaurus, the “hell heron,” discovered in the Sahara

crest predator Niger fossil Dinosauria Spinosauria

Deep in the heart of the Sahara, scientists have uncovered Spinosaurus mirabilis — a spectacular new predator crowned with a massive, scimitar-shaped crest that may once have blazed with color under the desert sun. Discovered in remote inland river deposits in Niger, the fossil rewrites what we thought we knew about spinosaur dinosaurs, suggesting they weren’t fully aquatic hunters but powerful waders stalking fish in forested waterways hundreds of miles from the sea.

23/02/2026 sciencedaily

Spinosaurus: Beast of the Week

Egypt Morocco Niger Cretaceous Late Cretaceous Dinosauria Spinosauria

Make way (lots of room...back up more...keep going...keep going...backbackbackback) for the mighty Spinosaurus Aegyptiacus! Spinosaurus was a meat-eating dinosaur that lived in what is now Africa, including Egypt, Morocco, and Niger during the late Cretaceous Period, about 97-95 million years ago.  It was a massive animal, the biggest known individuals possibly measuring 49 feet (about 15m) long from snout to tail as an adult, making it the longest meat-eating dinosaur known to science.  The gen

22/02/2026 prehistoricbeastoftheweek

Triceratops had a giant nose that may have cooled its massive head

fossil Triceratops CT-scan skull

Triceratops’ massive head may have been doing more than just showing off those famous horns. Using CT scans and 3D reconstructions of fossil skulls, researchers uncovered a surprisingly complex nasal system hidden inside its enormous snout. Instead of being just a supersized nose for smelling, it likely housed intricate networks of nerves and blood vessels—and even special structures that helped regulate heat and moisture.

22/02/2026 sciencedaily

Ancient DNA solves 5,500 year old burial mystery in Sweden

limb DNA Sweden discovery

Ancient DNA from a Stone Age burial site in Sweden shows that families 5,500 years ago were more complex than expected. Many individuals buried together were not immediate family, but second- or third-degree relatives. One grave held a young woman alongside two children who were siblings—yet she wasn’t their mother. The discoveries hint at tight-knit communities where extended kin mattered deeply.

19/02/2026 sciencedaily-human-evo

Ancient drought may have wiped out the real-life hobbits 61,000 years ago

extinction formation

A massive, centuries-long drought may have driven the extinction of the “hobbits” of Flores. Climate records preserved in cave formations show rainfall plummeted just as the small human species disappeared. At the same time, pygmy elephants they depended on declined sharply as rivers dried up. With food and water vanishing, the hobbits may have been pushed out—and into their final chapter.

19/02/2026 sciencedaily-human-evo

125 million-year-old dinosaur with never before seen hollow spikes discovered in China

China juvenile Dinosauria Iguanodontia

A 125-million-year-old dinosaur just rewrote what we thought we knew about prehistoric life. Scientists in China have uncovered an exceptionally preserved juvenile iguanodontian with fossilized skin so detailed that individual cells are still visible. Even more astonishing, the plant-eating dinosaur was covered in hollow, porcupine-like spikes—structures never before documented in any dinosaur.

18/02/2026 sciencedaily

Ancient DNA solves 12,000-year-old mystery of rare genetic growth disorder

bone DNA growth Italy discovery genetics

An Ice Age double burial in Italy has yielded a stunning genetic revelation. DNA from a mother and daughter who lived over 12,000 years ago shows that the younger had a rare inherited growth disorder, confirmed through mutations in a key bone-growth gene. Her mother carried a milder version of the same mutation. The finding not only solves a long-standing mystery but also proves that rare genetic diseases stretch far back into prehistory.

17/02/2026 sciencedaily

Corythosaurus: Beast of the Week

crest Canada Canardia Corythosaurus Dinosauria Hadrosauria Hadrosauridae Hypacrosaurus Lambeosauria Parasaurolophus Velafrons

This week we will take a look at a well known duckbill dinosaur.  Enter Corythosaurus!  Corythosaurus was a plant eater that belonged to the lambiosaurine group within the family, Hadrosauridae. (duckbills)  Lambiosaurine hadrosaurs typically had hollow crests on their heads and narrower beaks compared to other kinds hadrosaurs.  It was closely related to other lambiosaurine hadrosaurs such as Parasaurolophus, Hypacrosaurus, Lambeosaurus, and Velafrons.  It lived in what is now Alberta, Canada,

15/02/2026 prehistoricbeastoftheweek

Europe’s “untouched” wilderness was shaped by Neanderthals and hunter-gatherers

hunting

Long before agriculture, humans were transforming Europe’s wild landscapes. Advanced simulations show that hunting and fire use by Neanderthals and Mesolithic hunter-gatherers reshaped forests and grasslands in measurable ways. By reducing populations of giant herbivores, people indirectly altered how dense vegetation became. The findings challenge the idea that prehistoric Europe was an untouched natural world.

12/02/2026 sciencedaily-human-evo

This ancient animal was one of the first to eat plants on land

tooth fossil skull

Hundreds of millions of years ago, the first animals to crawl onto land were strict meat-eaters, even as plants had already taken over the landscape. Now scientists have uncovered a 307-million-year-old fossil that rewrites that story: one of the earliest known land vertebrates to start eating plants. The animal, named Tyrannoroter heberti, was a stocky, football-sized creature with a skull packed with specialized teeth designed for crushing and grinding vegetation.

11/02/2026 sciencedaily

Torvosaurus: Beast of the Week

bone predator Germany Portugal United States Jurassic Late Jurassic Dinosauria Torvosaurus

Today we are going to look at a huge Jurassic predatory dinosaur, Torvosaurus tanneri!  Torvosaurus lived about 150 million years ago during the Late Jurassic period. Its bones have been unearthed in Colorado, USA, Portugal, and possibly Germany (Europe and North America were not as vastly separated back then, remember, so a lot of the dinosaurs on each of them from that time shared recent ancestors).  From nose to tail it measured up to 36 feet (about 11m) and would have been among the largest,

08/02/2026 prehistoricbeastoftheweek

Ancient bones reveal chilling victory rituals after Europe’s earliest wars

bone tooth France

New evidence from Neolithic mass graves in northeastern France suggests that some of Europe’s earliest violent encounters were not random acts of brutality, but carefully staged displays of power. By analyzing chemical clues locked in ancient bones and teeth, researchers found that many victims were outsiders who suffered extreme, ritualized violence after conflict. Severed arms appear to have been taken from local enemies killed in battle, while captives from farther away were executed in a gri

08/02/2026 sciencedaily

These 773,000-year-old fossils may reveal our shared human ancestor

fossil evolution Homo sapiens

Fossils from a Moroccan cave have been dated with remarkable accuracy to about 773,000 years ago, thanks to a magnetic signature locked into the surrounding sediments. The hominin remains show a blend of ancient and more modern features, placing them near a pivotal branching point in human evolution. These individuals likely represent an African population close to the last common ancestor of Homo sapiens, Neandertals, and Denisovans.

07/02/2026 sciencedaily

Episode 172: Rhynchocephalians

New Zealand

Today, there is only one living species of rhynchocephalian: the tuatara of Aotearoa/New Zealand. Despite today’s paucity of species, this was once a diverse group of reptiles, with a wide range of lifestyles from swimming in the ocean to climbing trees. Once highly abundant around the world, reasons for their decline are still debated and [&hellip

05/02/2026 palaeocast

This strange little dinosaur is forcing a rethink of evolution

bone tooth metabolism Dinosauria Foskeia anatomy bird evolution mammals study skull

A newly identified tiny dinosaur, Foskeia pelendonum, is shaking up long-held ideas about how plant-eating dinosaurs evolved. Though fully grown adults were remarkably small and lightweight, their anatomy was anything but simple—featuring a bizarre, highly specialized skull and unexpected evolutionary traits. Detailed bone studies show these dinosaurs matured quickly with bird- or mammal-like metabolism, while their teeth and posture hint at fast, agile lives in dense forests.

03/02/2026 sciencedaily