News

Episode 173: Petrified Forest

United States Chinle Late Triassic Triassic formation

Petrified Forest National Park in northeastern Arizona, USA is a hub for Triassic palaeontology and has exposures representing 20 million years of the Late Triassic Chinle Formation. Visitors marvel at the colourful fossilised trees from which the park takes its name, but a whole host of animals called these swampy forests home 225 million years [&hellip

17/03/2026 palaeocast

Cosmic rays turned ancient sand into a geological time machine

Scientists at Curtin University have uncovered a new way to read the deep history of Earth’s landscapes using microscopic zircon crystals from ancient beach sands. These incredibly durable minerals trap traces of krypton gas created when cosmic rays strike them at Earth’s surface, effectively turning each crystal into a “cosmic clock.” By measuring that krypton, researchers can determine how long sediments lingered near the surface before burial, revealing how landscapes eroded, shifted, and sta

12/03/2026 sciencedaily-paleo

400 million-year-old fish fossils reveal how life began moving onto land

Australia China fossil formation skull

Scientists have uncovered new clues about some of Earth’s earliest fish, shedding light on the ancient origins of vertebrates that eventually moved onto land. By reanalyzing mysterious fossils from Australia’s famed Gogo Formation and studying a newly reconstructed 410-million-year-old lungfish skull from China, researchers are revealing how these primitive creatures evolved.

12/03/2026 sciencedaily

A massive asteroid hit the North Sea and triggered a 330-foot tsunami

feather

A long-running debate about the Silverpit Crater beneath the North Sea has finally been resolved. Scientists now confirm it formed when a roughly 160-meter asteroid struck the seabed about 43–46 million years ago. New seismic imaging and rare shocked minerals in rock samples provided the crucial proof. The impact would have sent a massive plume skyward and unleashed a tsunami over 100 meters (330 feet) high.

11/03/2026 sciencedaily-paleo

This 2-pound dinosaur is rewriting what scientists know about evolution

fossil Alnashetri Alvarezsauria Dinosauria bird evolution skeleton

A nearly complete dinosaur skeleton discovered in Patagonia is helping scientists crack the mystery of alvarezsaurs, a bizarre group of bird-like dinosaurs. The fossil of Alnashetri cerropoliciensis reveals that these animals became tiny before developing their later specialized features, such as stubby arms and ant-eating adaptations. Weighing under two pounds, the dinosaur is one of the smallest known from South America.

10/03/2026 sciencedaily

Haolong: Beast of the Week

China Cretaceous Early Cretaceous juvenile specimen Dinosauria Haolong

 This week we'll be checking out a newly described dinosaur that is so unique, it completely changes what we think we knew about dinosaur skin!  Enter Haolong dongi!Haolong was a plant-eating dinosaur that lived in what is now Liaoning, China, during the Early Cretaceous period, about 112.5 million years ago.  The only specimen on record measures about 8 feet (2.45m) from beak to tail but was a juvenile when it died so the species likely grew larger.  The genus name translates from Chinese to "S

08/03/2026 prehistoricbeastoftheweek

Scientists stunned to find signs of ancient life in a place no one expected

Morocco

While exploring ancient seabeds in Morocco, scientists discovered strange wrinkle-like textures in deep-water sediments that shouldn’t have been there. These structures are usually made by sunlight-loving microbial mats in shallow waters. But the rocks formed far below the reach of light, suggesting a different explanation. Evidence points to chemosynthetic microbes—organisms powered by chemical reactions—creating the mats in the dark depths of an ancient ocean.

08/03/2026 sciencedaily-paleo

T. rex took 40 years to reach full size, study finds

bone growth predator specimen Tyrannosaurus study

Tyrannosaurus rex may have taken far longer to grow up than scientists once thought. By analyzing growth rings in fossilized leg bones from 17 tyrannosaur specimens and using new statistical methods, researchers found that the famous predator likely took about 40 years to reach its full size—around eight tons—rather than the previously estimated 25 years.

05/03/2026 sciencedaily

2700-year-old teeth reveal the hidden lives of Iron Age Italians

tooth feeding growth Italy

Iron Age teeth from southern Italy have become time capsules, preserving intimate details of childhood and diet. Growth lines in the enamel reveal moments of early-life stress, while hardened plaque holds microscopic remains of cereals, legumes, and fermented foods. The findings suggest a community with diverse food resources and strong Mediterranean connections. Even a small sample offers a striking glimpse into how people lived, grew, and ate nearly three millennia ago.

04/03/2026 sciencedaily

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