The environmental, cultural and scientific sensitivity of some sites, and rarity of some fossils, means amateur fossil collecting comes with huge risks.
Because of its skeleton’s heavy architecture, scientists have always assumed that Anteosaurus was a rather sluggish, slow-moving animal, only capable of scavenging or ambushing its prey, at best.
New research shows crocodiles have landed upon an equilibrium state of evolution.
The radiodont Anomalocaris, with its large stalked eyes, is considered a top predator that swam in the oceans more than 500 million years ago.
Katrina Kenny
Our study on weird ancient marine animals called radiodonts supports the idea that vision played a crucial role during the Cambrian Explosion, a rapid burst of evolution about 500 million years ago.
66 million years ago, birds survived the calamity that wiped out all prehistoric dinosaurs. But could birds once again evolve into their long lost ancestors?
Microbial mats in Shark Bay, Western Australia, similar to those that lived around 200 million years ago.
Yalimay Jimenez Duarte WA-OIGC, Curtin University
The end-Triassic mass extinction was a cataclysm for the world’s prehistoric species, killed off by volcanoes that altered Earth’s seas and skies. But new research shows it didn’t happen when we thought.
From mythical beasts to extinct creatures, the pioneering special effects work of Ray Harryhausen inspired a generation of zoologists, palaeontologists and ecologists.
Tooth fossils from NSW have confirmed sauropods weren’t exclusive to Queensland. They’re also providing a first look at how these colossal dinosaurs fed from Australia’s land.
Two Cimoliopterus pterosaurs, with 5m wing spans.
Mark Witton/University of Reading
Paleontologists have discovered fossil remains belonging to an enormous ‘toothed’ bird that lived for a period of about 60 million years after dinosaurs.
Hybrid parrots in Costa Rica.
Ondrej Prosicky/Shutterstock
You can gauge a dinosaur’s body mass either by reconstructing it as accurately as possible, or by scaling its leg bones against those of today’s animals. Research shows both methods work well together.
The finicky fruit took some time to adapt to California’s climate.
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