An artist’s impression of the new pterosaur species, Cheoptera
Mark Witton/Natural History Museum
The Isle of Skye has a rich palaeontological heritage, so perhaps it’s no surprise scientists made an important discovery there.
Macromitrium microstomum is found throughout New Zealand on the trunks or branches of smooth-barked trees, or on rock.
Silvia Pressel
Take a moment to consider the natural beauty of mosses – and their history as some of the most intrepid explorers in Earth’s history.
Tritylodon, un théropside, reconstitué comme un animal nocturne à sang chaud. Notez la vapeur qui sort de ses poumons.
Illustré par Luzia Soares
L’endothermie a probablement été l’une des clés du succès évolutif des mammifères et des oiseaux. Il est donc crucial de dater son origine.
Tritylodon, seorang terapis, direkonstruksi sebagai hewan berdarah panas yang tinggal di malam hari. Perhatikan uap yang keluar dari paru-parunya.
Diilustrasikan oleh Luzia Soares
Berdarah panas adalah kunci dari apa yang membuat mamalia seperti sekarang ini. Itu sebabnya berolahraga ketika muncul pada nenek moyang mamalia penting.
Tritylodon, a therapsid, reconstructed as a night dwelling warm blooded animal. Note the steam coming out of its lungs.
Illustrated by Luzia Soares
Warm-bloodedness is the key to what makes mammals what they are today. That’s why working out when it emerged in mammal ancestors matters.
The iconic Iguanodon sculptures of the Crystal Palace Dinosaurs.
Witton and Michel (2022)
New research on the Crystal Palace dinosaurs is uncovering truths about these famous Victorian sculptures
Javier Ortega-Hernández
Researchers have found a new way by which the brains of ancient animals can be preserved.
This pair of curled-up Diictodon skeletons tell a story of male parental care.
Authors supplied
These new finds indicate that Diictodon was burrowing and giving some parental care to its young. This was long thought to be unique to mammals.
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.
Amaga expatria , a spectacular species, has just been reported in Guadeloupe and Martinique.
Pierre & Claude Guezennec
Several species of flatworms have invaded the West Indies, and some are spectacular. We take stock of the situation with a study published at the same time as this article.
Amaga expatria , une espèce spectaculaire, vient d'être signalée en Guadeloupe et Martinique.
Pierre & Claude Guezennec
Plusieurs espèces de vers plats ont envahi les Antilles, dont certaines très spectaculaires. Nous faisons le point avec une étude publiée en même temps que cet article.
The extinct Mukupirna - which translates to ‘big bones’ - is estimated to have been more than four times larger than any living wombat.
Tengkorak MRD.
Dale Omori, courtesy of the Cleveland Museum of Natural History
Hominin Lucy bisa jadi bukan nenek moyang langsung manusia.
Cráneo de MRD.
Dale Omori, cortesía del Museo de Historia Natural de Cleveland.
El homínido conocido como Lucy puede no ser el antepasado directo de los humanos.
MRD skull.
Dale Omori, courtesy of the Cleveland Museum of Natural History
The hominin known as Lucy may not be the direct ancestor of humans.
A modern arthropod (the centipede Cormocephalus ) crawls over its Cambrian ‘flatmate’ (the trilobite Estaingia ).
Michael Lee / South Australian Museum and Flinders University
Modern animals took over our planet much more quickly than previously thought. This has both welcome and disturbing implications for the future of life on our rapidly changing planet
An artist’s impression of Siberian unicorns (Elasmotherium ) walking in the steppe grass on a cloudy day.
Shutterstock/Elenarts
The loss of the Siberian unicorn shows just how vulnerable some animals can be to environmental change that can impact on their food supply.
A fisherman holds up the saw of a sawfish caught in Madagascar. The species is dwindling along the coasts of Madagascar and Mozambique.
Ruth H. Leeney
Africa’s remaining sawfishes are found along the coasts of Madagascar and Mozambique. But they are under threat.
Robert Nicholls, Palaeocreations
Uncovering the monsters of the prehistoric deep.
Tom Booth
Turns out the Egyptians weren’t the only ones who mummified their dead.