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Articles on Bones

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A replica fossil of the titanosaur Patagotitan, one of the largest dinosaurs ever discovered. It would have weighed about 70 tons (63.5 metric tons.) Spencer Platt/Getty Images News via Getty Images

Titanosaurs were the biggest land animals Earth’s ever seen − these plant-powered dinos combined reptile and mammal traits

Some of these giant vegetarians were as tall as a 3-story building. Microscopic analysis of their teeth, bones and eggshells reveals how they grew, what they ate and even their body temperature.
Skeletal reconstruction of the Langebaanweg sabertooth, with highlighted elements to indicate the bones examined in this study. Adapted from Mauricio Antón (2013)

Sabretooth cats hunted on South Africa’s coast 5 million years ago: this old one was in pain

A closer look at these fossil bones revealed more than the suggestion of a previously undescribed species - it pointed to the individual animal having suffered with osteoarthritis.
Specialized anatomy means flightless penguins are master swimmers. Christopher Michel

How many bones do penguins have?

How did penguins end up with so few bones – and become lightning-fast swimmers?
Today, teens are often seen as troublesome and difficult. Ancient Roman writers also described adolescence as a period of “hooliganism and debauchery.” (Shutterstock)

Bones and teeth help reveal whether teenagers have always been a source of worry for their parents

Teens across millennia have yearned to explore, try new things and participate in risky behaviours. The key difference, however, seems to be the experience of a rebellion or restlessness.
Tyrannosaurus rex spanned all of ancient North America, and about 20,000 lived at once. Roger Harris/Science Photo Library vie Getty Images

How many Tyrannosaurus rex walked the Earth?

Using the incredible wealth of fossil data and a modern ecological theory, researchers estimated population density for the extinct apex predator.

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