Fossil evidence of how the earliest life on Earth came to be is hard to come by. But scientists have come up with a few theories based on the microbes, viruses and prions existing today.
The building blocks of the Giza pyramids contain trillions of fossilised remains of an ocean-dwelling organism called foraminifera.
Sui Xiankai/Xinhua via Getty Images
The Wapiti Formation in Alberta is turning out to be a rich site for dinosaur and other fossils. A recent discovery could fill in the gaps about a transition between different ecological communities.
Ancient rocks from Western Australia may not contain the world’s oldest fossils – but they do preserve organic compounds that may have formed the raw materials for the first living cells.
Researchers have found evidence that primates colonised northern Canada 52 million years ago.
Kaca Skokanova/Shutterstock
The findings have repercussions today: it is clear that slow-growing animals will be the most vulnerable to extinction amid shifting climates.
Skeletal reconstruction of the Langebaanweg sabertooth, with highlighted elements to indicate the bones examined in this study.
Adapted from Mauricio Antón (2013)
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.
Feet of an Andean condor.
Vladimir Wrangel/Shutterstock
The feet of a bird tell us a lot about its life. Newly described, the fossil feet of the ancestors of modern birds reveal how superbly adapted they were to their world.
A fossilised insect wing with some of its colouration preserved is just one tiny treasure emerging from the site.
Rose Prevec
Despite causing hurt and offence, the legality of removing a whale fossil from the West Coast remains unclear. So what rules and laws govern amateur fossil hunting, and should they be strengthened?
Today, leopard tortoises are the largest species found on the Cape south coast.
Ava Peattie/Shutterstock
The African continent is a rich repository for dinosaur fossils, including teeth and track marks.
Artwork in the Djourab desert, Chad, gives a taste of how our oldest ancestors got around.
Sabine Riffaut, Guillaume Daver, Franck Guy / Palevoprim / CNRS – Université de Poitiers / MPFT