Topic description and stories

Heliocolocellus fossil

‘Missing’ sea sponges discovered

05 Jun 2024

The discovery, published in Nature, opens a new window on early animal evolution.

Read more
Illustration of Calamophyton trees

Earth’s earliest forest revealed in Somerset fossils

07 Mar 2024

The oldest fossilised forest known on Earth – dating from 390 million years ago – has been found in the high sandstone cliffs along the Devon and...

Read more

The largest penguin that ever lived

09 Feb 2023

Fossil bones from two newly-described penguin species, one of them thought to be the largest penguin to ever live – weighing more than 150 kilograms...

Read more

Janavis finalidens, the last known toothed bird.

Bird beak evolved before dinosaur extinction

30 Nov 2022

Fossilised fragments of a skeleton, hidden within a rock the size of a grapefruit, have helped upend one of the longest-standing assumptions about...

Read more

Shaking the dinosaur family tree: how did ‘bird-hipped’ dinosaurs evolve?

21 Sep 2022

Researchers have conducted a new analysis of the origins of ‘bird-hipped’ dinosaurs – the group which includes iconic species such as Triceratops –...

Read more

What did Megalodon eat? Anything it wanted — including other predators

23 Jun 2022

New research involving the University of Cambridge shows that prehistoric megatooth sharks — the biggest sharks that ever lived — were the ultimate...

Read more

Millipedes ‘as big as cars’ once roamed England

21 Dec 2021

The largest-ever fossil of a giant millipede – as big as a car – has been found on a beach in the north of England.

Read more

New starfish-like fossil reveals evolution in action

20 Jan 2021

Researchers from the University of Cambridge have discovered a fossil of the earliest starfish-like animal, which helps us understand the origins of...

Read more

Scelidosaurus: ready for its closeup at last

26 Aug 2020

The first complete dinosaur skeleton ever identified has finally been studied in detail and found its place in the dinosaur family tree, completing a...

Read more

‘Wonderchicken’ fossil from the age of dinosaurs reveals origin of modern birds

18 Mar 2020

The oldest fossil of a modern bird yet found, dating from the age of dinosaurs, has been identified by an international team of palaeontologists.

Read more

Half billion-year-old 'social network' observed in early animals

05 Mar 2020

Some of the first animals on Earth were connected by networks of thread-like filaments, the earliest evidence yet found of life being connected in...

Read more
Two large iguanodontian footprints with skin and claw impressions

‘Treasure trove’ of dinosaur footprints found in southern England

17 Dec 2018

More than 85 well-preserved dinosaur footprints – made by at least seven different species – have been uncovered in East Sussex, representing the...

Read more

Pages