Curtin University-led research has unveiled a groundbreaking discovery in paleontology: fossilized bones unearthed in western Queensland, Australia, have been identified as belonging to a newly recognized species of pterosaur, a formidable flying reptile that coexisted with dinosaurs. The detailed study, titled “Haliskia peterseni, a new anhanguerian pterosaur from the late Early Cretaceous of Australia,” has … Read more
A distinctive plant that steals nutrients from underground fungi has been identified as a new species by botanists from the Forest Research Institute Malaysia (FRIM), working alongside local naturalists and stakeholders. The findings were recently published in the journal PhytoKeys. Discovery and classification Discovered in the tropical rainforests of Peninsular Malaysia, the plant, named Thismia … Read more
One of Earth’s most consequential bursts of biodiversity—a 30-million-year period of explosive evolutionary changes spawning innumerable new species—may have the most modest of creatures to thank for the vital stage in life’s history: worms. The digging and burrowing of prehistoric worms and other invertebrates along ocean bottoms sparked a chain of events that released oxygen … Read more
Published today in the Alcheringa: An Australasian Journal of Palaeontology, a groundbreaking study has unveiled evidence of an “Age of Monotremes” in Australia, unearthed by a collaborative team from the Australian Museum (AM), Museums Victoria, and the Australian Opal Centre. This discovery, spearheaded by Professor Tim Flannery, Honorary Associate of the Australian Museum, and Professor … Read more
A team of paleontologists from the Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales Bernardino Rivadavia, Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas, and The Chinese University of Hong Kong has identified a new species of abelisauroid dinosaur. The species has been named Koleken inakayali. This groundbreaking discovery is published in the journal Cladistics. The fossilized remains of … Read more
Insects and microorganisms that feed on plants, cut up leaves, modify leaf tissue or produce leaf spots and other kinds of damage, are usually known as pests and considered harmful, yet interactions between plants and their natural enemies are important sources of biodiversity. In tropical forests, for example, these “pests” are part of large ecological … Read more
Evolutionary genetics is a field of study that explores genetic changes within populations and species over generations, elucidating the mechanisms and processes driving evolutionary processes. It integrates principles from genetics, molecular biology, population genetics, and evolutionary biology to understand how genetic variation, mutation, natural selection, genetic drift, gene flow, and other factors shape the genetic … Read more
Zoology is the branch of biology that focuses on the study of animals, their behavior, physiology, classification, evolution, and distribution. It encompasses a vast array of organisms, from microscopic protozoa to large mammals, and explores the diversity of life on Earth. Zoologists investigate the structure, function, ecology, and behavior of animals in order to understand … Read more
Dr. Seita Watanabe, an assistant professor at Osaka Metropolitan University’s Botanical Gardens and Graduate School of Science, has spearheaded a research team that recently uncovered a previously unknown species of Japanese lily called sukashiyuri. This groundbreaking discovery represents the first identification of a new sukashiyuri species since 1914, marking a significant milestone in botanical research. … Read more
A new paper published today (April 24) in the journal Nature by an international team of 279 scientists led by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew presents the most up-to-date understanding of the flowering plant tree of life. Using 1.8 billion letters of genetic code from more than 9,500 species covering almost 8,000 known flowering plant … Read more
Competition between species played a major role in the rise and fall of hominins—and produced a “bizarre” evolutionary pattern for the Homo lineage—according to a new University of Cambridge study that revises the start and end dates for many of our early ancestors. Conventionally, climate is held responsible for the emergence and extinction of hominin … Read more
An international group of scientists, co-led by researcher Ariadna Mechó of the Barcelona Supercomputing Center—Centro Nacional de Supercomputación (BSC-CNS), observed 160 species on seamounts off the coast of Chile that had not yet been known to live in the region and suspect that at least 50 of these species are new to science. The recent … Read more
Scientists with the Missouri Botanical Garden and collaborators have stumbled upon a remarkable new orchid species in Central Madagascar. This orchid, boasting a record-setting nectar spur, is a close relative of the famed “Darwin’s orchid” and necessitates immediate conservation efforts. “Unearthing a new orchid species is always thrilling, but encountering something as extraordinary and captivating … Read more
A newly identified species of pterosaur is among the largest ever flying animals, according to a new study from Queen Mary University of London. Cryodrakon boreas, from the Azhdarchid group of pterosaurs (often incorrectly called ‘pterodactyls’), was a flying reptile with a wingspan of up to 10 metres which lived during the Cretaceous period around … Read more
The first ever specimen of a pterodactyl, more commonly found in China and Brazil, has been found in the United Kingdom. A fossil hunter recently discovered a peculiar shaped fragment of fossil bone while out walking his dog in Sandown Bay on the Isle of Wight. Not sure what it was, he passed it to … Read more
A team of paleontologists from the University of Washington and its Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture excavated four dinosaurs in northeastern Montana this summer. All fossils will be brought back to the Burke Museum where the public can watch paleontologists remove the surrounding rock in the fossil preparation laboratory. The four dinosaur fossils … Read more
A new study led by palaeontologists at the University of Southampton suggests that bones found on the Isle of Wight belong to two new species of spinosaurid, a group of predatory theropod dinosaurs closely related to the giant Spinosaurus. Their unusual, crocodile-like skulls helped the group expand their diets, allowing them hunt prey on both … Read more
A dinosaur specimen from Castellón, Spain represents a new proposed species of spinosaurid, reports a paper published in Scientific Reports. The identification of a potential new species suggests that the Iberian peninsula may have been a diverse area for medium-to-large bodied spinosaurid dinosaurs and sheds light on the origin and evolution of spinosaurids. Spinosaurids comprise … Read more
The first dinosaur to be described in La Rioja, Spain, is a spinosaurid about 7–8 meters long with an estimated body mass of 1.5 metric tons. It is bipedal and had mainly piscivorous habits, although, as a good predator, it would also have been capable of chasing and feeding on terrestrial prey. Named Riojavenatrix, the … Read more
An international research team led by Dr. Gabriel S. Ferreira from the Senckenberg Center for Human Evolution and Paleoenvironment at the University of Tübingen has described a new species of giant turtle from the late Pleistocene. Peltocephalus maturin is between 40,000 and 9,000 years old and comes from the Brazilian Amazon. With a shell length … Read more