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September 8, 2008 12:58:44 PM CDT

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Stories related to: fossil

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  • April 2008

    • Tyrannosaurus Rex: Tastes Like Chicken?

      Washington Post  |  Apr 24, 08 8:01 PM CDT

      Tyrannosaurus Rex: Tastes Like Chicken?

      (Newser) - Dinosaurs are more closely related to birds than reptiles, protein extracted from a Tyrannosaurus rex bone suggests. T. rex collagen, the main protein in bones, is similar to chicken and ostrich collagen but much different than material from alligators and lizards, scientists say. The findings could remap the evolutionary tree according to molecular data rather than bone structure, the Washington Post reports. More »

      Tags

      birds  • fossil  • DNA evidence  • reptiles  • dinosaurs  • dinosaur  • bones

    • Fossil Feces Revise History

      National Geographic  |  Apr 3, 08 9:43 PM CDT

      Fossil Feces Revise History

      (Newser) - Fossilized feces found in an Oregon cave have scientists rethinking how and when humans first came to North America. At 14,300 years old, the ancient poop was deposited at least 1,000 years before humans were thought to roam the area, National Geographic reports. Discoveries like this "help us to reconstruct the American past," one of the scientists says. More »

      Tags

      Oregon  • discovery  • fossil  • archeology  • origins of humanity

  • March 2008

    • New Fossil Rocks Human History

      Bloomberg  |  Mar 27, 08 8:05 AM CDT

      New Fossil Rocks Human History

      (Newser) - An incredibly old jawbone discovered in a Spanish cave could rewrite human history, scientists say. The bone with teeth is 1.2 million years old and belongs to a long-extinct human ancestor called Homo antecessor. It's at least 300,000 years older than any other human fossil found in Europe. The discovery, along with stone tools and animal bones at the site, suggests that early humans colonized Europe much earlier than thought, Bloomberg reports. More »

      Tags

      Europe  • archaeology  • fossil  • anthropology  • Neanderthals  • origins of humanity  • jawbone  • Homo antecessor

    • BC Movie Critters Strong on Terror, Not Accuracy

      LiveScience  |  Mar 5, 08 8:42 PM CST

      BC Movie Critters Strong on Terror, Not Accuracy

      (Newser) - The computer-generated critters in the movie 10,000 BC —due out Friday—all actually existed at some point, but their portrayal in the film is scientifically sketchy. Saber-toothed tigers and woolly mammoths weren't as big as portrayed, and the film's huge terror birds died out 40 million years ago. One surprise accuracy, though: Ancient Egyptians might have actually been aware of woolly mammoths, LiveScience reports. More »

      Tags

      movies  • fossil  • ancient Egypt  • 10,000 BC  • special effects  • prehistoric mammals

    • Tiny Monkey Fossil Spurs Scientific Flap

      Pittsburgh Post-Gazette  |  Mar 4, 08 1:10 PM CST

      Tiny Monkey Fossil Spurs Scientific Flap

      (Newser) - A diminutive fossil recently found in Mississippi is the oldest primate discovered in North America, and its exact age is raising questions about the timing of prehistoric animal migrations, reports the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. The existence of the tiny, tarsier-like creature, which could fit in the palm of a human hand, suggests that the primates migrated to North America across the Bering land bridge. More »

      Tags

      Mississippi  • fossil  • primates

  • February 2008

    • 'Frog From Hell' Fossil Turns up in Madagascar

      Daily Telegraph (UK)  |  Feb 19, 08 3:15 AM CST

      'Frog From Hell' Fossil Turns up in Madagascar

      (Newser) - Fossil hunters digging in Madagascar have discovered a 70 million-year-old, 10 pound ancestor of the horned frog. Over twice as large as its modern-day descendants, the  "slightly squashed beach-ball" shaped creature probably lunched on small lizards and baby dinosaurs, and has earned the charming nicknames "frog from hell" and "Beelzebufo," reports the Daily Telegraph . More »

      Tags

      animal  • fossil  • scientific discoveries  • frogs  • paleontology  • Dinosaurs  • continents  • Cretaceous Period

    • Sparrow-Sized Pterodactyl Found

      Associated Press  |  Feb 12, 08 8:00 AM CST

      Sparrow-Sized Pterodactyl Found

      (Newser) - Fossil hunters in China's Liaoning province have discovered the remains of a never-before-seen pterodactyl no bigger than a sparrow. Nemicolopterus crypticus, or hidden flying forest-dweller, had curved toes, which means it spent most of its time perched in trees. Unlike giant pterodactyls, the Nemicolopterus had no teeth and ate insects, the AP reports. More »

      Tags

      China  • fossil

  • December 2007

    • 'Mummified' Dinosaur Body Unearthed

      Washington Post  |  Dec 3, 07 10:05 AM CST

      'Mummified' Dinosaur Body Unearthed

      (Newser) - A remarkably well-preserved hadrosaur discovered in North Dakota offers valuable clues about the appearance of dinosaurs, paleontologists say. Soft tissue such as skin and muscle were effectively "mummified" after the dinosaur died near a river, the Washington Post reports. "It's a dinosaur that was turned into stone, essentially," says the grad student who discovered it when he was in high school. More »

      Tags

      fossil  • dinosaurs

  • November 2007

    • Creation Geologists Rock World

      New York Times  |  Nov 25, 07 7:10 AM CST

      Creation Geologists Rock World

      (Newser) - Today's creationist geologists are not who the secular may think. Numerous and thriving, many hold advanced degrees from top universities, and are making evangelicals more open to scientific evidence. And they are experts for the nearly half of Americans who believe God created the Earth in the last 10,000 years, the New York Times reports. More »

      Tags

      flood  • evangelicals  • Christianity  • evolution  • Bible  • fossil  • geology  • creationism  • Noah's Ark  • Christian right

    • Arachnophobia! 8-Foot Fossil Scorpion Is Biggest Bug

      Associated Press  |  Nov 21, 07 8:40 AM CST

      Arachnophobia! 8-Foot Fossil Scorpion Is Biggest Bug

      (Newser) - Scientists digging in Germany have found the fossilized claw of what is thought to be the largest bug ever to roam the earth—or, in the case of this 400-million-year-old scorpion, to navigate the seas. The eight-foot-long arachnid is an "amazing discovery" that highlights the remarkable sizes of ancient arthropods, reports AP. More »

      Tags

      Germany  • fossil  • paleontology

    • Long-Necked Dinosaur Grazed Like a Cow

      National Geographic  |  Nov 16, 07 2:44 AM CST

      Long-Necked Dinosaur Grazed Like a Cow

      (Newser) - The long-necked plant-eating dinosaur Nigersaurus ate its meals off the ground rather than reaching into trees, National Geographic reports. Fossils of the 30-foot-long creature reveal that the animal probably nibbled on plants such as ferns and horsetails. “We have seen nothing like this dinosaur,” said a paleontologist at the University of Chicago. More »

      Tags

      science  • fossil  • University of Chicago  • paleontology  • dinosaurs

  • October 2007

    • Huge New Dinosaur Species Found in Argentina

      Reuters  |  Oct 15, 07 4:45 PM CDT

      Huge New Dinosaur Species Found in Argentina

      (Newser) - The recently discovered fossil of a giant dinosaur that roamed South America 80 million years ago is not only remarkably complete but also represents a new species, Brazilian and Argentine paleontologists announced today. Futalognkosaurus dukei, a four-legged, long-necked herbivore, measured about 110 feet from head to tail and was four stories tall at the shoulder. More »

      Tags

      Brazil  • Argentina  • fossil  • species  • Patagonia  • Dinosaurs

  • September 2007

    • 'Hobbits' Were, Indeed, a Different Kind of Human

      Daily Telegraph (UK)  |  Sep 21, 07 1:30 PM CDT

      'Hobbits' Were, Indeed, a Different Kind of Human

      (Newser) - A new study of three wrist bones from an 18,000-year-old fossil shows that the so-called hobbits of Indonesia were, indeed, a separate human species. When the bones were discovered in 2003, scientists trumpeted the find as evidence of a smaller species, Homo floresiensis. But skeptics argued that the hobbit, at 3 feet tall with a brain the size of a grapefruit, was in fact a human afflicted by microcephaly, a brain-shrinking disorder. More »

      Tags

      Indonesia  • archaeology  • fossil  • human evolution  • anthropology  • skeleton  • hobbits  • Homo erectus  • homo sapien

    • New Georgian Fossils May Link 'Lucy' and Homo Erectus

      New York Times  |  Sep 20, 07 6:57 PM CDT

      New Georgian Fossils May Link 'Lucy' and Homo Erectus

      (Newser) - Archaeologists have unearthed four fossilized skeletons of a human ancestor that shares characteristics with the humanesque Homo erectus and the earlier, smaller Australopithicus afarensis, of which the famous 'Lucy' skeleton is a member. The fossils in the republic of Georgia contradict the previously held idea that hominids developed all key human attributes before emigrating from Africa, the NY Times reports. More »

      Tags

      fossil  • human evolution  • Lucy

  • August 2007

    • Lucy Debuts in Houston

      Houston Chronicle  |  Aug 29, 07 5:20 AM CDT

      Lucy Debuts in Houston

      (Newser) - Lucy kicks off her public debut  at the Houston Museum of Natural Science tomorrow amid controversy that the world's favorite human ancestor should never have left her home in Ethiopia. The public wants the chance to the 3.2 million-year-old remains, but scientists say Lucy's too fragile to travel. More »

      Tags

      evolution  • fossil  • Houston  • Ethiopia  • human evolution  • Lucy

    • Racing T-Rex? You'll Need a Head Start

      BBC  |  Aug 22, 07 6:47 AM CDT

      Racing T-Rex? You'll Need a Head Start

      (Newser) - If a professional soccer player raced a T-Rex, chances are the athlete would wind up a dino snack, according to a new computer model projection. The simulation, which is the first to rely mainly on data from fossils rather than modern descendants of prehistoric beasts, showed the 6-ton carnivore steaming to a top speed of 18mph, the BBC reports. More »

      Tags

      science  • fossil  • dinosaur

    • Kenyan Fossil Rattles Human Family Tree

      National Geographic  |  Aug 9, 07 8:15 AM CDT

      Kenyan Fossil Rattles Human Family Tree

      (Newser) - Two of our ancestors apparently lived alongside each other in Africa rather than evolving from one to the next on the path to Homo sapiens , as scientists once believed. National Geographic reports that a Homo habilis skull dug up in Kenya is surprisingly young, making its 1.4 million-year-old owner a neighbor to Homo erectus rather than an evolutionary forerunner. More »

      Tags

      Africa  • Kenya  • evolution  • archaeology  • fossil  • human evolution  • anthropology  • origins of humanity  • homo sapiens  • Homo erectus

  • July 2007

    • Chinese Make Dino Soup

      Associated Press  |  Jul 4, 07 7:48 AM CDT

      Chinese Make Dino Soup

      (Newser) - Chinese villagers in Henan province dug up a ton of fossilized dinosaur bones, using them to make traditional medicines, including soup and poultices. The villagers, not entirely inaccurately, believed that they were ‘dragon bones’ from flying dragons. Once they learned of their value to paleontologists, the villagers donated the uneaten bones to the Chinese Academy of Sciences. More »

      Tags

      China  • medicine  • fossil  • paleontology  • dinosaur

  • June 2007

    • Oldest European Human Fossil Discovered

      BBC  |  Jun 30, 07 10:51 AM CDT

      Oldest European Human Fossil Discovered

      (Newser) - A million-year-old tooth belonging to a distant human ancestor has been unearthed in northern Spain, the BBC reports. Scientists touted the pre-molar as western Europe’s “oldest human fossil remain” by more than 200,000 years. The tooth was found Wednesday at the Atapuerca site, where caves have already yielded evidence of prehistoric human occupation. More »

      Tags

      Spain  • fossil  • tooth  • Homo antecessor

    • Giant Penguin Fossils Found in Peruvian Desert

      National Geographic  |  Jun 26, 07 4:54 AM CDT

      Giant Penguin Fossils Found in Peruvian Desert

      (Newser) - Penguins haven't always lived on ice, scientists have concluded after unearthing fossils of giant penguins in Peru's Atacama desert. The penguins, nearly human-sized at 4.5 feet tall, had extraordinarily long beaks apparently used for spearfishing, and waddled the earth some 36 million years ago, the National Geographic News reports . More »

      Tags

      global warming  • science  • animal  • Peru  • birds  • fossil  • species  • paleontology  • penguin  • dinosaur

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