Paleontology news headlines

A collection of fossilised bones more than 100 million years old found in Queensland belong to a previously unknown species of ancient flying reptile, new research has revealed.

Picture the biggest, most jacked kangaroo you've ever seen. Now double it.

Australian researchers have helped solve a long-standing scientific mystery surrounding the world's largest-ever primate more than 200,000 years after it became extinct.

It has taken more than 30 years to confirm what the two lead investigators thought they had stumbled upon.

A 'near-complete' dinosaur skull has been found in Queensland in what experts say offers a new insight into lives of the creatures in Australia almost 100 million years ago.

Around the world in 2022, humans continued to unearth more of our planet's past, from the wonderful to the macabre. Here are the 12 biggest ancient finds from the past 12 months.

A 100-million year old fossil has been excavated in Queensland in a first-of-its-kind discovery for Australia.

The fossil discoveries all come from new sites in the Guizhou and Chongqing Provinces in China.

A new model has revealed how a giant shark that lived millions of years ago made use of its gaping jaws.

A key mystery surrounding the Earth's deadliest extinction event has been resolved.

A giant flying reptile that lived alongside the dinosaurs has been uncovered from a rocky outcrop in Argentina.

The early Cretaceous was a fierce time; bone scarring shows one was snapped at by a crocodile.

That was not the only find in the incredibly grueling, ground-breaking expedition.

How could roaches a couple of inches long survive when so many powerful animals went extinct?

To solve a heated debate, a group of researchers has studied 380 bones belonging to 250 animals — some living and others extinct — including marine reptiles and flying reptiles.

From the largest snake that ever lived, to a shark so big it makes great whites look like goldfish; these are the fearsome beasts that would've given dinosaurs a run for their money.

The fossil consists of a partial jawbone with several long, serrated teeth designed for slicing flesh.

A spectacular three-dimensional fossil of one previously unknown pterosaur has been discovered on the shore of the Isle of Skye, off the west coast of Scotland.

Dubbed Abditosaurus kuehnei, the reptile is believed to be the largest titanosaur species ever found.

A rare 180 million-year-old sea dragon fossil has been discovered by scientists in the UK.

Fossilised shark vertebrae found within the US have provided rare evidence of ancient shark-on-shark battles.

The footprints were discovered by amateur palaeontologist and appear over a 50 metre long stretch of shoreline.

The asteroid that wiped out the dinosaurs sparked a wave of environmental catastrophes that could have seen parts of the Earth endure two years of darkness.

The first evidence of social beer drinking within ancient Middle Eastern communities has been uncovered by researchers.

A fossil of a giant millipede found in northern England has revealed the "biggest bug that ever lived," paleontologists say.

An unprecedented fossil of a baby dinosaur curled up perfectly inside its egg is shedding more light on the links between dinosaurs and birds.

The remains of at least five mammoths have been found in an Ice Age "graveyard" in England's south-west.

Australia was once home to many gigantic animals - megafauna - whose existence probably coincided with the arrival of humans.

Australian-led research has provided new evidence about how the first fish to migrate to the land might have made the leap.

The largest known flying animal that ever lived boasted an impressive wingspan.

An expert said it resembled the tail of a rattlesnake or spiny-tailed lizard, but with one key difference.

Around 130 million-year-ago a marine reptile with 'an arsenal of teeth' used to stalk the ancient oceans.

Deep beneath the ocean a team of scientists have made a surprising find.

Before dinosaurs, another predator with "sabre-like" teeth roamed the Earth biting each other and warring.

Mammoths and other giant creatures of the Ice Age such as woolly rhinos survived longer than scientists thought, coexisting with humans for tens of thousands years before they vanished for good.

Scientists have found the oldest aquatic animal preserved in amber -- and it's remarkably well preserved.

The newly discovered species is one of the oldest eagle-like raptors in the world.

Geneticists aim to bring the woolly mammoth, which disappeared 4000 years ago, back to life.

Researchers in Canada have uncovered the fossil of an unusual creature that was likely a giant compared to tiny ocean life 500 million years ago.

In what used to be an ancient sea bed, palaeontologists have discovered the fossilised remains of a four-legged whale.

Tiny microfossils are giving NSW scientists an understanding of how Australia has been shaped over hundreds of millions of years.

The fossil fragments were dated to the early Cretaceous period, about 120 to 130 million years ago.

Found frozen deep in the Siberian Arctic, the cave lion cub looks like she's asleep and one touch might awaken her.

Bones found in an Israeli quarry are from a branch of the human evolutionary tree and are 120,000 to 140,000 years old, scientists have said.

'Cooper", the plant-eating sauropod, is among the biggest dinosaurs found anywhere in the world.

In the baked red clay of outback Queensland, a team of palaeontologists have unearthed dinosaur bones that may belong to a new species.

Tyrannosaurus rex was a fearsome predator, but it sure wasn't a particularly fast mover. In fact, most humans could easily keep up with the dinosaur without breaking a sweat.

Many dinosaurs had distinctive bony frills around their necks - the best-known being the distinctive Triceratops.

A team of paleontologists in Germany have unearthed a well-preserved shark fossil believed to be more than 150 million-years-old.

A perfectly preserved wolf puppy, hidden away in permafrost for 57,000 years and described by researchers as "the oldest, most complete wolf," has been discovered in Yukon, Canada.