Ancient DNA Rewrites Story of Enigmatic ‘American Cheetah’
For several decades, paleontologists have described Miracinonyx trumani — an extinct species of cheetah-like felid that roamed the…
Paleontologists Identify New Species of Glyptodont
An incomplete fossilized skull that has sat in the collections of the Natural History Museum of Denmark since…
Denisovans Were Surprisingly Tall, New Fossils from Taiwan Suggest
Two fossilized leg bones of Denisovans — an extinct archaic Homo group whose lineage diverged from the Neanderthal…
Scientists Find Traces of Two Unknown Archaic Hominins in Human DNA
New research led by the University of California, Berkeley reveals that beyond Neanderthals and Denisovans, humans interbred with…
224,000-Year-Old Homo Skull Fragment Adds New Mystery to Human Origins
A fossilized skull fragment of Homo sp. unearthed in central Spain offers paleoanthropologists a fresh window into the…
Japanese Fossil Bee Fills Two-Million-Year Gap in Honeybee History
Paleontologists have announced the discovery of a new fossil honeybee species that fills a long-standing gap in the…
Fossils from Chinese Cave Fill Crucial Gap in History of Gigantopithecus blacki
Deep inside a limestone cave in southern China, paleontologists have uncovered an assemblage of thirteen fossilized teeth belonging…
Study: Cave Lions were Distinct Species that Occasionally Bred with Ancestors of Today’s Lions
The extinct Eurasian cave lion (Panthera spelaea) and today’s African and Asian lions (Panthera leo) belong to separate…
146,000-year-old Ice Age humans used advanced stone tools for butchery and survival
A new study from central China is changing how scientists think about creativity and survival among ancient humans.…
New Species of Fossil Koala Found in Museum Drawer
Long-overlooked fossils in the Western Australian Museum collection have been identified as a new species of koala. Named…
Scientists Reconstruct One of Oldest Known Neanderthal Communities
Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) from eight fossils found in Stajnia Cave in Poland reveals a tight-knit group of Neanderthals…
Lion-sized Armadillo and Giant Tortoise Found in Texas Cave Surprise Paleontologists
Paleontologist John Moretti searching for fossils in the stream that flows through Bender’s Cave. Credit: John Moretti. Deep…