Animals, features and articles | Educational Science

May 24, 2023

Fearsome saber-toothed giant dominated at dawn of 'Great Dying', but its reign was short-lived

At the dawn of the most devastating mass extinction in Earth's history 252 million years ago, species fought tooth and nail to survive in the changing environment. Ancient predators in particular, struggled ruthlessly to stay at the top of the food chain. Now, scientists have discovered that a tiger-size, saber-toothed...

Jun 1, 2023

Nearly 6 million-year-old 'elephant graveyard' unearthed in Florida

An ancient elephant graveyard chock-full of massive bones has been unearthed along what was once a prehistoric river in northern Florida. The fossils of these long-extinct beasts belong to gomphotheres — a relative of modern elephants — and date to about 5.5 million years ago, during the Miocene epoch. It...

Jun 1, 2023

Quarter-ton marsupial that ambled across Australia 3.5 million years ago was 'unlike anything alive today'

Scientists have uncovered the remains of an ancient, quarter-ton marsupial that once walked vast distances across Australia. The new fossils help shed light on mysteries surrounding other, even more gigantic extinct marsupials. The newly described species, Ambulator keanei, had a body plan similar to a bear or rhinoceros. It likely...

Jun 15, 2023

Could the megalodon still exist today?

From 20 million to 3.6 million years ago, Earth's oceans were dominated by an enormous species of shark called the megalodon. The scientific name, Otodus megalodon, means giant tooth — and it's easy to see why. With teeth up to three times the size of those of a great white...

Jun 19, 2023

Enormous 240 million-year-old sea monster had its head torn off in one clean bite

A giant predator that lived 240 million years ago was decapitated with a single, brutal bite from a deadlier creature, scientists have said. The beheaded animal, which had its neck ripped in half during the attack, belonged to the species Tanystropheus hydroides — a marine reptile that could grow to...

Jun 20, 2023

Deadly cyclone unearths fossils of giant marine creatures that lived 80 million years ago

A cyclone that battered New Zealand has uncovered the fossils of what appear to be enormous marine reptiles that lived 80 million years ago. The prehistoric remains were discovered at the Maungataniwha Native Forest after February's Cyclone Gabrielle hit the country's North Island, supercharging mountainous waterways that dislodged nearby rocks...

Jun 26, 2023

Megalodon was a warm-blooded killer, but that may have doomed it to extinction

Megalodon, a mega-size species of extinct shark that prowled the world's oceans between 23 million and 3.6 million years ago, was likely warm-blooded and had a body temperature that was significantly higher than that of modern-day sharks, new research suggests. A team of international scientists made the discovery while studying...

Jun 27, 2023

25 million-year-old 'slasher' dolphin with weird teeth discovered in museum collection

A bizarre predatory dolphin that lived 25 million years ago and had long, sharp teeth jutting straight out from its snout has been discovered in a museum collection in New Zealand. The toothy animal lived during the late Oligocene epoch (34 million to 23 million years ago). Scientists described the...

Jun 28, 2023

94 million-year-old fossilized sea monster is the oldest of its kind in North America

In the rocky gray shale of southern Utah, scientists have unearthed the remains of a mosasaur that roamed a once-thriving sea 94 million years ago. The toothy reptilian is a never-before-seen species and the oldest mosasaur fossil ever found in North America, according to a new study published Monday (June...

Jun 30, 2023

Siberian cave filled with mammoth, rhino and bear bones is ancient hyena lair

Siberian locals have discovered an incredible prehistoric time capsule in what paleontologists believe is the largest ancient hyena lair ever found in Asia. The cave contained a whole menagerie of animal bones that had been undisturbed for about 42,000 years. Paleontologists found the bones of both predator and prey animals...

Jul 11, 2023

500 million-year-old 'abnormal shrimp' used facial spikes to 'pincushion' soft prey

Around 500 million years ago, an apex predator no larger than a house cat terrorized the seas in search of prey to puncture with its spiky facial appendages. For years, paleontologists thought that the arthropod Anomalocaris canadensis, whose name roughly means the abnormal shrimp from Canada, used its spears to...

Jul 12, 2023

Dire wolves and saber-toothed cats may have gotten arthritis as they inbred themselves to extinction

Fearsome saber-toothed cats and dire wolves appear to have suffered from a bone and joint disease toward the end of their existence — a discovery that may indicate these creatures were inbreeding as they went extinct. Scientists studied the animals' bones from the end of the last ice age during...

Jul 18, 2023

Half-billion-year-old fossil of strange Cambrian creature gives evolutionary clues about vertebrates

A stunningly-preserved, half-billion year old fossil of a strange Cambrian creature could shift our understanding of how a sister group to vertebrates evolved, a new study suggests. The fossil, described July 6 in the journal Nature Communications, is the oldest of its kind and belongs to an ancient species of...

Jul 20, 2023

5 million-year-old fossils reveal 2 new species of saber-toothed cats in South Africa

Scientists have unearthed the remains of two never-before-seen species of saber-toothed cats that roamed Africa around 5.2 million years ago. The discoveries have changed what researchers previously knew about this group of extinct feline creatures, a new study shows. The new findings could also shed light on the environmental changes...

Aug 11, 2023

240 million-year-old fossil of salamander-like creature with 'gnarly teeth' unearthed in rocks for garden wall

Scientists have identified a 240 million-year-old giant-salamander-like creature that was first unearthed decades ago in rocks intended for a garden wall in Australia. The species, Arenaerpeton supinatus — meaning supine sand creeper — was an estimated 4 feet (1.2 meters) long and inhabited rivers in what is now the Sydney...