Paleontology

Blogs about paleontology

Holotype of Tylosaurus rex, at the Perot Museum of Nature and Science, Texas (Photo Gary Todd)

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An article published in the “Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History” reports the identification of a new species of mosasaur, named Tylosaurus rex because its characteristics indicate it was a massive and fierce predator. A team of researchers reexamined Tylosaurus fossils previously attributed to other species of this taxonomic genus of mosasaurs, concluding that some specimens had anatomical characteristics different enough to warrant assignment to a new species.

The skull, ulna, and femur of a chimpanzee (A), Sahelanthropus tchadensis (B), and Homo sapiens (C)

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An article published in the journal “Science Advances” reports the results of a study concluding that Sahelanthropus tchadensis was capable of walking on two legs approximately 7 million years ago. A team of researchers examined available fossils of this early hominin, using analyses that included 3D modeling, concluding that its species had many ape-like characteristics with some adaptations for bipedalism.

Homo floresiensis skeleton

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An article published in the journal “Communications Earth & Environment” reports a study that offers a possible explanation for the extinction of the species Homo floresiensis, the hominins whose fossil remains were discovered on the Indonesian island of Flores. A team of researchers has found what they believe is evidence that climate change began approximately 61,000 years ago, leading to millennia of drought. The Homo floresiensis population and the pygmy elephant that inhabited Flores at the time were affected by that drought, which may have led to their extinction.

The Star 1 bone fragment

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An article published in the journal “Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS)” reports the results of the analysis of a bone fragment from which enough DNA was obtained to attribute it to a Neanderthal. A team of researchers led by Emily Pigott of the University of Vienna, Austria, examined this bone fragment discovered at the Starosele archaeological site in Crimea. It’s the one of 150 bone fragments that yielded the best results. Dated between 45,340 and 45,910 years ago, this fragment, cataloged as Star 1, revealed that a Neanderthal who lived in Crimea was related to five other hominins who lived at three sites in the Altai Mountains of Siberia, approximately 3,000 kilometers away.

Views of the reproduction of the original shape of the Yunxian 2 skull

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An article published in the journal “Science” reports the results of a study of the fossil skull cataloged as Yunxian 2, which attributes it to the species Homo longi. A team of researchers examined a reproduction of this skull made after performing a CT scan, an operation that was needed to try to restore it to its original shape because the fossil is crushed.

The result was compared with 100 other hominin specimens, revealing a combination of traits, some close to those of Homo erectus and others much more similar to those of Homo sapiens and the species called Homo longi. In the end, the researchers concluded that this skull belongs to an early Homo longi.