Coahuila, Mexico – Paleontologists unveiled Xenovenator espinosai, a troodontid theropod from the Late Cretaceous Cerro del Pueblo Formation, revealing a skull unlike any in its bird-like relatives. This predator, which roamed about 73 million years ago, boasted a thickened dome that hints at aggressive behaviors long thought absent in advanced theropods. The discovery expands knowledge ...
Half a century ago, a quiet shift in scientific thinking ignited fresh excitement about dinosaurs. Researchers began applying rigorous methods from living animals to fossil evidence, revealing theropods as dynamic predators rather than sluggish relics. These meat-eaters, ancestors to modern birds, emerged from the shadows through discoveries of feathers, vibrant hues, and brutal feeding habits. ...
Gashaka Gumti National Park, Nigeria – Deep within Nigeria’s largest protected wilderness, spanning 600,000 hectares, the Nigeria-Cameroon chimpanzee clings to survival as the world’s rarest subspecies. This critically endangered primate, with only 3,500 to 9,000 individuals left across fragmented habitats, found one of its key strongholds here until insecurity forced researchers away nearly a decade ...
Oudomxay province, Laos – Conservationists thwarted an illegal bear cub sale advertised on Facebook, rescuing two malnourished Asiatic black bear sisters just two months old. Free the Bears, an international nonprofit, spotted the post during routine online monitoring and quickly partnered with local authorities for a sting operation. The cubs, each weighing under three kilograms, ...
Central Mongolia’s rugged landscapes hold secrets of prehistoric giants, where fossilized footprints have resurfaced after decades of obscurity. Researchers confirmed tracks dating to the Lower Cretaceous Period, about 120 million years old, marking the earliest evidence of large carnivorous theropods in the region. These discoveries at Saijrakh Mountain fill a longstanding gap in the local ...
Sixty-six million years ago, a massive asteroid struck Earth near what is now Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula, unleashing firestorms, tsunamis, and a “nuclear winter” that doomed non-avian dinosaurs and three-quarters of all species. Scientists long assumed ecosystems languished for tens of thousands of years before new life forms appeared. Recent research upends that view, revealing microscopic ...
Papua New Guinea — A deep-sea ecologist joined an expedition in the summer of 2008 aboard the MV NorSky to investigate hydrothermal vents in the Manus Basin. What began as hope for responsible resource extraction transformed into recognition of irreplaceable natural wonders. These remote ecosystems, teeming with unique life, now stand at the center of ...
Northeastern Kenya – Towering reticulated giraffes, icons of the arid savanna, now venture into farmlands along the Tana River, stripping mango flowers and competing fiercely for water. These encounters have escalated tensions in Garissa County, where expanding agriculture squeezes wildlife habitats. Researchers documented the emerging human-giraffe conflicts through surveys, revealing underlying pressures like drought and ...
Dinosaur Provincial Park, Alberta – Paleontologists uncovered a trove of fossil footprints in July 2024 that offer the earliest proof of dinosaurs from multiple species traveling together. These 76-million-year-old tracks, preserved in the park’s badlands, capture ceratopsians and an ankylosaur moving in close proximity, with signs of predators nearby. The site, known as the Skyline ...
About 66 million years ago, the Cretaceous Period drew to a dramatic close as non-avian dinosaurs disappeared alongside roughly 75 percent of Earth’s species. This Cretaceous-Paleogene event reshaped life on the planet, paving the way for mammals to rise. While a massive asteroid impact stands as the frontrunner explanation, fossil records from North America hint ...
