If you grew up picturing dinosaurs as a fixed cast of characters – T. rex, Triceratops, Stegosaurus and a few others – you might be shocked by how fast that mental museum is going out of date. In the last couple of decades, you’ve been living through what many paleontologists casually call a golden age ...
Bogotá, Colombia – Officials have greenlit a controversial plan to cull up to 80 feral hippos, descendants of animals once housed in drug lord Pablo Escobar’s private zoo. The decision addresses a growing ecological crisis in the country’s central rivers and wetlands, where the non-native mammals have multiplied unchecked for decades. Environment Minister Irene Vélez ...
Northern Egypt – An international team of paleontologists announced the discovery of a new ape species that promises to alter long-held views on primate evolution. Recovered from 17- to 18-million-year-old rocks in the Wadi Moghra region, the fossils represent the first definitive early ape known from North Africa. This find positions the creature near the ...
Teruel, Spain – Paleontologists have identified a jaw fragment from decades-old excavations that fundamentally alters the known history of weasels and their kin. The specimen, named Galanthis baskini, dates to the late Miocene epoch approximately 6.5 million years ago. This discovery effectively doubles the previous timeline for the Mustelinae subfamily, which previously relied on fossils ...
In the southwestern corner of the Central African Republic, a vast clearing known as Dzanga Bai emerges from the dense Congo Basin rainforest. Forest elephants, elusive giants that typically navigate thick canopies in small, nocturnal groups, converge here by the hundreds. Researchers have turned this natural phenomenon into a vital observatory, blending traditional field watching ...
The Wildlife Society recently endorsed a revised position statement addressing tensions between animal rights principles and established wildlife management strategies across North America. Approved by the TWS Council in March 2026, the document explores alignments and conflicts with the animal welfare philosophy that underpins conservation efforts. This update reflects ongoing debates in the field as ...
Barcelona – A well-preserved fossil skull housed in the Museu de Ciències Naturals de Barcelona has enabled scientists to name a new genus and species of legless lizard from Spain’s Late Miocene. Discovered at the Sant Miquel de Toudell site in nearby Viladecavalls, the specimen dates back more than 10 million years to the Vallesian ...
Southern Poland – Paleontologists recently identified the first confirmed fossils of softshell turtles from the Middle Miocene, around 12 million years ago. These remains, unearthed near Kielce, point to environments warm enough for tropical species even as global temperatures cooled. The discovery challenges assumptions about ancient distributions and highlights the role of ancient seas in ...
You probably grew up thinking of dinosaurs as roaring, fighting giants, all teeth and claws and chaos. But if you zoom in on the quieter moments of their lives, another picture starts to appear: one filled with displays, dances, colors, and careful choices about who to mate with. Instead of just brute force, many dinosaurs ...
You tend to picture the age of dinosaurs as one endless tropical summer, with steaming jungles and giant reptiles lumbering through the heat. But the real story is far more dramatic and, frankly, a lot more interesting. Ancient Earth swung between greenhouse warmth and cooler, unstable phases, and those shifts did not just tweak dinosaur ...
