Articles for category: Fossils & Fieldwork

Postosuchus, Coelophysis, and Placerias

How the Public Reacted When Dinosaurs Were First Revealed

Imagine opening your morning newspaper in 1841 and reading about colossal beasts that once ruled the Earth, creatures so massive they could crush a horse under their feet. For Victorian society, accustomed to a world where the largest land animals were elephants and rhinos, the very notion of dinosaurs shattered everything they thought they knew ...

A toy dinosaur with its mouth open in front of a painting

What’s a Gastrolith? The Stomach Stones Dinosaurs Swallowed

Deep within the fossilized remains of mighty dinosaurs, paleontologists have discovered something truly remarkable—smooth, polished stones that once served as nature’s own food processors. These aren’t just random rocks that happened to end up in the wrong place. They’re gastroliths, and they tell an incredible story about how some of the most massive creatures ever ...

a stone carving of a bird on a wooden table

Karoo Fossils and Prehistoric Life at South Africa’s Iziko Museum

Deep beneath South Africa’s arid Karoo landscape lies one of Earth’s most extraordinary fossil treasures, and nowhere is this ancient story told more compellingly than within the halls of Cape Town’s Iziko South African Museum. Walking through these corridors feels like stepping back through 300 million years of evolutionary history, where the boundaries between imagination ...

9 Times Fossils Revealed Unexpected Prehistoric Super-Sizing

9 Times Fossils Revealed Unexpected Prehistoric Super-Sizing

Imagine stumbling upon a fossil that completely flips your understanding of ancient life on its head. That’s exactly what happened when paleontologists discovered creatures that were so massive, so unexpectedly gigantic, that they forced scientists to rewrite entire chapters of prehistoric history. These weren’t just slightly bigger versions of modern animals – we’re talking about ...

Ocean Suffocation: 94 million years ago, oxygen depletion created vast marine 'dead zones,' devastating sea life.

Underwater Fossils: Can Dinosaur Bones Be Found in the Ocean?

The mysterious depths of our oceans hold countless secrets, from undiscovered species to ancient geological formations. Among the most intriguing possibilities is the presence of dinosaur fossils beneath the waves. While we typically associate dinosaur remains with dusty excavation sites in remote deserts or mountainsides, the reality of paleontological discovery extends to underwater environments as ...

7 Fossil Finds That Redefined the Limits of Animal Size

7 Fossil Finds That Redefined the Limits of Animal Size

Imagine standing next to a creature so massive that its heart alone would dwarf a small car. Picture a predator with teeth longer than your forearm, or a gentle giant whose wingspan could cover a tennis court. These aren’t figments of imagination – they’re the real titans that once dominated our planet, and their fossil ...