Paleontology

The first and most complete dinosaur skeleton from Scotland has been found in the Isle of Skye, dating back to around 166 million years ago during the Middle Jurassic. Data suggests that it might be an ornithopod, and if it does turn out to be one, then it could represent the world's oldest body fossil of the clade.

Paper: https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/earth-and-environmental-science-transactions-of-royal-society-of-edinburgh/article/first-and-most-complete-dinosaur-skeleton-from-the-middle-jurassic-of-scotland/A738B17F5A78106E6B8C75D211153333?utm_campaign=shareaholic&utm_medium=twitter&utm_source=socialnetwork

News: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cvg1367jnk7o

Art by Maija Karala.

Gastornithid trackways have been found in the Chuckanut Formation of Washington state, consisting of three adult tracks and two chick tracks. They further support the interpretation that Gastornis was a herbivore because the footprints preserve broad triangular toenails rather than talons.

https://www.mdpi.com/2813-6284/3/1/4

Giant Bird Tracks (Family Gastornithidae) from the Paleogene Chuckanut Formation, Northwest Washington, USA, with a Review of Gastornis DistributionMDPI

New ornithomimosaur fossils discovered in the Khok Kruat Formation of Thailand, showing that Southeast Asia played a role in the early evolutionary history of Ornithomimosauria.

https://www.dinosaur.pref.fukui.jp/archive/memoir/memoir023-001.pdf

Inostrancevia africana remains have been found in Mozambique and are retrieved within a “Russian Gorgonopsia clade”.

https://sjpp.springeropen.com/articles/10.1186/s13358-025-00348-7

Inostrancevia africana, the first diagnosable gorgonopsian (Therapsida, Synapsida) from the Metangula graben (Mozambique): new anatomical observations and biostratigraphic implications - Swiss Journal of PalaeontologySpringerOpen

Finally, my chance to post paleo news before Duckhunt does.

Paleohistological analysis on Patagornis and Brontornis fossils reveal that terror birds had similar metabolism and physiological attributes to most modern birds, and differ from insular taxa living in very stable habitats. The first paper I have ever seen that goes against the theory that they were outcompeted by mammalian carnivores 🎉.

https://www.mdpi.com/1424-2818/17/3/153

NEW PROTEROCHAMPSID: Retymaijychampsa beckerorum, from the Middle-Late Triassic of Brazil. The holotype is an almost complete and articulated hindlimb.

https://www.app.pan.pl/archive/published/app70/app012042024.pdf

Art by Caio Fantini.

A fossil of a giant flying squirrel has been found in the Gray Fossil Site of Tennessee, dating back the Early Pliocene. It was around the size of a house cat and weighed 3 pounds, which apparently is a lot for a flying squirrel.

https://www.wjhl.com/outdoors-appalachia/gray-fossil-site-finds-giant-flying-squirrel-fossil/

Gray Fossil Site finds giant flying squirrel fossilWJHL | Tri-Cities News & Weather

NEW PALEO BOOK OUT: When the Earth was Green by Riley Black was finally published today. It focuses on the longstanding relationship between prehistoric plants and life on Earth, definitely getting this one as soon as possible.

Just small news this time.

Perucetus was downsized to a length of 15 to 16 meters (49 to 52 feet) and a mass of 35 to 40 metric tons (39 to 44 short tons). Important words from the study.

https://palaeo-electronica.org/content/pdfs/1435.pdf

Looking back, the 300 ton estimate was pretty goofy, but Perucetus remains the largest Eocene animal.

A pterosaur vertebra from the Dinosaur Park Formation in Alberta, attributed to a juvenile Cryodrakon, has been found with a bite mark, suggesting that a crocodile attacked the pterosaur or at least scavenged it.

https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/journal-of-paleontology/article/juvenile-pterosaur-vertebra-with-putative-crocodilian-bite-from-the-campanian-of-alberta-canada/940BA5F686A0C1CBE936B4CB8586AB62?utm_campaign=shareaholic&utm_medium=twitter&utm_source=socialnetwork

Hominids reached Europe sooner than we thought, by at least 1.95 million years ago. This is shown by cut-marked bones from a site in Romania dating back to that time, so our ancestors were heading out of Africa by the time Australopithecus was still around.

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-025-56154-9

Hominin presence in Eurasia by at least 1.95 million years ago - Nature CommunicationsNature

During the Great American Interchange, the glyptodont Glyptotherium may have traveled along the east coast of South America or through the Caribbean to get to North America, and may have even migrated back to South America around 240,000-14,000 years ago. Its range was likely constrained by the need for warm, wet environments.

https://nsojournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/ecog.07499

In WWD news:

MEGAFAUNA SURVIVED LONGER THAN WE THOUGHT:

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/386544430_3500_Years_BP_The_Last_Survival_of_the_Mammal_Megafauna_in_the_Americas

Radiocarbon dating of megafauna fossils from South America reveal that some were still around well into the Holocene. Smilodon populator has been dated to around 9,000-8,000 years ago, Toxodon to 10,000-9,500 years ago, Megatherium to 10,000-7,750 years ago, and more.

Palaeolama (a camelid larger than modern llamas) and Xenorhinotherium (a macraucheniid) have been dated to about 3,500 years ago, making them the youngest extinct megafauna from the Americas so far.

The study argues that megafauna most likely died out because of the Broken Zig-Zag theory (the large mammals had fluctuating populations, making them more vulnerable to extinction from factors like human hunting).

In other news, an isotopic study of Australopithecus teeth suggests a mostly plant-based diet with little to no evidence of meat consumption. So it appears that consumption of meat did not pave the way to humanizing traits such as larger brains.

https://www.technologynetworks.com/tn/news/early-human-ancestors-relied-on-plants-not-meat-395135

Early Human Ancestors Relied on Plants, Not MeatTechnology Networks

A new subspecies of snow leopard has been discovered, the Portuguese snow leopard (Panthera uncia lusitania). It’s about the same size as the extant snow leopard, but it lived in Portugal during the ice age. This paper goes over stuff about snow leopards, including their evolution and range during the Pleistocene.

https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.adp5243

Finally, new dinosaur tracks from the Late Jurassic of Brazil, specifically from the Guará Formation. They have been attributed to theropods, sauropods, ornithopods, and ankylosaurs, showing a large diversity of dinosaurs from a unique environment in Western Gondwana.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0895981125000264

Laser-simulated fluorescence imaging on Rhamphorhynchus specimens reveal the presence of tail vanes made from interwoven membranes. The vanes were diamond-shaped and helped guide and stabilize the animals in flight, and they may have served as display structures too.

News: https://www.thenational.scot/news/national/24839179.large-tail-vanes-enabled-pterosaurs-take-air-scientists-announce/?ref=twtrec

Large ‘tail vanes’ enabled pterosaurs to take to the air, scientists announceThe National

Paper: https://elifesciences.org/articles/100673

New musculoskeletal simulations of Lucy (Australopithecus afarensis) indicate that she was capable of running, although the maximum running speed was much lower than modern humans.

https://www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822%2824%2901566-5

The oldest-known evolutionary arms race: between a small, shelled animal distantly related to brachiopods (Lapworthella fasciculata) and an unknown predator that drilled holes in its shell. During the Cambrian Explosion, Lapworthella shells progressively got thicker in response to predation and predators could effectively respond to the enhanced defenses.

News: https://phys.org/news/2025-01-fossil-reveals-oldest-evolutionary-arms.html

Fossil study reveals oldest-known evolutionary 'arms race'phys.org

Paper: https://www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822%2824%2901647-6

A new study reveals that Megantereon (ancestor of Smilodon) had exposed canines like its descendant, but unlike the covered canines of Homotherium.

https://anatomypubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ar.25622

I can’t believe I have made 10 paleontology posts so far.

A new specimen of Rhamphorhynchus has a wingspan of 1.8 meters (5.9 feet), considerably larger than any other known specimens and making it one of the largest known non-pterodactyloid pterosaurs. It also shows some anatomical developments not seen in smaller specimens, indicating late-stage ontogeny.

Paper: https://peerj.com/articles/18587/

Blog: https://archosaurmusings.wordpress.com/2025/01/02/a-giant-rhamphorhynchus-in-london/

New Jurassic dinosaur footprints in England, recording the comings and goings of sauropods (likely Cetiosaurus) and a theropod (likely Megalosaurus).

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c24nzeqq1l2o

UK's biggest ever dinosaur footprint trackways unearthedwww.bbc.com

Art by Mark Witton.

NEW ENANTIORNITHINE: Neobohaiornis lamadongensis, from the Early Cretaceous of China (Jehol Group). It’s very small and the holotype preserves feather impressions, including two steamer feathers and a tail fan.

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-024-82869-8

Megalodon teeth have been found with serration marks on them, which may have either been unintentionally self-inflicted through feeding, or even possibly indicating aggressive interactions between individuals where the sharks bite each other’s faces in territorial disputes or cannibalistic fights.

https://www.app.pan.pl/archive/published/app69/app011882024.pdf

NEW SAUROPODOMORPH (not sauropod): Lishulong wangi, whose name means “chestnut tree dragon”. Its skull was found in the Early Jurassic Lufeng Formation of China. Lishulong’s skull is exceptionally large, so it may have been large in size as well.

https://peerj.com/articles/18629/

The Bering Land Bridge that connected North America and Asia during the ice age may have been marshy and covered with small lakes and river channels, which probably acted as a barrier that prevented several species from migrating (e.g. woolly rhinos and short-faced bears).

https://www.livescience.com/planet-earth/ancient-land-bridge-that-connected-siberia-to-us-wasnt-what-it-seems-scientists-find

Ancient 'land bridge' that connected Siberia to US wasn't what it seems, scientists findlivescience.com

Isotopic analysis of a Clovis individual (ancient Native American ancestors) reveals that mammoths were a big part of their diet. Essentially, early North Americans may have specialized in hunting megafauna.

https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.adr3814

NEW WORM LIZARD: Terastiodontosaurus marcelosanchezi, from the Eocene of North Africa. It was the largest legless lizard ever to have lived, reaching an estimated length of over 2 feet. Its teeth were also very large for its kind.

https://academic.oup.com/zoolinnean/article/202/3/zlae133/7906359?login=false

Art by Jaime Chirinos.

New skeletal of Eotyrannus.

https://www.thecodontia.com/blog/reotyrannus-revisiting-the-father-of-all-tyrants-eotyrannus-lengi

(Re)otyrannus - revisiting the “father of all tyrants”, Eotyrannus lengi — THECODONTIATHECODONTIA

New species of pachypleurosaur discovered from the Middle Triassic of China, named Dianmeisaurus mutaensis. It’s only about 4 inches in length.

News: https://www.sci.news/paleontology/dianmeisaurus-mutaensis-13434.html

Study: https://sjpp.springeropen.com/articles/10.1186/s13358-023-00292-4

New paleo book out: How the New World Became Old. It intertwines fossils and culture, exploring America's long and complicated relationship with the idea of deep time. Personally, not a book for me, but maybe it will be a good read for you.

BREAKING NEWS: A frozen mummy of a baby scimitar-toothed cat (Homotherium latidens) has been discovered in Siberia, dating to around 36,000 years ago. For the very first time, we know the life appearance of an extinct mammal with no analogues in modern fauna.

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-024-79546-1

Mummy of a juvenile sabre-toothed cat Homotherium latidens from the Upper Pleistocene of Siberia - Scientific ReportsNature

It has dark brown hair, somewhat resembling a shaggy lion.

NEW TEMNOSPONDYL AMPHIBIAN: Ninumbeehan dookoodukah.

From the Late Triassic of Wyoming. During the Triassic, amphibians like these adapted to the very dry climate and seasonal monsoon cycles by burrowing and remaining dormant throughout the summer.

https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rspb.2024.1041

Restoration by SeismicShrimp.

New study indicates that volcanic winters actually caused more devastation than carbon dioxide global warming during the Late Triassic extinction.

News: https://phys.org/news/2024-10-dinosaurs-ice-ancient-volcanism.html

Study: https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2415486121

Marine crocodiles (thalattosuchians) had big skull sinuses, so they weren’t able to do deep diving like whales can do today ☹️.

https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsos.241272

New mammal skeleton discovered: a taeniodont named Conoryctes. It was an early placental mammal that lived a few million years after the dinosaurs died out, in what is now New Mexico.

https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0311053

The post-cranial anatomy and functional morphology of Conoryctes comma (Mammalia: Taeniodonta) from the Paleocene of North Americaplosone

Oh yeah, Happy Halloween guys.

NEW DINOSAUR: An oviraptorosaur named Yuanyanglong from the Early Cretaceous of China. Features of its bones are similar to those of wading birds and it may have lived like such. Gastroliths preserved in the fossil as well.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0195667124001964

Restoration by Ddinodan.

Devonian reefs were very productive ecosystems. Corals at the time had symbiotic relationships with things like dinoflagellates.

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-024-08101-9

A new metatherian from the Late Cretaceous of Colorado, named Heleocola. It was relatively large and may have been an omnivore.

https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0310948

A new Late Cretaceous metatherian from the Williams Fork Formation, Coloradoplosone

A new set of fossil trackways from South Korea shows surprisingly long spacing between between steps made by a small microraptorine (ichnotaxon Dromaeosauriformipes). Relative to body size, the strides were three times as long as that of an ostrich and nearly twice as long as that of a kangaroo rat.

Basically, the microraptorine was using its wings to get some air time when running at high speeds, and also to help with braking and turning.

News: https://www.newscientist.com/article/2452672-preserved-tracks-suggest-non-avian-dinosaurs-used-their-wings-to-run/

Preserved tracks suggest non-avian dinosaurs used their wings to runNew Scientist

Study: https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2413810121

Minor news: A new set of Megalodon teeth discovered in Maryland.

https://www.wmar2news.com/local/new-set-of-megalodon-teeth-discovered-in-maryland

New set of Megalodon teeth discovered in MarylandWMAR 2 News Baltimore

Sad news.

For those who don't know, Dong Zhiming discovered and described more than 42 genera of dinosaurs, mostly from the Middle Jurassic aged Shaximiao Formation. These include Tuojiangosaurus, Micropachycephalosaurus, Shunosaurus, Wuerhosaurus, and Archaeoceratops.

About the Saurophaganax sauropod thing, stay tuned.

https://svpow.com/2024/10/20/about-that-saurophaganax-abstract/

A newly discovered small reptile from the Late Triassic of North America that might be venomous.

https://peerj.com/articles/18279/

Earliest evidence of insects eating seeds (granivory) and using them for nursing comes from the Permian of China.

https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0311737

Earliest evidence of granivory from China (Shanxi Formation) points to seeds as a food source and nursing habitat for insects in the earliest Permian humid tropical forests of Cathaysiaplosone

A new species of the Early Permian temnospondyl Acheloma. Permian amphibians are cool.

https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0309393

A new trematopid from the lower Permian of Oklahoma and new insights into the genus Achelomaplosone

Even though this isn’t paleo news, the king cobra is under taxonomic re-evaluation. It might be split into 4 species, 2 of which are new (one from India, one from the Philippines).

https://europeanjournaloftaxonomy.eu/index.php/ejt/article/view/2681

Coming next spring, a book about fossil hunting in remote corners of the globe. Steve Brusatte commented on it, so it must be good.

https://x.com/NeilShubin/status/1845835936820789503

Neil Shubin (@NeilShubin) on XX (formerly Twitter)

Making a new series called "Awful Paleontology" inspired my Mininminuteman's "Awful Archeology" Series. Go check him out, he's funny and all around a good educator if you ask me:

MiniminutemanYouTube

Awful Archeology is Centered around spinning a wheel and discussing archeological based conspiracy theories and misconceptions.

This is much the same, just with paleontological misconceptions and fragmentary specimens'/genera with much less research.

So I need you guys to suggest some stuff for the wheel!

Currently on the list is:

Bruhathkayosaurus

Raptor Pack

Nanotyrannus

Spinosaurus

Troodon

Epanterias

Deltadromeus

Triassic Kraken

Ostafrikasaurus

Hector's Icthyosaur

Oxalaia

Sigilmassasaurus

Feel free to Add!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LmXVISEkQjk

Spinosaurus Found to NOT be a Swimming Dinosaur Again (again) | 7 Days of ScienceYouTube

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/06/science/spinosaurus-dinosaur-fossil-dive.html#:~:text=Sereno%20have%20also%20argued%20that,t%20swim%2C%E2%80%9D%20he%20said.

A Swimming Dinosaur? Maybe Not, Study Says@nytimes

^

We already seen this earlier hand study. Now we have a New one already ! 0_0

• Everyone already forgotten about the Originl bio isotope studies that found out that Spinosaurus populations from Libya Tunisia Morocco and Algeria show | same | results with other Terrestrial Theropods too :p