Fossil

Three new 7.7-million-year-old elephant skulls unearthed in Turkey

“This year we can talk about the year of the elephant. From 2018 until now, we had identified two skulls, but only this year did we find three” described an archeologist.

Illustration: The skull of an asian elephant.
An artist’s impression of a tiny Pterodactylus hatchling struggling against a raging tropical storm, inspired by fossil discoveries.

Skyfall: How Storms Killed Baby Pterosaurs and Shaped a Fossil Treasure Trove

Artist’s rendering of Phytosaurs

180-million-year-old ‘crocodile’ fossil unearthed in Indian desert village

Australopithecus Afarensis diorama at the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History.

Europe just got its first look at the world’s oldest human ancestor


Holidaymaker strikes paleontological gold: 100-million-year-old pearl surfaces in Queensland

After two years of examinations, paleontologists confirmed the pearl's scientific value, calling it 'an incredibly rare and priceless find'.

The ancient pearl.

The Missing Link? Mysterious Unnamed Human Ancestor Found Near Lucy Site

Researchers recovered 13 teeth, ten attributed to a new unnamed Australopithecus and three to primitive Homo, hinting at co-existence.

The 13 fossil teeth. LD 750 and LD 760 localities represent a newly-discovered species of Australopithecus. LD 302 and AS 100 represent early Homo already known.

‘One-Ounce Wonder’: Mouse-Sized Dino-Era Species Found in Patagonia

Unearthed in Chilean Patagonia, the 74-million-year-old Yeutherium pressor is the smallest known South American mammal from the dinosaur era.

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Scientists date 300,000-year reindeer tooth, resetting Iberia’s Ice Age calendar

The fossil, recovered with a human skull fragment and stone tools, shows reindeer lived beside early humans across the peninsula.

The Fossil from Atapuerca: an Upper Deciduous Third Molar from a Young Reindeer.

Historic discovery: New species of ancient shark discovered in Kentucky cave

Macadens olsoni is notable for its unique tooth whorl, a curved row of teeth designed for crushing small sea creatures. 

Graphic depicting a prehistoric shark with large, jagged teeth about to bite a small, large-eyed sea creature. Proposed reconstruction of the new to science species Macadens olsoni, discovered through fossil research at Mammoth Cave National Park.

Museum finds 67.5-million-year-old dinosaur fossil beneath parking lot

The fossil vertebra, found 763 feet underground, offers a rare glimpse into the late Cretaceous period.

 Museum finds 67.5-million-year-old dinosaur fossil beneath parking lot.

Ritual donkey sacrifice in Israel provides insights into ancient Egyptian trade

The donkeys, found buried under a Bronze Age house in ancient Gath, near Tell es-Safi, were determined to have originated from ancient Egypt.

 A decapitated donkey found in Tell es-Safi, south Israel, July 2025.

Ancient proteins found in fossils up to 24 million years old

Proteins, a cell's molecular machinery, also offer valuable information and have the virtue of surviving much longer, as new research shows.

 A paleontologist cleaning a skeleton during an archaeology dig; illustrative.

'Ash-Winged Dawn Goddess': Oldest North American pterosaur fossil found

Jaw, wing bone, and tooth of Eotephradactylus mcintireae (209.2 Ma) reveal a floodplain ecosystem with fish, giant amphibians, and early turtles before the end-Triassic mass extinction.

 'Ash-Winged Dawn Goddess': Oldest North American pterosaur fossil found.

Rulers of the sea: 100 million years ago squids were kings

Researchers uncovered 263 fossilized squid beaks, including about 40 different species that had never been seen before.

 An example of  grinding tomography images.

Fast-footed fossil with outsized toes rewrites small-dino story

Originally misidentified as Nanosaurus, the metre-long teen fossil is the most complete early small dinosaur skeleton ever discovered, researchers say.

 Fast-footed fossil with outsized toes rewrites small-dino story.