Fossils

Find out everything there is to know about fossils and stay updated on the latest fossil news with the comprehensive articles, interactive features and fossil pictures at LiveScience.com. Learn more about these fascinating findings as scientists continue to make amazing discoveries about fossils.

Latest about Fossils

artist impression of ancient predator crassigyrinus scoticus

Scientists reveal face of 10-foot 'killer tadpole' that terrorized Earth long before the dinosaurs

By Lydia Smith published

With huge teeth and large eyes, Crassigyrinus scoticus was specially adapted to hunt in the coal swamps of Scotland and North America.

illustration shows a number of bizarre looking worms, seastars, trilobites and other creatures living in a dim underwater environment

462 million-year-old fossilized eyes and brains uncovered in 'secret' Welsh fossil site

By Patrick Pester published

Wales' new "Castle Bank" fossil site could be among the world's most important deposits.

A variety of trilobite fossils embedded in sediment.

Trilobites had a hidden third eye, new fossils reveal

By Jennifer Nalewicki published

What had multiple eyes and a hard shell? A trilobite, that's what.

An artist's reconstruction of the ancient sabertooth marsupial, Thylacosmilus atrox.

Ancient marsupial sabertooth had eyes like no other mammal predator

By Jennifer Nalewicki published

The wide-set eyes and exaggeratingly long teeth likely helped Thylacosmilus atrox become a successful hunter.

A terrifying ichthyosaur chases its prey in an artist's reconstruction.

Oldest 'fish-lizard' fossils ever found suggest these sea monsters survived the 'Great Dying'

By Harry Baker published

The fossilized remains of an ichthyosaur dating back to shortly after the Permian mass extinction suggest that the ancient sea monsters emerged before the catastrophic event.

The ancient sea anemones whose blobby fossils were mistaken for jellyfish.

Oops, this 300 million-year-old 'blob' fossil was upside down. It's not a jellyfish after all.

By Cameron Duke published

Famous 'jellyfish' fossil from 300 million years ago was upside-down the whole time. It's actually another animal entirely.

An artist's illustration of an ancient platypus-like creature

Ancient platypus-like fossil could rewrite the history of egg-laying mammals

By Joanna Thompson published

Fossils of a 70 million-year-old platypus relative called Patagorhynchus pascuali found in South America show that egg-laying mammals evolved on more than one continent.

An artist's interpretation of the newfound giant petrel ripping into a dead seal about 3 million years ago in what is now New Zealand.

3 million years ago, this brutish giant petrel likely eviscerated dead seals with its knife-like beak

By Ethan Freedman published

Fossils from New Zealand reveal the existence of a giant petrel with a wicked sharp beak that lived 3 million years ago.

An illustration of Late Devonian animals.

Giant ancient fish that likely preyed on humans' ancestors unearthed in South Africa

By Sascha Pare published

Researchers in South Africa have unearthed 360 million-year-old fossils belonging to a newly described voracious fish species that preyed on our ancestors.

An artist's illustration of what the new species may have looked like.

Never-before-seen pterosaur had nearly 500 teeth and ate like a flamingo

By Harry Baker published

A never-before-seen species of pterosaur had hundreds of hooked teeth that helped it filter its food in a similar way to living flamingos.

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