Fossils
Latest about Fossils
![A reconstruction of Stanleycaris hirpex swimming above a fossil specimen.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/feuXNkTQqWepNAo9eQKzR3-320-80.jpg)
'Astonishing' 500 million-year-old fossils preserved the brain of this creepy 3-eyed predator
By Jennifer Nalewicki published
Paleontologists found dozens of astonishingly well-preserved fossils of a three-eyed Cambrian creature, at a site in British Columbia in Canada.
![Four different Australopithecus crania that were found in the Sterkfontein caves, South Africa. They are quite old and very worn.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/2Ub9XKkohhtiCSEKVhwspi-320-80.jpg)
South African fossils may rewrite history of human evolution
By Charles Q. Choi published
Fossils found at the Sterkfontein Caves in South Africa may be much older than previously thought.
![Researchers at site 1951](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/dMJR2jJKW6z4FurdC9i42c-320-80.jpg)
Lost fossil 'treasure trove' rediscovered after 70 years
By Harry Baker published
Previous researchers were unable to record its exact coordinates.
![Even demon ducks had predators. Here, the giant "demon duck of doom" (Genyornis newtoni) flees its nest, pursued by the extinct lizard Megalania (Varanus priscus). Both species lived in Australia about 50,000 years ago.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/pfJisxLpFLPaCxeU4ibuDS-320-80.jpg)
'Demon ducks of doom' laid melon-size eggs in prehistoric Australia
By Joanna Thompson published
Melon-size eggs belonging to an extinct and flightless giant 'thunder bird' were eaten by the first Australians.
![The images show the impressions of a collapsed cell-wall covering (a coccosphere) on the surface of a fragment of ancient organic matter (left) with the individual plates (coccoliths) enlarged to show the exquisite preservation of sub-micron-scale structures (right). The blue image is inverted to give a virtual fossil cast, (i.e., to show the original three-dimensional form). The original plates have been removed from the sediment by dissolution, leaving behind only the ghost imprints.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/vQpvFhWiydm9xd86vtW67g-320-80.jpg)
'Ghost' fossils preserve haunting record of ancient life on a hellish Earth
By Joanna Thompson published
Ghostly imprints of very tiny "nannofossils" can offer a valuable window into our planet's past — and hint at its possible future.
![A computer-generated image of a megalodon with its mouth open.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/uE5yAP9XSS37YiSmrwXc9b-320-80.jpg)
6-year-old finds megalodon tooth on UK beach
By Patrick Pester published
A 6-year-old boy found a rare megalodon tooth on a beach in England, where such teeth are seldom found.
![An illustration of two trilobites (Olenoides serratus) mating on the seafloor during the Cambrian period, with the male (top) hugging the female below.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/cFfccHdMRJ7AHnSosmHkeU-320-80.jpg)
We finally know how trilobites mated, thanks to new fossils
By Laura Geggel published
An ancient trilobite fossil revealed that it had teensy claspers, which males likely used to "hug" females while mating.
![Author Chloe Gustafson and mountaineer Meghan Seifert installing a magnetotelluric station on the Whillans Ice Stream, West Antarctica.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/pAHSyRU5ySovRS4CQhmYqm-320-80.jpg)
'Giant MRI of Antarctica' reveals 'fossil seawater' under ice sheet
By Nicoletta Lanese published
Fossil seawater can be found in the depths of the aquifer.
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