Cretaceous Period
Latest about cretaceous period
Giant 'dragon of death' with 30-foot wingspan unearthed in Argentina
By Jennifer Nalewicki published
Scientists recently discovered fossils in Argentina that belong to Thanatosdrakon. The specimens are the largest pterosaurs ever found in South America.
'Frozen in place' fossils reveal dinosaur-killing asteroid struck in spring
By Mindy Weisberger published
Around 66 million years ago, springtime in the Northern Hemisphere brought disaster and mass death to Earth in the form of a giant asteroid impact that triggered a global extinction.
164 million-year-old plant fossil is the oldest example of a flowering bud
By Harry Baker published
Researchers in China have uncovered the oldest example of a fossilized flower bud ever.
Darkness caused by dino-killing asteroid snuffed out life on Earth in 9 months
By Mindy Weisberger published
After an asteroid struck at the end of the Cretaceous period, debris from wildfires filled the atmosphere and blocked sunlight across Earth, causing ecosystem collapse and extinctions.
Earth tipped on its side (and back again) in 'cosmic yo-yo' 84 million years ago
By Harry Baker published
A new study has confirmed a longstanding theory that Earth's crust tilted to the side, and eventually back again, around 84 million years ago.
An 18-foot-long sea monster ruled the ancient ocean that once covered Kansas
By Mindy Weisberger published
A newly described species of mosasaur, an extinct marine reptile, swam through Cretaceous seas 80 million years ago and had a slender snout like a crocodile's.
Who will buy 'Big John,' the biggest triceratops ever found?
By Mindy Weisberger published
The largest triceratops in the world, scheduled to be auctioned on Oct. 21, will be on display to the public in Paris beginning Sept. 16.
'Real-life dragon' in Cretaceous Australia was huge, toothy and a 'savage' hunter
By Mindy Weisberger published
A pterosaur "dragon" that lived in Australia during the Cretaceous was the continent's biggest flying reptile, according to a new analysis of a fossil jawbone.
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