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.

Related Topics: Archaeology, Dinosaurs, Cretaceous Period, Evolution

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This fossilized horseshoe crab (Euproops danae), shown in the left image, held a perfectly preserved mold of its brain, shown close-up in panel B.

Perfectly preserved 310-million-year-old fossilized brain found

By Harry Baker

Researchers have uncovered a 310 million-year-old horseshoe crab fossil complete with an exceptionally rare example of a fossilized brain.

The mushroom of the newly discovered parasitic fungus A. blatica growing out of the rectum of a carpenter ant fossilized in amber.

Peculiar parasitic fungi discovered growing out of the rectum of a 50 million-year-old fossilized ant

By Harry Baker

Scientists recently discovered a new species of parasitic fungus growing inside a 50 million-year-old carpenter ant that had been fossilized in amber.

An illustration of Paraceratherium linxiaense chomping down on vegetation on what is now the northeastern Tibetan Plateau about 26.5 million years ago, during the late Oligocene epoch.

Ancient giant rhino was one of the largest mammals ever to walk Earth

By Laura Geggel

Paleontologists in China found the skull, jaw and a few vertebrae belonging to one of the largest land mammals that ever lived.

teeth from a mastodon skull unearthed in California

Forest ranger stumbles onto garden of ancient beasts in California foothills

By Tia Ghose

A park ranger wandering through a petrified forest in California has unearthed a trove of prehistoric fossils, including a stunningly preserved mastodon skull and the remains of a monster salmon.

This illustration shows what might have happened 180 million years ago, with the shark (Hybodus hauffianus) biting the belemnite, which had been chomping on the crustacean (Proeryon). Notice that the belemnite (Passaloteuthis laevigata) holds the crustacean's molted exoskeleton in its arms.

Jurassic squid got murdered mid-meal, leaving this epic fossil behind

By Laura Geggel

About 180 million years ago, a shark likely attacked a squid-like creature eating a crustacean.

An artistic reconstruction of two night-hunting Shuvuuia deserti emphasizes the dinosaur's resemblance to an owl.

Tiny dinosaur that looked like an owl hunted like one, too

By Mindy Weisberger

A small desert-dwelling theropod dinosaur named Shuvuuia had excellent night vision, and its hearing was comparable to that of an owl. Like many owls, it was probably a nighttime predator.

Bicellum brasieri holotype specimen.

Fossil 'balls' are 1 billion years old and could be Earth's oldest known multicellular life

By Mindy Weisberger

Tiny fossils from the northern Highlands of Scotland preserve the oldest evidence of organisms with more than one type of cell.

Derek Demeter and Henry Sadler discovered the enormous bone from an Ice Age mammoth while diving in Peace River in Florida.

Divers discover massive thigh bone from Ice Age mammoth in Florida river

By Stephanie Pappas

Two amateur archaeologists diving in the Peace River of Florida found an Ice Age mammoth bone.

An image reconstruction of a Mosasaurus swimming with its mouth open.

Mosasaurus: Apex ocean predator of the dinosaur age

By Patrick Pester

Mosasaurus was one of the largest members of the mosasaur family, which were the top predators in the oceans during the age of dinosaurs.

Lengthwise (left, middle) and cross-sectional (right) views of the fossil remains of what may be the oldest cephalopod on record.

500 million-year-old fossil is the granddaddy of all cephalopods

By Laura Geggel

Tiny fossils in Newfoundland, Canada may be evidence of the oldest cephalopod on record.

This illustration shows a larger vampyromorph seizing a smaller one during the early Jurassic period.

Vampire squid ancestor died in 'eternal embrace' with its dinner

By Laura Geggel

A well-preserved fossil reveals that 180 million years ago, an eight-armed predator suffocated with its prey.

Ediacaran creatures may have been more similar to modern animals than previously thought.

Genes of 500 million-year-old sea monsters live inside us

By Cameron Duke

Primeval sea creatures share genes with humans, suggesting that we're more like ancient animals than previously thought.

An illustration of the newly described eagle shark, which lived in an ancient seaway 93 million years ago.

'Winged' eagle shark soared through oceans 93 million years ago

By Laura Geggel

A bizarre shark with wing-like side fins soared through an ancient sea 93 million years ago in what is now Mexico.

A reconstruction of the newly described primate species, Purgatorius mckeeveri, which is thought to be one of the earliest known primates.

Primate ancestor of all humans likely roamed with the dinosaurs

By Patrick Pester

Scientists have identified the earliest primates from tiny fossilized teeth, revealing that our ancient ancestors likely lived alongside the dinosaurs in North America.

An example of what a complete fish fossil coelacanth looks like.

Great white-shark-sized ancient fish discovered by accident from fossilized lung

By Harry Baker

A 66 million-year-old fossilized lung belonging to a previously unknown giant coelacanth fish was recently discovered in Morocco.

A "grallator" track made by a three-toed Triassic dinosaur was found by a 4-year-old girl on a beach in Wales.

4-year-old discovers impressive dinosaur footprint on Wales beach

By Stephanie Pappas

A dinosaur track found by a 4-year-old on a Welsh beach belongs to one of the earliest dinos.

Microscopic image of the fungus-like microfossils.

635 million-year-old fossil is the oldest known land fungus

By Mindy Weisberger

More than half-a-billion years ago, ancient terrestrial fungus may have helped Earth recover from a catastrophic ice age.

This illustration shows Xenodens calminechari, the "strange tooth" mosasaur that lived about 66 million years ago.

Mini sea monster had teeth as sharp as a saw blade

By Laura Geggel

An ancient reptilian sea monster had a shark-like bite.

Head of a Bobbit worm (Eunice aphroditois), photographed in the Lembeh Strait in North Sulawesi, Indonesia.

Giant worms terrorized the ancient seafloor from hidden death traps

By Mindy Weisberger

Ancestors of giant Bobbit worms may have colonized the seafloor millions of years ago, building long, narrow burrows where they would wait for unsuspecting prey.

An artist reconstruction of the starfish ancestor named Cantabrigiaster fezouataensis

This 480 million-year-old creature is the ancestor of all starfish

By Patrick Pester

An ancient fossil has been identified as the ancestor of all starfish-like animals living on the planet today, according to a new study.