Category: Palaeontology
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An exceptionally well-preserved monodominant fossil forest of Wataria from the lower Miocene of Japan
Monodominant wood and leaf assemblages suggest a biological connection between Wataria and Byttneriophyllum We found 130 Wataria stumps in the PFP section, which accounted for 95% of tree remains buried in the ca. 2000-m2 area (Fig. 4a). Other than Wataria, we found one Taxodioxylon stump and six tree casts of uncertain taxonomic identity. The percentage of…
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Cave excavation pushes back the clock on early human migration to Laos — ScienceDaily
Fifteen years of archaeological work in the Tam Pa Ling cave in northeastern Laos has yielded a reliable chronology of early human occupation of the site, scientists report in the journal Nature Communications. The team’s excavations through the layers of sediments and bones that gradually washed into the cave and were left untouched for tens…
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Archaeologists have uncovered a 4,000-year-old solar sanctuary in the Netherlands | HeritageDaily
The discovery was made during excavations of the Medel industrial estate in Tiel, revealing a large 4000-year-old sanctuary dedicated to the sun. The sanctuary consists of several raised mounds, the largest of which has a diameter of 20 metres and has a shallow ditch with several passage openings which are aligned with the sun on…
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New Species of Dome-Headed Dinosaurs May Have Had Elaborate Headgear
An artist’s depiction of a newly described species of pachycephalosaur that was named Platytholus clemensi, after the late UC Berkeley paleontologist William Clemens. The skull is dome-shaped, but UC Berkeley and Chapman University paleontologists believe it was covered with bristles of keratin (purple) that may have been even more elaborate than depicted here. The bony…
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3.5 Million Years Old – Scientists Identify Australia’s First Long-Distance Walker
Reassembled partial skeleton Ambulator keanei (SAMA P54742) with silhouette demonstrating advanced adaptations for quadrupedal, graviportal walking. Credit: Jacob Van Zoelen (Flinders University) A new genus of diprotodontid has been identified through the use of 3D scanning technology. Paleontologists from Flinders University, utilizing advanced 3D scans and other cutting-edge technology, have provided a new perspective on…
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Scientists unearth 20 million years of ‘hot spot’ magmatism under Cocos plate — ScienceDaily
Ten years ago, Samer Naif made an unexpected discovery in Earth’s mantle: a narrow pocket, proposed to be filled with magma, hidden some 60 kilometers beneath the seafloor of the Cocos Plate. Mantle melts are buoyant and typically float toward the surface — think underwater volcanoes that erupt to form strings of islands. But Naif’s…
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Deity of death statue found during Maya Train construction | HeritageDaily
Archaeologists from the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) have found an anthropomorphic statue depicting a Maya death deity from the Early Classic Period (AD 200-600) The discovery was made during construction works of Section 7 of the Maya Train near the village of Conhuas in the Mexican state of Campeche. Conhuas is situated…
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Focus on function helps identify the changes that made us human — ScienceDaily
Humans split away from our closest animal relatives, chimpanzees, and formed our own branch on the evolutionary tree about seven million years ago. In the time since — brief, from an evolutionary perspective — our ancestors evolved the traits that make us human, including a much bigger brain than chimpanzees and bodies that are better…
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AI reveals hidden traits about our planet’s flora to help save species — ScienceDaily
In a world-first, scientists from UNSW and Botanic Gardens of Sydney, have trained AI to unlock data from millions of plant specimens kept in herbaria around the world, to study and combat the impacts of climate change on flora. “Herbarium collections are amazing time capsules of plant specimens,” says lead author on the study, Associate…
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At its peak, more than 2,600 flashes per minute were observed — ScienceDaily
New research published in the journal Geophysical Research Letters showed that the plume emitted by the Hunga Volcano eruption in 2022 created the highest lightning flash rates ever recorded on Earth, more than any storm ever documented. “The eruption of Hunga Volcano was the largest volcanic explosion since Krakatau in 1883,” said Sonja Behnke, of…