New ‘monster’ ichthyosaur had an arsenal of deadly teeth

A new 130-million-year-old fossil "shakes up the evolutionary tree" of ichthyosaurs, which were ancient animals that look eerily like living swordfish.

Shirley Cardenas-McGill • futurity
Nov. 30, 2021 ~5 min

‘Missing link’ ends debate about how ancient human relative got around

A two-million-year-old fossil vertebrae shows Australopithecus sediba used their upper limbs to climb like apes and their lower limbs to walk like humans.

James Devitt-NYU • futurity
Nov. 29, 2021 ~8 min


Only this one kind of frog has legit teeth

Scientists weren't sure if a rare frog species, Gastrotheca guentheri, had real teeth, so they zoomed in on some froglet jaws to find out.

U. Florida • futurity
Nov. 24, 2021 ~7 min

Only this one kind of frog has legit teeth

Scientists weren't sure if a rare frog species, Gastrotheca guentheri, had real teeth, so they zoomed in on some froglet jaws to find out.

U. Florida • futurity
Nov. 24, 2021 ~7 min

Team solves Darwin’s finch yellow beak mystery

Some of Darwin's finch nestlings have a yellow beak. The discovery of why that is may offer clues about the differences in how species evolve.

Jennifer Gauntt - Texas A&M • futurity
Nov. 17, 2021 ~7 min

Deep biosphere holds secrets to evolutionary history

"Understanding the history of the deep biosphere can provide insight into the evolution of life on Earth."

Daniel Stolte-Arizona • futurity
Nov. 11, 2021 ~7 min

Fossil elephant cranium reveals its competitive edge

A fossil elephant cranium from Kenya weighs roughly two tons and reveals adaptations that let its species, Loxodonta adaurora, outcompete others.

Jim Erickson-Michigan • futurity
Nov. 10, 2021 ~9 min

Atacama desert plants may hold clues to saving crops

Plants that thrive in the harsh Atacama desert are a "genetic goldmine" for engineering crops for our dry future, say researchers.

Rachel Harrison-NYU • futurity
Nov. 5, 2021 ~8 min


Laying low might have saved ground critters from dino-killing asteroid

An asteroid that struck Earth 66 million years ago killed nearly all dinosaurs, plants, and animals. So how did some creatures survive the mass extinction?

Jim Erickson-Michigan • futurity
Nov. 3, 2021 ~12 min

‘Weird’ ancient mammal is the first to have tusks

"We were able to show that the first tusks belonged to animals that came before modern mammals, called dicynodonts," researchers report.

U. Washington • futurity
Nov. 2, 2021 ~9 min

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