Cretaceous period

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In Hong Kong, a Big First on the Dinosaur Front

Officials say they've discovered dinosaur fossils on remote, uninhabited Port Island

(Newser) - Officials in Hong Kong said Wednesday they've discovered dinosaur fossils in the city for the first time on a remote, uninhabited island that's part of a UNESCO Global Geopark. Experts have initially confirmed the fossils were part of a large dinosaur from the Cretaceous period, which stretched from...

Dinosaurs Survived Brutal Ancient Arctic
Dinosaurs Braved Ancient
Arctic Year-Round
NEW STUDY
Jun 25, 2021 11:50 AM CDT

Dinosaurs Braved Ancient Arctic Year-Round

Tiny fossils suggest they nested there through all the seasons

(Newser) - The High Arctic experiences months of darkness in winter, which can pose a challenge for human inhabitants, just as it did for dinosaurs who occupied the region some 70 million years ago. Paleontologists have long wondered whether dinosaur species found along Alaska's North Slope migrated south in winter to...

'Eagle Shark' Swam in Ancient Seas
'Eagle Shark' Swam
in Ancient Seas
in case you missed it
Mar 21, 2021 2:54 PM CDT

'Eagle Shark' Swam in Ancient Seas

93-million-year-old shark would have resembled manta and devil rays

(Newser) - It swam slowly through the seas with a tail fin resembling those of modern sharks and side fins that stretched outward like the wings of modern birds. It's no wonder, then, that this bizarre creature, which died in what is now Mexico some 93 million years ago, has been...

This Place Once Had a Rainforest
Antarctica Once
Had a Rainforest
NEW STUDY
Apr 2, 2020 12:25 PM CDT

Antarctica Once Had a Rainforest

Researchers find evidence of a much warmer era

(Newser) - Little else but ice, snow, and penguins likely pops into your head when you can spare a thought for Antarctic. But there's much more to the continent than meets the eye, as scientists describe in Nature . Analyzing a sediment core taken from the seafloor of West Antarctica's Amundsen...

Sahara Desert Reveals 'Holy Grail' of Dino Discoveries

African dinosaur suggests link to Europe in late Cretaceous Period

(Newser) - Researcher Matt Lamanna calls it "the Holy Grail" of dinosaur discoveries. After decades of digging had left a 44-million-year gap in the fossil record for dinos in Africa, Lamanna says his jaw "hit the floor" when he saw photos of skull fragments, a lower jaw, neck and back...

Meet What May Have Been the Largest Land Animal Ever

'Patagotitan mayorum' dino may have been as long as 7 elephants

(Newser) - One hundred million years ago, a sauropod that stretched more than 120 feet and weighed some 70 tons existed—perhaps the largest creature to ever roam the Earth. Over the past few years, researchers have excavated fossils from six young-adult dinosaurs from a Patagonian quarry, and New Scientist puts stats...

Flying Reptile Had Head Like a Butterfly

Researchers find odd-looking new species in Brazil

(Newser) - A flying reptile with a head shaped like a butterfly isn't the next Godzilla nemesis. Scientists in southern Brazil have discovered fossils from a species they say was related to pterodactyls and estimated to have lived about 80 million years ago, reports LiveScience . At least 47 individual dinos were...

New Dinosaur Was 'Chicken From Hell'

Tough, 10-foot beast roamed western US

(Newser) - Col. Sanders' nightmare come true? Researchers say a new species of dinosaur unearthed in the US was a bit like a chicken—a 10-foot tall, 550-pound chicken that could rip your head off. The dinosaur, which lived around 66 million years ago, has been nicknamed the "chicken from hell"...

Extinct Toothy Lizard Named After Obama

Obamadon gracilis disappeared with the dinosaurs

(Newser) - President Obama's toothy grin inspired researchers to name a newly discovered species of prehistoric lizard after him. Obamadon gracilis, a small, insect-eating lizard found in northwest Montana, went extinct along with the dinosaurs after a giant asteroid hit Earth around 65 million years ago. "The lizard has these...

Scientists Find Giant Jurassic Fleas

Inch-long critters believed to have fed on feathered dinosaurs

(Newser) - What kind of flea feeds on dinosaurs? The big kind. Scientists have found fossils of Jurassic and Cretaceous-era fleas measuring up to an inch in length buried in China, the Telegraph reports. In addition to their unusual size, the fleas' saw-like "siphonate" mouthparts, which were used to suck the...

100M Years Ago, Africa Was Crocodile Central
 100M Years Ago, Africa 
 Was Crocodile Central 
PALEONTOLOGISTS SAY
Nov 20, 2009 1:12 PM CST

100M Years Ago, Africa Was Crocodile Central

3 new species unearthed from Sahara include DogCroc

(Newser) - The universe of diverse prehistoric crocodile species keeps expanding, suggesting crocs were one of the dominant forms of life 100 million years ago. Paleontologists have just unearthed three new species in the Sahara desert: the 20-foot BoarCroc, which likely fed on dinosaurs; the 20-foot PancakeCroc, a flat-bodied fish-gobbler; and the...

North America's Tiniest Dino Found
North America's
Tiniest Dino Found
Mar 17, 2009 4:16 AM CDT

North America's Tiniest Dino Found

Chicken-sized predator roamed Canada 75M years ago

(Newser) - Scientists have identified the remains of the smallest dinosaur species ever found in North America, reports National Geographic. Hesperonychus elizabethae was a Cretaceous-era carnivore no bigger than a chicken, according to researchers. Scientists believe the existence of the Velociraptor cousin helps confirm that dinosaurs, not mammals, filled the role of...

Dino Dads: Original Mr. Mom
 Dino Dads: Original Mr. Mom
Dec 19, 2008 7:43 AM CST

Dino Dads: Original Mr. Mom

Male raptors sat on the eggs while females went out foraging

(Newser) - Some of the fearsome birdlike predators of the Cretaceous and Jurassic ages had a softer side as stay-at-home dads, a team of paleontologists says. The researchers analyzed leg bones found on nests of unhatched eggs and concluded that in at least three dinosaur genuses, it was the males who guarded...

'Frog From Hell' Fossil Turns up in Madagascar

'Beelzebufo' munched on baby dinosaurs

(Newser) - Fossil hunters digging in Madagascar have discovered a 70 million-year-old, 10 pound ancestor of the horned frog. Over twice as large as its modern-day descendants, the  "slightly squashed beach-ball" shaped creature probably lunched on small lizards and baby dinosaurs, and has earned the charming nicknames "frog from hell"...

'Beach Bum' Dino Chilled in Mex
'Beach Bum' Dino Chilled in Mex
Feb 13, 2008 12:08 PM CST

'Beach Bum' Dino Chilled in Mex

New find reveals crested duckbill hunted by cousin of T. rex

(Newser) - A newly discovered duck-billed dinosaur lived on a "very Mediterranean-like" Mexican beach 72 million years ago, paleontologists say. A fossilized skeleton of Velafrons coahuilensis was found in the north-central state of Coahuila—the most complete dinosaur ever found in Mexico, Reuters reports. "Velafrons was probably a beach bum,...

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