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Ferns bounced back much faster than other plants after the meteor impact that wiped out the dinosaurs.
Why Did Ferns Persist When All Other Plants Perished?
A strange layer in the fossil record contains evidence that fern populations exploded following the mass extinction that ended the Cretaceous period. Scientists want to know why.
Why Did Ferns Persist When All Other Plants Perished?
Why Did Ferns Persist When All Other Plants Perished?

A strange layer in the fossil record contains evidence that fern populations exploded following the mass extinction that ended the Cretaceous period. Scientists want to know why.

A strange layer in the fossil record contains evidence that fern populations exploded following the mass extinction that ended the Cretaceous period. Scientists want to know why.

dinosaurs, evolution

T. rex-like dinosaur head covered in knobby structures
The Dino That Looked T. Rex-y Long Before T. Rex 
Shawna Williams | Jul 7, 2022 | 2 min read
Fossil findings shed light on a little-known group of Cretaceous-era beasts—and indicate that the combination of a large head and diminutive arms was no evolutionary fluke.
Illustration of a Tyrannosaurus rex on a rock on a mountain
Most Dinosaurs Were Warm-Blooded After All
Catherine Offord | May 26, 2022 | 2 min read
Endothermy was widespread among both avian and non-avian dinosaurs, a study suggests, so the metabolic strategy is unlikely to account for birds’ survival through the mass extinction event that wiped out their dinosaur cousins.
An artistic rendering of a dinosaur fleeing a wall of water
Cretaceous Meteor That Killed Most Life on Earth Hit in Spring
Amanda Heidt | Feb 24, 2022 | 5 min read
Researchers determined the season during which the meteor struck by studying the bones of fish excavated from a contentious field site.
Reconstruction of an indeterminate theropod running on lacustrine sediments during low water timespan
Car-Sized, Meat-Eating Dinosaur Could Run Faster Than Usain Bolt
Christie Wilcox, PhD | Dec 10, 2021 | 3 min read
A new analysis of fossil footprints suggests that the 2-meter-tall, 4- to 5-meter-long carnivores that left them could run nearly 45 kilometers per hour, bolstering the evidence that at least some dinosaurs were speedy, agile hunters.
Caudipteryx Dinosaur Flock stock photo
Paleontologists Find Possible Dinosaur DNA
Chloe Tenn | Oct 26, 2021 | 3 min read
A report of preserved fragments of nuclei and chromatin in a fossilized femur of a 125-million-year-old Caudipteryx dinosaur elicits skepticism.
Image of the Day: Tiny Dinosaur
Amy Schleunes | Mar 16, 2020 | 1 min read
A roughly 99-million-year-old piece of amber from northern Myanmar contains the skull of what appears to represent the smallest known dinosaur of the Mesozoic era.
Image of the Day: Shrinking Dinosaurs
Emily Makowski | Jan 3, 2020 | 1 min read
As dinosaurs got smaller, their metabolism increased, paving the way for bird evolution.
Trove of Fossils Shows Mammal Evolution after Dino Extinction
Emily Makowski | Oct 25, 2019 | 2 min read
The site, Corral Bluffs in Colorado, also reveals how plants evolved and how ecosystems rebounded after the asteroid impact.
theropod Ambopteryx longibrachium new dinosaur species paleontology china wings
Image of the Day: Bat-like Wings
Chia-Yi Hou | May 9, 2019 | 1 min read
Paleontologists find a fossil of a dinosaur, Ambopteryx longibrachium, with membranous wings, in China.
Suskityrannus hazelae tyrannosauroid paleotology dinosaurs new species
Image of the Day: New Tyrannosauroid
Chia-Yi Hou | May 7, 2019 | 1 min read
Fossils of two dinosaur skeletons found in New Mexico are from a species new to science that lived 92 million years ago.
fossil fish chicxulub north dakota asteroid
Animals in North Dakota Died from Chicxulub Asteroid in Mexico
Chia-Yi Hou | Apr 1, 2019 | 3 min read
Fossils reveal the quick death of plants and animals from a massive surge of water after the impact 66 million years ago, which is thought to have spelled the demise of dinosaurs.
Newly Discovered Ancient Shark Found Alongside Bones of T. rex
Carolyn Wilke | Jan 22, 2019 | 2 min read
Galagadon’s tiny teeth look like the spaceships in its namesake video game from the early 1980s.
Pterosaurs Sported Feathers, Claim Scientists
Anthony King | Dec 17, 2018 | 4 min read
A controversy over pterosaurs’ plumage has taken off, with a new discovery pushing feather origins back 80 million years into the early Triassic.
Present-Day Arboreal Birds Have Ground-Dwelling Past
Sukanya Charuchandra | May 24, 2018 | 1 min read
A mass extinction event from an asteroid hitting Earth wiped out forests and, concurrently, tree-dwelling birds.  
Image of the Day: Bird Braincase
The Scientist and The Scientist Staff | May 4, 2018 | 1 min read
Newly discovered fossils shed light on the structure of the feeding apparatus of ancient seabirds.
Paleoproteomics Opens a Window into the Past
Catherine Offord | Mar 1, 2018 | 10+ min read
Researchers are looking to proteins to explore the biology of ancient organisms, from medieval humans all the way back to dinosaurs.
Hundreds of Pterosaur Eggs Discovered in China
Kerry Grens | Nov 30, 2017 | 1 min read
The fossil booty includes some eggs with embryo remains inside, and points to group nests involving long-term parental care.
Mongolian Dinosaurs and the Poaching Problem
David Moscato | Sep 8, 2017 | 7 min read
High-profile cases of poached fossils shine a light on the black market for paleontological specimens—and how scientists and governments are trying to stop it.
From Smugglers to Scientists: New Dino Species Described
Erin Hare | May 9, 2017 | 4 min read
The infamous "Baby Louie" embryo is a giant oviraptorosaur fossil from China that resembled a gargantuan bird.
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