fossil

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Anyone Need a Nearly Complete Dino Skeleton?

Camptosaurus fossil, 'Barry,' could fetch up to $1.2M at auction next month

(Newser) - One of the most complete dinosaur skulls ever documented will hit the auction block next month along with the rest of the 150-million-year-old Camptosaurus' bones. Such sales of dinosaur fossils are "rare, with only a small number taking place each year globally" as scientists raise concerns about fossils being...

Bone of Human Ancestor Bears Signs of Suspected Cannibal

Tool marks offer definite evidence of butchering, though species responsible is unknown

(Newser) - Small marks on a fossilized shin bone could serve as some of the earliest evidence of cannibalism among human ancestors. Certainly the nine marks on the left tibia bone from an unknown human relative who lived in what is now northern Kenya suggest hominins were eating other hominins some 1....

Christie's Abruptly Axes T. Rex Auction

US firm noticed skeleton, which Christie's was to auction off in Hong Kong, borrowed a lot from 'Stan'

(Newser) - A 15-foot-tall T. rex skeleton that was unearthed in Montana had been set to be put on the auction block later this month. Now, Christie's has yanked the bone set nicknamed Shen from the Hong Kong sale, after an American fossil firm questioned some of the skeleton's parts....

The 'Ultimate Trophy' Is Expected to Fetch $15M

A stunningly preserved T. rex skull will be auctioned

(Newser) - A stunning Tyrannosaurus rex skull unearthed in South Dakota is expected to sell for $15 million or more at auction in New York next month, say officials with Sotheby's . The 200-pound skull fossil, nicknamed Maximus, is being sold Dec. 9 by an owner who wishes to remain anonymous, the...

Theft of 23M-Year-Old Fossil Sparks Fury

Whale fossil was a popular attraction on New Zealand’s North Island, but it's gone now

(Newser) - About 23 million years ago, a baleen whale expired on the sandy banks of what is now the Whanganui River, on the remote west coast of New Zealand’s North Island. There its fossil remained, until Sunday, per the New York Times , when two men cut it from its sandstone...

Remains of 'Hector' Just Sold for Really Big Bucks

Skeleton of dino that inspired velociraptors in 'Jurassic Park' was bought for $12.4M at auction

(Newser) - "Hector" has been sold. The skeleton of the Deinonychus antirrhopus dinosaur species, said to be the inspiration for the velociraptors in 1993's Jurassic Park, was auctioned off by Christie's on Thursday to an undisclosed buyer for $12.4 million, more than double the price the auction house...

Fossils More Than 200M Years Old Stolen From Utah Park

NPS offers $1K reward after Capitol Reef National Park theft

(Newser) - Fossils of reptile tracks in Capitol Reef National Park have been dated to the Triassic period more than 200 million years ago—and their theft has been dated to some time between August 2017 and August 2018. The National Park Service, which describes the fossils as "irreplaceable paleontological resources,...

Scientist: This Dinosaur Died on the Day of Asteroid Strike

Leg was among many finds at North Dakota site that preserved the 'death blow'

(Newser) - The asteroid that hit the Earth around 66 million years ago brought an abrupt end to the Cretaceous period—and to the life of a Thescelosaurus dinosaur whose incredibly well-preserved leg was found at a North Dakota site. Researchers say they can pinpoint the day of the dinosaur's death...

World's Most Expensive Fossil Vanished. Nat Geo Found It

Stan the T. rex has been hiding in UAE, getting ready to be displayed in Abu Dhabi museum

(Newser) - When one of the largest and most complete Tyrannosaurus rex fossils ever found sold at a Christie's auction for $31.8 million in October 2020, experts worried the 39-foot-long specimen would be lost to the public, and to research. That prompted National Geographic to go looking for Stan, as...

Biggest Triceratops Fossil Sells for Far More Than Expected

(Newser) - Update: The biggest triceratops skeleton ever found has sold for more than four times the expected price—and as paleontologists feared, the buyer wasn't a museum. The Drouot auction house says the fossil, known as "Big John," was bought for $7.7 million by a private collector...

Fossil Could Be Oldest Known Animal by 350M Years
Fossil Could Be Oldest
Known Animal by 350M Years
NEW STUDY
Jul 28, 2021 7:20 PM CDT

Fossil Could Be Oldest Known Animal by 350M Years

Possible remains of ancient sponge found in Canada's far north

(Newser) - Fossils discovered in the far north of Canada could push back the proven timeline of animals on Earth back by around 350 million years—a period of time longer than that between the first dinosaurs and the present day. Geologist Elizabeth Turner says the tiny fossils found in the Northwest...

Meet Dragon Man, Our Newly Discovered Relative
Meet Dragon Man, Our
Newly Discovered Relative
new study
Jun 25, 2021 2:11 PM CDT

Meet Dragon Man, Our Newly Discovered Relative

Scientists say he belongs to a newly discovered species closely related to modern humans

(Newser) - He was a big guy, somewhere around 50 years old when he died, and his discovery might just change the narrative on how modern humans came to be. Introducing Dragon Man, so nicknamed for China's Dragon River region where his well-preserved skull was found, reports CNN . Researchers say he...

Paleontologists Gain Insight Into a Dinosaur's Butt
Paleontologists Gain Insight
Into a Dinosaur's Butt
new study
Jan 21, 2021 10:05 AM CST

Paleontologists Gain Insight Into a Dinosaur's Butt

They're able to re-create in 3D a cloacal opening

(Newser) - It's a first for paleontology, and one that might produce a giggle. For the first time, scientists have been able to describe in fine detail a dinosaur's cloaca. If you're not familiar with that body part, CNET translates: It's essentially "a jack-of-all-trades butthole." The...

Scientists: 'Smallest Dinosaur' Wasn't Really a Dinosaur

They now believe Oculudentavis was a lizard

(Newser) - Oculudentavis khaungraawas was a strange and fascinating creature, scientists say—but it probably wasn't a dinosaur. Researchers who identified the hummingbird-sized animal as the smallest known dinosaur in a study published earlier this year have retracted their claim following new research and the discovery of another Oculudentavis fossil, NBC...

Court: Fossils Worth Millions Belong to Montana Family

Mary Ann and Lige Murray own surface rights to land where 'dueling dinosaurs' found

(Newser) - Dinosaur fossils worth millions of dollars unearthed on a Montana ranch belong to the owners of the land’s surface rights, not the owners of the mineral rights, a US appeals court ruled. The June 17 ruling by the 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a 2016 decision by...

We've Never Seen a Dino Stomach Preserved Like This
Dinosaur's Last Meal
Preserved Down to the Cells
NEW STUDY
Jun 3, 2020 10:40 AM CDT

Dinosaur's Last Meal Preserved Down to the Cells

Researchers 'could see the different layers of cells in a leaf fragment'

(Newser) - Scientists say they've uncovered the "best-preserved dinosaur stomach ever found to date," offering an unprecedented look at a 110-million-year-old chewed salad. It's extremely rare to find a preserved dinosaur stomach, and even rarer to find one with much evidence of diet. But the soccer-ball-size stomach of...

Frogs Hopped Around Ancient Antarctica
A Supercontinent Split.
The Frogs Ended Up Here
NEW STUDY
May 6, 2020 10:00 AM CDT

A Supercontinent Split. The Frogs Ended Up Here

Fossils in Antarctica are evidence of the breakup of Gondwana

(Newser) - "Frogs, nowadays, are known on all six other continents. Now we know they were also present on the seventh." That's according to Swedish scientist Thomas Mors, whose discovery of 40-million-year-old ancient horned frog fossils in Antarctica suggests frogs were transported around the globe by the breakup of...

Lucy's Ancestor Now Has a Face
Face of
Lucy's
Ancestor
Revealed
Aug 28, 2019 5:35 PM CDT

Face of Lucy's Ancestor Revealed

Ethiopian fossil reveals face for the species A. anamensis

(Newser) - A fossil from Ethiopia is letting scientists look millions of years into our evolutionary history—and they see a face peering back. The find, from 3.8 million years ago, reveals the face of a presumed ancestor of the species famously represented by Lucy, the celebrated Ethiopian partial skeleton found...

Experts Roaring Over Rare T. Rex on eBay

Skeleton, likely of a juvenile, could be lost to science

(Newser) - What is touted as the only known fossil of a juvenile T. Rex is up for grabs on eBay—which came as quite a shock to the museum showcasing it. The 68 million-year-old skeleton found on private land in Montana in 2013 was on loan to the University of Kansas...

Good News After Devastating Brazil Museum Fire

80% of famed 'Luzia' skull has been recovered

(Newser) - A bit of good news after the catastrophic fire that ravaged Brazil's National Museum last month: One of the museum's most prized possessions has been mostly recovered. Museum director Alexander Kellner tells the AP that "Luzia," the oldest human fossil ever found in Latin America, was...

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