fossil

A fossil of an armadillo-like mammal appears to bear cut marks from butchering by humans, suggesting people were living in South America at least 20,000 years ago, even earlier than once thought.

A new analysis of what were initially thought to be microbial fossils in Greenland suggests they might instead just be mineral structures created when ancient tectonic forces squeezed stone.

Recently, Drs. Lindsay Zanno and Victoria Arbour took a brief scouting expedition to New Mexico, looking for dinosaur fossils exposed at the surface of 90-million-year-old rock. Only three North American dinosaur species have been identified from this time period. They want to find more.

Genetic sleuthing and comparisons of recently discovered fossils with living snakes point to a "protosnake" ancestor that likely had tiny hind legs and lived about 120 million years ago.