Richard Pallardy

The dinosaurs were not in decline before the asteroid hit, a new study finds. Instead, poor fossilization conditions and unexposed late Cretaceous rock layers mean they're either not preserved or hard to find.

Global warming is raising the body temperature of Australian crocodiles, forcing them to spend less time diving and more time cooling down.

Newly described scorpion can spray and inject its venom — the first South American species known to do this.

The well-preserved skull belongs to a never-before-seen species of sauropodomorph that potentially grew up to 33 feet long.

We take our timekeeping rules for granted, but the history of these rules is long and complex.

Tsunamis and tidal waves are the powerful types of wave on Earth, but very different processes are involved in their formation.

A 3,775-year-old log found in Canada had barely lost any of its carbon content since being buried, indicating "wood vaulting" is a viable means of carbon storage.

Rare fossils of the mosasaur Globidens alabamaensis — a 20 foot predator with strange, mushroom-shaped teeth — unearthed in northeastern Texas.

A pregnant porbeagle shark is believed to have been eaten by a great white, with the larger predator swallowing its tracking device off the coast of Bermuda, scientists report.

Ancient origins of cobras traced back to Asia, before jumping continents to spread across the world up to 37.5 million years ago.

A single specimen of an ancient tree species was found in 1895. Now scientists are using AI to find it a mate.

New species of dinosaur discovered in Utah may have lived underground, with near-complete fossils indicating they died in burrows.

Scientists discover what appears to be the second known living species of vampire squid swimming in deep water off Hainan island, China.

Research on whether animals can recognize themselves in the mirror began in 1970 1 and just a handful of species have since passed the test ever since.

The baobab tree evolved on the island of Madagascar before eventually spreading to Africa and Australia, new research suggests.

Ancient zircon crystals hold chemical clues that of freshwater may have existed on Earth soon after it formed.

Dice snakes theatrically stage their own deaths, using blood and feces to convince predators they've shuffled off their mortal coils.

Arabica coffee plant appears to have evolved between 600,000 and 1 million years ago after two other coffee species crossbred in the forests of what is now Ethiopia.

Newly discovered ichthyosaur that lived 200 million years ago in the Triassic sea is potentially the biggest to ever live, scientists say.

Anglerfish first colonized the ocean's midnight zone 55 million years ago, during a period of extreme global warming, a new study finds. The bizarre fish adapted to thrive in the deep sea by becoming sexual parasites, the researchers said.

Beluga whales appear to change the shape of their heads during encounters with one another in what scientists believe is a form of visual communication among this highly social species.

Gars have the slowest rate of evolution of all jawed vertebrates, having barely changed since first appearing at the time of the dinosaurs.

Wollemi pines — thought to have gone extinct 2 million years ago — were rediscovered in 1994. Scientists are now hoping to reintroduce the species in the wild in a conservation effort that could take centuries.

Dinosaurs may have ruled Earth for over 160 million years because the way they walked gave them a big advantage during the drying climate of the Triassic.