Fossils

Find out everything there is to know about fossils and stay updated on the latest fossil news with the comprehensive articles, interactive features and fossil pictures at LiveScience.com. Learn more about these fascinating findings as scientists continue to make amazing discoveries about fossils.
Latest about Fossils

Refuge from the worst mass extinction in Earth's history discovered fossilized in China
By Stephanie Pappas published
The End-Permian mass extinction killed an estimated 80% of life on Earth, but new research suggests that plants might have done okay.

Giant flying squirrels as big as cats once lived in Tennessee
By Patrick Pester published
Researchers have identified a giant flying squirrel fossil from a cache of unusual animal remains dug out of an ancient sinkhole in Tennessee 25 years ago. The fossil sheds light on how flying squirrels reached North America.

'I knew they were something special': New York homeowner discovers mastodon jaw fossils in backyard
By Patrick Pester published
A New York homeowner, in Scotchtown, Orange County, was "thrilled" to find mastodon fossils in their backyard, which museum staff plan to study to learn more about the last ice age.

Fossil Forest, Dorset: England's 145 million-year-old tree stump fossils preserved by ancient microbes
By Sascha Pare published
The Fossil Forest in Dorset is a stretch of southern English coastline peppered with living mounds of limestone that hide the remains of cypress trees from the late Jurassic period.

Woman accidentally discovers 280 million-year-old lost world while hiking in Italian Alps
By Sascha Pare published
Stunningly preserved fossils of reptilian footprints and underbellies discovered last year in the Italian Alps have helped researchers unearth a tropical lakeside ecosystem that predates dinosaurs.

Meet FRED: The world's 1st-ever, nearly complete fossil database
By Kate Evans, Eos.org published
The near-complete database reflects a spirit of trust and collaboration among the country’s scientific community — but will it last?

'Another piece of the puzzle': Antarctica's 1st-ever amber fossil sheds light on dinosaur-era rainforest that covered South Pole 90 million years ago
By Harry Baker published
Until now, Antarctica was the only continent on Earth without any known amber fossils. But sediment cores taken from below the seafloor have revealed a tiny piece of fossilized resin holding fragments of an ancient rainforest that covered the South Pole during the Cretaceous period.

1.6-billion-year-old fossils push back origin of multicellular life by tens of millions of years
By Kiley Price published
Researchers uncovered fossils of multicellular eukaryotes that are over a billion years old.
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