Articles for tag: Fossils

Wadi Al Hitan

The Valley of the Whales: A Fossilized Ocean in the Desert

Annette Uy

In the vast desert expanses of Egypt, nestled in the West of the Nile, lies a remarkable site that tells a story of transformation spanning millions of years. Known as Wadi Al-Hitan, or the Valley of the Whales, this UNESCO World Heritage Site captures a pivotal chapter in Earth’s evolutionary history. Here, fossils of ancient ...

Dinosaur Eggs

How Fossilized Dinosaur Eggs Are Changing What We Know About Reproduction

Annette Uy

The discovery of fossilized dinosaur eggs has opened an exciting new chapter in paleontology—the study of ancient life. These remarkable finds are reframing our understanding of how dinosaurs reproduced and cared for their young. By examining these ancient remnants, scientists can piece together details about the reproductive habits of these fascinating creatures, offering fresh insights ...

Quito’s Prehistoric Past: When Ecuador’s Highlands Were a Shallow Sea

Quito’s Prehistoric Past: When Ecuador’s Highlands Were a Shallow Sea

Annette Uy

Imagine standing atop the rolling green hills of Quito, with clouds billowing around you and snow-capped volcanoes glinting in the sun. Now, picture that same spot, not as a bustling city in the Andes, but as the floor of a vast, sunlit sea, teeming with ancient marine life. It almost feels impossible, even magical—yet science ...

Tehran’s Fossil Beds: Ancient Fauna Beneath Iran’s Capital

Tehran’s Fossil Beds: Ancient Fauna Beneath Iran’s Capital

Annette Uy

Imagine strolling through the bustling streets of Tehran, cars honking, people weaving through markets, the city alive with modern energy—yet, hidden deep beneath your feet, a silent world slumbers. Not just any world, but one shaped by monstrous mammals, ancient reptiles, and creatures so strange they seem ripped from the pages of fantasy. Few realize ...

The Giants of Java: Homo erectus Fossils Beneath Surabaya’s Soil

The Giants of Java: Homo erectus Fossils Beneath Surabaya’s Soil

Annette Uy

Imagine walking through the bustling streets of Surabaya, Indonesia, never suspecting what lies beneath your feet. Hidden below the city’s modern chaos and sprawling neighborhoods are the secrets of ancient giants—Homo erectus, our mysterious ancestors who once roamed Java’s prehistoric landscapes. Their bones, fossilized over hundreds of thousands of years, whisper stories of survival, adaptation, ...

The Burgess Shale Fossils: Where Evolution First Got Weird

The Burgess Shale Fossils: Where Evolution First Got Weird

Annette Uy

Imagine opening a time capsule buried for over half a billion years, only to find creatures so bizarre, so utterly alien, that you question everything you ever thought you knew about life on Earth. That’s exactly what happened when scientists first cracked open the Burgess Shale—an extraordinary fossil bed hidden high in the Canadian Rockies. ...

Antarctica’s Tropical Past: Fossils Reveal a Lost, Lush Continent Beneath the Ice

Antarctica’s Tropical Past: Fossils Reveal a Lost, Lush Continent Beneath the Ice

Annette Uy

Imagine standing on the icy plains of Antarctica, winds howling, temperatures plummeting below freezing—and then, try to picture towering forests, strange ferns, and dinosaurs wandering where only penguins shuffle today. It sounds unbelievable, almost like the setting for a science fiction novel. But scientists have uncovered a dazzling secret: beneath Antarctica’s miles-thick ice lies the ...

a dinosaur skeleton in a museum display case

Top 7 Fossils That Were Once Considered Proof of Mythical Creatures

Suhail Ahmed

Long before paleontology had a playbook, bones and teeth surfaced from riverbanks and caves like messages from another world. Communities tried to translate them the only way they knew how: through stories of monsters, guardians, and gods. The result was a strange duet between geology and imagination, where fossil finds could validate legends and legends ...

Scientists Just Found How One Fossil May Prove Flight Evolved Multiple Times

Jan Otte

Few fossils have transformed our understanding of evolution as radically as Archaeopteryx, the famous “first bird” that obliterated the dividing line between dinosaurs and contemporary birds. Today, a newly re-examined specimen, the 14th ever found, is re authoring the history of flight itself. In exquisite detail, this fossil shows previously unseen aspects of Archaeopteryx’s feathers, ...

The Prehistoric Giants of South Dakota: Inside the Fossil-Rich Badlands

The Prehistoric Giants of South Dakota: Inside the Fossil-Rich Badlands

Annette Uy

Imagine standing atop a rugged bluff with the wind whipping past as you gaze out over endless, jagged spires and striped hills. Beneath your feet, hidden within the sunbaked earth, lies a prehistoric world teeming with giants—creatures that ruled the land long before humans ever set foot on the plains. Welcome to South Dakota’s Badlands, ...