Scientists have reconstructed the brain of a dinosaur that roamed Britain 205 million years ago, revealing startling insights into how it lived. Thecodontosaurus is related to herbivore descendants Diplodocus and Brontosaurus. But it is believed the creature, which was roughly the size of a dog, ran fast on two legs, ate meat and had good … Read more
The earliest ancestors of pterosaurs were a species of small, wingless reptile called lagerpetids that lived 237 million years ago, a new study reveals. Computed tomographic (CT) scans of fossils reveal similarities between the winged pterosaurs and wingless lagerpetids, which had characteristically long hind-legs. Although one could fly and the other couldn’t, pterosaurs and lagerpetids shared some … Read more
Insects today have wings because their primitive crustacean ancestors moved to land about 300 million years ago, a new study has revealed. The wings originally evolved from a random outgrowth or ‘lobe’ on the legs of the crustacean ancestors, US researchers claim. Sections of the crustacean’s leg were gradually pushed back into its body to support … Read more
A newly discovered fossilised ape tooth found in India is the earliest known ancestor of the modern-day gibbon and it lived 13 million years ago, study finds. The fossil belongs to a new species of ape named Kapi ramnagarensis and was discovered by fossil hunters at the Ramnager dig site in northern India. Experts from … Read more
A dog-sized dinosaur that lived 230 million years ago is an evolutionary ‘missing link’ to the horned and armoured giants, according to new research. The diminutive dinosaur is named Sacisaurus agudoensis and is believed to be an ancestor of Triceratops and Ankylosaurus. Analysis from Brazilian researchers found the Labrador-sized creature fits into the genetic history … Read more
DNA from an unknown ancient ancestor of humans that once bred with Denisovans still exists among people today, study reveals Researchers from the US developed a new tool to analyse ancient DNA Three per cent of the Neanderthal genome can from an ancient human group This genetic transfer is thought to have occurred some 300,000 years ago Also, … Read more
A virus 96 per cent identical to the coronavirus that causes Covid-19 was found in an abandoned mine in China seven years ago, according to an investigation. The bat-infested copper mine in Mojiang, western China, was home to a coronavirus that left six adult men sick with pneumonia and three of them dead. Scientists took … Read more
An aristocrat whose ancestor has been condemned as a racist by Black Lives Matter campaigners has hit back – claiming his forefather should actually be praised for his role in ending slavery. Bobby Dundas, the 10th Viscount Melville, says that far from being a racist supporter of the slave trade, his seven-time great-grandfather Henry Dundas … Read more
Two million-year-old hominin with human-like thumb knuckles is the earliest ancient human ancestor to use its hands to grasp objects as well as climb trees, study shows Australopithecus sediba is a distant relative that lived two million years ago Study claims its fingers were suited to climbing and grabbing branches But its thumb was well-suited … Read more
Human ancestors who lived over three million years ago had an ape-like brain structure but human-like brain growth that showed prolonged periods of care. The findings are based on analysis of eight fossil skulls of Australopithecus afarensis – the species to which the famous early human ancestor ‘Lucy’ belongs. A. afarensis inhabited East Africa more … Read more