Palaeontology: David Attenborough’s new app brings prehistoric creatures into your home

David Attenborough is bringing long-extinct prehistoric creatures into people’s homes through the magic of augmented reality in a new app. ‘Museum Alive’, from Alchemy Immersive and Atlantic Productions, is an extension of Sir David’s BAFTA-winning 2013 documentary ‘Natural History Museum Alive’. Suitable for all ages, the app uses your camera to create the illusion of … Read more

Prehistoric 16-foot crocodile nicknamed ‘swamp king’ terrorized Australia 5 million years ago 

Scientists have just identified a prehistoric crocodile measuring more than 16 feet long that stalked the swamps of Australia millions of years ago. Fossils of Paludirex vincenti, nicknamed the ‘swamp king,’ were first unearthed in the 1980s but the creature was only recently identified as a distinct species. It was an apex predator that preyed … Read more

Eight-mile wall of prehistoric paintings of animals and humans is discovered in Amazon rainforest

The Sistine Chapel of the ancients’: Eight-mile wall of prehistoric paintings of animals and humans is discovered in heart of the Amazon rainforest Eight-mile wall of prehistoric rock art in Colombia features animals and humans  Discovered in the Amazonian rainforest after it was created up to 12,500 years Found on cliff faces last year in … Read more

Remains of a prehistoric mastodon that dates back 10,000 found in Colombia

Fossils of a mastodon, a giant prehistoric ancestor of the modern-day elephant, have been discovered in a gold mine in central Colombia.   Miners working in a tunnel near the town of Quinchia, in the central-west province of Risaralda, discovered the remains including an intact tusk measuring more than three feet long. While mastodon fossils have … Read more

New prehistoric monument dating back 4,500 years is discovered in English countryside 

A hole new ‘Stonehenge’! New prehistoric monument dating back 4,500 years made up of 15ft-deep shafts in a mile-wide circle is discovered in English countryside New prehistoric shafts have been discovered around Durrington Walls henge  Coring suggests the features are Neolithic, excavated over 4,500 years ago  It is thought the shafts served as a boundary … Read more

World’s biggest reptile egg laid by a prehistoric sea monster 66 million years ago

A soft egg belonging to a giant sea lizard discovered near Antarctica wasn’t the only major egg-related discovery. A team of researchers examining dinosaur remains claim soft eggs laid by dinosaurs may not be as unusual as scientists first thought – claiming that early dinosaurs laid these type of eggs. The study, led by the American … Read more

Dozens of prehistoric, Roman and medieval sites are discovered by lockdown archaeologists

Citizen scientists searching aerial images while on coronavirus lockdown have uncovered dozens of previously-hidden Roman, prehistoric and medieval sites.  Archaeological digs are currently on hold due to the pandemic but researchers have found roads, burial mounds and settlements – all while working from home. Researchers from the University of Exeter asked teams of volunteers to … Read more

Prehistoric ANCHOVIES evolved terrifying fangs and an enormous sabre-tooth 66million years ago

You wouldn’t fancy that on a pizza: Prehistoric ANCHOVIES evolved terrifying fangs and an enormous sabre-tooth 66million years ago Two prehistoric species of anchovy were found in Belgium and Pakistan  Analysis of the fossilised remains revealed the unusual dentition of the fish  They had sharp fangs on the bottom jaw and a lone sabre-tooth on the top … Read more

Deadly prehistoric crocodiles mimicked whales and dolphins

Deadly prehistoric crocodiles mimicked the anatomy of dolphins and whales to dominate Jurassic seas 170 million years ago, new research shows.  Scottish researchers say the extinct crocs, called thalattosuchians, evolved from their land-roaming ancestors to become fast swimming predators.  The 33-foot-long creatures adapted their limbs into flippers, streamlined their bodies and formed whale-like fluked tails … Read more

Prehistoric pair of fornicating flies that became frozen in amber 41 million years ago discovered 

A pair of fornicating flies that became frozen in amber 41 million years ago are among the oldest fossilised mating animals ever to be discovered. The frisky insects appear to have been in the very throes of passion when they got trapped in gluey tree resin and preserved — unparted, even in death. Over time, … Read more