Hundreds of exquisitely preserved mammal feces excavated from the famous La Brea Tar Pits have the potential to provide invaluable new insights into what Southern California was like in the Pleistocene Epoch.
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New Feathered Dinosaur From New Mexico Was Among the ‘Last of the Raptors’
A carnivorous dinosaur that once hunted in New Mexico was among the last of its kind, paleontologists say.
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World’s Best-Preserved Armored Dinosaur, a ‘Mona Lisa’ of Fossils, Found in Alberta
The fossil of a dinosaur found in Alberta is so complete and well-preserved that it resembles a statue, scientists say.
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T. Rex Didn’t Have Feathers, New Study of Fossil Skin Finds
A new study says Tyrannosaurus and many other large carnivores of the Cretaceous were likely covered only in scales.
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America’s Most Complete Armored Dinosaur, Soft Tissues Intact, Found in Montana
The fossil of an armored dinosaur discovered in Montana is the most complete ever found in North America, paleontologists say, and it’s the first anywhere to be found with a complete skull and tail.
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Saber-Tooth Cats, Dire Wolves Found in La Brea Tar Pits Show Wounds From Ice Age Battles
The bones of saber-tooth cats and extinct dire wolves from downtown Los Angeles still bear the marks of injuries sustained in battle more than 11,500 years ago, researchers say.
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N. America’s Oldest Bison Fossil Found, Revealing ‘Mother of All Bison’
A fossil bone found in Yukon reveals that all North American bison descended from a single female that crossed into the Americas less than 200,000 years ago.
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New Dinosaur Found in Montana Reveals Tyrannosaurs’ True Face (They Didn’t Have Lips)
A group of superbly preserved dinosaur fossils discovered in Montana are giving scientists the clearest picture yet of the giant theropods known as tyrannosaurs.
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Giant Skull Found in Alaska May Be Evidence of Elusive ‘King’ Polar Bear, Experts Say
A giant skull discovered in Alaska may belong to a subspecies of polar bear that’s new to scientists but familiar to indigenous people in the Arctic.
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Clovis Culture, Ice Age Fauna Weren’t Wiped Out by Cosmic Impact, Study Finds
A new study may finally put to rest one of the most vexing theories about America’s natural history: that the giant fauna of the Ice Age — and the culture of humans who hunted them — were wiped out by a cosmic impact.
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Top 5 Fossil Finds Around the American West in 2016
The year in paleontology around the American West was full of surprises, and so is Western Digs’ most-read natural history news of 2016.
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Ancient Predator of the Northern Plains Had Fiercest Bite of Any Mammal Ever, Study Says
A scrappy mammal that lived alongside dinosaurs packed the most powerful bite of any mammal, living or extinct, scientists say.
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Ice Age Cave Dwellers in Oregon Lived Among Extinct ‘Stout-Legged’ Horses, Fossils Show
Some of the earliest known inhabitants of the Pacific Northwest lived alongside a now-extinct species of ‘stout-legged’ horse, scientists say.
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‘Unusual’ Mammoth Fossil Discovered on California Island
Scientists have discovered the remains of an “unusual” mammoth that lived alongside some of the earliest known human inhabitants of Southern California.
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Giant Triassic Predator, Named for Baby-Eating Monster, Discovered in New Mexico
In a fossil quarry in New Mexico, paleontologists have found a creature fearsome enough to be worthy of the name Vivaron.
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Tiny Pterosaur Found Near Vancouver May Change View of Flying Reptiles
The fossil of a tiny pterosaur discovered in British Columbia is the first find of its kind, scientists say, and it promises to change the way we think about the flying reptiles.
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