Extinct Animals

Could this exciting find help bridge the gaps between Africa's late Cretaceous fossil record and that of other continents?

By Mark Mancini

Scientists are at odds about whether Velociraptors worked together to take down their prey.

By Mark Mancini

A new study found that the Beelzebufo frog had a bite strong enough to take down dinosaurs.

By Mark Mancini

A new study suggests the extinct aquatic reptiles used all four flippers for uniquely efficient underwater motion.

By Mark Mancini

Tyrannosaurus rex was a giant predator that roamed the earth, so why did it have such tiny arms?

By Mark Mancini

Scientists generally agree that dinosaurs sported colorful, feather-like plumage. So do moviemakers lack imagination, or do audiences?

By Chris Opfer

The megapodes were supertall, but that didn't keep them from taking flight.

By Kate Kershner

The colossal footprints of an herbivorous dinosaur found in western Australia might belong to the biggest dinosaur ever.

By Jesslyn Shields

When we think venom, we think cobras and vipers. But Euchambersia was a reptile, a mammalian ancestor, and venomous, according to new fossil analysis.

By Patrick J. Kiger

This insect's appearance and characteristics are so unusual, it has received its own scientific order.

By Alia Hoyt

The method this ancient carnivore employed is unlike anything we see in predators today.

By Jesslyn Shields

Spiclypeus shipporum was a dinosaur that roamed Montana 76 million years ago, and its unique horn structures set it apart from other horned dinos.

By Christopher Hassiotis

Nature is one big interconnected system. Learn how flowers and dinosaurs helped the dung beetle appear on the planet.

By Jesslyn Shields

The character of King Louie gets a serious primate upgrade in the new Disney live-action-meets-CGI film. Did the ape also serve as inspiration for sasquatch and yeti?

By Laurie L. Dove

The new dino discovery of Timurlengia euotica in Uzbekistan shows that Tyrannosaurus rex ancestors evolved smarts before they got large and took charge.

By Jesslyn Shields

Centuries later, the flightless bird is finally getting some cred.

By Robert Lamb

More than 100 years after the last quagga died, scientists in South Africa are using selective breeding to bring it back.

By Laurie L. Dove

The bony fish measured more than six feet long and ate prey using a filtering system similar to that of animals today.

By Christopher Hassiotis

Iguanodon continues to perplex us. Across the vastness of evolutionary time, she gives us a double thumbs-up. We just don't know if we should run or throw her a ripe mango.

By Robert Lamb

Both of these massive prehistoric creatures belonged to the same family, but they're actually very different species.

By Karen Kirkpatrick

Grizzly bears are usually associated with colder climates, so you might be surprised to learn that they've also called Mexico home.

By Karen Kirkpatrick

The basic idea of "Jurassic Park" — minus the carnage — is both appealing and approaching reality. But reintroducing extinct species requires some careful consideration.

By Karen Kirkpatrick

Centuries ago, people didn't just sit on park benches and feed pigeons bread -- they ate the birds, too. Needless to say, passenger pigeons did not respond well to humans' voracious appetite.

By Karen Kirkpatrick

A lot of prehistoric animals were massive, but do we really know why? And is there a larger animal roaming the planet today?

By Karen Kirkpatrick & Sarah Gleim

A mysterious wild horse called the tarpan eluded hunters for centuries until succumbing to extinction. What made it special?

By Karen Kirkpatrick