For the first time, scientists have discovered fossilized amber in Antarctica, containing microscopic remnants of a dinosaur-era rainforest. This unprecedented find, a tiny fragment unearthed beneath the seafloor, unveils a previously unknown chapter of the continent’s history and opens exciting avenues for future research.
A remarkably preserved dinosaur fossil has revealed that nodosaurs, a type of armored dinosaur, had keratin armor that could withstand the force of a high-speed car crash. This discovery challenges previous assumptions about dinosaur armor and highlights its potential use in both predator defense and intraspecies combat.
A recently discovered duck-billed dinosaur, named Coahuilasaurus lipani, has been found to have a unique and impressive schnoz, reminiscent of Yoshi from Super Mario World. The dinosaur also possesses unusual tooth-like spikes on the roof of its mouth, which likely helped it eat tough plants in the tropical forests of Mexico 73 million years ago. This discovery challenges the assumption that dinosaur species had wide-ranging territories, suggesting that they may have been more geographically localized than previously thought.
New research suggests that Greenland was virtually ice-free less than a million years ago, challenging the notion of its continuous ice cover. A study published in PNAS analyzed an ice core and found fossils, including an Arctic poppy seed, indicating a tundra ecosystem existed in the center of Greenland during a period when the ice sheet had melted away. This finding has implications for the future as Greenland’s ice continues to melt at an alarming rate, potentially leading to a significant rise in sea levels.
