... that in the first scientific study of
fossils in English, William Martin speculated that
horn coral(pictured) was a kind of
bamboo and said another fossil was not a small
crocodile tail?
... that the extinct ant Agroecomyrmex duisburgi(head pictured) was first described in 1868?
... that the entire Arostropsis weevil genus is known from only one specimen, which is 45 million years old?
... that over the course of the history of stegosaur research, their
iconicback plates have been thought to function as armor plating, to regulate body temperature, or to attract mates?
... that Mesotherium ("middle beast") (skull pictured) was so named because its discoverer believed it was an intermediate between
rodents and
pachyderms?
... that Bambolinetta was probably the only
duck species to propel itself underwater with its wings, like a
penguin?
...that the prehistoric marine reptile Excalibosaurus(pictured) was named after
King Arthur's sword because of the sword-like appearance of its upper jaw?
... that the extinct ant Anochetus lucidus is named for its shiny exoskeleton?
... that the recently described extinct
penguinInkayacu from the
Eocene of
Peru is postulated to have had gray and reddish brown feathers, unlike the black and white feathers of living penguins?
... that Ocepeia (pictured), a 60-million-year-old
afrotherianmammal, is named after a Moroccan mining company?
... that Electrinocellia peculiaris is named for the Latin "electrum" meaning
amber, "Inocellia", the type genus for
Inocelliidae, and "peculiaris" for the enigmatic nature of the species?
... that Adolf Carl Noé challenged disbelief in the possibility of North American
coal balls(example pictured) by presenting a wheelbarrow full of them?
...that the discovery of Icadyptes salasi, a prehistoric five-foot-tall
penguin in
Peru, has caused scientists to reconsider the timeline of penguin evolution?
... that the Cretaceous
snakeflyNecroraphidia arcuata takes its name, in part, from the Latin word for "bent" and the Greek word for "dead"?
... that the fossil maple Acer taurocursum is named for its type locality, the "Bull Run flora"?
... that
paleontologistGerta Keller theorizes that dinosaurs did not become extinct until 300,000 years after the
Chicxulub meteor, though she agrees that "I'm sure the day after, they had a headache"?
... that one species of the extinct
Eocene bulldog ant Ypresiomyrma reached up to 25 millimetres (0.98 in) in length?
... that the discovery of the fossil of Shenshou, a squirrel-like early mammal from the
Tiaojishan Formation, pushed the origin of mammals back to the
Late Triassic, 220 million to 200 million years ago?
... that Gustava Aigner made the first discovery of
graptolites in the northern
greywacke zone of the
Alps, with her former fellow student, Ida Peltzmann, who named two species for her?
... that the extinct
sumacRhus rooseae was described from fossils over 35 million years old?
...that the prehistoric
mammalYanoconodon(pictured) was a
Eutriconodont, a group of early, ancestral mammals that in some cases, grew so big they were able to eat small
dinosaurs?
... that dental similarities in Afrotarsius, an African
fossil primate, and Afrasia, a newly described fossil primate from
Myanmar, add support to the hypothesis that
simians first evolved in Asia?
... that before modern
paleontology came about, fossils of Encrinus went by a number of names in Germany, including "sun wheels", "
Saint Boniface's pennies", and "witches' money"?
... that the extinct witchalder Fothergilla malloryi(pictured) is the oldest confirmed member of the genus Fothergilla?
... that the flat-headed crocodilian relative Aegisuchus had a circular projection on top of its skull that may have served as an
eyespot in mating displays?
...that the
type specimen of Dromicosuchus had damage to its jaw and neck that may have been inflicted by the teeth of the large
carnivore it was found underneath?
...that though no fossil grasses have been discovered, the earliest-known
grassland ecosystem, the 30+ million-year-old Tinguiririca fauna of
Chile, can be detected through the grazers'
teeth?
... that the only known specimen of the
early crocodile relativeStegomosuchus was kept in the discoverer's yard for several years before being given over for study?
... that as recently as 500 years ago, the island of
Madagascar was inhabited by giant
lemurs, referred to as subfossil lemurs, that weighed between 10 and 200 kg (22 and 441 lb)?
Fossilized Malagasy hippopotamus with a modern hippopotamus skull for scale
...that although no fossils of the extinct Malagasy Hippopotamus have been dated within the last 1,000 years, villagers in
Madagascar described a similar creature still alive as recently as 1976?
... that one species of the extinct bivalve Similodonta was found in 108.90 metres (357.3 ft) down a Welsh borehole?
...that the discovery of Lazarussuchus showed that
choristoderes, a type of aquatic reptile, had not gone extinct in the
Eocene, but persisted for millions of years after?
... that although the giant fossa, formerly one of the top
carnivores of
Madagascar, is thought to be extinct, there is some anecdotal evidence of very large living
fossas?
... that ants of the extinct genus Haidomyrmex could possibly open their mandibles to almost twice their head size?
... that with a 150-millimetre (5.9 in) wingspan, Sinomeganeura is small for the
Griffenfly family Meganeuridae, known for species with spans over 700 millimetres (28 in)?
... that the family placement for the fossil moth genus Dominickus was not noticed until
entomologistNorman Tindale was looking at pictures of modern moths from Australia?
... that, in one study on the
aetosaurRedondasuchus, the orientation of a diagram in the paper may have contributed to the misidentification of its
holotype as a left
scute rather than a right?
... that Augustasaurus' name comes from the mountain range of northwestern
Nevada, where its
fossilized bones were first discovered?
... that the powerful
teeth and
jaws of Heliopithecus may have played a key role in the spread of
Hominoids from
Africa into
Eurasia, 17 million years ago?
... that Obamadon was an extinct
lizard that was named after President
Barack Obama as a tribute to his "role model of good oral hygiene for the world"?
... that the 150-million-year-old
ink of the
extinct,
squid-like Belemnotheutis(artist's rendition pictured) was used to draw a picture that
paleontologists called "the ultimate self portrait"?
... that although the first two fossils of Indraloris to be found were misidentified as a
carnivoran and a
loris, it is in fact a member of the extinct
adapiform primates?
... that a group of
Late Permian mammal relatives called Nanictidopidae(restoration pictured) may have
eaten fruit because their small teeth were unsuitable for grinding most plant material?
... that the Red Deer Cave people are the youngest
prehistoric people discovered who do not appear similar to modern humans?
... that the extinct ant Anochetus conisquamis is noted for having a nipple-shaped spine?
... that a new species of the extinct ant Archimyrmex was described in 2012?
... that although the prehistoric shark Nanocetorhinus is named for the resemblance of its teeth to miniature Cetorhinus teeth, there is no evidence the two genera are closely related?
... that Orsten,
fossil-bearing
lagerstätten in
Sweden and elsewhere, are called "stinking stones" from organic content that has been preserved since the
Cambrian Period?
... that fossils of the extinct
bivalve family Praenuculidae have been found on every continent except Antarctica?
...that
prehistoricfrogBeelzebufo may have grown to over 40 cm (16 in)*(size comparison pictured), larger than any living frogs, and is called "the Frog from Hell" by the media?
... that remains of the recently described saber-toothed
anomodontTiarajudens were uncovered from a location in
Brazil that was first found using
Google Earth?
... that the name Pachylemur, now used for a type of
extinct giant lemur, was first used as group name of primitive primates once considered intermediate between
pachyderms and
lemurs?
... that over 16 million years ago, four species of parrot in the genus Nelepsittacus made their home in subtropical rainforest in what is now
Otago, New Zealand?
... that humans living next to a lake at the Bouri Formation in
Ethiopia 160,000 and 154,000 years ago butchered not only adult
Hippopotamuses but also those that were newborn?
... that it is unknown whether the dinosaur Nankangia was carnivorous or herbivorous?
... that Wushan Man, a species of Homo, was identified from a fossil
jaw found south of the
Yangtze River but is now thought to come from an extinct
ape that lived in
China two million years ago?
...that eighty years on, scientists are still debating whether the
Palæozoicfossils known as Chitinozoans(
SEM image pictured) represent plants, animals or eggs?
... that the first
Columbian mammoth(artist's restoration pictured) found at the Snowmastodon site, an
Ice Age fossil dig near Denver, was initially dug out by a construction worker using a
bulldozer?
... that the fossil moss Rhizomnium dentatum is preserved in the same amber block as two other mosses and part of a centipede?
... that the 500-million-year-old
Cambrian predator Hurdia was thought to be a number of separate organisms for 100 years, until the complete animal was reconstructed in March 2009?
... that the newly named extinct prawn Aciculopoda is the third unambiguous fossil
decapod from before the
Mesozoic?
... that the extinct ant Afropone was first described from fossils in
kimberlite?
A fossil of Titanomyrma gigantea
... that the discovery of the fossil giant ant Titanomyrma(pictured with a hummingbird) in
Wyoming indicates that warmth-loving
fauna spread through the north between Europe and America during hot spells in the
Eocene?