What makes Wadi al-Hitan extraordinary is the type of fossils found here. The valley contains the remains of Archaeoceti, an ...

In the heart of the Egyptian Desert, Wadi Al-Hitan, or “Valley of the Whales,” fossilised whale skeletons lie exposed beneath the sun. Their vertebrae.

Our planet has been home to many magnificent beasts who roamed the surface of the Earth millions and billions of years ago. Did you know 99% of all the beasts that have ever lived on this globe have ...

For tens of millions of years, whales have been a part of the oceans. Because of this, it would be easy to believe that whales evolved from aquatic creatures as the oceans warmed and became more ...

One of the most important steps in the evolution of modern mammals was the development of highly sensitive hearing. The middle ear of mammals, with an eardrum and several small bones, allows us to ...

This important study fills a major geographic and temporal gap in understanding Paleocene mammal evolution in Asia and proposes an intriguing "brawn before bite" hypothesis grounded in diverse ...

More than a dozen mammal species shimmer and glint purple and green, like precious opals. Their fur is iridescent, meaning its colour appears to change depending on the animal’s orientation relative ...

Fossil studies of the extinct predator Dissacus praenuntius offer clues as to how ancient animals responded to environmental changes. The ancient omnivore was about the size of a jackal or a coyote.

The shift from lizard-like sprawl to upright walking in mammals wasn’t a smooth climb up the evolutionary ladder. Instead, it was a messy saga full of unexpected detours. Using new bone-mapping tech, ...

The Nature Index 2025 Research Leaders — previously known as Annual Tables — reveal the leading institutions and countries/territories in the natural and health sciences, according to their output in ...

Understanding what drove the emergence and demise of lineages during biodiversity crises may provide key insights at the time of the sixth mass extinction. Here, using an vetted fossil database, we ...