Evolution Diary

A fossilized dinosaur known as Leonardo has shed light on what Montana was like 77 million years ago—including what the duck-billed reptile ate.

Watch the video at National Geographic

The complex coloured plumage of extinct birds which once soared over the heads of dinosaurs could soon be revealed.

Scientists have shown they are able to interpret the colour patterns seen in 100 million-year-old fossil feathers.

Writing in the journal Biology Letters, US researchers reveal how ancient feathers found in Brazil displayed “striking” bands of black and white. Keep reading →

The largest study ever of bird genetics has uncovered some surprising facts about the avian evolutionary tree, U.S. researchers said on Thursday, including many that are bound to ruffle some feathers.

Falcons, for example, are not closely related to hawks and eagles, despite many similarities, while colorful hummingbirds, which flit around in the day, evolved from a drab-looking nocturnal bird called a nightjar.

And parrots and songbirds are closer cousins than once thought.

The findings challenge many assumptions about bird family relationships and suggest many biology textbooks and bird-watchers’ field guides may need to be changed. Keep reading →

They may have been vegetarians, but the ancient wombats that roamed Australia were a frightening lot.

Up to 9 feet (3 meters) long and 70 inches (180 centimeters) tall, some of the marsupials weighed as much as a pickup truck and stood as tall as a person. Others were much smaller, about the weight of a compact car.

This size variation has led paleontologists to debate just how many ancient wombat species existed, with estimates ranging from 2 to 20.

But a new study, published in the current issue of the journal Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, suggests that—despite their vastly different sizes—ancient wombats all belonged to the same species, and that gender differences accounted for the huge size gaps. Keep reading →

Scientists say a fossil of a four-legged fish sheds new light on the process of evolution.

The creature had a fish-like body but the head of an animal more suited to land than water.

The researchers’ study, published in the journal Nature, says Ventastega curonica would have looked similar to a small alligator.

Scientists say the 365-million-year-old species eventually became an evolutionary dead end. Keep reading →