WebSightings from 2020
A wealth of articles and news reports of interest to MGS members appears
on the web every day. As a service to our membership and others interested in paleontology and geology, links to some
of these articles and news reports appearing in 2020 will be gathered here. On occasion, a particularly
interesting post from a blog will be included.
These links are arranged by publication date, with the latest at the top.
WebSightings from 2019 can be accessed here.
If you find any dead links, please email the . Thanks.
________________________ 2020 ______________________
-
Earth Is on the Cusp of the Sixth Mass Extinction. Here's What Paleontologists Want You to Know., Avery Hurt, Discover Magazine,
December 3, 2020.
-
Melbourne Museum Acquires World's Most Complete Triceratops Skeleton in 'Immense' Dinosaur Deal, Stephanie Convery, The Guardian,
December 1, 2020.
- Newly-Discovered Long-Necked Dinosaur Survived
Early Jurassic Global Warming, Enrico de Lazaro, Sci News, November 30, 2020.
-
Hidden Diversity During the Age of Dinosaurs Revealed by Early Bird With Tall, Sickle-Shaped Beak, Ohio University, Sci
Tech Daily, November 26, 2020.
- Scientists Discover
Exotic New Mineral Forged in the Furnace of a Russian Volcano, Peter Dockrill, Live Science, November 19, 2020.
-
Burning Fossil Fuels Helped Drive Earth's Most Massive Extinction, Lucas Joel, The New York Times, November 18, 2020.
- Prehistoric Shark Hid Its Largest Teeth, University of
Zurich, Phys.Org, November 18, 2020.
- 'Dueling Dinosaurs' Fossil, Hidden From
Science For 14 Years. Could Finally Reveal Its Secrets>, Michael Greshko, National Geographic, November 17, 2020.
- Discovery of New Seal Species
Rewrites Evolutionary History, Monash University, Sci Tech Daily, November 10, 2020.
-
Remains of New Flying Reptile Species Spotted in UK Museum Drawer, Steven Morris, The Guardian, November 10, 2020.
- Male or
Female Dinosaurs? It's Not Easy to Tell Them Apart, Riley Black, Discover Magazine, November 10, 2020.
- Cambrian Shrimp-Like Arthropod Had
Five Eyes, Enrico de Lazaro, Sci News, November 6, 2020.
- The
Fossil of a Duckbill Dinosaur Has Been Found on the 'Wrong' Continent, Mike McRae, Science Alert, November 6, 2020.
- Fossil Poops Show Fishy Lunches From
200 Million Years Ago, University of Bristol, Phys.Org, November 3, 2020.
- Rodent-Like Mammal From Cretaceous
Period Lived in Colonies, Sci News, November 3, 2020.
- Magnetism of
Himalayan Rocks Reveals the Mountains' Complex Tectonic History, Craig Robert Martin, The Conversation, November 2, 2020.
-
240 Million-Year-Old Marine Predator Species With Fang-Like Teeth Uncovered in China, Taylor & Francis Group, Sci Tech Daily,
October 28, 2020.
- Antarctica Yields Oldest Fossils
of Giant Birds With 6.4-Meter Wingspan, Robert Sanders, University of California-Berkeley, Phys.Org, October 27, 2020.
- These Two Bird-Sized Dinosaurs
Evolved Bat-Like Wings, But Struggled to Fly, Cell Press, Sci Tech Daily, October 22, 2020.
- We Finally Know What a Dinosaur's
Butthole Looks Like, Riley Black, Slate, October 21, 2020.
- 24-Million-Year-Old Nursery for Baby Megasharks
Discovered in South Carolina, Laura Geggel, Live Science, October 19, 2020.
-
End-Permian Extinction Triggered Switch to Warm-Bloodedness, Sci News, October 16, 2020.
- Dinosaur
Skeleton Found by 12-Year-Old Near Drumheller, Alta., Hailed as 'Significant Discovery', Joel Dryden, CBC News, October 15, 2020.
-
Pioneering Analysis of 200 Million-Year-Old Teeth Reveals First Mammals Lived More Like Reptiles, University of Bristol, Sci Tech Daily,
October 12, 2020.
- Fossil Footprints:
The Fascinating Story Behind the Longest Known Prehistoric Journey, Matthew Robert Bennett and Sally Christine Reynolds, The Conversation, October 9, 2020.
- New Species of
Mosasaur Unveiled in Morocco, Sci News, October 8, 2020.
- Stan the
T. rex Sells for Record $32 Million at Auction, Gretchen Vogel, Science, October 7, 2020.
-
Earth Grows Fine Gemstones in Minutes - Crystals Could Grow Up to 3 Feet Per Day in Some Cooling Magmas, Rice University,
Sci Tech Daily, October 6, 2020.
- Dawn of the
Dinosaurs Triggered by Newly Discovered Mass Extinction Event, Michael J. Benton, Sci Tech Daily, September 30, 2020.
- Evidence That Prehistoric Flying Reptiles
Probably Had Feathers Refuted, University of Portsmouth, Science Daily, September 28, 2020.
-
Oldest Animal Sperm to Date Was Just Discovered in 100-Million-Year-Old Amber, Carly Cassella, Science Alert, September 16, 2020.
-
Remains of Ice Age Cave Bear Found Preserved in Russian Arctic, Associated Press, The Guardian, September 14, 2020.
- Carboniferous-Period
Sea Scorpion Was Capable of Breathing Air, Enrico de Lazaro, Sci News, September 11, 2020.
- Carbide Planets May Be Made
of Silica and Diamonds, Sci News, September 11, 2020.
-
Fossil Upends Theory of How Shark Skeletons Evolved, Nicola Davis, The Guardian, September 7, 2020.
- Mexican Construction Site
May Be World's Biggest Mammoth Graveyard, Associated Press, CBC News, September 4, 2020.
- Graphite, R. L. Squires,
Paleo & Geo Topics blog, September 3, 2020.
- Paleontologists Find
110-Million-Year-Old Wood-Boring Trace Fossil, Sci News, September 3, 2020.
- True Size of
Prehistoric Mega-Shark Finally Revealed, University of Bristol, Phys.Org, September 3, 2020.
-
The Guardian View on Studying Dinosaurs: Ancient Creatures, Cutting-Edge Science, The Guardian editorial, August 28, 2020.
- Paleontologists Find
Evidence of Hibernation-Like State in Tusks of Triassic Mammal Relative, Sci News, August 28, 2020.
- Fossil Reveals 'One of the Cutest
Dinosaurs' Ever Found, Lucas Joel, The New York Times, August 27, 2020.
-
Prehistoric Last Meal: Marine Reptile Fossil Has Beast in Stomach, Nicola Davis, The Guardian, August 20, 2020.
- Exploding Stars May Have Caused Mass Extinction on
Earth, Study Shows, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Science Daily, August 18, 2020.
- Traces of Ancient Life
Tell Story of Early Diversity in Marine Ecosystems, University of Saskatchewan, Phys.Org, August 14, 2020.
- Ancient Genomes Suggest Wooly
Rhinos Went Extinct Due to Climate Change, Not Overhunting, Cell Press, Science Daily, August 13, 2020.
- New Study Confirms
the Power of Deinosuchus and its 'Teeth the Size of Bananas', Taylor and Francis, Phys.Org, August 10, 2020.
- Triassic Aquatic Reptile
Had Extraordinarily Long Neck, Sci News, August 10, 2020.
- Ammonite Miners
Dig Up 74-Million-Year-Old Fish Fossil in Southern Alberta, Sarah Rieger, CBC News, July 30, 2020.
- Giant Predatory Owls Once Lived
in Ecuador, Enrico de Lazaro, Sci News, July 22, 2020.
- Scientists Have a Powerful New
Tool to Investigate Triassic Dark Ages, University of Texas at Austin, SciTechDaily, July 20, 2020.
- Freeway Project Unearths a
Time When Camels Roamed San Diego, John Wilkens of The San Diego Union-Tribune, Phys.Org, July 20, 2020.
- Advanced Technology Sheds New
Light on Evolution of Teeth, Uppsala University, Phys.Org, July 10, 2020.
- Bonavista
Peninsula Get Historic Nod From UNESCO for 560M-Year-Old Fossils, Garrett Barry, CBC News, July 10, 2020.
- 15-Foot-Long
Skeleton of Extinct Dolphin Suggests Parallel Evolution Among Whales, Cell Press, Phys.Org, July 9, 2020.
- Dinosaur Ancestors 'May Have Been Tiny', BBC
News, July 7, 2020.
-
New Argentine Fossils Uncover History of Celebrated Conifer Group, Francisco Tutella, Penn State News, July 6, 2020.
- Prehistoric Road Trip Videos,
Kentuckian Mike, Louisville Fossils blog, July 3, 2020.
- True Color of 99-Million-Year-Old
Insects Revealed by Amber Fossils, Chinese Academy of Sciences, SciTechDaily, July 1, 2020.
- Giant Penguin-Like Seabirds Lived in Northern Hemisphere
About 30 Million Years Ago, Sci News, July 1, 2020.
- 300-Million-Year-Old Fish Resembles a Sturgeon but Took a Different
Evolutionary Path, University of Pennsylvania, Science Daily, June 22, 2020.
- What the New Discovery
of Ancient Super-Eruptions Indicates for the Yellowstone Hotspot, Geological Society of America, SciTechDaily, June 21, 2020.
- Fossilized Fish Could Indicate Rich Deposits
of Valuable Rare-Earth Metals, University of Tokyo, Phys.Org, June 18, 2020.
- 360-Million-Year-Old Fossil Reveals
Extinct Species of Fern-Like Plant, Enrico de Lazaro, Sci News, June 17, 2020.
- Researchers
Say They've Solved the Mystery of the Missing Dinosaur Eggs, Colin Barras, Science, June 17, 2020.
-
Fossil Footprints Suggest Ancience Crocodile Walked on Two Legs, Theresa Machemer, Smithsonian Magazine, June 16, 2020.
- Strange Glass Spheres
Found in Ancient Florida Clams Point to Meteor Strike, Jeanne Erdmann, Discover, June 10, 2020.
- Best-Preserved Dinosaur Stomach Ever
Found Reveals 'Sleeping Dragon's' Last Meal, Laura Geggel, Live Science, June 3, 2020.
- How a 380-Million-Year-Old Fish Gave Us Fingers,
John Long and Richard Cloutier, Scientific American, June, 2020.
- Scientists Find Oldest Fossil of a Land Animal,
CBC News, Thomson Reuters, June 1, 2020.
- New Pterosaur Species Identified From Fossil Found in
England, Natali Anderson, Sci News, June 1, 2020.
- Nevada Home to 246M-Year-Old Fossil of
Pregnant Ichthyosaur, Benjamin Spillman, Phys.Org, May 31, 2020.
- Dinosaur-Dooming Asteroid Struck Earth at 'Deadliest Possible'
Angle, Imperial College London, Science Daily, May 26, 2020.
- Court Rules
'Dueling Dinosaurs' Belong to Land Owners, in a Win for Science, Warren Cornwall, Science, May 22, 2020.
- Ancient Giant Armored Fish Fed in a Similar Way to Basking Sharks,
Press Release, University of Bristol, May 20, 2020.
- Fishing Rod 'Selfie-Stick' and Scientific Sleuthing Turn Up Clues to
Extinct Sea Reptile, Baylor University, Phys.Org, May 19, 2020.
-
Rare Long-Necked Dinosaur That Roamed the Polar World Unearthed in Australia, John Pickrell, The Guardian, May 17, 2020.
-
A Giant Sloth Graveyard Shows How These Enormous Animals Died - And Lived, Jim Lebans, CBC Radio, May 15, 2020.
- Study: Giant Carnivorous Dinosaurs Were Optimized for
Energy-Efficient Walking, Sci News, May 14, 2020.
- New Paper on a Symbiotic Relationship Between Tube-Dwellers and Bryozoans in the Silurian of Estonia,
Mark Wilson, The College of Wooster, Wooster Geologists Blog, May 12, 2020.
- Ancient Reptile Had Mammal-Like Tooth Enamel, Study Shows, Katie Willis,
University of Alberta, Phys.Org, May 7, 2020.
- A Billion Years Missing From Geologic Record: Where It May
Have Gone, University of California - Santa Barbara, Science Daily, May 7, 2020.
- Fossil Reveals Evidence of a 200-Million-Year-Old 'Squid'
Attack, University of Plymouth, Science Daily, May 6, 2020.
- Jurassic Park Got It Wrong: Research Indicates Raptors Didn't Hunt in Packs,
Natalie Johnson, University of Wisconsin Oshkosh, Phys.Org, May 6, 2020.
- Ancient 'Tully' Monster Was a Vertebrate, Not a Spineless Blob,
Study Claims, Laura Geggel, Live Science, May 5, 2020.
- My, What Big Teeth and Strange Bones You
Have. Scientists Discover a Creature That Roamed South of the Equator 66 Million Years Ago, Ben Guarino, Washington Post, April 29, 2020.
- New Fossils
Rewrite the Story of Dinosaurs and Change the Appearance of Spinosaurus, Chelsey Perry, National Geographic Society, Phys.Org,
April 29, 2020.
- Giant Teenage Shark From
the Dinosaur Age, University of Vienna, Science Daily, April 23, 2020.
- Jurassic Park in Eastern Morocco: Paleontology of the
Kem Kem Group, Pensoft Publishers, Phys.Org, April 23, 2020.
- Fossil Flyers Hold Secrets to Better Flight
Technologies, Sci News, April 18, 2020.
- Mahogany Tree Family Dates Back to Last Hurrah of the Dinosaurs,
University of Kansas, Science Daily, April 15, 2020.
- Jenny Clack Obituary: Vertebrate
Paleontologist Who Was an Expert on the Origin and Evolution of Tetrapods, Timothy Smithson, The Guardian, April 9, 2020.
- X-Rays Reveal A Surprise Inside 200 Million-Year-Old Dino Eggs, Nina Pullano, Inverse,
April 9, 2020.
- Ancient Teeth From
Peru Hint That Now-Extinct Monkeys Crossed the Atlantic From Africa, Laura LeBlanc, Keck School News, Keck School of Medicine of USC, April 9, 2020.
- 90-Million-Year-Old Fossilized Rainforest
Discovered in Antarctica, Sci News, April 3, 2020.
- Fourth New Pterosaur Discovery in
Matter of Weeks, University of Portsmouth, Phys.Org, April 2, 2020.
- How Shark-Toothed Dinosaurs Came
to Rule the World, Riley Black, Discover Magazine, March 27, 2020.
- New Pterosaur Fossils Unearthed in
Morocco, Natali Anderson, Sci News, March 26, 2020.
- Darkness, Not Cold,
Likely Responsible for Dinosaur-Killing Extinction, Lauren Lipuma, Phys.Org, March 20, 2020.
- Unprecedented Preservation of
Fossil Feces From the La Brea Tar Pits, University of Oklahoma, Phys.Org, March 20, 2020.
- Devonian Four-Limbed Creature
Reveals Insights into How Vertebrate Hand Evolved From Fish Fins, Sci News, March 19, 2020.
- 'Wonderchicken' Fossil From the Age of Dinosaurs
Reveals Origin of Modern Birds, University of Cambridge, Phys.Org, March 18, 2020.
- Mysterious Ancient Sea-Worm Pegged as New Genus
After Half-Century in 'Wastebasket', University of Kansas, Phys.Org, March 17, 2020.
- They Knew Saber-Toothed Tigers Were Big. Then They Found This Skull.,
Joshu Sokol, New York Times, March 14, 2020.
- Paleontologists Find New Dinosaur Tracks on Scotland's Isle of
Skye, Sci New, March 13, 2020.
- How To Sex A Dinosaur, Josh Davis, Natural History Museum London,
March 12, 2020.
- Smallest Extinct Dinosaur
Ever Found Was Size of Hummingbird, Emily Chung, CBC News, March 11, 2020.
- Ancient Shell Shows Days Were Half-Hour Shorter 70 Million Years Ago,
American Geophysical Union, Science Daily, March 9, 2020.
- New Tiny 44 Million Year Old Bird Fossil Links Africa and
Asia to Utah, Midwestern University, Phys.Org, March 3, 2020.
- Scientists Find Chemical Markers of DNA in Calcified Cartilage of Duck-Billed
Dinosaur, Sci News, March 3, 2020.
- Mud Curls That Resemble Arthropod Appendages, R.L. Squires,
PALEO & GEO TOPICS: Comments blog, March 2, 2020.
- Dinosaur-Age Cockroaches Are the
Earliest Known Cave Dwellers, James Urquhart, Cosmos Magazine, February 28, 2020.
- Mystery Surrounding Dinosaur Footprints on a Cave Ceiling in
Central Queensland Solved, Science Daily, February 26, 2020.
-
Fossil Eggshells Suggest All Dinosaurs May Have Been Warm-Blooded, Gemma Tarlach, Discover, February 14, 2020.
- Extinct Giant Turtle Had Horned
Shell of up to Three Meters, University of Zurich, Phys.Org, February 12, 2020.
- Canada's Newest Tyrannosaur Is
Named for a 'Reaper of Death', Nicholas St. Fleur, New York Times, February 11, 2020.
-
Oldest Evidence of Modern Bees Found in Argentina, Michael Greshko, National Geographic, February 11, 2020.
- Fossil of Sea Monster With Needle-Sharp
Snout Found on Alaskan Island, Thomson Reuters, CBC, February 5, 2020.
- 'Oldest Bamboo' Fossil From
Eocene Patagonia Turns Out to Be a Conifer, Pensoft Publishers, Phys.Org, February 4, 2020.
- Fossil Reveals How Feathered Dinosaurs Differed From Birds,
posted by Eleanor Imster in Earth, EarthSky, January 31, 2020.
- Fossil Footprints Reveal
Ecosystem in Midst of a Mass Extinction, Gemma Tarlach, Discover, January 29, 2020.
- New Species of Allosaurus Discovered in Utah, University of Utah, Phys.Org,
January 24, 2020.
- 715-Million-Year-Old Fungi Microfossils Found, Natali Anderson,
Sci News, January 24, 2020.
- Stingray Stinger and Teeth, R. L. Squires, Paleo & Geo Topics: Comments blog,
January 19, 2020.
- Meteorite or Volcano? New Clues to the Dinosaurs'
Demise, Lucas Joel, New York Times, January 16, 2020.
- Oldest Known Scorpion May Have Been
First to Explore Land, Gemma Tarlach, Discover, January 16, 2020.
- Super Computer Scours Fossil Record for Earth's Hidden Extinctions, Ewen Callaway,
Nature, January 16, 2020.
- How Nodules Stay on Top at the Bottom of the Sea, Geological
Society of America, Phys.Org, January 14, 2020.
- 7-Billion-Year-Old
Stardust Is the Oldest Stuff on Earth, Ben Guarino, Washington Post, January 13, 2020.
- World's Oldest Slime Mold Found in Amber, Enrico
de Lazaro, Sci News, January 13, 2020.
- Oldest Guts
Ever Found May Reveal the Identify of a Mysterious Primordial Creature, Stephanie Pappas, Live Science, January 10, 2020.
- What Did Dinosaurs Smell
Like?, Riley Black, Laelaps blog, Scientific American, January 8, 2020.
- Fossilized
Seashells Show Signs of Ocean Acidification Before Dinosaur-Annihilating Asteroid, National Science Foundation,
Phys.Org, January 7, 2020.
- What
Fossils Will Modern-Day Civilization Leave Behind?, Eva Frederick, Science, January 6, 2020.
- Inspired Fossil Hunt
for the New Year, Kentuckiana Mike, Louisville Fossils blog, January 1, 2020.
- Researchers Learn More About Teen-Age T.Rex,
Oklahoma State University Center for Health Sciences, Phys.Org, January 1, 2020.
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