Buzz
Over the course of Earth's history, countless species have come and gone. A growing number of extinct animals from various periods are being uncovered, providing valuable insights into our planet's ancient past. Occasionally, these new discoveries challenge established scientific theories, forcing researchers to reconsider many studies, including those by renowned scholars. Below are 10 of the most recent paleontological revelations.
10. The Possible Tibetan Ancestor of the Arctic Fox
Some of the most captivating (and sometimes challenging) scientific discoveries are those that challenge established theories, such as the identification of a new extinct species that questions current evolutionary models. One such case is Vulpes qiuzhudingi, an extinct fox species first described in 2014. A dedicated team of paleontologists uncovered its fossils in the Zanda and Kunlun Pass Basins in southern Tibet, situated about 4,700 meters (15,000 ft) above sea level. The altitude makes breathing difficult, and water freezes overnight in the camp.
The fossils of V. qiuzhudingi, including teeth and several jawbones, closely resembled those of the modern Arctic fox (Vulpes lagopus). These fossils, aged between 3.6 and 5.1 million years, were adapted to a highly carnivorous diet, common in cold environments. While Arctic foxes, polar bears, and wolves predominantly eat meat, most modern foxes are more omnivorous.
It is widely believed that modern Arctic foxes evolved in Europe during an ice age approximately 2.6 million years ago. However, the discovery of V. qiuzhudingi bones supports the 'Out of Tibet' theory, which posits that various cold-adapted megafauna, including woolly mammoths, have their evolutionary roots in Tibet's harsh, cold climate. Some researchers, however, suggest that the features of V. qiuzhudingi could be coincidental adaptations and may not imply that it was the ancestor of modern Arctic foxes.
9. A Newly Identified Ichthyosaur Lurking in Plain Sight
Newly described extinct species are usually discovered through traditional excavation methods, which are commonly associated with paleontology. However, there are times when a new species has quietly existed on display for decades.
The Doncaster Museum and Art Gallery in Doncaster, England, once housed a plaster model of a fossilized ichthyosaur in its collection. In 2008, it was discovered that this supposed model was, in fact, an actual fossilized animal preserved in rock. Additionally, it was identified as a species never before described. The 1.5-meter (5 ft) reptile, believed to have been unearthed in the early 1980s, was mistakenly assumed to be a plaster model, though the details of how the mix-up occurred remain unclear.
The fossils of this newly identified species, Ichthyosaurus anninage, are between 189 and 192 million years old and represent the most complete early Jurassic ichthyosaur ever discovered. So well-preserved were the fossils that scientists were able to determine the animal's last meal, squid, from fossilized tentacle hooks embedded in the rock.
8. Newly Discovered Terror Bird
Llallawavis scagliai, or Scaglia’s Magnificent Bird (SMB), is a new species of phorusrhacid, commonly known as a terror bird. These large, flightless birds once roamed South America, using their massive beaks to kill prey. Unlike most birds, terror birds had generally fused skull bones, enhancing their ability to strike prey to death.
Unearthed in 2010, the SMB stood about 1.2 meters (4 ft) tall and weighed roughly 18 kilograms (40 lb). Some terror bird species grew up to 3 meters (10 ft) tall. The fossilized remains of this species, dating back around million years, represent the most complete terror bird ever found, with over 90 percent of the skeleton preserved.
The preservation of specific bones, like the auditory and eye-focusing bones, has provided scientists with an unprecedented view into the sensory abilities of terror birds. The SMBs had a surprisingly limited hearing range, primarily attuned to lower-frequency sounds between 380 and 4,230 Hz. This is typical of larger animals, as they often produce and perceive lower sounds. Low-frequency sounds also travel farther, so this hearing range may have been crucial for how terror birds tracked their prey.
7. The Porpoise with an Enormous Chin
In 1990, paleontologists uncovered a rather unusual fossilized porpoise skull in rocks aged between 1.6 and 5 million years old. The newly identified species, known as the skimmer porpoise (Semirostrum ceruttii), had a skull with a lower jaw much longer than the upper jaw. Specifically, its mandibular symphysis, which is similar to a human's chin, measured an astonishing 85 centimeters (33 in) long. In comparison, the mandibular symphyses of modern porpoises are typically only around 1.5 centimeters (0.6 in) long.
The purpose of such a pronounced chin became clearer after recent CT scans of the lower jaw. The nearly toothless mandible was highly innervated and featured sensory structures similar to those found in black skimmers (a seabird) and half-beaks (a small fish). Both these species use their lower jaws to detect food in low-light environments. The skimmer porpoise is the first mammalian species known to have comparable sensory abilities. Additionally, the animal's optic canals were smaller than those of modern porpoises, suggesting it had poor eyesight. The skimmer porpoise likely depended on its large, sensory chin and echolocation for hunting prey.
6. The Four-Eyed Harvestman
Harvestmen, often called “daddy longlegs,” are an incredibly successful group of arachnids found on every continent except Antarctica. Despite their long legs, these creatures are not true spiders. Instead, they are more closely related to scorpions and possess just two eyes.
Harvestmen exoskeletons rarely fossilize, making the discovery of a 305-million-year-old specimen in France a significant event. This well-preserved fossil was X-rayed, revealing an unexpected feature: four eyes. In addition to the pair of medial eyes typical of modern harvestmen, this species, Hastocularis argus, also had a pair of lateral eyes—one on each side of its body.
This glimpse into the anatomy of ancient harvestmen has provided valuable insights into the evolutionary path of this group. Interestingly, modern harvestmen genetics show signs of these lost lateral eyes, as developing embryos display remnants of lateral eye-growth structures.
5. Crocodile-Like Salamander
A large bone bed, containing the fossilized remains of several hundred creatures, was discovered in southern Portugal. This area, once a lake over 220 million years ago, may have dried up. The primary residents of the lake were a new species of enormous salamander, Metoposaurus algarvensis. These amphibians were apex predators, occupying an ecological niche much like that of crocodiles. They reached lengths of 2 meters (6.6 ft) and weighed 100 kilograms (220 lb). In contrast, the largest living salamanders only grow to around 1 meter (3.3 ft), with most being much smaller.
M. algarvensis was described as resembling a creature from a horror movie. Its toilet seat-shaped head held hundreds of teeth of varying sizes, with some being more akin to tusks than teeth. If the lake had indeed dried up, these salamanders might have been unable to support their massive weight on land, leading to their demise.
Although giant, carnivorous salamanders have been discovered across modern-day North America, Africa, India, and other parts of Europe, algarvensis is the first species of its kind found in Portugal. It's important to note that when these salamanders roamed the Earth, all the continents were unified into the supercontinent Pangea. Distinct features of algarvensis's skull and jaws confirm its status as a unique species. So far, only 4 square meters (43 ft) of the lake bed have been excavated, and much more is yet to be uncovered.
4. The South American Old World Monkey
Throughout the early 2010s, several expeditions into the Amazon jungle in Peru uncovered a series of fossilized molars. Fossil hunting in this region proves challenging, as it can only be done during the dry season. The high water levels throughout the rest of the year necessitate multiple expeditions.
These molars belonged to a newly identified extinct monkey species, Perupithecus ucayalensis. With an age of 36 million years, the fossilized teeth make this small, squirrel-sized primate the oldest monkey ever discovered in South America, surpassing the next oldest known specimen by 10 million years. This monkey lived during the late Eocene epoch, while the next-oldest specimen lived in the late Oligocene.
As a South American monkey, P. ucayalensis is classified as a New World monkey, a category that includes species found in Central and South America. In contrast, Old World monkeys are native to Africa and Asia. Interestingly, this new species does not resemble any known extinct or living New World monkeys but does share similarities with Old World monkeys from Africa that lived during the Eocene epoch.
This similarity is significant as it supports the theory that New World monkeys may have Old World monkey ancestry. While most scientists accept this idea, the question of how Old World monkeys reached South America—given that it has been geographically isolated from Africa for 65 million years—remains unsolved. The discovery of P. ucayalensis doesn’t resolve this mystery, but it does push back the timeline, suggesting that monkeys arrived in the New World at least 10 million years earlier than previously believed.
3. Bipedal Crocodile
An unexpected discovery has emerged from Chatham County, North Carolina, where parts of a skull, spine, and upper forelimb from a new species of crocodylomorph were found in the 230-million-year-old sediments of the Pekin Formation. This crocodile-like creature has been named Carnufex carolinensis, or the Carolina butcher.
Based on projections from bones of similar species, the Carolina butcher grew to 2.7 meters (9 ft) long, making it one of the largest and earliest crocodylomorphs in paleontological history. It resembled a hybrid of a crocodile and a therapod dinosaur. This primarily land-dwelling biped hunted other armored reptiles and early mammalian ancestors. (No official statements have been made about whether it could open doors or battle Batman.)
The discovery of the Carolina butcher highlights that crocodile-like creatures were occupying top-predator roles in North America during the late Triassic, a fact previously unknown. As the Triassic ended, large crocodylomorphs, along with other major predators, went extinct. Only smaller therapods and crocodylomorphs, the ancestors of modern crocodiles, survived. As therapods began to dominate, the smaller crocodylomorphs took on ecological roles similar to those of modern foxes or jackals.
2. Giant Filter-Feeding Arthropod
The sea looked vastly different hundreds of millions of years ago. A remarkable example of this difference is a group of arthropods called anomalocaridids (their name literally contains “anomaly”). These predatory arthropods had grasping appendages attached to their heads, which captured prey and directed it into their circular mouths filled with plate-like teeth. Their bodies were long and segmented, each segment equipped with flaps for swimming.
A well-preserved anomalocaridid discovered in Morocco is providing new insight into the 520-million-year-old group. Aegirocassis benmoulae grew to at least 2.1 meters (7 ft), making it one of the largest arthropods to ever exist and one of the biggest animals of its time. At 480 million years old, A. benmoulae was likely one of the final anomalocaridids, and it had some remarkable features. Its head appendages were covered in spines that were used for filter-feeding instead of active predation. This marks the earliest-known example of free-swimming filter-feeding gigantism; A. benmoulae was the baleen whale of its group. Additionally, this species had pairs of swimming flaps on each body segment, a feature never before documented.
This latter feature is particularly significant for arthropod evolution. The pair of swimming flaps is considered an evolutionary precursor to the double-branched limb, a feature common in modern arthropods. Further examination of other anomalocaridid species revealed that they too had a pair of flaps on each body segment. This discovery has helped clarify the position of the group on the arthropod evolutionary tree.
1. Man-Sized Penguin
Currently, emperor penguins hold the title of the largest penguins, standing at about 1.1 meters (3.6 ft) tall and weighing 46 kilograms (101 lb). However, larger penguins existed in the past, and recently, the fossils of the largest penguin ever recorded were found on Seymour Island, located off the Antarctic Peninsula. This species was named Palaeeudyptes klekowskii, also known as the colossus penguin.
This extraordinary bird measured more than 2 meters (6.6 ft) from beak to tail and weighed 115 kilograms (254 lb). The penguin, about the size of a human, might have stood 1.6 meters (5.2 ft) tall, although this is uncertain since giant extinct penguins had different proportions compared to their modern relatives. Larger penguins can dive deeper and stay underwater longer than smaller ones, and P. klekowskii is estimated to have been capable of diving and hunting for approximately 40 minutes.
P. klekowskii lived around 37–40 million years ago. During that period, Seymour Island had a warmer climate compared to today's, resembling the conditions found in Tierra del Fuego, a group of islands at the southernmost tip of South America. It was a prosperous time for penguins, as thousands of penguin bones from 10–14 species have been discovered on the island.
