News
Latest news about research and collections from the Earth Sciences Department.
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Oldest fossil of complex brain identified - 10/10/2012
Scientists at the Museum identify a 520-million-year-old fossilised brain.
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Invisible volcanic ash gives clues to Neanderthal demise - 03/08/2012
Scientists detect cryptotephra, a microscopic volcanic glass, from an ancient Italian eruption.
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Diplodocus stripped branches at feeding time - 16/07/2012
Museum scientists use techniques for designing F1 cars to reveal dinosaur feeding habits.
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Muscle reconstruction reveals how dinosaurs stood - 20/06/2012
Museum scientists reveal how the 4-legged dinosaurs stood for the first time.
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World's smallest mammoth is identified - 09/05/2012
Museum scientists identify a dwarf mammoth in the Mediterranean. Video.
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How the pufferfish got its beak - 07/05/2012
The origin of the unusual beak of pufferfishes has been discovered by Museum scientists.
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How to ID a modern human - 02/05/2012
One human skull may look a lot like another. Chris Stringer highlights the features that ID Homo sapiens.
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Could giant feathered dinosaur hint at feathers for T.rex? - 11/04/2012
Other large dinosaurs may have had feathers. Dinosaur expert Paul Barrett gives his view.
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Did taking refuge from climate change spur human evolution? - 16/03/2012
Models on ice-age plant and animal movements reveal clues to human evolution.
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Horseshoe crabs are one of nature’s great survivors - 23/01/2012
They may look like something out of a science fiction movie, but the living horseshoe crab has survived major extinctions.
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Did a good sense of smell give us an evolutionary advantage? - 13/12/2011
Sense of smell may have been as important as language in giving modern humans an evolutionary advantage over other human relatives.
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Dinosaur teeth show Camarasaurus had seasonal migration - 26/10/2011
Museum dinosaur expert Paul Barrett comments on this sauropod research.
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Oldest predator Anomalocaris had super sight - 08/12/2011
Scientists at the Museum find first direct evidence that Anomalocaris had compound eyes with 16,000 lenses.
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New horned dinosaur hidden for 90 years in Museum - 06/12/2011
Museum dinosaur expert Paul Barrett comments on the new Spinops dinosaur research.
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Devon jawbone reveals earliest NW European - 02/11/2011
A jawbone from Kent's Cavern is dated to between 41,000-44,000 years old.
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Museum's Archaeopteryx is the specimen to refer to - 03/10/2011
After 5 years of discussion, the Museum's Archaeopteryx is official type specimen.
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Mystery of a West African skull from 13,000 years ago - 16/09/2011
Humans with primitive skull features were still living in West Africa 13,000 years ago.
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Archaeopteryx and the dinosaur-bird family tree - 14/09/2011
How does Archaeopteryx fit in with bird origins? Museum's Paul Barrett and Angela Milner give their views.
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Sediba human ancestor could shift our origins to South Africa - 08/09/2011
At almost 2 million years old, a human-like species from caves at Malapa in South Africa may be the ancestor to the first humans.
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World's first ichthyosaur goes home after 200 years - 04/08/2011
A 2-metre-long skull makes its way to the Lyme Regis Museum.
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Who knows the origin of our species? - 25/07/2011
If anyone knows, it's likely to be the Museum's Chris Stringer, author of the new book The Origin of Our Species.
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First Australian spinosaur dinosaur had global distribution - 15/06/2011
The first spinosaur dinosaur from the Early Cretaceous of Australia is uncovered by Museum scientists.
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Torres Strait Island community ancestral remains return begins - 06/05/2011
The Museum begins the return of ancestral remains to the Torres Strait Island community. Watch a video.
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Marine Parade Fossil Festival May Day weekend 2011 - 28/04/2011
This weekend, families and Museum scientists head to the Jurassic Coast for the Fossil Festival.
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Modern humans came from southern Africa, study suggests - 22/03/2011
A genetic study of African hunter-gatherers suggests modern humans evolved in southern Africa rather than in the east.
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Earliest human skull-cups made in the UK - 16/02/2011
Watch the video and find out about the earliest known examples of human skulls made into cups, revealed today by Museum scientists.
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Ancient Denisovans and the human family tree - 12/01/2011
A new group of ancient humans interbred with our species and left behind a genetic trace. Chris Stringer talks about the research.
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