Evolution

An ancient reptile once thought to be an early turtle ancestor actually belonged to an entirely different group.

Praearcturus gigas was among the first large predators to ever stalk the land, measuring over a metre in length.

Tracks left by some of the earliest complex animals are giving new insights into how they experienced the world.

By speeding up the process of describing new species, scientists can help to protect the precious places they live.

Dive into the four-billion-year story of how Earth gave rise to life and how this life then changed the face of the planet.

Humans have been living alongside malaria for tens of thousands of years.

The 19-metre-long Nanaimoteuthis haggarti was a fearsome carnivore eating fish, crustaceans and many other sea creatures.

Discover the greatest explosion of life on Earth, when almost all types of animals first appeared more than 500 million years ago.

Pohlsepia mazonensis is still a landmark fossil – but not in the way it was first thought.

The identity of a mysterious artefact found in Devon almost 160 years ago has finally been revealed.

The discovery of a new fossil site in China has revealed exceptionally well-preserved specimens from the Ediacaran Period.

Bones unearthed at several sites show that dogs were widely distributed across West Eurasia by at least 14,000 years ago.

Along with Neanderthals, Denisovans are our closest extinct human relatives. 

Find out what fossils have revealed about ichthyosaurs, which included the biggest marine reptile that ever lived.

Tanyka amnicola was a relic of an earlier and more experimental time in the evolution of life on Earth.  

Species can influence each other’s evolution – this is known as coevolution. Discover more about this phenomenon.

Scientists are trying to understand how this extraordinary sense is changing the structure of bat skulls.

Fossils discovered in Niger named as Spinosaurus mirabilis.

Find out about the incredible evolutionary history of trees.

Find out what plesiosaur fossils have revealed about these animals and how big they could grow.

Ancient wolf bones are revealing how today’s wolves might survive in a warmer world.

A 2.6-million-year-old fossil is changing our understanding of early human evolution in Africa.

A prehistoric tool is reshaping our understanding of Europe’s early inhabitants.

The mysterious evolution of the sponges has been revealed. 

Discover more about Mosasaurus’ size, where its fossils are found and how realistic Jurassic World’s mosasaur really is.

A dinosaur named Ajkaceratops has revealed that relatives of Triceratops lived in Europe after all.

Horneophyton lignieri is changing what we know about plant evolution.

The identity of a mysterious Roman-era skeleton found in southern England may have finally been resolved.

The mystery surrounding dozens of small dinosaur fossils has finally been solved.

The lifestyle of the dingo was dramatically altered after European colonists reached Australia in 1788.

New Australopithecus fossils found in Ethiopia are changing the human family tree.

Life may have bounced back more quickly than expected after the worst mass extinction in history.

A new fossil fungus discovered in Scotland shows evidence of plants and fungi sharing nutrients to survive on land.

An extinct snake named Paradoxophidion richardoweni has slithered its way out of obscurity.

The unique organ was initially thought to be used for hearing, but actually carries a fungal symbiote around.

As the animals which spread their seeds go extinct, island plants are at risk of disappearing forever.

Our oldest companions have quite the unlikely ancestor.

Our ancestors appeared over 400,000 years earlier than thought.

The overlooked thumbs of rodents are key to understanding the lives of mice, rats and more.

Some of the world’s oldest evidence of human violence has been discovered in Vietnam.