Fossil skull of the extinct cynodont therapsid Cynognathus crateronotus. Cynognathus was a powerful predator that was close to being a mammal, but not quite. It has been found in several parts of ...

Infographic showcasing the differences in jaw functional anatomy and body size and the potential ecological inferences found in the study of more mammal-like behaviours among ancient predatory ...

Exhibit specimen of Edaphosaurus, a pelycosaur synapsid, from the collections at the Museum of Comparative Zoology. Pelycosaurs are the most ancient forerunners of mammals. This study shows that ...

This article was published in Scientific American’s former blog network and reflects the views of the author, not necessarily those of Scientific American With hues inspired by calcite and a plastic ...

From the formation of inner ear bones to the rise of hair to cover our bodies, these developments made us distinct from other animals Riley Black - Science Correspondent By examining the fossils of ...

Color-coded diagram of a small bone bed containing at least twelve individuals of the Permian synapsid Suminia. From Frobisch and Reisz (2009) *[In other words, all living mammals shared a common ...

At least 180 million years ago, when dinosaurs roamed the Earth, reptiles with mammal-like features existed near Lake Powell. In March 2023, paleontologists discovered bonebeds in the Navajo Sandstone ...

Over 300 million years ago, our ancestors diverged from the ancestors of reptiles and began the evolutionary journey towards becoming mammals. What were these earliest ancestors like? For one, they ...

Researchers compared modern and ancient animals to explore how mammalian vertebrae have evolved into sophisticated physical structures that can carry out multiple functions. The comparison between ...

The evolutionary success of the first large predators on land was driven by their need to improve as killers, researchers suggest. The evolutionary success of the first large predators on land was ...