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Each Triceratops bone provides a direct link to one of the best-known creatures of the Late Cretaceous period. These fossil remains show not only how this three-horned herbivore looked, but also how it lived. They show how it developed, moved, and survived in the ancient terrain, which was full of threats and challenges. The inspection of the shape, density, and structure of bones explains how Triceratops grew from a small hatchling into an enormous horned adult. Understanding Growth From Early Life to Adulthood Triceratops's body began small, but its bones show how it grew rapidly. The growth rings within the...

The epic tale of dinosaur extinction represents a captivating period in the annals of the planet. The reptiles lived on land, in water, and in the air for millions of years. Then almost all of them died out over a few million years, which is a blink of an eye in the geological time scale. This highly consequential event reorganized the planet's evolutionary history in favor of mammals and, eventually, humans. For decades, scientists have been endeavoring to examine fossils, rock layers, and chemical evidence to learn what, in large measure, led to that extinction. According to research, it appears...

The evolution of giant sharks across millions of years of ocean history, and some of the clearest evidence comes from a single source — the megalodon tooth. The large fossilized teeth from this period have remained intact since the extinction of sharks, allowing researchers to study their evolution through prehistoric times. Sharks are unusual animals because they are mainly made of cartilage, which prevents them from having a skeleton; they have very tough teeth that fossilize readily and are preserved in sedimentary rocks. Investigations of these teeth help reconstruct the evolutionary history that enabled the development of the largest shark...

In the ancient oceans, many fascinating marine reptiles lived, quite extraordinary, appearing to flaunt their long necks and slender bodies in elegant strokes of underwater grace. With its paddle-like foreflippers and hind flippers, the Plesiosaur was a sleek, elegant swimmer that stalked its prey into the shadows, a mystery still to many scholars. Understanding how this creature swam helps researchers reconstruct ancient marine ecosystems and better understand the evolutionary history of marine reptiles. All anatomical features had a particular role in helping it survive in vast, competitive seas. A Body Built for Ocean Movement Plesiosaurus was one marine reptile whose...

The story of species that have gone extinct is etched in stone, and fossil teeth preserve these doomsday stories quite well. Once the skin, muscles, and organs have disappeared, teeth usually remain under a layer of sediment. These durable remnants provide some of the most reliable evidence for identifying animals that roamed the Earth millions of years ago. A tooth is one of the hardest structures found within the body of any animal. One can resist environmental variations, decay, and stress primarily because of the structure of enamel. It remains practically entire while other bones decay or are destroyed. Indeed,...