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First study to consider how ancient reptiles dispersed across the Earth after end-Permian mass extinction The forerunners of dinosaurs and crocodiles in the Triassic period were able to migrate across areas of the ancient world deemed completely inhospitable to life, new research suggests.

A new study led by our Earth Sciences department has made a surprising discovery about a mysterious fossil from the Cambrian period - over 500 million years ago. The fossil, Shishania aculeata , was originally thought to be an early mollusc, a group that includes snails and clams. But new research shows that it is actually a sponge-like animal known as a chancelloriid.

The idea that dinosaurs were already in decline before an asteroid wiped most of them out 66 million years ago may be explained by a worsening fossil record from that time rather than a genuine dwindling of dinosaur species, suggests a new study led by UCL researchers. The study, published in  Current Biology , analysed the fossil record of North America in the 18 million years up to the asteroid impact at the end of the Cretaceous period (between 66 and 84 million years ago).

Modern humans descended from not one, but at least two ancestral populations that drifted apart and later reconnected, long before modern humans spread across the globe. Our history is far richer and more complex than we imagined Aylwyn Scally Using advanced analysis based on full genome sequences, researchers from the University of Cambridge have found evidence that modern humans are the result of a genetic mixing event between two ancient populations that diverged around 1.5 million years ago.

The oldest collection of mass-produced prehistoric bone tools reveal that human ancestors were likely capable of more advanced abstract reasoning one million years earlier than thought, finds a new study involving researchers at UCL and CSIC- Spanish National Research Council. The paper, published in Nature, describes a collection of 27 now-fossilised bones that had been shaped into hand tools 1.5 million years ago by human ancestors.

A team including UCL researchers has identified two new dinosaur species found in present-day Romania that lived shortly before dinosaurs went extinct. The end of the Cretaceous Period, 66 million years ago, marked the dramatic extinction of the dinosaurs following an asteroid impact. Until now, our understanding of this mass extinction has been largely shaped by fossils from North America.

The microarchitecture of fossil pterosaur bones could hold the key to lighter, stronger materials for the next generation of aircraft, new research has found. Scientists from The University of Manchester used advanced X-ray imaging techniques to examine fossilised bones of the prehistoric flying reptile at the smallest scale, revealing hidden engineering solutions right in the palm of their hands..or fingers to be precise.

Modern humans, Neanderthals, and other recent relatives on our human family tree evolved bigger brains much more rapidly than earlier species, a new study of human brain evolution has found. The study, published in the journal PNAS , overturns long-standing ideas about human brain evolution. The researchers found that brain size increased gradually within each ancient human species rather than through sudden leaps between species.

Writing in The Conversation, Research Fellow Dr Sandra Álvarez-Carretero (UCL Biosciences) explains how her research offers new insights into the origin of life on Earth. Understanding how life began and evolved on Earth is a question that has fascinated humans for a long time, and modern scientists have  made great advances  when it comes to finding some answers.

The discovery, published in Nature, opens a new window on early animal evolution. At first glance, the simple, spikey sea sponge is no creature of mystery. No brain. No gut. No problem dating them back 700 million years. Yet convincing sponge fossils only go back about 540 million years, leaving a 160-million-year gap in the fossil record.

The ability to regulate body temperature, a trait all mammals and birds have today, may have evolved among some dinosaurs early in the Jurassic period about 180 million years ago, suggests a new study led by UCL and University of Vigo researchers. In the early 20 century, dinosaurs were considered slow-moving, "cold-blooded" animals like modern-day reptiles, relying on heat from the sun to regulate their temperature.

Scientists have discovered remnants of the Earth's oldest fossil forest on the north coast of Devon and Somerset in the UK. The trees, which are around 390 million years old, are thought to have grown as part of an extensive forest covering the east coast of the Old Red Sandstone continent - part of Europe at that time.

Restudy of fossils collected in New Mexico digs up key clues about T. rex's origins in North America. Published on Thursday 11 January 2024 Last updated on Thursday 11 January 2024 A new study published in Scientific Reports reshapes our understanding of how the most famous dinosaur to ever walk the earth - Tyrannosaurus rex - first arrived in North America by introducing its earliest known relative on the continent.

Nanotyrannus was a smaller, longer-armed relative of T. rex, with a narrower snout. Published on Wednesday 3 January 2024 Last updated on Wednesday 3 January 2024 A new analysis of fossils believed to be juveniles of T. rex now shows they were adults of a small tyrannosaur, with narrower jaws, longer legs, and bigger arms than T. rex .

Investigations conducted by The University of Manchester find the allegations made by Melanie During, published in Science in December 2022, that Robert DePalma " wanted to claim credit for identifying the dinosaur-killing asteroid's season of impact and fabricated data in order to be able to publish a paper before she did " were unfounded.

Researchers from the University of Southampton are set to appear in a new BBC Natural History programme revealing the secrets of a giant pliosaur, a ferocious predator which inhabited our seas at the same time as dinosaurs roamed the Earth about 150 million years ago. The documentary, titled 'Attenborough and the Giant Sea Monster' (BBC One and iPlayer, 8pm, 1 January 2024), follows Sir David Attenborough on a journey of discovery as he explores the fascinating story of an enormous marine reptile whose skull was found buried on the Dorset coast near Kimmeridge Bay.

Contrary to current understanding, the brains of human newborns aren't significantly less developed compared to other primate species, but appear so because so much brain development happens after birth, finds a new study led by UCL researchers.

A new analysis of the bones and muscles in ancient fish gives new clues about how the shoulder evolved in animals - including us. The shoulder girdle - the configuration of bones and muscles that in humans support the movement of the arms - is a classic example of an evolutionary 'novelty'. This is where a new anatomical feature appears without any obvious precursors; where there is no smoking gun of which feature clearly led to another.

X-rays of an ancient jawless fish shows earliest-known example of internal cartilage skull, unlike that of any other known vertebrate. A 455-million-year-old fossil fish provides a new perspective on how vertebrates evolved to protect their brains, a study has found. In a paper published in Nature today (Wednesday 20 September), researchers from the University of Birmingham, Naturalis Biodiversity Centre in Leiden, Netherlands; and the Natural History Museum have pieced together the skull of Eriptychius americanus.

Vectidromeus insularis was a herbivorous dinosaur belonging to the hypsilophodont family, and is only the second species in this family to be discovered. Published on Thursday 14 September 2023 Last updated on Thursday 14 September 2023 Scientists have discovered a new species of small plant-eating dinosaur on the Isle of Wight in southern England (UK).