Stories by Riley Black

This little beast speaks to mammalian success under the feet of the saurians

A new analysis questions the deadly bite of one of our distant cousins

Foot bones reveal one of the largest, and oldest, penguins of all time

Paleontologists have recently provided a new look at a beautifully preserved cephalopod

Experiments with dead chickens add a twist to a Mesozoic mystery.

Researchers closely followed the breakdown of a behemoth

An exceptionally complete skeleton offers a stunning look at this new marine reptile

This top Jurassic predator could open its jaws terrifyingly wide

It might look like a hairy thumb, but this ancient invertebrate offers new clues about how the ancestors of snails and octopuses got their start

This new dinosaur is part of an explosion of highly-ornamented species uncovered in the last decade.

Although not as imposing as its neighbors, Marshosaurus was an important part of the Jurassic ecosystem

For sticky Ice Age fossils, Talara is second only to La Brea

For over a million years, humans competed with the largest hyenas who ever lived

The significance of this ancient "fish lizard" is all in the hips

One of the hottest periods in the last 66 million years may offer insights into the consequences of modern climate change

A rare fossil shows ancient some ancient sharks had a similar menu to modern ones

This ancient lizard reshapes the backstory of today's anoles and iguanas

The celebrated sabercat Smilodon had a very long teething period.

This unusual saurian is worthy of horror movie fame

Pachycrocuta brevirostris was the largest hyena of all time.

A follow-up study confirms the one sure way to sex a Tyrannosaurus

A lack of water, rather than an excess of it, may have killed the Waco mammoths

This ancient plant is a relative of vegetables you might have in your kitchen

A trio of bones outline the spiky skull of a rare baby dinosaur