Quartz crystals found in a fossilized bird complicates the mystery of its diet and what role it played in its ancient habitat. (CN) — Scientists studying a dinosaur-era bird fossil found quartz ...

Our friend Derek invited PaleoCris, Ashley, and myself out to a couple of cool sites he hunts for druzy quartz crystals and ...

When paleontologists in China cracked open a set of cannonball sized dinosaur eggs, they did not find bones or embryos. Instead, they uncovered glittering mineral structures, crystal chambers that had ...

From one angle, the egg appears to be nothing more than a smooth, rounded stone. (Image: He et al., J. Palaeogeogr., 2022) A rare fossil discovery in eastern China has surprised palaeontologists, ...

In fossil leaves, puzzling structures are often visible under the microscope. Researchers have now been able to show for the first time that they originate from calcium oxalate crystals. On the one ...

Skeleton season may be just around the corner, but the skeleton age dawned with the early Cambrian Period, about 538 million to 506 million years ago. In this time span, most major animal groups ...

How smushed shells could help to resolve paleontological mysteries. By Asher Elbein You never know where a bit of unusual scientific research is going to lead. Consider a 2012 study about turtle ...

Four bivalve specimens from Antarctica’s Seymour Island analyzed in the University of Michigan study, showing the range of sizes of the different mollusks. Species names clockwise from the top shell: ...

Fossil crane flies found in Denmark have crystals in their eyes — individual, see-through mineral pieces where the living eyes’ lenses once were. Living crane flies don’t have crystal lenses, the ...