dinosaurs

Growing quickly allowed the earliest dinosaurs and other ancient reptiles to thrive in the wake of the mass extinction

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It may be hard to imagine, but dinosaurs did not once dominate their world. When they first arose, they were just small, two-legged carnivores, dwarfed by a wide variety of other reptiles. How did they come to power? My colleagues and I recently studied the fossilized bones of the earliest known dinosaurs and their non-dinosaur … Read more

A newly identified ‘Hell Chicken’ species suggests dinosaurs were not in danger of extinction before the fateful asteroid hit

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Were dinosaurs already on their way out when an asteroid hit Earth 66 million years ago, ending the Cretaceous Period, the geological era that began about 145 million years ago? It’s a question that has plagued paleontologists like us for more than forty years. In the late 1970s, debate began over whether dinosaurs were at … Read more

A newly identified ‘Hell Chicken’ species suggests dinosaurs were not in danger of extinction before the fateful asteroid hit

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The bird-like dinosaur *Eoneophron infernalis* was about the size of an adult human. Zubin Erik Dutta Were dinosaurs already on their way out when an asteroid hit Earth 66 million years ago, ending the Cretaceous Period, the geological era that began about 145 million years ago? It’s a question that has plagued paleontologists like us … Read more

Megalosaurus, the fossil that introduced dinosaurs to the world

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Editor’s note: A version of this story appeared in CNN’s science newsletter Wonder Theory. To receive it in your inbox, Register for free here. Dinosaurs are all around us, figuratively and literally speaking. Most of these diverse creatures became extinct 66 million years ago, but the ancient ancestors of modern birds are ingrained in the … Read more

George Washington died before the existence of dinosaurs was discovered

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Public domain/Wikimedia Commons Claim: George Washington died before dinosaurs were discovered. Judgement: Rating: true Context: Although humans have likely lived alongside dinosaur fossils for thousands of years, a fossilized dinosaur bone was first described in 1842 – more than four years after George Washington’s death. That George Washington died before it was discovered that dinosaurs … Read more

Millions of years before the earliest birds appeared, mysterious animals walked around on bird-like feet, research shows

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Sign up for CNN’s Wonder Theory science newsletter. Explore the universe with news about fascinating discoveries, scientific developments and more. Three-toed fossil footprints dating back more than 210 million years were pressed into soft mud by bipedal reptiles with feet like a bird’s, a new analysis of the tracks has revealed. The footprints, found at … Read more

Millions of years before the earliest birds appeared, mysterious animals walked around on bird-like feet, research shows

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Sign up for CNN’s Wonder Theory science newsletter. Explore the universe with news about fascinating discoveries, scientific developments and more. Three-toed fossil footprints dating back more than 210 million years were pressed into soft mud by bipedal reptiles with feet like a bird’s, a new analysis of the tracks has revealed. The footprints, found at … Read more