Palaeontology

Palaeontologists have used CT scanners to recreate a trilobite preserved in volcanic ash

Scientists were taught that they would never find fossils in volcanic rock but a recent discovery shows the complete opposite.

Ever wondered how artists create images of dinosaurs and other extinct animals? We go behind the scenes with a palaeoartist to find out how he brought an ancient "giga-goose" to life from a pile of bones.

From filming in some of the most remote and inhospitable areas of Australia, to working with an A-list Hollywood actor, this is how the ABC Science team investigated what killed our ancient megafauna.

Towering birds, terrifying lizards and massive marsupials once roamed Australia. How much do you know about our mega-sized past?

Scientists are piecing together a picture of how Australia's extinct giant kangaroos moved.

Fossilised remains thought to be 100 million years old have been identified as a new species of pterosaur, a powerful flying predator with a wingspan of up to 12 metres.

The ancient specimen, which is the length of a ute tray, has travelled more than 1,500 kilometres across Queensland to its home in the outback.

Freshly discovered skulls of a giant prehistoric bird that lived in Australia until about 45,000 years ago reveal it had a "goose-like beak" and other aquatic adaptations.

The fossils of prehistoric megafauna, which have been perfectly preserved for hundreds of thousands of years, give scientists an insight into how climate change affects species. 

The "echidnapus" is one of the newly described ancient monotremes from a fossil hotspot in NSW that could give us more clues about an era when egg-laying mammals diversified.

Eleanor Beidatsch is used to overcoming the odds, but even she thought a career in palaeontology would be a bridge too far.

Just over a decade ago, an outback cattle station worker in the NT stumbled across a rare diprotodon fossil sticking out of the red soil. Now fondly known as Shirley, scientists have discovered how old the marsupial is.

A fossil jawbone found by a young girl and her father on a beach in England belongs to a gigantic marine reptile dating back to 202 million years ago that appears to have been among the largest animals ever on Earth. 

Researchers from Flinders University have described three new species of extinct kangaroo, helping to solve a nearly 150-year-long scientific mystery.

Samantha Beeston spent endless hours in outback Queensland scanning hundreds of dinosaur bones that had been dug up over more than 15 years. 

There were definitely no muppets 270 million years ago, but there was a Kermit — or at least an ancestor of modern amphibians, according to scientists who uncovered its fossilised skull. 

Scientists discover the oldest fossilised forest known on Earth, dating back 390 million years, according to a new study.

Scientists believe footprints that were accidentally found on a Moroccan beach were made by five modern humans 90,000 years ago. 

After a lifelong fascination with dinosaurs, PhD candidate Nathan Enriquez spends three weeks in the remote Gobi Desert retrieving the remains of the long-necked Nemegtosaurus.

For two million years, Gigantopithecus blacki roamed the forests of what is now southern China. A new study claims to discover when — and why — it went extinct.

Australia is surrounded by stunning islands — you may even spend time on one this summer. Join us on a whistle-stop tour to explore how some of our most iconic isles rose from the sea.

Once teeming with marine life, Cannindah Reef is now buried under Queensland cattle country. Could it help scientists protect the Great Barrier Reef as the climate changes? 

The skull was found off the southern coast of England and belongs to a Pliosaur: an apex predator which roamed the ocean 150 million years ago.

The fragment is believed to belong to the oldest-known megaraptorid — by at least 20 million years — and beach erosion could reveal even more fossils.