Mental Floss

PALEONTOLOGY

Parker et al (2016)

What Long-Dead Bees Can Tell Us About Our Ancestors

The presence and contents of a fossilized nest suggest that Australopithecus africanus lived in a dry, savannah-like environment.

John Cooke via Wikimedia Commons // Public Domain

DNA Shows Infamous ‘Piltdown Man’ Hoax Was Two Parts Human, One Part Ape

But who was behind the hoax?

Honymand via Wikimedia Commons // CC BY-SA 4.0

Some Woolly Mammoths Survived Until Just 5600 Years Ago

A new study finds that mammoths were roaming Alaska’s St. Paul Island as recently as 5600 years ago, but even then their days were numbered.

Artwork by Andrey Atuchin

Why Turtles Have Shells (It’s Not What We Thought)

New evidence suggests that prehistoric turtle shells served a different purpose than we originally believed.

Sterling Nesbitt

Ancient Ostrich Relative Discovered in North America

Researchers believe the discovery could be the key to identifying other ancient bird species.

Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History

This Ancient Crocodilian Egg Looks Like a Geode

Here's what a little stress and 45 million years can do to organic matter.

© Nobu Tamura

Prehistoric Mammals Didn’t Need Dinosaur Die-Off to Thrive, Say Scientists

A new study finds that mammals were thriving 10 to 20 million years before dinosaur extinction.

(c) Y. Chen, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology

Fossils Reveal a Hammer-Headed, Vegetarian Sea Weirdo

Atopodentatus used its peg teeth and bizarre jaw to scrape plant matter off rocks on the sea floor.

Dmitry Bogdanov via Wikimedia Commons // CC BY-SA 3.0

To Save Their Species, These Prehistoric Animals Mated Early and Died Young

When the mass extinction began, Lystrosaurus shortened its lifespan—and its mating cycle.

9 Ways Dinosaurs Are Just Like Birds

A new exhibit at the American Museum of Natural History argues that birds are just another kind of dinosaur.