From
a spongelike speck to a bird built to terrify, 2015’s fossil finds
added details, drama — and some real characters — to the story of life
on Earth. These specimens flesh out life’s timeline too, spanning nearly
600 million years of history.
Ancient sponge ancestorBarely the size of a pinhead, this tiny creature (called Eocyathispongia qiania) had tubular chambers and surface cells that resemble those of modern sponges (SN: 4/4/15, p. 12).
Earliest sea scorpionThe remains of this sea monster (Pentecopterus decorahensis) were found in an ancient impact crater in Iowa. It grew up to 1.7 meters long and had bristly, serrated limbs (SN: 11/14/15, p. 5).
Texas supersharkThe oldest known supershark was 8.5 meters long, larger than today’s great whites. It swam in warm seas over what’s now Texas (SN Online: 10/20/15).
Carolina ButcherThis croc ancestor, Carnufex carolinensis, which stretched 3 meters and may have walked on two legs, was a top predator in what’s now North Carolina, hence its fearsome nickname (SN: 4/18/15, p. 16).
Jurassic snakes
Four newly identified species suggest that snakes appeared 70 million years earlier than thought, living alongside the dinosaurs (SN: 2/21/15, p. 11). The tip-off: skulls like modern snakes, with teeth that curve backward.
Early tree climberChinese fossils suggest this shrew-sized creature had curved claws for climbing. Agilodocodon scansorius is the oldest known tree dweller among docodonts, ancient kin of today’s mammals (SN Online: 2/12/15).
Vegetarian T. rex relativeThis dino, Chilesaurus diegosuarezi, had a T. rex’s tiny forearms and sturdy legs. But not-so-sharp teeth suggest it ate plants, a sign that not all theropods were carnivores (SN: 5/30/15, p. 8).
Oldest modern birdsFeather-flecked, hummingbird-sized fossils of this water wader, Archaeornithura meemannae, found in China, push the earliest record of modern bird relatives back 6 million years (SN: 6/27/15, p. 5).
Four-legged snakeAn elusive link between snakes and lizards turned up in a German museum specimen. The leggy fossil find hints that snakes might have evolved on land (SN: 8/22/15, p. 10).
New Arctic dinoThis newfound duck-billed dino, Ugrunaaluk kuukpikensis, joins about a dozen other dinosaurs that roamed the chilly, polar forests and endured long stretches of darkness (SN: 10/31/15, p. 5).
Terror birdThis South American predator (Llallawavis scagliai), one of many prowling the continent, stood 1.2 meters tall and used its extra sturdy beak as a hatchet when hunting (SN: 5/2/15, p. 11).
Courtesy of Zongjun Yin
600 million years ago
Ancient sponge ancestorBarely the size of a pinhead, this tiny creature (called Eocyathispongia qiania) had tubular chambers and surface cells that resemble those of modern sponges (SN: 4/4/15, p. 12).
J. Lamsdell
460 million years ago
Earliest sea scorpionThe remains of this sea monster (Pentecopterus decorahensis) were found in an ancient impact crater in Iowa. It grew up to 1.7 meters long and had bristly, serrated limbs (SN: 11/14/15, p. 5).
John Maisey/AMNH
300 million years ago
Texas supersharkThe oldest known supershark was 8.5 meters long, larger than today’s great whites. It swam in warm seas over what’s now Texas (SN Online: 10/20/15).
© Jorge Gonzales
231 million years ago
Carolina ButcherThis croc ancestor, Carnufex carolinensis, which stretched 3 meters and may have walked on two legs, was a top predator in what’s now North Carolina, hence its fearsome nickname (SN: 4/18/15, p. 16).
Michael Caldwell
167 million years ago
Jurassic snakes
Four newly identified species suggest that snakes appeared 70 million years earlier than thought, living alongside the dinosaurs (SN: 2/21/15, p. 11). The tip-off: skulls like modern snakes, with teeth that curve backward.
April I. Neander/Univ. of Chicago
165 million years ago
Early tree climberChinese fossils suggest this shrew-sized creature had curved claws for climbing. Agilodocodon scansorius is the oldest known tree dweller among docodonts, ancient kin of today’s mammals (SN Online: 2/12/15).
Fernando Novas
150 million years ago
Vegetarian T. rex relativeThis dino, Chilesaurus diegosuarezi, had a T. rex’s tiny forearms and sturdy legs. But not-so-sharp teeth suggest it ate plants, a sign that not all theropods were carnivores (SN: 5/30/15, p. 8).
Zongda Zhang
130.7 million years ago
Oldest modern birdsFeather-flecked, hummingbird-sized fossils of this water wader, Archaeornithura meemannae, found in China, push the earliest record of modern bird relatives back 6 million years (SN: 6/27/15, p. 5).
Dave Martill, Univ. of Portsmouth
120 million years ago
Four-legged snakeAn elusive link between snakes and lizards turned up in a German museum specimen. The leggy fossil find hints that snakes might have evolved on land (SN: 8/22/15, p. 10).
James Havens © 2014
69 million years ago
New Arctic dinoThis newfound duck-billed dino, Ugrunaaluk kuukpikensis, joins about a dozen other dinosaurs that roamed the chilly, polar forests and endured long stretches of darkness (SN: 10/31/15, p. 5).
Marta Palmero/Institut Català de Paleontologia Miquel Crusafont (ICP)
11.6 million years ago
Gibbonlike ape ancestorThe remains of a small tree dweller, dubbed Laia but officially Pliobates cataloniae, suggest that today’s apes descended from small primates instead of large ones, as scientists had believed (SN: 11/28/15, p. 10).
F. Degrange
3.5 million years ago
Terror birdThis South American predator (Llallawavis scagliai), one of many prowling the continent, stood 1.2 meters tall and used its extra sturdy beak as a hatchet when hunting (SN: 5/2/15, p. 11).
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