Scientists find perfect fossils in rust beneath Australian farmland

A bizarre crocodile relative from the age of dinosaurs is rewriting what scientists thought they knew about ancient reptiles. This poodle-sized creature, called Sonselasuchus cedrus, appears to have started life walking on all fours before shifting to a two-legged stance as it matured—an unusual transformation rarely seen in the fossil record.

A long-standing mystery in southern Africa’s fossil record is beginning to unravel. After massive lava flows 182 million years ago seemed to erase evidence of dinosaurs in the region, scientists have now uncovered surprising new clues along the Western Cape coast. Dozens of dinosaur tracks, about 132 million years old, have been discovered in a tiny stretch of rock near Knysna—making them the youngest ever found in southern Africa.

Ancient Antarctic ice is revealing a surprising new chapter in Earth’s climate story, stretching back 3 million years. By analyzing tiny pockets of trapped air and rare gases, scientists have discovered that while the planet cooled significantly—especially in the oceans—levels of key greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide and methane changed only modestly. This unexpected mismatch suggests other powerful forces, such as shifting ice sheets, ocean circulation, and Earth’s reflectivity, played major roles in driving long-term climate change.