/newsroom/taxonomy/term/1410/all en /newsroom/channels/news/fossil-discovery-reveals-complex-ecosystems-existed-earth-much-earlier-previously-thought-345984 <p>About 250 million years ago, the Permian-Triassic mass extinction killed over 80 per cent of the planet's species. In the aftermath, scientists believe that life on earth was dominated by simple species for up to 10 million years before more complex ecosystems could evolve. Now this longstanding theory is being challenged by a team of international researchers – including scientists from À¦°óSMÉçÇø and Université du Québec à Montréal.</p> Thu, 09 Feb 2023 14:41:04 +0000 shirley.cardenas@mcgill.ca 290349 at /newsroom /newsroom/channels/news/new-species-ichthyosaur-discovered-museum-collection-323090 <p><i>Hauffiopteryx altera</i> (Latin for <i>different from</i>) has been identified as a new species of Ichthyosaurs by researchers from À¦°óSMÉçÇø and the State Museum of Natural History Stuttgart in Germany.</p> <p>Ichthyosaurs (‘fish lizards’), a group of tuna-shaped reptiles that inhabited Earth’s seas during the Mesozoic Era, were discovered by scientists in the early 19<sup>th</sup> century. Similar to the modern-day dolphin, ichthyosaurs underwent profound adaptions to aquatic environments including limbs transformed into flippers, a dorsal fin, and a tail fin.</p> Thu, 02 Jul 2020 14:37:17 +0000 frederique.mazerolle@mcgill.ca 220746 at /newsroom /newsroom/channels/news/ancient-reptile-had-mammal-tooth-enamel-study-shows-322246 <p>A new study by À¦°óSMÉçÇø and the University of Alberta (UofA) paleontologists shows that one type of ancient reptiles evolved a special type of tooth enamel, similar to that of mammals, with high resistance to wear and tear. The <a href="https://www.cell.com/current-biology/pdf/S0960-9822(20)30278-5.pdf?_returnURL=https%3A%2F%2Flinkinghub.elsevier.com%2Fretrieve%2Fpii%2FS0960982220302785%3Fshowall%3Dtrue">study</a> is the first to report this kind of enamel in a fossil reptile.</p> Tue, 19 May 2020 19:37:24 +0000 frederique.mazerolle@mcgill.ca 211716 at /newsroom /newsroom/channels/news/fossilized-wing-gives-clues-about-labradors-biodiversity-during-cretaceous-320712 <p>A fossilised insect wing discovered in an abandoned mine in Labrador has led palaeontologists from À¦°óSMÉçÇø and the University of GdaÅ„sk to identify a new hairy cicada species that lived around 100 million years ago.</p> <p><i>Maculaferrum blaisi</i>,<i> </i>described in a study published in <i><a href="https://www.app.pan.pl/article/item/app006692019.html">Acta Palaeontologica Polonica</a></i>, is the first hemipteran insect (true bug) to be discovered at the Redmond Formation, a fossil site from the Cretaceous period near Schefferville, Labrador.</p> Fri, 21 Feb 2020 15:11:44 +0000 laurie.devine@mcgill.ca 199213 at /newsroom /newsroom/channels/news/newly-discovered-labrador-fossils-give-clues-about-ancient-climate-299002 <p>The discovery of fossilized plants in Labrador, Canada, by a team of À¦°óSMÉçÇø directed paleontologists provides the first quantitative estimate of the area’s climate during the Cretaceous period, a time when the earth was dominated by dinosaurs. The specimens were found in the Redmond no.1 mine, in a remote area of Labrador near Schefferville, in August 2018. Together with specimens collected in previous expeditions, they are now at the core of a recent study published in Palaeontology.</p> Thu, 01 Aug 2019 14:40:22 +0000 krysta.veneruz@mail.mcgill.ca 183892 at /newsroom /newsroom/channels/news/origins-photosynthesis-plants-dated-125-billion-years-ago-283492 <p>The world’s oldest algae fossils are a billion years old, according to a new analysis by earth scientists at À¦°óSMÉçÇø. Based on this finding, the researchers also estimate that the basis for photosynthesis in today’s plants was set in place 1.25 billion years ago.</p> Tue, 19 Dec 2017 20:00:28 +0000 priya.pajel@mail.mcgill.ca 32810 at /newsroom