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2025 in paleontology
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Paleontology or palaeontology is the study of prehistoric life forms on Earth through the examination of plant and animal fossils.[1] This includes the study of body fossils, tracks (ichnites), burrows, cast-off parts, fossilised feces (coprolites), palynomorphs and chemical residues. Because humans have encountered fossils for millennia, paleontology has a long history both before and after becoming formalized as a science. This article records significant discoveries and events related to paleontology that occurred or were published in the year 2025.
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Flora
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Plants
Fungi
Newly named fungi
Mycological research
- Szánthó et al. (2025) develop time-calibrated phylogeny of fungi on the basis of fossil and molecular data, providing new information on the age of the crown group of fungi and on the timing of their interactions with algal ancestors of embryophytes.[13]
- Han et al. (2025) identify microtubes in bones of specimens of Keichousaurus from the Middle Triassic strata in China, preserved with geometric features typical of fungal hyphae, and identify the studied specimens as the earliest record of fungal-induced biomineralization in fossil bones reported to date.[14]
- Tian et al. (2025) describe remains of fungi colonizing an insect-infested conifer wood from the Jurassic Tiaojishan Formation (China), interpreted as the oldest record of blue stain fungi reported to date.[15]
- Tian et al. (2025) describe parasitic fungi infecting a podocarpaceous wood specimen from the Lower Cretaceous Yixian Formation (China), representing the first documented occurrence of fossil fungi in the Jehol Biota.[16]
- Hodgson et al. (2025) present a global dataset of Cenozoic fungi records.[17]
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Cnidarians
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Cnidarian research
- Probable evidence of cnidarian affinities of Salterella and Volborthella is presented by Vayda et al. (2025).[37]
- Evidence from the study of specimens of Sphenothallus cf. longissimus from the Ordovician (Katian) strata in Estonia, indicative of enhanced phosphatic biomineralization in the studied cnidarian, is presented by Vinn & Madison (2025).[38]
- Ivantsov & Zakrevskaya (2025) study the morphology of Staurinidia crucicula, interpreted as supporting the affinities of the studied species with scyphomedusae.[39]
- Zaika (2025) revises the fossil record of the tabulate coral Sarcinula in the Ordovician strata from the Baltic region, and argues that S. organum is the only member of this genus present in the studied area.[40]
- Evidence from the study of Propora tubulata and Heliolites spongodes from the Silurian of Sweden and H. porosus from the Devonian of Morocco, indicating that corallite spacing in heliolitid corals was adaptable and partially controlled by their environment, is presented by Król (2025).[41]
- Tube fragments which might represent the first fossils of tube-dwelling anemones reported to date are described from the Eocene to Oligocene strata in Washington (United States) by Kiel & Goedert (2025).[42]
- A study on fossils of members of the genus Porites from the Miocene sites in Austria and Hungary, providing evidence of low calcification rates during the mid-Miocene climate warming that likely affected the formation and maintenance of coral reefs, is published by Reuter et al. (2025).[43]
- A study on the fossil record of Cenozoic Caribbean corals, indicating that the largest turnovers of species and of traits that impact resilience coincided with climate and biogeographic changes, is published by Clay, Dunhill & Beger (2025).[44]
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Arthropods
Bryozoans
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Bryozoan research
- Fossil material of large-bodied trepostome bryozoans belonging to the genus Tabulipora is described from the Permian Arizaro Formation (Argentina) by Carrera et al. (2025).[49]
- Saulsbury et al. (2025) study the evolution of skeletal mineralogy in cheilostome bryozoans, and report evidence indicating that cheilostomes with partly or fully aragonitic skeletons evolved independently at least 50 times from calcitic ancestors.[50]
- A new assemblage of Ordovician (Hirnantian) bryozoans, including taxa previously reported only from the Baltic region, is described from the Halevikdere Formation (Turkey) by Ernst, Hoşgör & Vinn (2025).[51]
- Evidence of decreasing zooid size throughouth the evolutionary history of cyclostome bryozoans from the "Berenicea" lineage is presented by Ma, Liow & Taylor (2025).[52]
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Brachiopods
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Brachiopod research
- Evidence of preservation of epithelial cell impressions and moulds on the shell surface of Eohadrotreta zhenbaensis from the Cambrian Shuijingtuo Formation (China) is presented by Zhang et al. (2025).[74]
- A study on the diversity dynamics of members of Plectambonitoidea throughout their evolutionary history is published by Candela, Guo & Harper (2025).[75]
- Hennessey & Stigall (2025) link diversification trends of brachiopods from the Simpson Group (Oklahoma, United States) to global trends, reporting evidence of a rapid increase in shell volume of the studied brachiopods at the time of the main pulse of diversification during the Great Ordovician Biodiversification Event.[76]
- Jin & Harper (2025) study the Darriwilian to Hirnantian brachiopod faunas from Laurentia, and link the vulnerability of brachiopods to extinction during the Late Ordovician mass extinction to endemism of the studied faunas, adaptations of the studied brachiopods to inland sea environment and loss of ability to disperse out of this habitat.[77]
- A study on diversification of brachiopods after the Late Ordovician mass extinction is published by Huang, Chen & Shi (2025).[78]
- Huang & Rong (2025) report evidence of preservation of setae in Nucleospira calypta from the Silurian (Telychian) strata in China, interpreted by the authors as used in active spacing regulation between members of the studied assemblage.[79]
- Baarli & Mergl (2025) study the phylogenetic affinities of Karbous and Trigonatrypa, placing the former genus in the family Karpinskiidae and the latter one in the family Glassiidae.[80]
- Shi et al. (2025) report the first discovery of silicified brachiopod fossils from the Permian (Kungurian−Roadian) strata of the Wandrawandian Siltstone (Australia), and reconstruct the taphonomic history of these fossils.[81]
- Evidence of morphological adaptations of lingulid brachiopods to environmental changes during the Early Triassic is presented by Wu et al. (2025).[82]
- Carlson et al. (2025) evaluate the impact of use of different phylogenetic methods on reconstructions of relationships and evolution of morphological characters in Athyridida.[83]
- A study on the taxonomic diversity of Mediterranean brachiopods throughout the Jurassic and Early Cretaceous, providing evidence of faunal losses coinciding with oceanic anoxic events, is published by Vörös & Szives (2025).[84]
- A study on the diversity dynamics of brachiopods throughout the Paleogene is published by Ruban (2025), who finds possible evidence of impact of climate changes on brachiopod diversity during the Paleocene but not during the Eocene-Oligocene.[85]
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Molluscs
Echinoderms
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Echinoderm research
- Evidence from the study of outgrowths on disarticulated echinoderm fragments from the Cambrian (Wuliuan) rocks of the Burke River Structural Belt (Australia), interpreted as reaction to parasitic epibionts and the oldest evidence of parasitic symbiotic interactions on deuterostome hosts reported to date, is presented by Goñi et al. (2025).[104]
- Guenser et al. (2025) report evidence of concentration of research on the fossil record of stylophorans in the higher-income countries, regardless of the origin of the studied fossil material, throughout the history of the study of this group, including evidence that the majority of studies on fossils from the Global South published between 1925 and 1999 did not include local collaborators, and evidence of transfer of fossil material from countries of the Global South to countries of the Global North.[105]
- A new echinoderm Lagerstätte dominated by specimens of the solutan species Dendrocystites barrandei is described from the Ordovician (Sandbian) strata of the Letná Formation (Czech Republic) by Fatka et al. (2025).[106]
- Evidence from the study of the echinoderm assemblage from the Ordovician Bromide Formation (Oklahoma, United States), indicating that paracrinoids and other pelmatozoans likely occupied different regions of niche space and did not compete for food, is presented by Higdon & Cole (2025).[107]
- New fossil material of Wellerocystis and Implicaticystis, providing new information on the morphology of the studied paracrinoids, is described from the Ordovician Kimmswick Limestone (Missouri, United States) by Paul, Guensburg & Darrough (2025).[108]
- New fossil material of cupressocrinine cupressocrinitid crinoids, providing new information on their morphology and ontogeny, is described from the Devonian strata of the Bergisch Gladbach-Paffrath Syncline and the Eifel Synclines (Germany) by Bohatý & Ausich (2025).[109]
- A study on the microstructure of the stalk of Seirocrinus, indicative of presence of adaptations that reduced weight of the studied crinoid and enabled it to live attached to a raft system such as drifting wood without significantly contributing to its sinking, is presented by Gorzelak et al. (2025).[110]
- An indeterminate solanocrinitid representing the first known opalized comatulid crinoid reported to date is described from the Cretaceous strata in South Australia by Salamon, Kapitany & Płachno (2025).[111]
- Salamon et al. (2025) describe fossils of members of the genus Isselicrinus from the Transylvanian Basin (Romania), representing the first reported Eocene shallow-water occurrence of the studied stalked crinoids from the Northern Hemisphere.[112]
- Evidence from the study of the fossil record of Paleozoic echinoids, indicating that inclusion of unpublished museum specimens can strongly affect the results of the studies of biogeography and evolution of groups known from fossils, is presented by Dean & Thompson (2025).[113]
- A study on the preservation of fossils of Paleozoic echinoids and on factors influencing the quality of preservation of the studied specimens is published by Thompson et al. (2025).[114]
- Yakouya-Moubamba et al. (2025) describe fossil material of Mecaster fourneli from the Turonian strata in Gabon, and report evidence of strong morphological similarity of the studied fossils to specimens from Algeria and Peru.[115]
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Hemichordates
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Hemichordate research
- A study on the evolution of body symmetry in extant and fossil pterobranchs is published by Maletz (2025).[117]
- The conclusions of the study of Saulsbury et al. (2023), which found that the survivorship of the Ordovician and Silurian graptoloids is consistent with the neutral theory of biodiversity and that this theory can be used to formulate hypotheses on changes in ancient ecosystems,[118] are contested by Johnson (2025)[119] and reaffirmed by Saulsbury et al. (2025).[120]
- Maletz & Gutiérrez-Marco (2025) revise the graptolite genus Ptilograptus and transfer it from the family Callograptidae to the family Dendrograptidae.[121]
- Gao, Tan & Wang (2025) consider the double-helical rotating locomotion as most likely for Dicellograptus, and argue that evolution from Jiangxigraptus to Dicellograptus involved selection for improvement in hydrodynamic characteristics.[122]
- Evidence indicating that the decline of graptolite diversity in the Prague Basin during the Lundgreni Event was related to increased oxygenation of offshore environments is presented by Frýda & Frýdová (2025).[123]
- A study on the construction of the tubarium of retiolitine graptolites pre- and post-Lundgreni Event and on their evolutionary relationships is published by Maletz (2025).[124]
- Reich & Krümmer (2025) describe rhabdopleurid stolon systems overgrowing other organisms from the Cretaceous Chalk Sea floor, discovered in the Maastrichtian strata from Rügen (Germany).[125]
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Conodonts
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Conodont research
- Paiste et al. (2025) revise the conodont biostratigraphy in the Ordovician (Sandbian–lower Katian) strata in Lithuania, Ukraine, Estonia and Sweden.[142]
- Taxonomic revision of Acodus longibasis and A. triangularis is published by Zhen (2025), who also revises the generic diagnosis of Acodus and supports the interpretation of this genus as valid.[143]
- A study on the morphological variation of oral elements of members of the genus Polygnathus from the Devonian/Carboniferous transition is published by Nesme et al. (2025), who find evidence of reduced morphological variation in larger elements than in smaller ones, interpreted as indicative of increase in functional constraints on large-sized Polygnathus elements.[144]
- A study on the phylogenetic relationships, biogeography and biostratigraphy of members of the genus Gnathodus is published by Wang, Hu & Wang (2025).[145]
- A study on factors influencing the spatial distribution of conodonts in the aftermath of the Permian–Triassic extinction event is published by Guenser et al. (2025).[146]
- Wu et al. (2025) study the morphological variation of oral elements of members of the genus Chiosella, and argue that the majority of specimens of Chiosella gondolelloides could be juvenile forms of Chiosella timorensis.[147]
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Fish
Amphibians
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Amphibian research
- New information on the anatomy of the braincases of Ventastega curonica and Acanthostega gunnari is published by Ahlberg et al. (2025).[161]
- A study on the body plan of Ichthyostega is published by Strong et al. (2025), who provide evidence of the presence of a mixture of fish- and tetrapod-like body proportions, and interpret forelimbs of Ichthyostega as bearing a higher fraction of body weight than its hindlimbs when the animal moved on land.[162]
- Marshall et al. (2025) use palynological assemblages from the Carboniferous Ballagan Formation (Scotland, United Kingdom) to place early tetrapods from different localities from this formation within a Tournaisian timeframe.[163]
- Redescription and a study on the affinities of Carboniferous baphetids from the Czech Republic is published by Barták, Ivanov & Ekrt (2025), who identify rediscovered part of the type material of Loxomma bohemicum as remains of temnospondyl species Capetus palustris.[164]
- The maximum depositional age of the Carboniferous fossils from the East Kirkton Quarry (Scotland, United Kingdom), including fossils of Balanerpeton woodi, Eucritta melanolimnetes, Kirktonecta milnerae, Ophiderpeton kirktonense, Silvanerpeton miripedes and Westlothiana lizziae, is reinterpreted as more likely to be middle-lower Viséan rather than upper Viséan by Garza et al. (2025).[165]
- Redescription of the anatomy of Calligenethlon watsoni is published by Adams et al. (2025).[166]
- Ruta et al. (2025) study the evolution of skull length in temnospondyls.[167]
- A study on the body size, morphological diversity, biogeography and feeding ecology of temnospondyls throughout the Triassic is published by Mehmood et al. (2025).[168]
- A study on the parasphenoids of Early Triassic trematosauroids and capitosaurs from the European part of Russia, providing evidence of differences of the levator scapulae muscles of the studied temnospondyls that were likely related to differences of their lifestyles, is published by Morkovin (2025).[169]
- A study on the morphological variation, phylogenetic relationships and evolutionary history of members of the genus Cyclotosaurus is published by Schoch et al. (2025).[170]
- Kufner et al. (2025) report the discovery of a probable mass mortality assemblage of Buettnererpeton bakeri from the Upper Triassic strata from the Nobby Knob site (Popo Agie Formation; Wyoming, United States).[171]
- A study on the structure of tissue of the dermal pectoral bones of Metoposaurus krasiejowensis is published by Kalita, Teschner & Konietzko-Meier (2025).[172]
- A study on the histology of the ilium and the ischium of Metoposaurus krasiejowensis, providing possible evidence of a reduced role of the pelvic girdle and hindlimbs in locomotion of members of the studied species, is published by Konietzko-Meier, Prino & Teschner (2025).[173]
- A study on pathologies in cervical vertebrae of specimens of Metoposaurus krasiejowensis is published by Antczak et al. (2025), who identify the oldest block joint between the atlas and the axis reported in a tetrapod, as well as the first record of spinal arthropathy in a non-amniote.[174]
- New information on the morphology of the lower jaw of Trimerorhachis is provided by Ruta, Bolt & Barber (2025).[175]
- Gee, Mann & Sues (2025) describe a new specimen of Aspidosaurus chiton from the Permian (Cisuralian) strata in Texas, and designate it as the neotype of the species.[176]
- Skutschas, Kolchanov & Syromyatnikova (2025) report evidence of presence of pedicellate teeth in karaurids, interpreted as confirming the neotenic nature of the studied specimens.[177]
- A study on the fossil record of Quaternary mole salamanders from Hall's Cave (Texas, United States) is published by Ledesma, Moxley & Kemp (2025), who link the disappearance of mole salamanders from the Edwards Plateau to landscape changes and shift to hotter and drier climate in the middle Holocene.[178]
- Redescription of the anatomy of Vieraella herbstii is published by Báez & Nicoli (2025).[179]
- Fossil material representing the northernmost record of frogs from the Upper Cretaceous Bauru Group is described from the Adamantina and Serra da Galga formations (Brazil) by Muniz et al. (2025), who report the discovery of a possible calyptocephalellid representing the first member of the group reported from the northern part of South America.[180]
- New fossil material of Bakonybatrachus fedori is described from the Santonian strata from the Iharkút vertebrate locality (Hungary) by Szentesi (2025).[181]
- Lemierre et al. (2025) describe new fossil material of members of Pipimorpha from the Upper Cretaceous (Coniacian-Santonian) strata from the Becetèn site (Niger), providing evidence of presence of at least four pipimorph taxa at the studied site.[182]
- Lin et al. (2025) describe a vertebra of Duttaphrynus melanostictus representing the first record of an amphibian fossil from Taiwan, probably originating from the Middle Pleistocene Chiting Formation.[183]
- Bravo et al. (2025) report the discovery of fossil material of a member of the genus Ceratophrys from the Miocene Palo Pintado Formation, representing one of the westernmost records of the genus in northern Argentina reported to date, and claimed by the authors to be the first record of this genus from the studied formation;[184] however, Zimicz et al. (2025) cite previous records of Ceratophrys from the Palo Pintado Formation, and argue that the fossil material described by Bravo et al. is more likely Pliocene in age.[185]
- Lemierre et al. (2025) describe new fossil material of frogs from the Miocene strata from the Chamtwara locality (Kenya), including the first fossil occurrence of a member of the family Arthroleptidae.[186]
- Nicoli et al. (2025) reinterpret Neoprocoela edentata as a species belonging to the extant genus Nannophryne.[187]
- An external mould of a true toad, preserving details of its soft anatomy, is described from the Miocene strata from the Böttingen Fossillagerstätte (Germany) by Maisch & Stöhr (2025).[188]
- Lemierre & Orliac (2025) describe fossil material of Paleogene amphibians from the locality of Dams (Quercy Phosphorites Formation, France), reporting evidence of a faunal turnover at the Eocene-Oligocene transition.[189]
- Byrnes, Bolt & Mann (2025) report the first discovery of fossil material of Ctenerpeton remex from the Mazon Creek fossil beds (Illinois, United States), expanding known diversity of nectrideans from the studied assemblage.[190]
- Jenkins et al. (2025) redescribe the skull of Hapsidopareion lepton, consider Llistrofus pricei to represent a junior synonym of this species, and reevaluate the affinities of recumbirostrans, recovering them as a clade of stem-amniotes.[191]
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Reptiles
Synapsids
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Non-mammalian synapsids
Synapsid research
- Review of studies on the morphology and evolution of brains of synapsids, their sense organs, endothermy and behavior from the preceding years is published by Bolton, Mangera & Benoit (2025).[203]
- Evidence from a comparative study of skull anatomy of non-mammalian synapsids and extant chameleons, interpreted as consistent with the presence a mandibular middle ear in early synapsids, is presented by Olroyd & Kopperud (2025).[204]
- A study on changes in humerus and femur of synapsids throughout their evolutionary history is published by Bishop & Pierce (2025).[205]
- A study on changes of shape of the humerus and changes of posture of synapsids throughout their evolutionary history is published by Brocklehurst et al. (2025), who interpret ancestral synapsids as sprawling but morphologically distinct from extant sprawling animals, and interpret the evolution of posture of modern therian mammals as resulting from successive synapsid radiations with varied postures rather than from a direct progression from sprawling to therian-like posture.[206]
- A study on the diversity of varanopids throughout their evolutionary history is published by Laurin & Didier (2025), who find no evidence for an end-Kungurian extinction event, and interpret the extinction of varanopids as likely related to the Capitanian mass extinction event.[207]
- Marchetti et al. (2025) describe sphenacodontid body impressions (probably produced by a group of four individuals) from the Permian (Sakmarian) Tambach Formation (Germany), providing evidence of presence of epidermal scales in sphenacodontids, and name a new ichnotaxon Bromackerichnus requiescens.[208]
- A study on the anatomy of skull and teeth of Moschognathus whaitsi is published by Lafferty et al. (2025), who report evidence of multiple replacements of incisiform teeth and their alternating replacement pattern, resulting in similarities of tooth replacement in the studied taxon and in the dental batteries in sauropod dinosaurs.[209]
- Nieke, Fröbisch & Canoville (2025) study the histology of limb bones of Suminia getmanovi, interpreted as consistent with an arboreal lifestyle.[210]
- Benoit & Jodder (2025) describe new fossil material of Kombuisia frerensis from the Anisian Burgersdorp Formation (South Africa), confirming the absence of the parietal foramen in members of this species.[211]
- Description of the anatomy of the postcranial skeleton of Kembawacela kitchingi is published by Abbott et al. (2025).[212]
- A study on the skeletal anatomy and phylogenetic affinities of Rastodon procurvidens is published by Silva et al. (2025), who recover the studied dicynodont as the first known South American member of the family Kingoriidae.[213]
- De Souza et al. (2025) identify the dicynodont skull from the Triassic strata of the Dinodontosaurus Assemblage Zone of the Santa Maria Supersequence described by Araújo (1981)[214] as a skull of Dinodontosaurus brevirostris, providing evidence of presence of this species in Brazil.[215]
- Matamales-Andreu et al. (2025) describe probable gorgonopsian footprints from the Permian strata of the Port des Canonge Formation (Spain), and name a new ichnotaxon Algarpes ferus.[216]
- A study on the bone histology of an indeterminate gorgonopsian specimen from the Permian strata of the upper Madumabisa Mudstone Formation (Zambia), providing evidence of slower growth than in gorgonopsians from the Karoo Basin, is published by Kulik (2025).[217]
- Macungo, Benoit & Araújo (2025) describe fossil material of Inostrancevia africana from the Permian strata of the K6a2 Member of the Metangula graben (Mozambique), supporting its correlation with the Daptocephalus Assemblage Zone in South Africa.[218]
- Cookson and Mann (2025) re-examine two historic skulls of Lycaenops assigned to L. angusticeps and L. cf. L. angusticeps and reassess their taxonomy.[219]
- Liu & Abdala (2025) describe new specimens of Jiucaiyuangnathus confusus from the Lower Triassic Jiucaiyuan Formation (China), interpret known specimens as early juveniles, as revise the diagnostic features of the studied taxon.[220]
- Filippini, Abdala & Cassini (2025) provide new estimates of body mass for Andescynodon, Pascualgnathus, Massetognathus, Cynognathus and Exaeretodon.[221]
- Kerber et al. (2025) describe traversodontid postcranial material from the Pinheiros-Chiniquá Sequence at the Linha Várzea 1 site (Brazil), representing a morphotype distinct from other traversodontid postcranial remains from this locality.[222]
- A study on the bone histology of Luangwa drysdalli and Scalenodon angustifrons, providing evidence of different life histories of the studied cynodonts, is published by Kulik (2025).[223]
- A study on the anatomy of the postcranial skeleton of Luangwa sudamericana is published by Souza et al. (2025).[224]
- Medina et al. (2025) provide new information on the anatomy of the cranial endocast of Massetognathus pascuali, and describe the maxillary canal of the studied cynodont.[225]
- A study on changes in the skull anatomy of Siriusgnathus niemeyerorum during its ontogeny is published by Roese-Miron & Kerber (2025).[226]
- A study on the skull anatomy of Siriusgnathus niemeyerorum, including the first reconstruction of its cranial nerves and the first description of its inner ear, is published by Roese-Miron et al. (2025).[227]
- New specimen of Exaeretodon riograndensis, providing new information on the postcranial anatomy of members of this species, is described by Kerber et al. (2025).[228]
- A specimen of Exaeretodon riograndensis affected by traumatic fracture of ribs that limited its locomotion capabilities, and possibly surviving with help of other members of its group, is described from the Upper Triassic strata of the Santa Maria Supersequence (Brazil) by Doneda, Roese–Miron & Kerber (2025).[229]
- New information on the skull anatomy of Trucidocynodon riograndensis is provided by Kerber et al. (2025).[230]
- Dotto et al. (2025) describe fossil material of a prozostrodontian cynodont from the Upper Triassic strata from the Buriol site (Hyperodapedon Assemblage Zone, Brazil), providing new information on the morphological diversity of teeth of Carnian probainognathians.[231]
- New information on the anatomy of Yuanotherium minor is provided by Liu, Ren & Mao (2025).[232]
- Description of the endocranial anatomy of Bienotheroides is published by Ren et al. (2025).[233]
- Description of new fossil material of Bienotheroides zigongensis from the Upper Jurassic Shishugou Formation (China) and a study on the phylogenetic relationships of tritylodontids is published by Ren et al. (2025).[234]
- Averianov et al. (2025) report evidence of a dentary–squamosal jaw articulation in Xenocretosuchus sibiricus, providing evidence of development of such jaw articulation in a tritylodontid independently from those observed in tritheledontids and mammaliaforms.[235]
- Wang et al. (2025) describe a new mandible of Fossiomanus sinensis from the Lower Cretaceous Jiufotang Formation (China), providing new information on the mandible shape and tooth morphology of members of this species.[236]
- A study on bite force capabilities and on mandible resistance to stress, bending and torsion in Brasilodon quadrangularis is published by Salcido et al. (2025).[237]
- Hai et al. (2025) describe a mandible of a juvenile specimen of Sinoconodon rigneyi from the Lower Jurassic Lufeng Formation (China), providing new information on tooth replacement in members of this species.[238]
- Tumelty & Lautenschlager (2025) study the skull anatomy of Hadrocodium wui, and interpret the studied mammaliaform as not fully fossorial.[239]
Mammals
Other animals
Summarize
Perspective
Other animal research
- Mitchell & Dhungana (2025) calculate the lifespans and relative evolutionary rates for Dickinsonia, Kimberella, Trepassia, Tribrachidium, Charnia, Ernietta, Avalofractus, Primocandelabrum, Charniodiscus and Fractofusus.[270]
- Evidence from the study of extant invertebrates, indicating that coprostane is not a gut biomarker for Ediacaran animals, is presented by Mulligan & Gold (2025), who propose that the coprostane signal in the fossils of Dickinsonia is a result of feeding on the microbial mats by the studied animal.[271]
- Surprenant & Droser (2025) develop a growth model for Funisia dorothea, providing evidence of a growth pattern different from that of Wutubus annularis.[272]
- Elias et al. (2025) describe superficially coral-like fossils from the Cambrian Mural Formation (Alberta and British Columbia, Canada), assigned to the species Rosellatana jamesi and interpreted as indicative of affinities with hypercalcified sponges.[273]
- Evidence of similarity of growth and mortality dynamics of Parvancorina minchami and extant small marine invertebrates is presented by Ivantsov et al. (2025).[274]
- Zhao et al. (2025) describe disc-like fossils from the Ediacaran Dengying Formation (China), preserving possibly remnants of the perioral musculature and innervation, and interpreted as probable fossils of eumetazoan-grade organisms.[275]
- Dunn, Donoghue & Liu (2025) describe a population of Fractofusus andersoni from the Mistaken Point Ecological Reserve (Newfoundland, Canada), and present a model of growth in the studied taxon.[276]
- Stephenson et al. (2025) report evidence from the study of fossils from the Ediacaran strata in Newfoundland (Canada) indicating that fragmentation of full specimens Fractofusus andersoni during disturbance events resulted in recolonization of the substrate on the basis reproductively active fragments, but find no evidence that survival of exceptionally large specimens of frondose taxa during the disturbance events resulted in a significant local recolonization afterwards, and argue that these differences are consistent with capacity of Avalon taxa to exhibit both local recolonization and long-distance dispersal.[277]
- Wu et al. (2025) describe fossil material of Charnia masoni and C. gracilis from the Ediacaran Zhoujieshan Formation (China), extending known geographic distribution of Charnia and demonstrating that it likely persisted into the latest Ediacaran.[278]
- Evidence from the study of extant demosponges, supporting the interpretation of C31 steranes in Neoproterozoic rocks as linked to the emergence of early sponges, is presented by Shawar et al. (2025).[279]
- Jia et al. (2025) study the composition of the assemblage of sponge spicules from the Cambrian Qingxi Formation in the Sanjiang area (Guangxi, China), reporting evidence of presence of complex forms such as pentactines and orthotetraenes.[280]
- Zhang et al. (2025) describe sponge spicule tufts from the Cambrian (Fortunian) lower Yanjiahe Formation (China), representing some of the oldest fossils of biomineralized sponges reported to date.[281]
- Olivier et al. (2025) identify probable chaetetid fossil material from the Triassic (Olenekian) strata in Rock Canyon (Arizona, United States), representing the oldest Mesozoic record of chaetetids reported to date.[282]
- Becker-Kerber et al. (2025) reevaluate skeletal organization of Corumbella on the basis of the study of new specimens from the Ediacaran Tamengo Formation (Brazil), interpreted as inconsistent with close affinities with scyphozoan cnidarians.[283]
- Kershaw & Li (2025) review the evolutionary history of hypercalcified sponges.[284]
- A study on possible causes of decline of stromatoporoid diversity during the early Devonian is published by Stock et al. (2025).[285]
- Purported early mollusc Shishania aculeata is reinterpreted as a chancelloriid by Yang et al. (2025).[286]
- Hu et al. (2025) report evidence of exceptional preservation of organic templates in chancelloriid sclerites from the Cambrian Houjiashan Formation (China), interpret their arrangement as indicating that the biomineralization of chancelloriid sclerites was controlled by epithelial cells, and interpret the biomineralization mode of chancelloriids as suggestive of their affinities with eumetazoans.[287]
- Yun et al. (2025) report evidence of preservation of integument microstructures in chancelloriid fossils from the Cambrian Yu'anshan Formation (China) and study the phylogenetic affinities of chancelloriids, recovering them as epitheliozoans most likely sharing a more recent common ancestor with eumetazoans than with placozoans.[288]
- A study on locomotory trace fossils from 12 formations from the Ediacaran-Cambrian transition, providing evidence of presence of probable bilateral eumetazoans with slender bodies with anterior-posterior body axes around 545 million years ago, is published by Wang & Miguez-Salas (2025).[289]
- Knaust & Duarte (2025) report the preservation of nemertean, polychaete and nematode fossils from the limestone and marlstone succession of the Pliensbachian Vale das Fontes and Lemede formations at the Global Boundary Stratotype Section and Point at Peniche (Portugal), and study the taphonomy of the described fossils.[290]
- Evidence from the study of Cambrian scalidophoran fossils, interpreted as indicating that the ventral nerve cord was ancestrally unpaired in scalidophorans, priapulids and possibly ecdysozoans in general, is presented by Wang et al. (2025).[291]
- Knaust (2025) identifies early Paleozoic trace fossils assigned to the ichnotaxon Skolithos linearis as most likely to be priapulid burrows.[292]
- Liu & Liu (2025) identify morphological differences between Corynetis brevis and C. fortis interpreted as likely related to different anchoring strategies, and report evidence of presence of two rows encircling the mouth of Corynetis, interpreted as likely having a sensory function.[293]
- Kovář & Fatka (2025) describe new lobopodian fossil material from the Cambrian Jince Formation (Czech Republic), extending known record of Cambrian hallucigeniid/luolishaniid lobopodians into the Drumian.[294]
- Knecht et al. (2025) redescribe Palaeocampa anthrax, interpret it as the youngest known "xenusiid" lobopodian, and report evidence of sclerite architecture distinct from those of other lobopodians, possibly related to the ability to secrete defensive chemicals.[295]
- Monge-Nájera & Añino (2025) argue that timing of diversification of extant onychophoran taxa from published DNA phylogenies indicates that indicative of survival of multiple onychophoran lineages through the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event in the areas affected by the Chicxulub impact.[296]
- Slater (2025) describes Cambrian protoconodonts preserved as small carbonaceous fossils from the Lontova Formation (Estonia) and from the Borgholm Formation (Sweden), and interprets the studied fossils as indicating that bilaterians with chaetognath-like grasping spines diverged by the latest Ediacaran.[297]
- Nanglu et al. (2025) identify borings in shells of the bivalve Babinka from the Ordovician Fezouata Formation (Morocco) interpreted as produced by parasitic polychaetes and possibly representing the oldest known fossil evidence of spionids.[298]
- Gao et al. (2025) describe new scolecodonts from the Silurian Miaogao Formation (Yunnan, China), extending known geographical range of members of the genus Langeites.[299]
- Shcherbakov et al. (2025) identify oligochaete cocoons in the Permian (Lopingian) strata of the Karaungir Lagerstätte (Kazakhstan), representing the oldest undoubted record of members of Clitellata reported to date.[300]
- Jamison-Todd et al. (2025) study trace fossils in marine reptile bones from the Upper Cretaceous Chalk Group (United Kingdom), produced by bone-eating worms and interpreted as likely indicative of high species diversity of Osedax during the early Late Cretaceous, and name new ichnotaxa Osspecus eunicefootia, O. morsus, O. campanicum, O. arboreum, O. automedon, O. frumentum and O. panatlanticum.[301]
- Jamison-Todd, Mannion & Upchurch (2025) identify boring produced by bone-eating worms in cetacean specimens from the Cenozoic strata from the Netherlands and the United States, including a specimen of Zyghorhiza kochii from the Eocene Yazoo Formation (Alabama) representing the oldest cetacean specimen with such borings reported to date, report evidence of high morphological diversity of the studied borings, and name a new ichnotaxon Osspecus pollardium described on the basis of borings from two teeth from the Neogene strata in the Netherlands.[302]
- The oldest pectinariid fossils from North America reported to date are described from the Eocene or Oligocene strata of the Quimper and Makah formations (Washington, United States) by Kočí, Goedert & Rich (2025).[303]
- Evidence from the study of hyoliths from the Cambrian Sellick Hill Formation (Australia) and Ordovician Mójcza Limestone (Poland), indicative of similarities of early ontogeny of hyoliths and molluscs, is presented by Dzik (2025).[304]
- A study on fossil material of the tommotiid Lapworthella fasciculata from the Cambrian strata in Australia is published by Bicknell et al. (2025), who report evidence of increase of thickness of sclerites of L. fasciculata and increase of the frequency of perforated sclerites through time, and interpret these findings as the oldest evidence of evolutionary arms race between predator and prey reported to date.[305]
- Vinn et al. (2025) describe soft body impressions of Devonian tentaculitids from Armenia, and interpret reconstructed muscle system of tentaculitids as supporting their placement within Lophotrochozoa and possibly within Lophophorata.[306]
- New information on the morphology and growth pattern of the microconchid species Aculeiconchus sandbergi is provided by Opitek et al. (2025).[307]
- Ma et al. (2025) describe fossil material of Pomatrum cf. P. ventralis from the Balang Formation (China), extending known range of this species to Cambrian Stage 4 and representing its first known record from outside the Chengjiang Biota.[308]
- A study on the taphonomy of yunnanozoan fossils from the Chengjiang Lagerstätte (China) is published by He et al. (2025), who contest claims of preservation of cellular cartilage and microfibrils made by Tian et al. (2022),[309] and argue that cellular-scale preservation of cartilaginous tissues in the studied fossils is unlikely.[310]
Foraminifera
Summarize
Perspective
Foraminiferal research
- A study on the impact of ocean chemistry changes on evolution of foraminiferal wall types throughout the Phanerozoic is published by Faulkner et al. (2025), who find that changes of foraminiferal wall types were mostly driven by short-term ocean chemistry changes.[328]
- Zhang et al. (2025) study the fossil record of Carboniferous and Permian fusuline forams, and report evidence indicating that warming events resulted in diversity losses in the studied group, while long-term cooling promoted its diversification.[329]
- Evidence from the study of Carnian foraminiferal assemblages from the Erguan section in Guizhou and Quxia section in South Tibet (China), interpreted as indicating that there were no significant extinctions of foraminifera during the Carnian pluvial episode in the studied regions, is presented by Li et al. (2025).[330]
- A study on the composition of planktic foraminiferal assemblages from the Atlantic Ocean during the Eocene, providing evidence that they lacked resilience during the Middle Eocene Climatic Optimum, is published by Sigismondi et al. (2025).[331]
- The oldest known fossils of members of Pavonitininae are described from the Priabonian strata of the Rashrashiyah Formation (Saudi Arabia) by Korin et al. (2025).[332]
- Evidence of changes in morphology of members of nummulites from the Pande Formation (Tanzania), interpreted as likely related to environmental changes during the Eocene–Oligocene transition, is presented by Koorapati, Moon & Cotton (2025).[333]
- Dowsett et al. (2025) study the fossil record of planktic foraminifera from the Pliocene, and interpret their findings as overall indicative of stable temperature preferences of members of the studied species since the Late Pliocene.[334]
Other organisms
Summarize
Perspective
Research on other organisms
- Evidence from the study of microbial DNA from mammoth remains spanning over 1 million years, indicative of presence of host-associated microbes related to extant members of the genera Actinobacillus, Erysipelothrix, Streptococcus and Pasteurella (including relatives of extant bacteria linked to the deaths of African elephants), is presented by Guinet et al. (2025).[346]
- Review of the fossil record of the late Paleoproterozoic to the latest Tonian eukaryotes and a study on their diversity patterns is published by Porter et al. (2025), who find the fossil evidence insufficient to conclude whether the Tonian radiation of eukaryotes was a real event or an artifact of sampling of the fossil record.[347]
- Saint Martin et al. (2025) identify body fossils of Palaeopascichnus in the Neoproterozoic Histria Formation (Romania), providing evidence of the Ediacaran age of the studied formation.[348]
- A new assemblage of probable tubular microfossils of silicified soft-bodied organisms, with a preservation mode different from other known Neoproterozoic fossils, is described from the Dzhetym Group (Kyrgyzstan) by Moore et al. (2025).[349]
- Chen et al. (2025) describe vendotaenid fossils from the Ediacaran Tabia Member of the Adoudou Formation (Morocco) and study the temporal distribution of Lanceoforma, Tyrasotaenia and Vendotaenia, reporting that the three taxa appeared before the Ediacaran.[350]
- Kolesnikov, Pan'kova & Pan'kov (2025) report the discovery of a new assemblage of soft-bodied organisms from the Ediacaran Chernyi Kamen Formation (Russia), including fossils of Palaeopascichnus, Mawsonites, Hiemalora and putative rangeomorphs.[351]
- Lonsdale et al. (2025) describe ribbon-like fossils from the Ediacaran Deep Spring Formation (Nevada, United States), interpreted as probable fossil material of vendotaenids and extending their known geographical range during the late Ediacaran.[352]
- Evidence of sustained shift in morphology of organic-walled microfossils during the Ediacaran-Cambrian transition, interpreted as likely linked to nutrient limitation resulting from environmental perturbations, is presented by Tingle et al. (2025).[353]
- Xiao et al. (2025) study the fossil record of radiolarians from the middle Permian to Middle Triassic, and find evidence of different trends of evolution of body size in members of four radiolarian orders and in radiolarians from different latitudes during the Permian–Triassic extinction event.[354]
- Fossil evidence of survival of albaillellarian radiolarians into the Triassic is reported from the Nanpihe bridge section of the Changning-Menglian belt (Yunnan, China) by Zheng et al. (2025).[355]
- Erba et al. (2025) identify calcareous nannofossils in the Lower and Middle Triassic marine successions from South China, extending known fossil record of coccolithophores to the Early Triassic.[356]
- Slater, Demangel & Richoz (2025) identify impressions of calcium carbonate skeletons of coccolithophores in the Ladinian strata from Austria and Switzerland, and interpret this finding as suggestive of a diversification of marine calcifying organisms after the Permian–Triassic extinction event, resulting in the first appearance (or reappearance of Lazarus taxa after this extinction event) of several unrelated marine calcifiers coinciding with the first appearance of coccolithophores.[357]
- Evidence from the study of new calcareous nannofossil assemblage data from the Campbell Plateau (Pacific Ocean), indicative of changes in the composition of nannoplankton approximately 200,000 years before the onset of the Paleocene–Eocene Thermal Maximum, is presented by Jones et al. (2025), who interpret the reported changes as related to a previously unrecognized precursor event evidenced by decrease in bulk sediment δ13C and likely associated with warming and unstable surface ocean environments.[358]
History of life in general
- A study on rare Earth element data from greenstone belts of the northwest Superior Craton (Canada), interpreted as evidence of the origin of oxygenic photosynthesis in the Mesoarchaean or earlier, is published by Patry et al. (2025).[359]
- Evidence from experiments with algal-derived particulate matter in conditions similar to those of the late Neoproterozoic water column, interpreted as indicating that the appearance of algal particulate matter at the seafloor during the Neoproterozoic rise of the algae likely stimulated growth and activity of phagotrophs living in the anoxic conditions, is presented by Mills et al. (2025).[360]
- Evidence from the study of two Ediacaran communities from the Mistaken Point Formation (Canada), indicative of similar composition but different ecological dynamics of the studied communities, is presented by Mitchell et al. (2025).[361]
- Azizi et al. (2025) describe trace and body fossils from the Ediacaran Tabia Member of the Adoudou Formation (Morocco), providing evidence of stratigraphic overlap of soft-bodied Ediacaran biota and animal trace fossils.[362]
- Majeed et al. (2025) study the composition of the Ediacaran and Cambrian fossil assemblages from the Sirban Formation (Pakistan), expanding known biogeographic range of Dickinsonia, Kimberella and a suite of Cambrian trilobite taxa.[363]
- Hammarlund et al. (2025) argue that expansion of sunlit benthic habitats with severe daily oxygen fluctuations during the Neoproterozoic-Paleozoic transition might have promoted the radiation of organisms tolerant to oxygen variability.[364]
- Review of changes of organismal and community ecology during the Ediacaran-Cambrian transition is published by Mitchell & Pates (2025).[365]
- Evidence of changes of composition of fossil assemblages from chert Lagerstätten from the Yangtze craton (China) during the Ediacaran-Cambrian transition is presented by Luo & Zhu (2025).[366]
- Wang et al. (2025) study the smoothness of trace fossils from the Ediacaran–Cambrian transition, and link the appearance of smooth trace fossils during the latest Ediacaran with the rise of slender mobile bilaterians to dominance.[367]
- Wood & Droser (2025) review evidence of evolution of animal reproductive styles throughout Ediacaran and Cambrian.[368]
- Reijenga & Close (2025) study the fossil record of Phanerozoic marine animals, and argue that purported evidence of a relationship between the duration of studied clades and their rates of origination and extinction can be explained by incomplete fossil sampling.[369]
- Benson et al. (2025) study the fossil record of marine invertebrates and attempt to determine latitudinal biodiversity distributions of marine invertebrates throughout the Phanerozoic.[370]
- Evidence from the study of the fossil record of marine organisms, interpreted as indicative of coupling of variations of biomass and marine biodiversity trends throughout the Phanerozoic, is presented by Singh et al. (2025).[371]
- A study aiming to determine drivers of changes of marine biodiversity patterns during the Phanerozoic on the basis of a macroecological model combined with global climate simulations is published by Balembois et al. (2025).[372]
- Review of the ecology and evolution of endobionts associated with corals throughout the Phanerozoic is published by Vinn, Zapalski & Wilson (2025).[373]
- Maletz et al. (2025) revise Paleozoic fossils with similarities to feathers, and interpret the studied fossil material as including remains of macroalgae, hydrozoan cnidarians and graptolites.[374]
- White, Jensen & Barr (2025) interpret the unusual disparity of trace fossils from the High Head Member of the Cambrian Church Point Formation (Nova Scotia, Canada) as preserved because of a favourable combination of sedimentology and modern-day exposure, and argue that the studied assemblage might represent a more faithful record of deep-marine trace fossil disparity during the early Cambrian than observed in the majority of assemblages from other places.[375]
- Evidence of the impact of the appearance and subsequent extinction of archaeocyath reefs on the abundance of Cambrian animals is presented by Pruss (2025).[376]
- Revision of the Cambrian fauna from the Sæterdal Formation (Greenland), including fossils of trilobites, brachiopods and a hyolith, is published by Peel (2025).[377]
- Mussini & Butterfield (2025) report the discovery of a new assemblage of small carbonaceous fossils from the Cambrian Hess River Formation (Northwest Territories, Canada), including remains of wiwaxiids, annelids, brachiopods, chaetognaths, scalidophorans, arthropods and pterobranchs.[378]
- Murphy et al. (2025) study patterns of taxonomic and functional diversity of skeletal animals from the Siberian Platform from 529 to 508 million years ago, and report evidence of selective survival and extinction in the aftermath of the Sinsk event, including extinction of reef-associated groups with massive, heavily calcified skeletons, and diversification of groups of motile animals with diverse feeding strategies and habitat associations.[379]
- A study on the composition of the Cambrian (Wuliuan) Kaili Biota from the Sanwan section in eastern Guizhou (China), and on ecospace occupation by members of this biota, is published by Zhang et al. (2025).[380]
- Mussini et al. (2025) describe a middle Cambrian marine shelf biota, including priapulids, crustaceans and molluscs, on the basis of fossils from the Bright Angel Shale (Arizona, United States), and interpret the studied biota and Cambrian biotas with small carbonaceous fossils from other localities as consistent with emergence of phylogenetically derived and functionally sophisticated animals in habitable shallow marine environments (resulting in exclusion of earlier pioneer taxa), and with their protracted spillover into less habitable settings.[253]
- Yang et al. (2025) report the discovery of fossil material of the Guanshan Biota from the strata of the Wulongqing Formation from new localities from the Malong-Yiliang area (Yunnan, China), providing evidence that geographical distribution of the Guanshan Biota was not restricted by the Xiaojiang Fault.[381]
- A Burgess-Shale-type fauna occupying a peritidal habitat near the outer margin of a sea is described from the Cambrian (Guzhangian) Pika Formation (Alberta, Canada) by Mussini, Veenma & Butterfield (2025), providing new information ecological tolerances of Cambrian marine animals.[382]
- A diverse fauna including agnostids, trilobites and small shelly fossils of various affinities is described from the Cambrian strata of the Thorntonia Limestone (Australia) by Betts et al. (2025).[383]
- Jeon, Li & Lee (2025) argue that the apparent sudden rise of diverse reef-building animals during the Great Ordovician Biodiversification Event is more likely an artifact of improved preservation conditions resulting from a global sea-level fall rather than a genuine evolutionary burst.[384]
- A study on changes in composition of the Ordovician assemblages from the Makgol and Duwibong formations (South Korea), interpreted as indicative of regional variability of the Great Ordovician Biodiversification Event, is published by Seo, Cho & Choh (2025).[385]
- Elicki (2025) describes new fossil material of bivalves, brachiopods and trilobites from the Ordovician strata in southern Jordan, and revises known Ordovician skeletal fauna from Jordan.[386]
- Early evidence of colonization of gastropod shells by corals is reported from the Ordovician strata in Estonia by Vinn et al. (2025).[387]
- Liu et al. (2025) report the discovery of the first Ordovician (Katian) Konservat-Lagerstätte from the North China Craton, preserving fossils a new deep-water fauna (the Fuping Fauna).[388]
- Evidence from the study of the trace fossil record ranging from the Ediacaran to the Devonian, interpreted as indicative of establishment of modern-style deep-marine benthic ecosystem during the Ordovician after 100 million years of protracted evolution, is presented by Buatois et al. (2025).[389]
- Vinn et al. (2025) report new evidence of symbiotic associations between worms and tabulate corals from the Ordovician and Silurian strata in Estonia, including evidence of symbiotic relationships between tabulates and cornulitids spanning from the late Katian to the Ludfordian.[390]
- Zhu et al. (2025) describe fossil remains of reefs constructed by sphinctozoans belonging to the group Colospongiinae and by binding organism Archaeolithoporella from the Ordovician strata of the Lianglitag Formation (China), providing evidence of presence of reefs with similarities to Permian sphinctozoan-dominated reefs as early as Katian.[391]
- A study on changes of composition of marine invertebrate assemblages in the Cincinnati region during the Katian, as indicated by redefined stratigraphic framework, is published by Little & Brett (2025).[392]
- Zhang et al. (2025) determine the timing and tempo of two phases of the Late Ordovician mass extinction on the basis of geochronological study of Ordovician-Silurian sections from the Yangtze Block (China), and link tempo of the extinction to rate of temperature change.[393]
- Zong et al. (2025) report the discovery of a new assemblage of well-preserved fossils (the Huangshi Fauna) in the Silurian (Rhuddanian) strata in south China, including fossils of sponges, cephalopods, arthropods and carbon film fossils of uncertain identity.[394]
- Zatoń et al. (2025) report evidence of widespread infestation of Devonian (Pragian) crinoid stems from the Hamar Laghdad locality (Morocco) by sclerobionts, and identify the stromatoporoid encrusting one of the stems as the oldest known record of the genus Ferestromatopora.[395]
- The first mesophotic coral reef ecosystem reported from the Paleozoic of eastern Gondwana, preserving fossil remains of corals and a diversified fish fauna, is described from the Devonian (Emsian) strata of the shore of Lake Burrinjuck (Taemas Formation; New South Wales, Australia) by Zapalski et al. (2025).[396]
- Brett et al. (2025) study changes of composition of Middle Devonian marine faunas from the Appalachian Basin in eastern North America, provide evidence that regional faunal turnovers coincide with recognized global bioevents, as well as evidence of range restriction and migration of marine animals during brief periods of faunal turnovers resulting in speciation within marginalized, isolated populations and subsequent reinvasion of abandoned areas by the new species, and interpret fossil evidence of stasis interrupted by faunal turnovers as consistent with the prevalence of punctuated equilibria.[397]
- A new non-pollen palynomorph assemblage, including remains of plants, fungi and diverse animals, is described from the Devonian (Givetian/Frasnian) strata in Poland by Kondas et al. (2025).[398]
- A study on the evolution of Late Devonian reef ecosystems from South China, as indicated by data from the Quanzhou section, is published by Zhang et al. (2025), who report evidence of decline of skeletal reef builders such as stromatoporoids before their final extinction, and evidence of a short-term local microbe bloom at the time of the upper Kellwasser event.[399]
- Otoo (2025) reviews the research on community assembly in deep time, focusing on the origin of terrestrial communities during the late Paleozoic.[400]
- A study on the mandibular morphology of Devonian to Permian stem and crown tetrapods is published by Berks et al. (2025), who report evidence of a spike in morphological diversity in the Gzhelian, interpreted as related to the evolution of herbivory.[401]
- Lucas & Mansky (2025) revise invertebrate and vertebrate trace fossils from the Carboniferous (Mississippian) Horton Bluff Formation (Nova Scotia, Canada), name new ichnotaxa: fish traces Sonjawoodichnus monstrum and Doliosichnus sarjeanti, and tetrapod traces Thorakosichnus cameroni, Luctorichnus hunti and Pseudobradypus fillmorei, and interpret early tetrapodomorphs such as Panderichthys, Elpistostege and Tiktaalik as unlikely to be directly ancestral to tetrapods.[402]
- Voigt et al. (2025) describe vertebrate and invertebrate trace fossils from the Chinches Formation (Chile), interpret the studied formation as Pennsylvanian in age, and interpret tetrapod trace fossils from the Chinches Formation as evidence of presence of similar tetrapod faunas in the tropics and in mid-southern latitudes during the Pennsylvanian.[403]
- A study on the fossil record of conodonts and carbon isotope of bulk rock from the Naqing, Narao and Shanglong sections in southern Guizhou (China), providing evidence of timing of biotic changes during the Moscovian and Kasimovian, is published by Wang et al. (2025).[404]
- Bicknell et al. (2025) describe bromalites with xiphosuran shell remains from the Mazon Creek fossil beds (Illinois, United States), interpreted as evidence of presence of a durophagous predator (possibly a large lungfish) commonly consuming xiphosurans in the studied assemblage.[405]
- A study on trace fossils from the Carboniferous-Permian strata of the Santa Fé Group (Brazil), providing evidence of presence of a low-diversity track assemblage (dominated by arthropod locomotion and grazing traces) during the Late Paleozoic icehouse, is published by de Barros et al. (2025).[406]
- Rossignol et al. (2025) determine plants and animals (including branchiosaurid temnospondyls) from the Perdasdefogu Basin (Sardinia, Italy) to be most likely early Permian in age, indicating that they were coeval with their counterparts from the Thuringian Forest Basin (Germany) and that the Variscan belt was not a barrier to their dispersal during the early Permian.[407]
- Natural casts of burrows that were possibly produced by small tetrapods are described from the Permian (Asselian) Słupiec Formation (Poland) by Sadlok (2025).[408]
- Andrade-Silva & Francischini (2025) identify tetrapod footprints belonging to the ichnospecies Batrachichnus salamandroides and Procolophonichnium nopcsai in the strata of the Rio do Rasto Formation (Brazil), extending the temporal range of the studied ichnotaxa into the Wuchiapingian.[409]
- Wang et al. (2025) study the evolution of shell morphology of brachiopods and forams across the Permian–Triassic extinction event and of forams across the Toarcian Oceanic Anoxic Event, and report evidence of morphological changes reducing the energetic costs of shell calcification, likely in response to environmental pressures.[410]
- A new seabed assemblage preserving fossils of filamentous cyanobacteria, calcareous plankton and marine animals living less than 1 million years after the Permian–Triassic extinction event is described from the Feixianguan Formation (China) by Qiao et al. (2025), providing evidence of early recovery of marine ecosystems after the end-Permian extinction, and possible evidence that microbial mounds created hospitable environments for animals in the Early Triassic seas.[411]
- Evidence from the study of animal and plant fossils from the Lower Triassic Heshanggou Formation (China), indicative of the presence of a diverse riparian ecosystem 2 million years after the Permian–Triassic extinction event, is presented by Guo et al. (2025).[412]
- A study on vertebrate teeth from the Lower Triassic Vikinghøgda Formation (Norway), providing evidence of presence of a diverse assemblage of ray-finned fishes, temnospondyls and marine reptiles representing nine tooth morphotypes and belonging to at least five different feeding guilds, is published by Scharling et al. (2025).[413]
- Review of the fossil record of Triassic terrestrial tetrapods from the Central European Basin is published by Mujal et al. (2025).[414]
- A study on the assemblage of fossil teeth from the Middle Triassic (Anisian) strata from the Montseny area (Spain), providing evidence of presence of capitosaur temnospondyls, procolophonids, archosauromorphs and indeterminate diapsids, is published by Riccetto et al. (2025).[415]
- A footprint-like fossil and plants remains including tree trunks, roots and leaf impressions are reported from the Triassic strata in Saudi Arabia by Aba alkhayl (2025).[416]
- Araujo et al. (2025) study the composition of the Carnian vertebrate assemblage from the Vale do Sol area (Brazil), and reevaluate the biostratigraphy of the Hyperodapedon Assemblage Zone.[417]
- New tetrapod fossil assemblage, including rhynchosaur, lagerpetid, sauropodomorph and cynodont fossil material, is described from the Carnian strata from the lower exposures of the Niemeyer Complex (Brazil) by Doering et al. (2025).[418]
- Evidence of similarity of processes of reef rubble consolidation and regeneration observed in Late Triassic reefs from the Dachstein platform (Austria) and in modern coral reefs is presented by Godbold et al. (2025).[419]
- Volosky et al. (2025) describe a diverse Late Triassic biota from the El Mono Formation (Chile) including plants, arthropods, bivalves, freshwater sharks, and bony fishes.[420]
- Jésus et al. (2025) describe new vertebrate fossil material from the Upper Triassic Ørsted Dal Formation (Greenland), including the first records of a doswelliid and members of the genera Lissodus and Rhomphaiodon from the Upper Triassic strata from Greenland reported to date.[421]
- Alarcón et al. (2025) reconstruct environmental conditions in northwestern Gondwana during the Norian and report new fossil assemblages of plants, clam shrimps and vertebrates from the Bocas and Montebel formations (Colombia), providing evidence of biogeographic affinities with Laurasia.[422]
- Kligman et al. (2025) study the composition the Late Triassic vertebrate assemblage from the Pilot Rock White Layer within the Owl Rock Member of the Chinle Formation at the PFV 393 bonebed (Arizona, United States), preserving evidence of coexistence of members of Triassic vertebrate lineages with members of lineages that diversified after Triassic, including terrestrial stem-turtles and a new pterosaur Eotephradactylus mcintireae.[423]
- A new vertebrate assemblage including fish, rhynchocephalian, phytosaur and pterosaur fossils is described from the Upper Triassic (upper Norian to possibly lower Rhaetian) Arnstadt Formation (Germany) by Numberger-Thuy et al. (2025).[424]
- Evidence from the study of hindlimb biomechanics of extant American alligators and Deinosuchus riograndensis, indicating that adoption of more erect limb postures might have reduced limb bone stresses and facilitated the evolution of larger body sizes in terrestrial tetrapods, is presented by Iijima, Blob & Hutchinson (2025).[425]
- Stone et al. (2025) compare the composition of Pliensbachian reefs from lagoonal and platform edge settings in the Central High Atlas (Morocco), and identify environmental differences resulting in development of two different reef types.[426]
- Evidence from the study of the fossil record of Early Jurassic brachiopods, gastropods and bivalves from the epicontinental seas of the north-western Tethys Ocean, indicative of a relationship between the thermal suitability of the studied animals and changes of their occupancy in response to climate changes during the Pliensbachian and Toarcian, is presented by Reddin et al. (2025).[427]
- Guo et al. (2025) report that differentiation among the fossil communities of the Middle Jurassic Yanliao Biota was strongly associated with salinity, and link development and extinction of the studied biota to structural alteration of the North China Craton.[428]
- An assemblage of Hauterivian invertebrates including ostracods, brachiopods, bivalves, gastropods and scolecodonts is reported from the seep site of Curnier in the Vocontian Basin (France) by Forel et al. (2025).[429]
- Kubota et al. (2025) report the discovery of a new amber Lagerstätte (the Nakagawa amber) from the Aptian strata of the Yezo Group (Japan), preserving remains of plants, fungi and arthropods.[430]
- Delclòs et al. (2025) report a rich amber deposit from the Napo Province in Ecuador, preserving a diverse arthropod fauna and providing evidence of presence of a humid, resinous forest in northwestern South America during the Early Cretaceous.[431]
- Salvino, Schmiedeler & Shimada (2025) document fossil material of an ecologically diverse vertebrate fauna from the Western Interior Seaway found in the Cenomanian strata of the Graneros Shale (Kansas, United States).[432]
- Petrizzo et al. (2025) compare the impact of the Cenomanian-Turonian boundary event on different groups of marine biocalcifiers, and report evidence of higher vulnerability of large benthic foraminifera and rudist bivalves compared to other studied groups, likely caused by extremely high and fluctuating sea surface temperature.[433]
- Perea et al. (2025) report the discovery of bioerosion traces on dinosaur bones from the Upper Cretaceous Guichón Formation (Uruguay), interpreted as likely produced by beetles (probably dermestids) and small vertebrate scavengers (possibly multituberculate mammals).[434]
- Nikolov et al. (2025) study the composition of the Late Cretaceous (Santonian-Campanian) vertebrate assemblage and other fossils from the Vrabchov Dol locality (Bulgaria), providing evidence of similarities with the Santonian assemblage from the Iharkút and Ajka localities (Hungary) and with the assemblage from the Hațeg Island (present day Romania).[435]
- A study on the composition of the Campanian biota from the Bozeș Formation (Romania) is published by Trif et al. (2025).[436]
- Dalla Vecchia et al. (2025) report the discovery of a new assemblage of Late Cretaceous (possibly Campanian-Maastrichtian) plants and fishes from the Friuli Carbonate Platform (Italy).[437]
- Polcyn et al. (2025) review the fossil record of Cretaceous and Paleogene fossil tetrapods from Louisiana, including the fossil record of Cretaceous mosasaurs and the Paleogene mammal Anisonchus fortunatus, and review the record of megaripples imaged from seismic data that were caused by tsunami generated by the Chicxulub impact during the Cretaceous-Paleogene transition.[438]
- Close & Reijenga (2025) study the species–area relationships in North American terrestrial vertebrate assemblages during the Cretaceous-Paleogene transition, and report evidence of a large increase in regional-scale diversity of the studied vertebrates in the earliest Paleogene (primarily driven by the diversification of mammals), resulting in the earliest Paleogene assemblages being regionally homogenized to a lesser degree than the latest Cretaceous ones.[439]
- Agnihotri et al. (2025) reconstruct the composition of the Eocene ecosystem from the Kutch Basin (India) on the basis of palynological and arthropod assemblages from the Umarsar Lignite Mine, reporting evidence of presence of a tropical ecosystem with three distinct floristic communities including plants with both Gondwanan and Laurasian origin, evidence of presence of arthropods belonging to at least 45 families, and evidence of diverse plant-arthropod interactions.[440]
- Zonneveld et al. (2025) study the composition of the marine invertebrate assemblage from the Eocene Tanjung Formation (Indonesia) and its stratigraphic setting, and interpret the studied assemblage as supporting the hypothesis that diverse tropical invertebrate faunas of the modern Indo-Australian region might have originated in the Paleogene.[441]
- Description of bird and squamate tracks from the Eocene Clarno Formation and feliform and ungulate tracks from the Oligocene John Day Formation (John Day Fossil Beds National Monument, Oregon, United States) is published by Bennett, Famoso & Hembree (2025).[442]
- A study on fossils from the paleontological sites near the towns of Beaugency, Tavers and Le Bardon (France) and on their taphonomy is published by Perthuis et al. (2025), who identify the presence of a Miocene vertebrate assemblage, as well as fossils of Ronzotherium romani and Palaeogale minuta that were likely reworked from the Oligocene strata.[443]
- Revision of the Pleistocene assemblage from the Cumberland Bone Cave (Maryland, United States) and a study on its paleoecology is published by Eshelman et al. (2025).[444]
- Berghuis et al. (2025) describe a vertebrate assemblage from a subsea site in the Madura Strait off the coast of Surabaya, living in the now-submerged part of Sundaland during the Middle Pleistocene, and report differences in the composition of this assemblage compared to the vertebrate assemblage from Ngandong (Java, Indonesia), including evidence of survival of Duboisia santeng, Epileptobos groeneveldtii and Axis lydekkeri in Java until the end of the Middle Pleistocene;[445] Berghuis et al. (2025) study the depositional conditions and age of the fossil-bearing strata of this site,[446] while Berghuis et al. (2025) study the taphonomy of fossils from this site.[447]
- Evidence from the study of bone fragments and ancient DNA from Arne Qvamgrotta (Storsteinhola cave system, northern Norway), indicative of presence of a diverse coastal faunal assemblage during the Marine Isotope Stage 5a that was different from mammoth steppe communities from the Last Glacial Period, is presented by Walker et al. (2025).[448]
- Cocker et al. (2025) study the contents of latest Pleistocene Arctic ground squirrel middens from Yukon (Canada), containing plant and invertebrate remains including the oldest records of Rorippa palustris and a robber fly belonging to the genus Lasiopogon from Yukon, and interpret the contents of the studied middens as indicative of no significant shrub expansion, and likely indicative of persistence of steppe-tundra environments in the studied area to at least 13.680 calibrated years BP.[449]
- Evidence from the study of Quaternary vertebrate fossils from the Sombrero Island, indicative of presence of a more diverse assemblage of land vertebrates on the island than in the present day, is presented by Viñola-Lopez et al. (2025).[450]
- Nogué et al. (2025) review studies from the precedings years and methods used in the study of long-term human influences on past ecosystems.[451]
- Lallensack, Leonardi & Falkingham (2025) organized a comprehensive list of 277 terms used in tetrapod trace fossil research.[452]
- Maisch (2025) reevaluates the generic names introduced for preoccupied fossil vertebrate taxa by Oskar Kuhn, and either confirms or reestablishes the validity of the genera Acanthostoma, Astrodon, Ctenosaurus, Hydromeda, Lyrocephalus, Macroscelesaurus, Pachysaurus, Protobatrachus and Undina.[453]
- Evidence from the study of the fossil record of members of 30 animal clades, indicating that the majority of new morphotypes in the studied groups that were distinct enough to be recognized as species-rank lineages originated through cladogenesis (consistent with the core concepts of punctuated equilibrium), is presented by Anderson & Allmon (2025).[454]
- Lorcery et al. (2025) use the Gen3sis eco-evolutionary model[455] to reconstruct past populations and species dynamics across geographic landscapes and their drivers, and compare predictions of the model to the fossil record of terrestrial mammals from the past 125 million years.[456]
- Evidence of the study of evolutionary history of 27 radiations of plants, arthropods and vertebrates, linking diversity dynamics to the vulnerability to extinction and ability to speciate at the species level, is presented by Quintero et al. (2025).[457]
Other research
- Evidence of lengthy co-oxygenation history for the atmosphere and oceans during the past 2.5 billion years, with a 2-billion-years-long transitional period with fluctuating, generally low atmospheric partial pressure of O2, and interpreted as likely explanation for the protracted rise of complex life, is presented by Wang et al. (2025).[458]
- Galili et al. (2025) reconstruct marine dissolved organic carbon signals since the late Paleoproterozoic, and report evidence of near-modern dissolved organic carbon concentrations in the Paleoproterozoic, their decrease in the Neoproterozoic and subsequent rise in the Cambrian, interpreted as connected to changes of ocean oxygenation and evolution of complex organisms from single-celled ancestors.[459]
- Review of the Earth system processes and their impact on the evolution of life during the "Boring Billion" is published by Mukherjee et al. (2025).[460]
- Evidence from the study of Statherian strata from the southern margin of the North China Craton, interpreted as indicating that expansion of Statherian eukaryotes into non-marine settings was limited because these habitats were depleted in fixed nitrogen, is presented by Ma et al. (2025).[461]
- Evidence of a link between marine iodine cycle and stability of the ozone layer throughout Earth's history, resulting in an unstable ozone layer until approximately 500 million years ago that might have restricted complex life to the ocean prior to its stabilization, is presented by Liu et al. (2025).[462]
- Evidence of slow accumulation of Australian sediments preserving Archean mudrocks with high organic content is presented by Lotem et al. (2025), who interpret their findings as consistent with lower primary productivity in Archean than in present times.[463]
- Lee, Xu & Xiao (2025) report evidence indicating that apatite nanocrystals replicating embryo-like microfossils from the Ediacaran Doushantuo Formation (China) are surrounded by a thin coating of amorphous silica covering, interpreted as the cause of exceptional preservation of the studied fossils.[464]
- Tarhan et al. (2025) study the fossil record of changes of burrowing depth and sedimentary layers in marine sediments throughout the Phanerozoic, and report evidence of protracted development of the sediment mixed layer, as well as evidence that deep burrowing was established as early as the Cambrian, when the underlying transition layer was established, but also evidence that no significant deepening of this layer happened until the Mesozoic.[465]
- Evidence interpreted as indicative of a link between global tectonic processes, biogeochemical cycling in the ocean and a 60 million-year cyclic fluctuation in marine faunal diversity and extinction throughout the Phanerozoic is presented by Boulila et al. (2025).[466]
- Evidence from the study of molybdenum and uranium concentrations in the strata of the Cambrian Alum Shale Formation (Denmark), indicative of occurrence of bottom water oxygenation events coinciding with animal diversifications, is presented by Zhao et al. (2025).[467]
- Liu et al. (2025) study changes of redox structure of the early Cambrian oceans as indicated by geochemical data from sedimentary facies in South China, and report evidence of impact of redox variations on changes of diversity of organisms.[468]
- Farrell et al. (2025) present a global Furongian time scale, date Furongian as beginning approximately 494,5 million years ago and ending approximately 487,3 million years ago, and interpret the Steptoean positive carbon isotope excursion as lasting approximately 2,6 million years.[469]
- Xu et al. (2025) study the origin and evolution of microcrystalline quartz from Late Ordovician and Early Silurian marine mudstones from the Yangtze Block in the South China Craton, and argue that Early Silurian cooling might have been driven by formation of microcrystalline quartz which in turn resulted from recovery of siliceous organisms after the Late Ordovician mass extinction.[470]
- Cowen et al. (2025) study the geochemistry of dental tissue of Devonian fish fossils from Svalbard (Norway) and Cretaceous lungfish and plesiosaur fossils from Australia, and interpret their findings as indicative of preservation of the primary chemical composition of the bioapatite in the studied fossils.[471]
- Bubphamanee et al. (2025) reconstruct the history of deep-ocean oxygenation throughout the Paleozoic, and find no evidence of permanent deep-ocean oxygenation until the middle Devonian, coinciding with radiation of epifauna and infauna in deeper oceanic habitats.[472]
- Evidence from the study of Devonian-Carboniferous boundary sections in Canada and China, interpreted as indicative of occurrence of photic zone euxinia linked to extinctions of marine organisms during the Hangenberg event, is presented by Wang et al. (2025).[473]
- Zhang et al. (2025) link the initiation of the late Paleozoic icehouse to enhanced organic carbon burial and oceanic anoxia resulting from changes in the biological pump in early Mississippian oceans.[474]
- Schiffbauer et al. (2025) study the ecology of biotas from the Carboniferous Mazon Creek fossil beds (Illinois, United States), and corroborate the distinction of the two marine Essex assemblages and the nearshore Braidwood assemblage.[475]
- Mann et al. (2025) study the depositional setting of the lost vertebrate deposit southwest of the Danville city (Illinois, United States), preserving some of the oldest known diadectomorph and captorhinid fossils reported to date, and assign the fossil assemblage from the studied site to the Inglefield Sandstone Member below the Macoupin Limestone Member of the Patoka Formation (Kasimovian, Carboniferous).[476]
- Liu et al. (2025) link the climate warming happening during the Capitanian mass extinction event to the release of the magmatic methane in the Emeishan Large Igneous Province.[477]
- A study on bioturbation in sediments from the Permian–Triassic transition from Svalbard (Norway) and on their geochemistry is published by Beaty et al. (2025), who argue that recovery of bioturbators in benthic ecosystems influenced sediment chemistry and promoted restoration of efficient carbon and sulfur cycling in the aftermath of the Permian–Triassic extinction event.[478]
- Evidence from the study of fossils of the Early Triassic Paris biota, indicative of existence of clade-specific geochemical signatures in the studied fossils that might aid identification of undetermined specimens from the Paris Biota, is presented by Smith et al. (2025).[479]
- Haldar, Ray & Bandyopadhyay (2025) revise the biostratigraphy of the upper Triassic horizons of India, and identify a single Upper Maleri-Lower Dharmaram Assemblage Eubiozone of mid-to-late Norian age.[480]
- Evidence from the study of boron isotope data from fossil oysters from the Lavernock Point (Wales, United Kingdom), indicative of ocean acidification from volcanic outgassing during the Triassic–Jurassic transition, is presented by Trudgill et al. (2025).[481]
- Numberger-Thuy et al. (2025) study the stratigraphy of previously undocumented succession of Rhaetian to Hettangian strata near the town of Irrel (Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany), and report the presence of a fossil assemblage including palynomorphs, molluscs, ostracods, echinoderms and vertebrates.[482]
- A study on calcareous nannofossils from the level of the Los Molles Formation (Argentina) preserving fossils of Maresaurus coccai, Chacaicosaurus cayi and Mollesaurus periallus is published by Chaumeil Rodríguez et al. (2025), who interpret the studied nannofossils as indicative of an early Bajocian age and possibly indicative of a shallowing event in the Neuquén Basin, and link the abundance of Watznaueria britannica to a turnover of calcareous nannoplankton in the late Aalenian and a subsequent diversification of Watznaueria.[483]
- Varejão et al. (2025) link exceptional preservation of fossils from the Lower Cretaceous Barbalha, Crato, Ipubi and Romualdo formations (Brazil) to environmental conditions resulting from short-term marine incursions into continental settings, caused by separation of Africa and South America and opening of the southern Atlantic Ocean.[484]
- Zhong et al. (2025) provide new, high-precision dating of the Jiufotang Formation (China), and constrain the late phase of the Jehol Biota to the interval from approximately 124 to 121 million years ago.[485]
- Evidence indicating that the volcanic activity that formed the Ontong Java Nui basaltic plateau complex was synchronous with the Selli Event is presented by Matsumoto et al. (2025).[486]
- Harrison et al. (2025) provide evidence indicating that the biological function of giant magnetofossils might have been related to the ability of mobile marine organisms to detect variations in direction and intensity of Earth's magnetic field.[487]
- Albert et al. (2025) provide new information on the Cretaceous Densuș-Ciula Formation (Romania), reporting evidence indicating that the lower part of the formation covers part of the Campanian, and evidence indicating that the shift from marine to continental deposition recorded in the formation happened by middle late Campanian.[488]
- Evidence of a link between large-scale Deccan Traps volcanism and global changes in climate near the end of the Cretaceous is presented by Westerhold et al. (2025).[489]
- Rodiouchkina et al. (2025) report evidence interpreted as indicating that the amount of sulfur released by Chicxulub impact was approximately 5 times lower than inferred from previous estimates, resulting in milder impact winter scenario during the Cretaceous-Paleogene transition.[490]
- Weaver et al. (2025) link the widespread facies shifts in western North America during the Cretaceous–Paleogene transition to the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event, arguing that non-avian dinosaurs likely promoted open habitats and that their extinction might have resulted in widespread emergence of dense forest cover.[491]
- Bai et al. (2025) study the lithostratigraphy and biostratigraphy of the Eocene fossil assemblage from the deposits of the Bayan Obo and Jhama Obo sections in the Shara Murun region (Inner Mongolia, China), correlate them with other Paleogene sections from the Erlian Basin, and propose the subdivision of the Ulangochuian Asian land mammal age.[492]
- New information on the chronology of the Miocene fossil sites from central Anatolia (Turkey) is provided by Tholt et al. (2025).[493]
- Djokic et al. (2025) study the mode of preservation of fossils from the McGraths Flat Lagerstätte, and argue that fossil sites with similar fossil preservation might be present worldwide.[494]
- Duval et al. (2025) provide an age estimate of approximately 2.7 million years for the Guefaït-4 fossil locality (Morocco).[495]
- A study on the composition of the Early Pleistocene biotic assemblage from the Dursunlu Lignite Quarry (Turkey), interpreted as indicative of presence of a shallow lake and palustrine vegetation surrounded by steppe areas, is published by Luján et al. (2025).[496]
- Samim et al. (2025) determine distinct geochronological ages for the Lower, Middle and Upper Nariokotome tuffs (Turkana Basin, Kenya), improving age constraints for archaeological sites within the Nachukui Formation.[497]
- Evidence from the study that re-sampled a dataset of modern marine skeletonized invertebrates, indicating that reconstructions of changes of Phanerozoic diversity based on the fossil record are significantly impacted by spatial distribution of fossil samples, is presented by Phillipi, Czekanski-Moir & Ivany (2025).[498]
- Evidence from the study of extant benthic invertebrate communities and their death assemblages accumulating on the sea-floor from the Onslow Bay (North Carolina, United States), indicative of high functional fidelity between the entire extant assemblages and predicted assemblages consisting of species with a known fossil record, is presented by Tyler & Kowalewski (2025).[499]
- Matamala-Pagès et al. (2025) quantify loss of fossil information across different climate zones on the basis of the study of the Cenozoic fossil record, find that 72 % of past climate zone areas lack accessible, fossil-bearing sedimentary rocks, and find that disproportionally large part of the fossil record originates from past temperate environments.[500]
- Lindahl et al. (2025) review the utility of paleogenomics for the studies of biodiversity trends throughout the Quaternary.[501]
- A new integrative script for TNT which can be used to analyze the phylogenetic placement of fossil taxa on a reference tree is presented by Catalano et al. (2025).[502]
- Mulvey et al. (2025) review the use of the fossilized birth–death models in the phylogenetic analyses incorporating fossil taxa.[503]
- Nikolic, Warnock & Hopkins (2025) evaluate the utility of inclusion of both fossils with morphological data and ones only with taxonomic constraints and data on age but without morphological data in the analyses aiming to recover dated phylogeny of extinct taxa, testing their combined approach on trilobites from the group Aulacopleurida, and argue that a combined analysis outperforms analyses that only include taxa scored into a morphological matrix.[504]
- Parins-Fukuchi (2025) presents a new probabilistic model that can be used in the studies of the origin and loss of polymorphic variants of morphological traits within a species and their sorting during speciation, and uses this model to study the evolution of the Cretaceous sea urchin genus Micraster, providing evidence of loss of variation in later species compared to their ancestors.[505]
- Evidence from the study of extant tetrapods and non-avian dinosaurs, indicative of a link between mass distribution and robusticity of the humeral shaft relative to the femoral shaft which can be used to determine mass distribution in fossil tetrapods, is presented by Dempsey et al. (2025).[506]
- Smith et al. (2025) provide a list of priority questions in the paleontological research identified by scientists from more than 30 countries participating in the Big Questions community initiative.[507]
- Castillo Brache (2025) proposes diagnostic criteria for parachute science in paleontology and discusses harm caused by such practices on the basis of the case of acquisition and study of the fossil material of Irritator challengeri as an example.[508]
- Rich, Santucci & Tweet (2025) document the contributions of the public works programs of the New Deal to paleontology-focused projects in National Park Service units.[509]
Paleoclimate
- Evidence of low atmospheric CO2 levels throughout the main phase of the late Paleozoic icehouse, and of rapid increase in atmospheric CO2 between 296 and 291 million years ago, is presented by Jurikova et al. (2025).[510]
- Xu et al. (2025) link prolonged high CO2 levels and extreme hothouse climate during the Early Triassic to losses of terrestrial vegetation during the Permian–Triassic extinction event.[511]
- Evidence from the study of mercury isotopes and gamma ray data from the Jiyuan Basin (China), indicative of links betweens successive volcanic pulses of the Wrangellia Large Igneous Province and environmental changes during the Carnian pluvial episode, is presented by Zhang et al. (2025).[512]
- Qiu et al. (2025) identify a massive release of biogenic methane during the Toarcian Oceanic Anoxic Event as a contributing factor to global surface warming, and link this release to increased methanogenesis and associated decline in methane oxidation within marine environments.[513]
- A study on the climate and environmental changes in the Yanliao region (China) during the Middle Jurassic is published by Hao et al. (2025), who report evidence of a shift from wet to sub-humid conditions during the Bathonian, interpreted by the authors as likely driving the diversification of the Yanliao Biota.[514]
- Lu et al. (2025) report evidence from the study of palynological assemblages and clay mineralogy of the Kazuo Basin (Liaoning, China) indicative of a dry and hot climatic event during the early Aptian, interpreted as likely synchronous with the Selli Event.[515]
- Feng et al. (2025) reconstruct mean Late Jurassic and Late Cretaceous atmospheric pCO2 on the basis of the study of oxygen isotope composition of dinosaur tooth enamel, and estimate that Mesozoic gross primary productivity might have been 20 to 120% higher than today.[516]
- Evidence from the study of lizard and snake fossils from Eocene localities in Wyoming and North Dakota (United States), interpreted as indicative of warmer and wetter climate in mid-latitude North America during the late Eocene than indicated by earlier studies, is presented by Smith & Bruch (2025), who argue that there is no evidence of exceptionally high climate sensitivity to the atmospheric concentration of CO2 during the early Eocene.[517]
- Werner et al. (2025) report evidence indicating that East African uplift and atmospheric CO2 changes promoted grassland expansion across East and Central Africa during the Miocene and facilitated shifts in mammalian communities at the time.[518]
- Evidence indicating that climate and geographic changes in the Miocene resulted in vegetation changes that in turn caused climate change feedbacks that impacted cooling and precipitation changes during the late Miocene climate transition is presented by Zhang et al. (2025).[519]
- Markowska et al. (2025) present evidence of recurrent humid intervals in the arid Arabian interior over the past 8 million years, and argue that those wet episodes might have enabled dispersals of mammals between Africa and Eurasia.[520]
- Evidence from the study of pollen data from the eastern part of the North China Plain, indicative of climate changes in northern China since the late Pliocene that coincided with shift in composition of the mammalian fauna, is presented by Hua et al. (2025).[521]
- Evidence indicating that abrupt climate changes during the Last Glacial Period increased pyrogenic methane emissions and global wildfire extent is presented by Riddell-Young et al. (2025).[522]
- Matthews et al. (2025) study new palaeoclimatic record from Llangorse (South Wales, United Kingdom) near the earliest British archaeological sites, and find that repopulation of the northwest margin of Europe by humans after the Last Glacial Maximum was supported by local summer warming.[523]
- Geochemical evidence from the study of a speleothem from the Herbstlabyrinth Cave (Germany), interpreted as indicating that the Laacher See eruption was not directly linked to the Younger Dryas cooling in Greenland and Europe, is presented by Warken et al. (2025).[524]
References
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