Featherwing beetles are smaller than the period at the end of this sentence. They get their name from the feathery fringe on their wings that enables them to catch the air and float like dandelion seeds. And, it turns out, they go way back– scientists discovered a 99-million-year-old featherwing beetle preserved in amber, and they…
‘Rainbow’ Dinosaur Had Iridescent Feathers Like a Hummingbird
Birds are the last remaining dinosaurs. They’re also some of the most vibrantly colored animals on Earth. A new study in Nature Communications reveals that iridescent feathers go way back–a newly discovered species of dinosaur from 161 million years ago had rainbow coloring. Caihong juji was tiny, about the size of a duck, with a bony crest on…
6,000-Year-Old Skull Could Be From the World’s Earliest Known Tsunami Victim
Tsunamis spell calamity. These giant waves, caused by earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and underwater landslides, are some of the deadliest natural disasters known; the 2004 tsunami in the Indian Ocean killed over 230,000 people, a higher death toll than any fire or hurricane. Scientists studying the effects of tsunamis have now shed light on what could…