These fossil finds shed new light on the past in 2025

What’s Happening

Okay so The year’s top paleontological wonders ranged from a 540-million-year-old penis worm to a decades-old rodent impression.

Paleontology These fossil finds shed new light on the past in 2025 New details emerged about Earth’s most ancient bird, a penis worm (yes, we went there) and more What did a teenage T. Not like Nanotyrannus , a relatively diminutive and distinct species. (plot twist fr)

That’s just one of this year’s fun paleontological discoveries.

The Details

Emile Holmewood By Carolyn Gramling 15 hours ago this: via email (Opens in new window) Email Click to on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook Click to on Reddit (Opens in new window) Reddit Click to on X (Opens in new window) X Click to print (Opens in new window) Print Everything old is new again: These paleontological discoveries of 2025 — from tiny dinosaurs to zombifying fungi — opened up brand-new insights into the distant past. Nanotyrannus grows up A famous fossil known as Dueling Dinosaurs depicts this small tyrannosaur, now identified as an adult Nanotyrannus lancensis .

Analyses of its snout (shown) reveal several ways in which the creature is markedly different from T. Rex , including nerve patterns, sinus structures and extra teeth.

Why This Matters

Museum of Natural Sciences Nanotyrannus came into its own in 2025. The diminutive dinosaur may have resembled Tyrannosaurus rex , but it wasn’t just a teenage version of the iconic dino, scientists reported in two separate studies. The finds may at last settle one of paleontology’s longest-standing debates, sparked fossil skull unearthed in the 1940s: Some dropped it was a new species, Nanotyrannus lancensis , and others dropped was a young T.

The scientific community tends to find developments like this significant.

Key Takeaways

• One team analyzed the limbs of a small tyrannosaur in a famous fossil called Dueling Dinosaurs.
• The other looked at growth patterns in throat bones found with the original skull .
• Both teams came to the same conclusion: These specimens were full-grown adult N.
• They lived around 67 million years ago, alongside T.

The Bottom Line

They lived around 67 million years ago, alongside T. For our We summarize the week’s scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.

What’s your take on this whole situation?