vertebrates

Paleontologists discover rare fossils of a Cretaceous-era lizard near Grande Prairie, Alta.

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Not far from the bank of Wapiti River, just 11 kilometres from Grande Prairie, there’s a paleontological goldmine: an ancient riverbed that contains fragments of skeletons of hundreds, possibly thousands, of animals from the late Cretaceous period, some 70 million years ago.  Discovered in 2014,  the bonebed is known as a DC site, or, more formally, Wapiti Unit 3. … Read more

Oldest mosquito in amber reveals bloodsucking surprise

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Hundreds of thousands of people worldwide are killed annually by malaria and other diseases spread through the bite of mosquitoes, insects that date back to the age of dinosaurs. All of these bites are inflicted by females, which possess specialized mouth anatomy that their male counterparts lack. But it hasn’t always been that way. Researchers … Read more