2026 in paleontology

Flora

Plants

Fungi

Newly named fungi

Mycological research

• Rea, Simpson & Wizevich (2026) study a sample of the ichnofossil Eopolis ekdalei from the Brushy Basin Member of the Morrison Formation (Utah, United States) preserved with plant, insect and fungal remains interpreted as suggesting that Eopolis ekdalei was produced by termite, as well as suggestive of fungal farming by termites during the Late Jurassic.

Cnidarians

Cnidarian research

• Bernad, Echevarría & Ros-Franch (2026) study the diversity dynamics of Conulariida throughout their evolutionary history, reporting evidence of decline of origination rates by the Late Ordovician.
• Specimens of Montlivaltia with regular growth bands, interpreted as likely evidence of growth periodicities corresponding to lunar cycles nested within annual growth rhythms, are described from the Middle Jurassic strata from Lorraine (France) by Lathuilière (2026).

Arthropods

Brachiopods

Brachiopod research

• Zhang et al. (2026) publish a revision of the species Salairella latecostellata and a systematic revision of the genus Salairella, providing evidence of distinctiveness of late Ordovician brachiopods assemblages from the Altai Mountains, Siberia and Mongolia compared to the ones from China and Kazakhstan.
• Huang et al. (2026) study changes of composition of Telychian brachiopod assemblages from the Ningqiang Formation (Sichuan, China), providing evidence of a shift from a deep-water fauna to one from shallower environment, interpreted as a response to regional uplift.
• A study on changes of diversity and distribution of Productida throughout the evolutionary history of the group is published by Chen et al. (2026).
• Fu et al. (2026) describe fossil material of Pseudolingula quadrata from the Ordovician Pingliang Formation (China), preserved with impressions of the musculature and the vascular system, and representing the first record of Pseudolingulidae from the North China Platform.

Bryozoans

Molluscs

Echinoderms

Echinoderm research

• Sheffield et al. (2026) compare rates of evolution of traits of members of Diploporita, Eublastoidea and Paracrinoidea and study their phylogenetic relationships, reporting evidence of overall similar rates among the three groups, but also evidence of elevated rates of evolution of the attachment, thecal, reproductive and respiratory characters in paracrinoids.
• Waters & Macurda (2026) reevaluate the affinities of blastoids and propose a new classification of members of the group, reorganizing them into three superorders on the basis of differences in their respiratory structures.
• The oldest known crinoid specimen comparable in size and developmental stage to an early pentacrinoid larva of living crinoids is described from the Ordovician (Katian) Verulam Formation (Ontario, Canada) by Ausich, Hetrick & Leslie (2026).
• Salamon et al. (2026) describe new cyrtocrinid crinoid fossil material from the Jurassic (Callovian and Oxfordian) strata of the Argiles de Saïda Formation (Algeria), including fossils of members of the genera Apsidocrinus and Tetracrinus older than the oldest reported European occurrences, and review the fossil record of cyrtocrinids from Gondwana, interpreted as indicative of diversification of members of this group in areas other than the European part of the Tethys Ocean, as well as indicative of complex dispersal patterns along northern and southern Tethyan margins.
• Poatskievick-Pierezan et al. (2026) report the first discovery of confirmed stalked crinoid remains from the Maastrichtian Lopez de Bertodano Formation, providing evidence of presence of stalked crinoids in predator-dominated continental shelf ecosystems of Antarctica until the latest Cretaceous, filling the gap between Antarctic crinoid fossil record from the Early Cretaceous and from the Paleogene.

Hemichordates

Hemichordate research

• Qiu et al. (2026) link the decline of graptolites belonging to the group Diplograptina during the Late Ordovician mass extinction and subsequent diversification of Neograptina to dynamic marine euxinia and enhanced sedimentary phosphorus recycling during the Ordovician-Silurian transition.

Conodonts

Conodont research

• Goudemez et al. (2026) report evidence of covariation between the increase of sharpness of the blade and the reduction of the platform in the P₁ element of the feeding apparatus of members of the genus Palmatolepis throughout the Famennian, likely related to increase in food processing abilities, and report possible evidence of trophic partitioning between juvenile and adult individuals of P. gracilis.
• Świś et al. (2026) report evidence of different strontium isotopic composition of bioapatite of conodonts from the Famennian strata from the Kowala Quarry (Poland) belonging to different genera, interpreted as likely resulting from trophic niche differentiation and/or different digestive physiology.
• León-Caffroni et al. (2026) describe fossil material of Idioprioniodus conjunctus from the Carboniferous strata of the Itaituba Formation (Brazil) indicating that the species was not strictly confined to deep waters but also present in shallow epicontinental sea environment, and link its abundance in the studied area to the maximum flooding interval of the Amazonas Basin during the Bashkirian-Moscovian interval.

Fish

Amphibians

Amphibian research

• Molnar, Hutchinson & Pierce (2026) compare limb functions of musculoskeletal models of Acanthostega and Pederpes and an extant salamander and lizard, and report that hip and shoulder mobility of the studied early tetrapods was not compatible with movement patterns of the studied extant tetrapods, but find no evidence that limbs of Acanthostega and Pederpes were less adapted for weight support or hindlimb-based propulsion compared to the studied salamander and lizard.
• Description of the morphology of the postcranial skeleton of Gerrothorax pulcherrimus and its changes during the ontogeny of the animal is published by Witzmann & Schoch (2026).
• Kear et al. (2026) revise the fossil material attributed to Erythrobatrachus noonkanbahensis, interpreting it as a valid species on the basis of the study of the holotype, and interpreting the referred material as belonging to cf. Aphaneramma sp.
• Jansen et al. (2026) report the discovery of a new assemblage of amphibian fossils from the Campanian strata of the Villeveyrac-Mèze basin (France), including the oldest European members of the families Albanerpetontidae and Batrachosauroididae reported to date.
• Syromyatnikova (2026) describes the anatomy of the skull of Mioproteus wezei on the basis of new fossil material from the Pliocene strata from North Caucasus (Russia).
• Lemierre, Heinrich & Blackburn (2026) describe fossil material of members of Salientia from the Upper Jurassic Tendaguru Formation (Tanzania), including two humeri representing the oldest fossil record of members of frog crown group from Jurassic outcrops of Gondwana reported to date.
• A study on the composition of the Late Cretaceous (Coniacian or Santonian) frog assemblage from the In Becetèn locality (Niger), including the oldest known member of Ranoidea and a large indeterminate neobatrachian known from ornamented cranial material, is published by Lemierre et al. (2026).
• The first fossil material of tree frogs from the Pleistocene of the Urals is reported from the Makhnevskaya Ledyanaya Cave (Russia) by Tarasova et al. (2026).
• Hiotis, Reed & Sherratt (2026) identify Late Pleistocene frog fossils from the Naracoorte Caves World Heritage Area (Australia) on the basis of the study of their ilial morphology.

Reptiles

Synapsids

Non-mammalian synapsids

Synapsid research

• Warshaw, Singh & Benton (2026) evaluate possible factors influencing cranial shape evolution in carnivorous Permian synapsids, and identify adaptation for trophic functions as the primary driver influencing the cranial shape.
• Angielczyk et al. (2026) describe a natural mold of a vertebra of a synapsid and a natural mold of a partial maxilla of a synapsid with sphenacodont affinities from the Permian (Cisuralian) Pedra de Fogo Formation (Brazil), representing the first definitive pelycosaur-grade synapsids reported from South America.
• A study on the phylogenetic relationships of therapsids is published by Duhamel et al. (2026).
• Suchkova, Bulanov & Masyutin (2026) report evidence of preservation of remains of a specimen of Emeroleter levis within the abdominal cavity of a specimen of Viatkosuchus sumini from the Permian (Capitanian) strata from the Kotel'nich locality (Kirov Oblast, Russia).
• Redescription and a study on the affinities of Cistecynodon parvus is published by Lund et al. (2026).
• Averianov & Sues (2026) report the discovery of an isolated ulna of Docodon from the Upper Jurassic Morrison Formation (Wyoming, United States), and find no evidence of fossorial or aquatic adaptations.

Mammals

Other animals

Other animal research

• Rossi et al. (2026) reconstruct the evolutionary history of sponges on the basis of a phylogeny recovered from phylogenomic analyses and molecular clock analyses constraining the age of 12 major sponge clades on the basis of the fossil record, and interpret their findings as indicative of an Ediacaran origin of sponges, as well as indicating that the ancestral sponges were not biomineralized and lacked spicules, and that biosilicification and biocalcification evolved independently in multiple sponge lineages.
• Evidence of reduction in body size of scolecodonts across the Frasnian/Famennian Kellwasser Events, possibly linked to oxygen stress, is presented by Chilcoat & Cohen (2026).
• Vinn et al. (2026) report the discovery of possible remains of a lophophore in specimens of Cornulites from the Silurian Kaochiapien Formation (Hubei, China), supporting the classification of cornulitids as lophophorates.
• New information on the anatomy of "Pelagiella" subangulata, based on the study of new, well-preserved fossil material from the Cambrian strata from Flinders Ranges (Australia), is presented by Richter Stretton et al. (2026).

Foraminifera

Foraminiferal research

• Cózar, Somerville & Hounslow (2026) revise the phylogenetic relationships and evolutionary history of earliest members of Fusulinida, and consider fusulinids to be more likely a polyphyletic group than a monophyletic one.
• Evidence of gradual changes of composition of the foraminiferal assemblage from the Pieniny Klippen Belt (Ukraine) in response to environmental changes during the Sinemurian-Pliensbachian transition is presented by Józsa et al. (2026).
• Golfinopoulos et al. (2026) report the first discovery of benthic foraminifera from the Lower Jurassic strata exposed in Greece.
• Lowery et al. (2026) constrain the duration of the interval between the extinction of the Cretaceous species and the first appearance of Parvularugoglobigerina eugubina to between 3,500 and 11,100 years, and report evidence of appearance of as many as 10 new species of planktic foraminifera in this interval, with the first appearing less than 2,000 years after the Chicxulub impact initiating the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event.
• Lu et al. (2026) study changes of foraminiferal species richness during the Eocene-Oligocene transition, reporting evidence of distinct evolutionary histories of marine foraminifera living in different habitats.

Other organisms

Research on other organisms

• Hagen et al. (2026) determine the processes responsible for silicification of organic tissues of Cambrian cyanobacteria from the Harkless Formation (Nevada, United States).
• Evidence from the study of spatial distribution of minerals and organic matter in embryo-like microfossils from the Ediacaran Weng'an phosphorite (Doushantuo Formation, South China), interpreted as consistent with a microbial origin of the studied microfossils, is presented by Lu et al. (2026).
• Flett et al. (2026) study the developmental biology of Megaclonophycus from the Ediacaran Doushantuo Formation, support the interpretation of Megaclonophycus, Parapandorina and Megasphaera as likely to be the same organism, find no evidence supporting animal affinities of the studied organism, and interpret it as a possible non-choanozoan holozoan.
• Qiu et al. (2026) report the discovery of a new assemblage of compression fossils from the Tonian Changlingzi Formation (Liaoning, China), including fossils of members of the genera Chuaria, Tawuia and Protoarenicola.
• Loron et al. (2026) report evidence indicating that fossils of Prototaxites from the Rhynie chert were chemically and structurally distinct from contemporaneous and extant fungi, and interpret Prototaxites as a representative of an extinct eukaryotic lineage distinct from fungi.
• Evidence from the study of Eocene dinoflagellate cyst assemblages from the Ivory Coast–Ghana marginal ridge (equatorial Atlantic Ocean), indicating that the studied assemblages did not undergo significant changes of composition during those early Eocene hyperthermals that did not result in sea surface temperatures rising more than approximately 1.5 °C, is presented by Fokkema et al. (2026) .
• Zhao et al. (2026) link the displacement of green eukaryotic algae by phytoplankton groups whose plastids are derived from rhodophytes as the dominant marine phytoplankton in the early Mesozoic to structural characteristics of red lineage phytoplankton that enhanced their resistance to environmental reactive oxygen species.

History of life in general

• Zhang (2026) presents a new hypothesis on causes of the rise of organismal complexity that made the Cambrian radiation possible in favorable environmental conditions, linking it to predator–prey interactions among unicellular holozoans that drove genomic novelty, and to motility acting as an evolutionary filter, with high-motility forms retaining unicellularity and low-motility ones ultimately evolving multicellularity.
• Wang et al. (2026) report the discovery of a new assemblage of late Ediacaran organisms (the Dongpo biota) from the Dongpo Formation (China), expanding known geographic distribution of the Ediacaran macrofossils.
• Kolesnikov et al. (2026) determine precise minimum age of the Ediacaran biota from the Chernyi Kamen Formation in Central Urals (Russia).
• Becker-Kerber et al. (2026) describe new filamentous fossils from the Ediacaran strata of the Tamengo Formation (Brazil), compare their structure to those of purported trace fossils produced by animals from the Ediacaran–Cambrian Corumbá Group reported by Parry et al. (2017), and interpret the studied structures as more likely representing microbial consortia composed of filamentous algae and bacteria rather than animal burrows.
• McIlroy et al. (2026) report the discovery of a new fossil site at Inner Meadow (Newfoundland, Canada) determined to be approximately 550.78-million years old and including most the Avalon assemblage biota, and interpret this finding as indicating that the Avalon assemblage and the White Sea assemblage were contemporaneous, and that both were affected by the first pulse of the End-Ediacaran extinction (the Kotlin Crisis).
• Malanoski et al. (2026) report evidence from the study of the fossil record of shallow-marine taxa, indicating that throughout the Phanerozoic taxa with geographical distribution allowing easier access to north-south dispersal pathways were more resilient compared to taxa living along east-west–oriented coastlines, islands or inland seaways.
• Dantes & Nagovitsin (2026) provide a general morphological classification of Cambrian cone-shaped microfossils.
• Song et al. (2026) study the composition of the small shelly fauna associated with archaeocyath reefs from the Cambrian Xiannüdong Formation (Shaanxi, China), interpreted as indicative of presence of a diverse benthic assemblage with reef-dwelling organisms distinct from those in other reef environments.
• Zeng et al. (2026) report a diverse biota dominated by arthropods, sponges and cnidarians and including soft-bodied forms preserved with cellular tissues (the Huayuan biota) from a Cambrian Stage 4 Burgess Shale-type Lagerstätte from the Yangtze Block (Hunan, China).
• Shi et al. (2026) reconstruct high-resolution patterns of changes of marine biodiversity from Miaolingian to Furongian, reporting evidence of three significant biodiversity pulses and evidence of declines of biodiversity coinciding with carbon isotope excursions.
• Evidence from the study of the invertebrate fossil material from the Cincinnati Arch (United States), indicating that the appearance of invasive species during the Late Ordovician (the Richmondian Invasion) resulted in composition of the benthic invertebrate assemblage from the studied area but did not significantly change its functional diversity, is presented by Ess et al. (2026).
• Kundladi & Stigall (2026) study diversification and interaction dynamics of marine invertebrates from the Nashville Basin across the Richmondian Invasion, providing evidence of changes of community structure that negatively impacted some of the native taxa but overall resulted in the emergence of a more stable and complex ecosystem.
• Cyanobacterial, fungal and algal remains interpreted as record of a Devonian biota inhabiting a highly saline, sulphate lake and associated playa mudflat are described from the Lower Old Red Sandstone) deposits of the Northern Highlands (Scotland, United Kingdom) by Wellman (2026).
• Calábková, Březina & Nádaskay (2026) study the composition of a diverse assemblage of tetrapod trace fossils from the Carboniferous (Gzhelian) Semily Formation (Czech Republic).
• Marchetti et al. (2026) determine the Permian biota from the Bromacker locality (Tambach Formation, Germany) to be latest Asselian in age.
• A regurgitalite produced by a predator (possibly Dimetrodon teutonis or Tambacarnifex unguifalcatus), preserving remains of Thuringothyris mahlendorffae, Eudibamus cursoris and an unidentified diadectid, is described from the Permian Tambach Formation (Germany) by Rebillard et al. (2026).
• Tooth marks produced by large carnivores, as well as boring likely produced by arthropod larvae, are identified in skeletons of juvenile specimens of Diadectes sp. from the Permian strata of the Vale Formation (Texas, United States) by Young, Maho & Reisz (2026).
• Liu et al. (2026) compare the recovery of ostracods, brachiopods and ammonites in the aftermath of the Permian–Triassic extinction event, and find that brachiopods and ammonites refilled the vacated morphospace with limited innovation, while ostracods underwent a adaptive radiation, expanding morphospace and ecological niches.
• A study on the diverse coprolite assemblage from the Lower Triassic Vikinghøgda Formation (Svalbard, Triassic), providing the first evidence of presence of invertebrates (cephalopods and sponges) in the Grippa bonebed and evidence of the coprolite producers feeding on ray-finned fishes and juvenile ichthyopterygians, is published by Simonsen et al. (2026).
• Trace fossil evidence of predation of horseshoe crabs on polychaetes is reported from the Lower Triassic Daye Formation (China) by Feng et al. (2026), who also report evidence indicative of enhanced infaunalization coinciding with diversification of marine predators during the Early Triassic.
• Casts of burrows likely produced by ground-dwelling crayfish, as well as casts of burrows produced by tetrapods (possibly procolophonids, trirachodontids or bauriids) that might have been feeding on crayfish, are reported from the Middle Triassic Burgersdorp Formation (South Africa) by Wolvaardt et al. (2026).
• Zhang et al. (2026) determine the age and duration of the Ladinian Xingyi Fauna on the basis of the study of astrochronology and cyclostratigraphy of the Nimaigu Section of the Falang Formation (China), and interpret the environment of the studied fauna as driven by a combination of orbital forcing and volcanic activity.
• Numberger-Thuy et al. (2026) describe fossil material of late-surviving plagiosaurs and a diverse reptile assemblage from the Rhaetian strata of the Exter Formation (Germany).
• Rosin et al. (2026) study the composition of the palynomorph assemblages from the Westbury, Lilstock and Redcar Mudstone formations in the Cheshire Basin (United Kingdom), recording changes of composition of vegetation and aquatic microorganism assemblages in response to environmental changes during the latest Triassic and Early Jurassic.
• Stone et al. (2026) reconstruct timing and phases of reef recovery in the High Atlas Basin of Morocco in the aftermath of the Toarcian Oceanic Anoxic Event, interpreted as determined by tolerances of different framework builders to environmental conditions at the time.
• García-Cobeña et al. (2026) report the discovery of new fossil material of cartilaginous fishes, turtles, crocodylomorphs and dinosaurs from the Lower Cretaceous El Castellar Formation (Spain), expanding known vertebrate diversity from the studied formation.
• Fiorelli et al. (2026) report discovery of well-preserved fossil material of diverse Late Cretaceous microorganisms encrusted in microbialites from paleogeysers and hot springs from the Sanagasta GeoPark (La Rioja, Argentina).
• Moretti & Young (2026) describe new fossil material of mammals and tortoises from Bender's Cave (Texas, United States), including the first records of Hesperotestudo sp. and Holmesina septentrionalis from the Late Pleistocene of the Edwards Plateau, and argue that the assemblage from Bender's Cave might include animals dating to interglacial intervals of the Late Pleistocene.
• Pillay et al. (2026) conduct a survey of ancient DNA from subfossil remains from Nuku Hiva (French Polynesia), identify a wide range of vertebrate taxa on the basis of bulk bone metabarcoding, and report the identification of remains of three seabird taxa new to the archaeological record of the Marquesas Islands.
• Evidence from the study of approximately 7,000-year-old corals and fish otoliths from coral reef deposits from Panama and the Dominican Republic and from the study of the trophic structure of nearby modern reefs, indicative of reduction of length and complexity of food webs in the Caribbean reef ecosystems throughouth the Holocene, is presented by Lueders-Dumont et al. (2026).
• Evidence from the study of the Neogene to Holocene record of marine anthozoans, bivalves, gastropods, sea urchins, cartilaginous fishes and mammals, indicating that neither absolute range nor range change in isolation is sufficient to predict extinction of members of the studied groups, is presented by Straube et al. (2026).

Other research

• Liu et al. (2026) reconstruct marine biogeochemical cycles during the Proterozoic, and find that dense phytoplankton at the surface of the ocean resulting from lack of predators would have prevented sunlight from reaching subsurface layers of the ocean, causing reduction of subsurface net primary productivity.
• Fernandes et al. (2026) study the chromium, cadmium and strontium isotope composition of carbonate rocks from the Corumbá Group (Brazil) to reconstruct local environmental conditions during the late Ediacaran, and interpret the extent of habitats suitable for early animals as limited by the extent of oxygenated shallow waters, which in turn was influenced by an intricate interplay of water circulation, redox and productivity.
• Jamart et al. (2026) determine the locations of the Wuliuan–Drumian and Drumian–Guzhangian stage boundaries and the duration of the Drumian Carbon Isotope Excursion on the basis of the study of Albjära-1 core from the Alum Shale Formation (Sweden).
• Evidence from the study of zinc isotope data from the Chattanooga Shale (Tennessee, United States), linking marine euxinia during the Late Devonian mass extinctions to increased marine productivity, is presented by Li et al. (2026).
• Evidence from the Chattanooga Shale in the southeastern United States indicating that massive wildfires did not trigger marine anoxia during the Late Devonian mass extinctions but rather were its consequence is presented by Lu et al. (2026).
• Evidence linking two stages of the Capitanian mass extinction event to two pulses of eruptive activity of the Emeishan Traps is presented by Wei, Zhang & Qiu (2026).
• Barrenechea et al. (2026) report evidence of higher content of aluminium phosphate–sulphate minerals in the Lower Triassic strata from the equatorial areas compared to strata from higher latitudes, indicative of prolonged or recurrent acidic episodes continental basins near the equator during the Early Triassic, and interpret the acidity conditions in continental environments as contributing to the Smithian–Spathian boundary event and moderated the recovery after the Permian–Triassic extinction event.
• Evidence linking major episodes of marine large igneous provinces to at least four extinctions of marine biota during the Triassic is presented by Fan et al. (2026).
• Ruciński et al. (2026) provide new information on the sedimentology, stratigraphy and taphonomy of the Upper Triassic Silves Marl-Carbonate Evaporitic Complex in the upper portion of the Silves Group (Portugal), and report the identification of new fossil-bearing layers yielding vertebrate fossil material.
• Chen et al. (2026) report evidence from chemostratigraphic and astrochronological analysis of a drill core from the Kunming Basin (Yunnan, China) indicative of negative carbon isotope excursions mirroring disturbances in the global carbon cycle during the Triassic-Jurassic transition, and indicative impact of both Central Atlantic magmatic province and regional factors on environmental disruption on the studied area at the Triassic-Jurassic boundary; the authors also determine the oldest sauropodomorph dinosaur fossils from the Kunming Basin to be 200.17-million-years-old, and interpret this result as evidence of colonization of low palaeolatitude area of southwest China by medium- to large-bodied dinosaurs in the aftermath of the Triassic–Jurassic extinction.
• Wang et al. (2026) report evidence of high elevations and complex topography in northeastern Asia resulting from mid–Late Jurassic plate convergence and promoting the emergence of Yanliao Biota, as well as evidence of topographic ruggedness during the Early Cretaceous that expanded the surface area, amplified the available ecological niche space and resulted in diversification of the Jehol Biota.
• Rey et al. (2026) study the elemental variability of vertebrate coprolites from the Angeac-Charente bonebed (France), providing evidence that the chemical composition of the studied coprolites was affected by burial environment to a greater degree than by diets of the producers.
• Evidence from the study of sediments and trace fossils from the Lower Cretaceous Três Barras Formation (Sanfranciscana Basin, Brazil), indicative of marine incursions during the Early Cretaceous that were long enough to support benthic colonization of the substrate in probable estuarine setting, is presented by Sedorko (2026).
• Lu et al. (2026) report evidence of asynchronous carbon isotope excursions associated with Oceanic Anoxic Event 1a in terrestrial and marine systems, and question the proposal to place the boundary between Barremian and Aptian at the base of the studied oceanic anoxic event.
• Buryak et al. (2026) study two exploration drill cores from the Wombat pipe locality in the Lac de Gras kimberlite field (Northwest Territories, Canada), providing information on the climate and environment in the subarctic Canada during the Late Cretaceous, and interpret the sedimentary organic matter from the studied drill cores as derived from C₃ land plants and, to a lesser degree, algae.
• Landman et al. (2026) reconstruct the environment of deposition of the Pierre Shale on the Cedar Creek Anticline (Montana, United States) spanning the Campanian-Maastrichtian boundary on the basis of the study of geochemical and sedimentological evidence and on the basis of the composition of the fauna.
• Liu et al. (2026) present sedimentological and geophysical evidence indicative of multilayered oceanic circulation and high productivity in the Arctic Ocean during the Late Cretaceous.
• Evidence of earthquakes and seismically-induced deformations triggered by the Chicxulub impact is reported from the strata from the Cretaceous-Paleogene transition from Colombia and Mexico by Bermúdez et al. (2026).
• Evidence from the study of spores, pollen and microcharcoal abundances from Paleogene sediments from a hydrothermal vent crater in the North Atlantic Igneous Province on the Norwegian Margin and from other mid- and high latitude continental margins, indicative of rapid vegetation and soil disturbances in response to environmental changes at the onset of the Paleocene–Eocene thermal maximum resulting in widespread appearance of fern-dominated pioneer vegetation across mid- and high-latitude regions of the world, is presented by Nelissen et al. (2026).
• Evidence of Priabonian age of Baltic amber from the Sambia Peninsula (Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia) is presented by Ross, Bojarski & Szwedo (2026).
• Evidence from the study of the fossil record of Cenozoic foraminifera, Cretaceous echinoids, Carboniferous crinoids and Cambrian trilobites using a birth–death-sampling model, indicating that long-lived ancestral species that gave rise to many descendant species over the course of their existence should be common in the fossil record of groups with high levels of preservation, is presented by Parins-Fukuchi (2026).
• Chiappone et al. (2026) determine factors influencing transport of bones in unsteady flows, including their travel distance and transport groups, on the basis of experiments with bones of modern sheep and models of bones of Eolambia caroljonesa and Edmontosaurus regalis.
• Siviero et al. (2026) report evidence from the study of bones of Edmontosaurus annectens from the Cretaceous Lance Formation (Wyoming, United States) indicating that fossil bone abnormalities resulting from postmortem taphonomic processes can be superficially similar to pathologies resulting from disease, and recommend testing diagnoses based on purported fossil bone pathologies with histological analysis.

Paleoclimate

• Myrow, Hu & Lamb (2026) report evidence from the study of storm deposits from the Fountain and Minturn formations (Colorado, United States) indicative of large waves and large cyclonic storms irreconcilable with climate reconstructions suggestive of cold equatorial climate during the middle Pennsylvanian.
• Evidence indicative of decrease of atmospheric CO₂ during the early and main flood basalt phases of the Emeishan Large Igneous Province emplacement followed by its increase during silicic eruptions, and indicating that environmental impact of Emeishan volcanism began before the main eruptive phase, is presented by Shen et al. (2026).
• Evidence linking late Miocene global cooling and northern Tibetan Plateau uplift to near-synchronous monsoon intensification and turnover of mammalian communities in Asia approximately 8.7 million years ago is presented by Han et al. (2026).
• Burgener, Griffith & Hyland (2026) report evidence from the study of modern topography and land cover data indicating that differences between reconstructions of past mean annual ranges in temperature based on paleobotanical and geochemical proxies are at least partly explained by differences in fossil leaf and soil carbonate land cover types, and interpret most proxies as likely recording true local signals of temperature within larger regions with variable temperatures.

References