Jessica Hodge+FollowTiny Sea Cows Ruled the Gulf?!Turns out, dugongs aren’t the OG seagrass gardeners in the Arabian Gulf. Scientists just ID’d a new ancient sea cow species, Salwasiren qatarensis, that was munching on seagrass and shaping the ecosystem 21 million years ago! These little guys were way smaller than today’s dugongs and even had tiny tusks. Fossil finds in Qatar show this area’s been a sea cow hotspot forever—just with different ‘cows’ over time. Nature’s ultimate lawnmowers, right? #Science #fossilfinds #dugong10Share
Michelle York+FollowAncient Walrus With Wild Teeth Found!Did you hear about the new prehistoric walrus species they just dug up in Europe? This ancient sea beast, Ontocetus posti, had some wild dental features—think four post-canine teeth and a beefy lower canine. Scientists are geeking out because it shows how walruses adapted to ocean changes over millions of years. Plus, it’s giving us major clues about how today’s marine mammals might handle climate change. Fossil finds never stop surprising! #Science #FossilFinds #PrehistoricLife71Share
Richard Vaughan+FollowAncient 26-Foot Giants That Aren’t Trees?!Imagine walking through Scotland and stumbling on fossils of 26-foot-tall columns that ruled Earth before trees even existed. Scientists just revealed these Prototaxites weren’t plants, animals, or fungi—but a totally new, now-extinct branch of life! For over a century, experts argued if they were trees or giant mushrooms, but new research says nope, they’re something else entirely. Basically, Earth’s OG giants were weird, mysterious, and have no living relatives. Nature is wild! #Science #FossilFinds #ScienceNews20Share