Latest articles by Vasika Udurawane

fossils
almost 5 years ago by Vasika Udurawane

First traces of Homo sapiens DNA in a Neanderthal woman

Interbreeding with our species may have been one of many factors that drove the Neanderthals to extinction, with traces of their DNA in our own. But for a while we never really knew of any Homo sapiens genetic material in a Neanderthal fossil. That is, until recently with a new fossil from Denisova Cave.
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fossils
almost 5 years ago by Vasika Udurawane

The biggest bird of all time once patrolled the skies of Patagonia

The heaviest flying bird of all time dominated the skies of Patagonia with iron wings. It strode overland while on the hunt, swallowing its prey in one mouthful. It was certainly pushing the limit of heavy, feathered flying creatures but was still able to patrol immense distances of grassland bordered by the young Andes. How did a bird with such a huge wingspan even manage to get off the ground?
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fossils
about 5 years ago by Vasika Udurawane

When reptiles had wings: Rise and fall of the pterosaurs

Pterosaurs are the most iconic and arguably beautiful of all extinct animals. They have inspired awe in all who discovered their fossils and now they have come to life like never before through the Pteros project, an online encyclopedia of pterosaurs.
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fossils
about 5 years ago by Vasika Udurawane

When monsters ruled the water: The Age of Fishes

It was a time when the oceans and rivers of the world were ruled by aliens with armored bodies and slicing bony blades in their mouths. Welcome to the Devonian, the Age of Fishes, when these creatures were at the height of their strangeness.
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fossils
about 5 years ago by Vasika Udurawane

All eyes on me: Jurassic crustacean had largest peepers

It may not be the biggest marine monster of the Jurassic but the mammoth eyes of Dollocaris certainly make it the most adorable.
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Vasika
Udurawane

Writer