ALTHOUGH Wells 1 and Scrutton 2 suggested methods of studying fossils to determine probable changes in day length, few studies have followed these suggestions. We have examined fossil bivalve shells ...

The fossil record may not be perfect, but it passed a critical test with flying colors, according to a study by University of Chicago paleontologist Susan M. Kidwell published in the Feb. 11 issue of ...

Four bivalve specimens from Antarctica’s Seymour Island analyzed in the University of Michigan study, showing the range of sizes of the different mollusks. Species names clockwise from the top shell: ...

A new paleontology study by UChicago researchers discovered that rock-boring clams, known as bivalves, vary in shape despite performing the same function. This paper is one of the first major studies ...

Top of the encrusted surface of a brachiopod shell, showing the "war" between an edrioasteroid (star-shaped organism at center) and a fast-growing bryozoan colony. From Sprinkle and Rodgers 2010. Back ...

Left, Devonian brachiopod fossils from Ohio, USA. Credit: ‘Daderot’ (Wikimedia Commons; Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication). Right, recent bivalve shells from shell beach, ...

Time isn’t as constant as we might think. The Earth’s rotation is changing, which affects how many hours are in a day and how many days in a year. Now palaeontologists have managed to precisely ...

Ancient fossils unearthed in Morocco reveal parasitic worms burrowing into mollusc shells approximately 480 million years ago, pushing back the known timeline for parasitism by 60 million years. This ...

Why did the ancestors of clams and oysters flourish after one of the worst mass extinctions in Earth's history while another class of shelled creatures, the brachiopods, sharply decline? By using ...

(The Conversation is an independent and nonprofit source of news, analysis and commentary from academic experts.) Stewart Edie, Smithsonian Institution (THE CONVERSATION) About 66 million years ago – ...