Three-dimensional visualisation of partial melting at the base of tectonic plates. The orange iso-surfaces show the regions where, at a depth of between 100 and 300 km, the quantity of molten rock is greater than 0.2%. The white sphere in the centre of the globe represents the Earth’s core. Credit © Stéphanie Durand, Laboratoire de géologie de Lyon: Terre, planètes et environnement (CNRS/ENS de Lyon/Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1).

Deep magma facilitates the movement of tectonic plates

A 3D block diagram across North America showing a mantle tomography image reveals the Slab Unfolding method used to flatten the Farallon tectonic plate. By doing this, Fuston and Wu were able to locate the lost Resurrection plate.

Lost and found: Geologists ‘resurrect’ missing tectonic plate

A crocodile next to a mastodon of the genus Anancus and primitive horses of the genus Hipparion in a similar environment to what could have been Valencia six million years ago. Credit: José Antonio Peñas (SINC)

African crocodiles lived in Spain six million years ago

Teeth of a large dinosaur, possibly Metriacanthosauridae, from the Liuhuanggou site in the southern Junggar basin. Scale: 1 cm. Credit: University of Tübingen

Tooth marks and lost teeth offer insights into dinosaur feeding behavior

Chrysoberyl

Chrysoberyl : One of the world’s most expensive Gemstone

The fluid inclusions inside the olivine contain nanodiamonds, apart from serpentine, magnetite, metallic silicon and pure methane. Credit: University of Barcelona

Natural nanodiamonds in oceanic rocks

Photo of a glendonite. Credit: Bo Schultz

Volcanic eruptions may explain Denmark’s giant mystery crystals

The origin of endothermy in synapsids, including the ancestors of mammals. The diagram shows the evolution of main groups through the Triassic, and the scale from blue to red is a measure of the degree of warm-bloodedness reconstructed based on different indicators of bone structure and anatomy. Credit: Mike Benton, University of Bristol. Animal images are by Nobu Tamura, Wikimedia

World’s greatest mass extinction triggered switch to warm-bloodedness

Reconstruction of Morganucodon (left) and Kuehneotherium (right) hunting in Early Jurassic Wales 200 million years ago. Credit: Original painting by John Sibbick, 2013. Copyright: Pam Gill

Ancient tiny teeth reveal first mammals lived more like reptiles

An artist's impression of Leptostomia begaaensis Credit: Megan Jacobs, University of Portsmouth

Beak bone reveals pterosaur like no other

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