Will Newton
Science writer
Will Newton is a freelance science writer with a passion for all things prehistoric, from dinosaurs to Ice Age humans. He is also a PhD student at the University of Manchester, where he studies 400-million-year-old, armoured fish known as Ostracoderms. He has written for both BBC Wildlife and BBC Science Focus, as well as several other popular publications. When he's not writing about ancient animals, he can be found with his elbows deep in one of the many fish tanks currently overtaking his home office."
Recent articles by Will Newton
5 ancient prehistoric, pioneering human species that once lived alongside us, interacted with us, and - in some cases - even mated with us…
We may be the only human species alive today, but just a few hundred thousand years ago there was a remarkable diversity of humans living across the world…
It's only the size of 4 tennis courts… yet it could be the oldest place on Earth and home to some of the world's most formidable apex predators
"Its teeth were specially designed for a ‘grip-and-shear’ feeding strategy…" 6 animals able to kill a megalodon, the deadliest shark that ever lived
If you crossed paths with these prehistoric sea monsters out at sea, you’d be wishing for a bigger boat…
Only two complete dodo skulls are known to exist. Scientists just looked inside them – and discovered this
It turns out these flightless, supersized pigeons may have been a lot smarter than people think…
"While healthy adults were off the menu for most predators, the old, sick and young often faced grisly ends." 9 animals that could kill giant mammoths
They may be amongst the largest mammals to have ever walked the Earth, but mammoths weren’t exactly free from predation…
It had a massive 50cm leg span and was hailed as a giant, terrifying prehistoric spider – but scientists got it spectacularly wrong…
It looked like a shark, acted like one and lived 370 million years ago – before even the dinosaurs… but was it the first shark ever? The jury's still out…
Try as they might, palaeontologists have yet to agree on what the first shark actually was…
"It's considered the largest and most ferocious terrestrial predator that has ever lived…" 10 deadliest predators that ever lived
These extinct killing machines are reason enough not to invent time travel…
Mega volcanoes, asteroid impacts and 'the great dying' – 5 deadly mass extinctions that changed life on Earth forever
What is a mass extinction – and how many of them have there been? Will Newton takes a look the 'big five' extinction events
It looked like a horse and acted like one, but this horse was different. The size of a lamb, it was the first horse on Earth and ancestor of all today
It looked just like its modern relatives, but at only the size of a Chihuahua, it wouldn’t have stood a chance in the Grand National
Did this giant, prehistoric 1.8m tall wombat inspire a man-eating mythical monster…?
Most myths are grounded in some kind of reality – the Bunyip is no exception.
It’s larger than Greater London and lies in the crater of an asteroid that struck Earth 214 million years ago… Now it’s home to black bears
You probably wouldn’t expect an asteroid impact to become the foundation of a thriving ecosystem…
It looked like a fox, but this is no fox – or even a member of the dog family. It was in fact a bizarre stepping stone in the evolution of whales – yes really!
It’s hard to imagine the largest animal that’s ever lived - the blue whale - can trace its family tree back to this small, pig-like mammal…
Ancient people found miniature elephant remains and thought they belonged to a monster…
The origins of the cyclops myth haven’t been confirmed – but there are theories.
"It's known for guarding priceless treasures…" The powerful and majestic beast inspired by dinosaurs…
Most myths are grounded in some kind of reality, even those most fantastical…
It didn't much look like a dog – or act like one as it climbed trees like a cat – yet it was the first-ever dog on the planet and the ancestor of all dogs today…
It lived in trees and looked more like a raccoon than a dog - but this miniature furball was the world’s premier pooch and the ancestor of all living canines…
Predators, prey and parasites discovered 1,640ft below North America's Great Lakes
A team of researchers from the University of Michigan has just discovered rocks and water teeming with fungi, segmented worms and 'water bears' hundreds of feet below Earth’s surface.
Forget today's cute penguins – this prehistoric monster would have stood shoulder-to-shoulder with Hollywood hardman Jason Statham…
Tipping the scales at nearly 160kg, Kumimanu is by far the largest penguin that has ever lived and heavier even than today’s largest living bird, the common ostrich…
“It’s as long as a Boeing 737 and its tongue alone is as heavy as a fully-grown elephant…” 10 biggest marine animals that have ever lived
The ocean has long been home to giants, not just during the modern era but throughout prehistory…
"It resembled a biplane when airborne, with a wingspan that measured a massive 7m across. It was incredibly heavy too; tipping the scales at 72kg"
It looked like a cat and acted like a cat – but this cat was different. It was the first-ever cat on the planet – the ancestor of all cats today…
This isn’t the kind of furball you’d want sitting on your lap…
What if hobbits were real? Meet the tiny human species that actually existed…
Don’t let their small stature fool you - these ‘hobbits’
were among the deadliest predators to stalk their jungle island home.
"It could sprint at 40mph and had a huge skull with a deadly-looking, hooked beak and swallowed its prey whole…" 10 deadliest prehistoric birds ever
These early birds certainly caught their worms, and more. Meet some of the deadliest birds that ever lived…
"They eat their hosts from the inside out, using saw-like teeth to chew their way through thick skin." 10 most brutal, savage, parasites on the planet
Lurking in the shadows of many ecosystems are animals whose main motivations are, quite literally, to hijack the bodies of others and eat them from the inside out…
