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
"Its vicious-looking, self-sharpening teeth were designed to slice effortlessly through tough meat." 10 deadliest, most ruthless prehistoric cats ever
From tigers to tabbies, today’s cats come in many different shapes, sizes, and temperaments.
Their ancestors were just as diverse, if not more so, says Will Newton. Here are our top 10 prehistoric cats…
"Their nests are made up of thousands of climate-controlled rooms, resembling a structure not too dissimilar to an urban office block"
When it comes to industrious hard work, leafcutter ants are the best in the business...
The Colorado River vanished for 5 million years. Scientists may have just figured out where it went
University of California researchers may have solved the mystery of the US river's disappearance from the geological record.
"It had big eyes, a large head, chubby cheeks, and short, stumpy legs." The 6 dinosaurs that would make the very best pets - if humans had been around
Not all dinosaurs were massive, meat-eating monsters; some were no bigger than labradors, covered in downy feathers, and cuter than buttons…
How many ways can evolution happen?
Evolution isn’t a single, straightforward process – it works in several distinct ways. From species splitting apart over time to unrelated animals developing similar traits, these patterns reveal how life adapts and changes.
Massive 15kg echidnas once roamed south-east Australia. Evidence of the bizarre animals was found 120 years ago in a cave
The re-examination of an Ice Age fossil that has spent the last 120 years in the bowels of a museum has filled a major knowledge gap in Australia’s prehistoric fauna…
"They actually perform amputations. Those that injure their legs above the femur have their whole leg lopped off..."
There are certain species of ants that have been observed treating injuries of their nestmates, with some even performing successful amputations…
Could there ever be a new species of human?
It’s happened before, many times, so surely it could happen again, right?
500-million-year-old clawed predator found in Utah desert forces scientists to rethink origin of spiders
Named after French explorer Jacques Cousteau, Megachelicerax cousteaui is the oldest of its kind ever found, not to mention one of the strangest…
Satellite images reveal hidden cause of melting glaciers in Greenland
A new study has found that meltwater lakes at the edge of the Greenland ice sheet are accelerating the flow of major glaciers, potentially contributing to global sea level rise.
“It was just bones all over the floor.” Fossil hunters make astounding discovery in Texan water cave
A flooded cave in central Texas has yielded the remains of Ice Age animals that have never been found in the region before…
"It has two, whopping, 22cm-long fangs that give it the look of an aquatic saber tooth tiger."10 deadly, utterly terrifying prehistoric fish
The saying ‘there’s always a bigger fish’ rings particularly true when looking at these monsters from prehistory…
It weighed less than 1kg yet remarkably could reach terrifying speeds of 65km/h: Meet 10 fastest, speediest dinosaurs on the planet
Not all dinosaurs were lumbering giants, some were streamlined speedsters that would have given today’s fastest animals a run for their money…
It’s a slimy, brainless creature that stalks prey, navigates mazes and creates elaborate transport networks more efficient than our own
These tiny microorganisms come together to create large, multicellular networks capable of navigating mazes and re-routing transport networks…
"Raiding parties are the soldiers, bearing enormous heads armed with long, scissor-like mandibles capable of dismantling prey piece by piece..."
This is definitely an army that marches on its stomach...
100km-wide "hidden giant" discovered beneath Antarctic ice sheet
A vast granite body roughly half the size of Wales has been found beneath the Pine Island Glacier in West Antarctica…
Scientists uncover 'lost world’ beneath North Sea – once home to beavers, deer and even bears
A new study has found evidence to suggest the now-submerged landmass of Doggerland in Europe was covered in a temperate mosaic of oak, elm, and hazel more than 16,000 years ago…
“This bizarre egg-laying animal looks like a cross between a duck and a beaver” – 10 prehistoric ‘living fossil’ animals still alive today
eet the ‘living fossils’ that look just like their ancient ancestors and give us an idea of what life on Earth may have been like millions of years ago…
436-million-year-old fossil found in South China is oldest complete bony fish ever discovered
The discovery of two ancient fish in South China has re-written what we thought we knew about the evolution of early vertebrates.
It’s the size of a small apartment, contains hundreds of rooms growing crops, and is home to more than a million farmers
We’re not the only animals that farm; ants do it too, cultivating vast quantities of fungus to feed their growing colonies…
It's a metre across and laced with tunnels and chambers – yet built entirely from a million individuals who spend their lives constantly on the move...
Few species of ants are more well-drilled than army ants; these disciplined drones live and die at the behest of their female leaders…
‘Inflatable’ feet, walking on water and making a living raft: 10 unusual (and downright bizarre) ways animal move around
These animals like to ‘move it move it’, though not quite in the conventional sense…
Dinosaur hunters discover staggering 'hell heron' with giant head crest in Sahara Desert
The new species of ‘scimitar-crested’ Spinosaurus is the first of its kind found in more than a century.
It floats, it's larger than a dinner plate and it's made up of more than 100,000 individuals
If you saw this circular raft floating down a river you’d be forgiven for thinking it was a discarded deep-dish pizza…
