PALEONTOLOGY

New crocodile-relative “hypercarnivore” from prehistoric Patagonia was 11.5ft long and weighed 250kg

Kostensuchus atrox was a top predator which lived just before the extinction of the dinosaurs, and likely chomped on them

PLOS

Facebook

X
BlueskyMessageWhatsAppEmail

 

image: 

Kostensuchus atrox – life restauration, 3 meters long. Art by Gabriel Diaz Yanten.

view more 

Credit: Gabriel Diaz Yanten, CC-BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

A newly-discovered species of a large, crocodile-relative predator has been described via a remarkably well-preserved fossil from Argentina, according to a study published August 27, 2025, in the open-access journal PLOS One by Fernando Novas from Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales “Bernardino Rivadavia”, Argentina, and colleagues.

The Chorrillo Formation formed around 70 million years ago, during the Maastrichtian age at the very end of the Cretaceous period. At this time, southern Patagonia was a warm, seasonally humid landscape of freshwater floodplains, home to creatures like dinosaurs, turtles, frogs, and various mammals.

The new fossil unearthed in this formation is largely intact, including a skull and jaws with visible details, as well as multiple bones from the body. This crocodile-like apex predator may have reached around 3.5 meters (11.5 feet) long and weighed around 250 kilograms (551 pounds), with a wide, powerful jaw and big teeth capable of devouring large prey — likely including medium-sized dinosaurs. The researchers named the species Kostensuchus atrox, referring to the Patagonian wind known in the Tehuelche native language as the Kosten and the Egyptian crocodile-headed god known as Souchos, with atrox meaning “fierce” or “harsh”.

K. atrox itself is not a dinosaur, but rather a peirosaurid crocodyliform, an extinct group of reptiles related to modern crocodiles and alligators. This species is the second-largest predator known to scientists from the Maastrichtian Chorrillo Formation, and the researchers believe it was likely one of the top predators in the region. K. atrox is also the first crocodyliform fossil found in the Chorrillo Formation, and one of the most intact peirosaurid crocodyliforms ever found, giving scientists unique new insight into these prehistoric animals and their ecosystem.

  

Kostensuchus atrox – skull already prepared, freed from the rock.

Kostensuchus atrox – Mounted skeleton (reconstructed 3D print and painted).

Credit

José Brusco, CC-BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

In your coverage, please use this URL to provide access to the freely available article in PLOS One: http://plos.io/47w520t

Citation: Novas FE, Pol D, Agnolín FL, Carvalho IdS, Manabe M, Tsuihiji T, et al. (2025) A new large hypercarnivorous crocodyliform from the Maastrichtian of Southern Patagonia, Argentina. PLoS One 20(8): e0328561. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0328561

Author countries: Argentina, Portugal, Japan.

Funding: DP 9282-R-22 National Geographic Society https://www.nationalgeographic.org/society/ The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript. ISC Faperj E-26/200.998/2024 Fundação Carlos Chagas Filho de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado do Rio de Janeiro https://www.faperj.br/ The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript. ISC CNPq 303596/2016-3 Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico https://www.gov.br/cnpq/pt-br The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.

---

Journal

PLOS One

DOI

10.1371/journal.pone.0328561 

Method of Research

Observational study

Subject of Research

People

Article Title

A new large hypercarnivorous crocodyliform from the Maastrichtian of Southern Patagonia, Argentina

Article Publication Date

27-Aug-2025

Deadly bone disease wiped out long-necked dinosaurs in what is now the interior of the state of São Paulo, Brazil

Researchers found sauropod bones with signs of osteomyelitis, an infectious disease that can be caused by viruses, bacteria, fungi, or protozoa and that killed the animals quickly. The discovery suggests that favorable conditions for the disease existed.

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo

Facebook

XLinkedInWeChatBlueskyMessageWhatsApp\Email

 

image: 

In the approximately 80-million-year-old fossilized bone, the arrows indicated by BL point to the lesion caused by osteomyelitis. HB is the unlesioned part, and MB is the bone marrow

view more 

Credit: Tito Aureliano et al./The Anatomical Record

A set of bones belonging to sauropods, as long-necked dinosaurs are called, found in the municipality of Ibirá in the state of São Paulo, Brazil, reveals that the region was conducive to a bone disease that was fatal to these animals.

Supported by FAPESP, the researchers found signs of osteomyelitis, a bone disease that can be caused by bacteria, viruses, fungi, or protozoa, in the fossils of six individuals from the Cretaceous period, approximately 80 million years ago.

The bones show no signs of regeneration, suggesting that the animals died with the disease still active, probably as a result of it. The study was published in the journal The Anatomical Record.

“There have been few findings of infectious diseases in sauropods, the first having been published recently. The bones we analyzed are very close to each other in time and from the same paleontological site, which suggests that the region provided conditions for pathogens to infect many individuals during that period,” says Tito Aureliano, the first author of the study and a researcher at the Regional University of Cariri (URCA) in Crato, in the Brazilian state of Ceará.

One of the lesions was confined to the marrow. The other bones, which were also found between 2006 and 2023 at the Vaca Morta site, have lesions that extend from the marrow to the outer part. These lesions have a spongy texture, indicating vascularization in the region. This texture differentiates the lesions from other pathologies that can affect bone tissue, such as osteosarcoma and bone neoplasia, two types of cancer.

There were no signs of healing, which is when the bone tissue lost in the lesion is replaced by new tissue. This sign of regeneration is quite common in the fossil record of bones affected by bites from other dinosaurs.

Analysis

The study was supported by the Institute for the Study of Parasitic Hymenoptera in the Brazilian Southeast Region (HYMPAR), which is a National Institute of Science and Technology (INCT) supported by the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq) and FAPESP.

At IEHYPA-Sudeste, which is coordinated by Angélica Maria Penteado Martins Dias, a professor at the Federal University of São Carlos (UFSCar), researchers analyzed the bones using a scanning electron microscope (SEM) and a stereomicroscope.

Three previously unknown manifestations of osteomyelitis were identified in the fossils. One set contained small protrusions, bone elevations, or “bumps” in a circular shape.

Other protrusions had a pattern similar to fingerprints and were elliptical in shape. Finally, a third set had round, wide marks that were larger than all the others. “These lesions could connect with muscles and skin and become exposed, oozing blood or pus,” explains Aureliano.

It was impossible to determine exactly which bones were analyzed; however, it was known that one was a rib and the rest were from the lower limbs of small and giant species. It was also not possible to identify the cause of the infections.

In a 2021 study published in Cretaceous Research, researchers described the first case of bone infection caused by a blood parasite resulting in osteomyelitis. The bones in that case were from a small sauropod species, Ibirania parva, which was found in the same location as the fossils analyzed now.

The region, known as the São José do Rio Preto Formation – because it encompasses the municipality of the same name – had an arid climate with shallow, slow-moving rivers and large pools of standing water. In these environments, many dinosaurs became stuck and died, producing fossils.

“This environment probably favored pathogens, which may have been transmitted by mosquitoes or by the water itself that was ingested by the fauna, which included dinosaurs, turtles, and animals similar to today’s crocodiles,” says Aureliano.

The author also points out that the evidence provided by the study may be useful for future paleontological and archaeological work because it presents different manifestations of the same disease in bones and differentiates it from others.

A video about the work by authors Tito Aureliano and Aline Ghilardi can be viewed on the Colecionadores de Ossos channel: youtu.be/hhMsNxo2_VA. 

About São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP)
The São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP) is a public institution with the mission of supporting scientific research in all fields of knowledge by awarding scholarships, fellowships and grants to investigators linked with higher education and research institutions in the State of São Paulo, Brazil. FAPESP is aware that the very best research can only be done by working with the best researchers internationally. Therefore, it has established partnerships with funding agencies, higher education, private companies, and research organizations in other countries known for the quality of their research and has been encouraging scientists funded by its grants to further develop their international collaboration. You can learn more about FAPESP at www.fapesp.br/en and visit FAPESP news agency at www.agencia.fapesp.br/en to keep updated with the latest scientific breakthroughs FAPESP helps achieve through its many programs, awards and research centers. You may also subscribe to FAPESP news agency at http://agencia.fapesp.br/subscribe. 

---

Journal

The Anatomical Record

DOI

10.1002/ar.70003 

Article Title

Several occurrences of osteomyelitis in dinosaurs from a site in the Bauru Group, Cretaceous of Southeast Brazil

 

New research reveals longevity gains slowing, life expectancy of 100 unlikely

University of Wisconsin-Madison

Facebook

XLinkedIn
MessageWhatsAppEmail

MADISON, Wis. – A new study co-authored by a University of Wisconsin-Madison professor finds that life expectancy gains made by high-income countries in the first half of the 20th century have slowed significantly, and that none of the generations born after 1939 will reach 100 years of age on average.

Published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the study by Héctor Pifarré i Arolas of the La Follette School of Public Affairs, José Andrade of the Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, and Carlo Giovanni Camarda of the Institut national d'études démographiques analyzed life expectancy for 23 high-income and low-mortality countries using data from the Human Mortality Database and six different mortality forecasting methods.

“The unprecedented increase in life expectancy we achieved in the first half of the 20th century appears to be a phenomenon we are unlikely to achieve again in the foreseeable future,” according to Pifarré i Arolas. “In the absence of any major breakthroughs that significantly extend human life, life expectancy would still not match the rapid increases seen in the early 20th century even if adult survival improved twice as fast as we predict.”

From 1900 to 1938, life expectancy rose by about five and a half months with each new generation. The life expectancy for an individual born in a high-income country in 1900 was an average of 62 years. For someone born just 38 years later in similar conditions, life expectancy had jumped to 80 years on average.

For those born between 1939 and 2000, the increase slowed to roughly two and a half to three and a half months per generation, depending on the forecasting method. Mortality forecasting methods are statistical techniques that make informed predictions about future lifespans based on past and current mortality information. These models enabled the research team to estimate how life expectancy will develop under a variety of plausible future scenarios.

“We forecast that those born in 1980 will not live to be 100 on average, and none of the cohorts in our study will reach this milestone. This decline is largely due to the fact that past surges in longevity were driven by remarkable improvements in survival at very young ages,” according to corresponding author Andrade.

At the beginning of the 20th century, infant mortality fell rapidly due to medical advances and other improvements in quality of life for high-income countries. This contributed significantly to the rapid increase in life expectancy. However, infant and child mortality are now so low that the forecasted improvements in mortality in older age groups will not be enough to sustain the previous pace of longevity gains.

While mortality forecasts can never be certain as the future may unfold in unexpected ways – by way of pandemics, new medical treatments or other unforeseen societal changes – this study provides critical insight for governments looking to anticipate the needs of their healthcare systems, pension planning and social policies.

Although a population-level analysis, this research also has implications for individuals, as life expectancy influences personal decisions about saving, retirement and long-term planning. If life expectancy increases more slowly as this study shows is likely, both governments and individuals may need to recalibrate their expectations for the future.

Study can be seen here: https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2519179122

---

Journal

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

Method of Research

Data/statistical analysis

Subject of Research

People

“Unhappiness hump” in aging may have disappeared worldwide

The change may be driven by declining mental health of younger people, not improvements in middle-age, per additional U.S. and U.K. data

PLOS

Facebook

XLinkedInWeChatBlueskyMessageWhatsAppEmail

 

image: 

Despair in the USA, 1993-2024.

view more 

Credit: Blanchflower et al., 2025, PLOS One, CC-BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

A new survey-based study suggests that the “unhappiness hump”—a widely documented rise in worry, stress, and depression with age that peaks in midlife and then declines—may have disappeared, perhaps due to declining mental health among younger people. David Blanchflower of Dartmouth College, U.S., and colleagues present these findings in the open-access journal PLOS One on August 27, 2025.

Since 2008, a U-shaped trend in wellbeing with age, in which wellbeing tends to decline from childhood until around age 50 before rebounding in old age, has been observed in developed and developing countries worldwide. Data have also revealed a corresponding “ill-being” or unhappiness hump.

Recent data point to a worldwide decline in wellbeing among younger people, but most studies have not directly addressed potential implications for the unhappiness hump. To help clarify, Blanchflower and colleagues first analyzed data from U.S. and U.K. surveys that included questions about participants’ mental health. U.S. data included responses from more than 10 million adults surveyed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention between 1993 and 2024. U.K. data spanned 2009 through 2023 and were collected in the ongoing U.K. Household Longitudinal Study, which involves 40,000 households.

The analysis showed that, in the U.S. and the U.K., the ill-being hump has disappeared, such that ill-being  / unhappiness now tends to decline over the course of a lifetime. Ill-being among people in their late 40s and older did not change significantly. Instead, the hump’s disappearance appears to be due to a decline in mental health among younger people.

Next, the researchers analyzed data on nearly 2 million people from 44 countries, including the U.S. and the U.K., from a mental health study called Global Minds. Covering the years 2020 through 2025, these data suggest the unhappiness hump has disappeared worldwide.

Reasons for the disappearance of the unhappiness hump are unclear. The authors suggest several possibilities, including long-term impacts of the Great Recession on job prospects for younger people, underfunded mental health care services, mental health challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, and increased social media use. Further research is needed to determine whether any of these or other factors are at play.

The authors add: “Ours is the first paper to show that the decline in young people's mental health in recent years means that today, both in the United States and the United Kingdom, mental ill-being is highest among the young and declines with age. This is a huge change from the past when mental ill-being peaked in middle-age. The reasons for the change are disputed but our concern is that today there is a serious mental health crisis among the young that needs addressing.”

  

Despair by age, United States, 1993–2023.

Despair by age UK, UKHLS, 2009–2021.

Credit

Blanchflower et al., 2025, PLOS One, CC-BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

In your coverage, please use this URL to provide access to the freely available article in PLOS One: http://plos.io/4mMclpw

Citation: Blanchflower DG, Bryson A, Xu X (2025) The declining mental health of the young and the global disappearance of the unhappiness hump shape in age. PLoS One 20(8): e0327858. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0327858

Author countries: U.K., U.S.

Funding: United Nations.

---

Journal

PLOS One

DOI

10.1371/journal.pone.0327858 

Method of Research

Survey

Subject of Research

Not applicable

Article Title

The declining mental health of the young and the global disappearance of the unhappiness hump shape in age

Article Publication Date

27-Aug-2025

Good sleep quality might be key for better mental wellbeing in young adults

Study also suggests eating fruit and vegetables and exercising are linked with strong benefits – and fruit and vegetable consumption might compensate for poor sleep

PLOS

Facebook

XLinkedInWeChatBlueskyMessageWhatsAppEmail

 

image: 

Sleep, diet and physical activity are strong predictors of young adult wellbeing.

view more 

Credit: Anthony Lewis, PLOS, CC-BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

A new study of young adults has strongly linked better sleep quality with better mental wellbeing, with fruit and vegetable consumption and physical activity also strongly associated with psychological wellbeing. Perhaps surprisingly, the findings also suggest that boosting fruit and vegetable intake could potentially help mitigate the effects on wellbeing of a poor night’s sleep. Dr. Jack Cooper, previously from the University of Otago, New Zealand, and colleagues present these findings in the open-access journal PLOS One on August 27, 2025.

Prior research has linked better health behaviors—actions that people can adjust in their lives—to better physical health. Evidence also suggests that health behaviors may be linked to mental wellbeing. However, research on this topic has been limited. For example, studies have typically focused only on mental illness, a separate measure from positive psychological wellbeing, and they typically neglect to consider how different health behaviors might interact to affect wellbeing.

To address these and other gaps, Cooper and colleagues analyzed relationships between three health behaviors—sleep quality, eating fruits and vegetables, and physical activity—and psychological wellbeing in adults aged 17 to 25. They used data from three studies: a survey study of 1,032 adults in New Zealand, the U.K., and the U.S.; a 13-day study of 818 New Zealand adults who were asked to keep a daily diary; and an 8-day diary study of 236 New Zealand adults who also wore Fitbits tracking physical activity.

Across all three studies, better sleep quality was most strongly associated with better mental wellbeing, with fruit and vegetable consumption coming in second. Both behaviors showed benefits even when comparing between different days for the same person – so eating more fruit and vegetables one day was associated with a real-time wellbeing boost. Physical activity – whether measured by FitBits or diaries, which aligned – was also linked to better wellbeing, but mostly when comparing between days for an individual rather than when comparing across individuals.

Links between each of the three behaviors and wellbeing appeared to be independent and additive - which might mean that the more of them you do, the bigger the wellbeing benefit. The only exception: above-average intake of fruits and vegetables appeared to mitigate the effects of a poor night’s sleep, and a good night’s sleep appeared to protect against lower fruit and vegetable intake.

This study used samples of young adults from three countries—the U.K., U.S., and New Zealand—and samples sizes were relatively homogeneous. Future research could address some of these limitations by including participants from additional countries and increasing the sample size to improve generalizability. Although this study could not prove a causative link between these behaviors and mental wellbeing, the authors hope that their findings could inform efforts to improve psychological wellbeing of young adults.

Lead author Dr. Jack Cooper adds: “Young adults don’t have to reach some objective benchmark of healthiness to see wellbeing improvement. Sleeping a little better, eating a little healthier, or exercising even for 10 minutes longer than you normally do was associated with improvements to how you feel that day.”

Senior author Professor Tamlin Conner, of the University of Otago Psychology Department, adds: “Understanding what lifestyle factors support wellbeing can help young adults not just ‘get by’ but thrive during this critical life stage.”

“Of these healthy habits, sleep quality stood out as the strongest and most consistent predictor of next-day wellbeing, but eating fruit and vegetables and being active also helped boost wellbeing".

“This age group faces unique pressures – such as leaving home, financial stress, educational pressures and social stressors – that can lower happiness. Understanding what lifestyle factors support wellbeing can help young adults not just ‘get by’ but thrive during this critical life stage.

 

 

In your coverage, please use this URL to provide access to the freely available article in PLOS One: http://plos.io/4fGrWEC

Citation: Cooper JR, Turner RS, Conner TS (2025) From surviving to thriving: How sleep, physical activity, and diet shape well-being in young adults. PLoS One 20(8): e0329689. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0329689

Author countries: New Zealand

Funding: Portions of this research were funded by the New Zealand Health Research Council Emerging Researcher First Grant to TS Conner (Grant #12/709); https://www.hrc.govt.nz/ Funders played no role in the study design, data collection or analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of this manuscript.

---

Journal

PLOS One

DOI

10.1371/journal.pone.0329689 

Method of Research

Survey

Subject of Research

Not applicable

Article Title

From surviving to thriving: How sleep, physical activity, and diet shape well-being in young adults

Article Publication Date

27-Aug-2025