📰 Paleo News Update — October 9, 2026

Animals may have evolved 200 million years earlier than we thought

Oct 7, 2026 · ScienceDaily

Recent scientific research posits that the timeline for animal evolution may need a significant revision, potentially shifting the origin of animal life back by 200 million years. Previously, many models suggested that animals emerged much later, but new analyses indicate they c…

Scientists found Homo erectus 200,000 years earlier than expected

Oct 8, 2026 · ScienceDaily

Recent excavations at the Drimolen Cave in South Africa have yielded 18 significant hominin fossils that are fundamentally altering our understanding of early human evolution. Among the most critical finds is a skull fragment belonging to an adult Homo erectus, which has been da…