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
This lake in Canada just vanished. And it's not coming back.
The breakup of the Milne Ice Shelf in the far north of Canada has led to the collapse of a unique Arctic ecosystem.
What's the difference between humans and apes? And when did humans first appear?
We may be part of the same overarching group as chimpanzees, gorillas, and orangutans, but there are lots of things that set us apart from these other great apes…
Just how many species of human have there been?
We aren’t the only humans to have called Earth ‘home’; before us there were dozens of human species and like us they travelled far and wide…
It wiped out 90% of life on Earth, turned the oceans into graveyards – and it very nearly ended life on our planet entirely
The time nearly everything died
It looked like a rodent but don't be fooled, this was no rodent. This is thought to be the world's first primate – and our ancestor
Meet the tiny mammal that survived the dino-killing asteroid to became our earliest ancestor
“It triggered catastrophic global cooling and was twice the size of the one that killed the dinosaurs.” 6 deadliest, most apocalyptic asteroids to ever hit Earth
We’re not alone in space; swirling above our heads at any one moment are millions of rocks that, with only the slightest nudge, could be sent hurtling onto a collision course with Earth…
It looked like a pig and was just 20cm tall – meet the first-ever elephant on the planet, which looked nothing like today's majestic giants
Is this the world's most gruesome – and unluckiest – death ever? Ancient human attacked by two deadly predators at the same time
As far as gruesome, prehistoric deaths go, none are worse than the death experienced by a Homo habilis known as OH 7.
10 petrifying, humongous prehistoric beasts that would have utterly terrified early man, from a 3-metre tall primate to massive deadly eagles
Our time on this planet has been relatively short, yet in this time we’ve come face to face with some of Earth’s most infamous beasts. From giant cats with canines the size of our forearms to killer eagles capable of snatching children, here are 10 creatures that would have made our ancestors run away in terror…
It lived millions of years ago, was the size of of a brown bear and the largest dog ever; able to crush bone with its deadly teeth – but was wiped out by cats
Similar in size to the fictional dire wolves from George R. R. Martin’s A Game of Thrones, Epicyon is widely considered the biggest canid of all time…
It weighed the same as a BMW, was taller than Brad Pitt and had enormous horns. The terrifying, prehistoric aurochs that survived until the 17th century
Their descendants are some of the most intensively farmed animals in the world, yet just a few thousand years ago these giants roamed free…
"It had two gigantic 20cm fangs that it used to tear apart its prey." 10 horrifying, terrifying prehistoric sea monsters that once ruled our oceans
The seas have been home to some monstrous creatures over the course of the last 500 million years. Here are 10 that you’ll be glad are long extinct…
“It functions like an ecological time capsule, preserving landscapes that no longer exist...” 10 ancient locations that have barely changed for millions of years
Our planet’s surface is constantly changing, but some areas have remained relatively unchanged for millions, even billions, of years…
It was the size of a car, weighed the same as a rhino, had a deadly hooked beak for tearing flesh and lived alongside the dinosaurs…
The prehistoric giant that wasn't a whale or a shark
Could we have farmed dinosaurs? Meet the tastiest dinosaurs that could have ended up on our plates – had we lived alongside them…
if we had started farming dinosaurs what would they have tasted like? We take a look at what the evidence tells us
They’re age-old rivals –but did you know dogs and cats are actually related? Here's how…
They might not see eye to eye today, but millions of years ago dogs and cats shared more than just our affection - they shared common ancestors…
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…
