James Ashworth, The Natural History Museum London Journalist Profile

Articles

New species of 'mystery' dinosaur unveiled at the Natural History Museum

3 days ago | phys.org | James Ashworth |Lisa Lock |Robert Egan

A small dinosaur that once dashed along North American riverbanks has found a new home in London. The new species, named Enigmacursor mollyborthwickae, is the most complete named specimen of its kind and is now on permanent display at the Natural History Museum.
Early pterosaur fossils are hard to find – and we might now know why

1 week ago | nhm.ac.uk | James Ashworth

Science newsBy James AshworthFirst published 18 June 2025The early evolution of pterosaurs is a mystery, and the ancient climate might explain why. The first flying reptiles were more picky about where they lived than first realised, meaning that their fossils aren’t necessarily where they’re expected to be. Early pterosaurs loved temperate and humid habitats – and it might explain why today their fossils are hard to find.
How the dinosaur-killing extinction could help save modern bivalves

1 month ago | phys.org | James Ashworth |Lisa Lock |Robert Egan

An asteroid strike 66 million years ago caused millions of species to go extinct—including many mollusks. By studying the impacts of this ancient event, scientists hope to ensure that mussels, scallops and their bivalve relatives will survive the threats pushing them toward extinction today.
New species of ancient Cambrian predator named after Mothra

1 month ago | nhm.ac.uk | James Ashworth

By James AshworthFirst published 14 May 2025A hunter dating back more than half a billion years has been discovered in Canada. Mosura fentoni was a trailblazer for modern arthropods, developing adaptations that some crustaceans and arachnids re-evolved millions of years later. A finger-sized fossil has shed new light on the diversity of ancient arthropods. More than 500 million years ago, many major animal groups first appeared on Earth in a burst of evolution known as the Cambrian Explosion.
New fossil shark named from ancient skeleton discovered in southern England

1 month ago | phys.org | James Ashworth

A previously unknown shark once swam around the shores of the U.K. more than 70 million years ago. The new species, named Pararhincodon torquis, is a distant relative of the collared carpet sharks that today live around Australia and southeast Asia.
Early British lizard relative among the first known to climb trees

2 months ago | phys.org | James Ashworth

The life of a 166-million-year-old reptile has been turned upside down. While Marmoretta oxoniensis was believed to have swum in ancient lagoons, new research reveals it spent its time climbing trees instead. Tiny reptile fossils are revealing more about life in the U.K. during the time of the dinosaurs.
A fossilized gathering of ancient crustacean reveals new insights into their lives

Mar 20, 2025 | phys.org | James Ashworth

Rare evidence about the lives of an ancient group of arthropods has been uncovered in the U.S. The findings of the study are published in the journal Biology Letters.
Fossil of ancient crustacean gathering reveals new insights into their lives

Mar 19, 2025 | nhm.ac.uk | James Ashworth

Caught in the actThe slab was found in the Bear Gulch Limestone of Montana, USA. These rocks are renowned for preserving fossils in fine detail, including the remains of sharks, worms and even an octopus ancestor named after former US President Joe Biden. They’re the last remnants of a marine ecosystem that existed over 320 million years ago in a monsoon climate of alternating dry seasons and heavy rain.
World’s oldest known cerapodan dinosaur discovered in Morocco

Mar 18, 2025 | nhm.ac.uk | James Ashworth

The murky Middle JurassicThe Middle Jurassic is notoriously difficult to study because of its relative lack of land-based fossils. Volcanic eruptions in what is now southern Africa and Antarctica led to rapid and extreme climate change that caused sea levels to rise sharply. As a result, there was less space for the fossils of land-based animals during this time. This means that fossils of dinosaurs, pterosaurs and other Middle Jurassic wildlife are very rare.
What is taxonomy?

Mar 15, 2025 | nhm.ac.uk | James Ashworth

Linnaean classificationCarl Linnaeus, also known as Carl von Linné, was an eighteenth-century Swedish scientist who’s often known as the ‘father of taxonomy’. Having developed a passion for plants at a young age, he would go on to revolutionise the science of classification. As a botanist, Carl Linnaeus would have been used to the long, formal Latin descriptions used to name plants.