A newly recognized Ice Age spadefoot toad, Spea labreae, was hiding in La Brea Tar Pits collections since the 1950s. Here’s what the source reports, why amphibians can be powerful local climate clues, and what we can (and can’t) infer from rare fossils.

A mosasaur fossil collected in Osaka in the early 1990s has yielded four previously unrecognized bones—including what researchers describe as Japan’s first confirmed mosasaur premaxilla. Unusual skull traits may point to a new species, but the claim remains provisional until further analysis and formal description.