A giant fossil, unearthed in the Sahara desert, has given scientists an unprecedented look at the largest-known carnivorous dinosaur: Spinosaurus. The 95-million-year-old remains confirm a long-held theory: that this is the first-known swimming dinosaur. Scientists say the beast had flat, paddle-like feet and nostrils on top of its crocodilian head that would allow it to submerge with ease. Read more
A new type of Tyrannosaur with a very long nose has been nicknamed "Pinocchio rex". The ferocious carnivore, nine metres long with a distinctive horny snout, was a cousin of Tyrannosaurus rex. Its skeleton was dug up in a Chinese construction site and identified by scientists at Edinburgh University, UK. Read more
The US has returned a 70-million-year-old dinosaur skeleton which was smuggled from Mongolia. The near-complete skeleton of the Tyrannosaurus bataar was handed over to Mongolian officials at a ceremony in New York on Monday. Read more
Tyrannosaurus tore the head off armoured prey to reach the tender neck meat.
Theirs was the immortal battle: a fierce tyrant battling a defender armed with three lethal horns and protected by a bony frill around its neck. Yet the violent fight between Tyrannosaurus and Triceratops is hardly the stuff of Hollywood hype. Tyrannosaurus bite marks are well known on the fossil bones of Triceratops but, so far, such fossils have always been studied in an isolated manner. In a departure from this precedent, work presented last week at the Society of Vertebrate Paleontologys annual meeting in Raleigh, North Carolina, reports on an examination of numerous bite-scarred Triceratops bones and a theory of how Tyrannosaurus fed. Read more
Dinosaur, 'Martharaptor,' named for Utah researcher
Years of dedication to a profession that includes hours of volunteer work can earn an employee a gold watch, a plaque of appreciation or even a financial bonus. In Martha Hayden's case, she gets something every grade-school boy would think is super cool: a dinosaur named after her. Martharaptor greenriverensis, a puzzling dinosaur lacking a complete skeleton, was named after Hayden, who was the creature's co-discoverer. Read more
Some predatory dinosaurs used guile and agility to outwit their feathered prey according to research. The work, by a Canadian-Chinese team, is published in PLoS One. Researchers studied the fossil remains of two Sinocalliopteryx dinosaurs and found they had been feasting on primitive birds and flying dinosaurs. Read more
Title: Abdominal Contents from Two Large Early Cretaceous Compsognathids (Dinosauria: Theropoda) Demonstrate Feeding on Confuciusornithids and Dromaeosaurids Authors: Lida Xing, Phil R. Bell, W. Scott Persons IV, Shuan Ji, Tetsuto Miyashíta, Michael E. Burns, Qiang Ji, Philip J. Currie
Two skeletons of the large compsognathid Sinocalliopteryx gigas include intact abdominal contents. Both specimens come from the Jianshangou Beds of the lower Yixian Formation (Neocomian), Liaoning, China. The holotype of S. gigas preserves a partial dromaeosaurid leg in the abdominal cavity, here attributed to Sinornithosaurus. A second, newly-discovered specimen preserves the remains of at least two individuals of the primitive avialan, Confuciusornis sanctus, in addition to acid-etched bones from a possible ornithischian. Although it cannot be stated whether such prey items were scavenged or actively hunted, the presence of two Confuciusornis in a grossly similar state of digestion suggests they were consumed in rapid succession. Given the lack of clear arboreal adaptations in Sinocalliopteryx, we suggest it may have been an adept stealth hunter.
Newly Discovered Dinosaur Implies Greater Prevalence of Feathers
A new species of feathered dinosaur discovered in southern Germany is further changing the perception of how predatory dinosaurs looked. The fossil of Sciurumimus albersdoerferi, which lived about 150 million years ago, provides the first evidence of feathered theropod dinosaurs that are not closely related to birds. The fossil is described in a paper published today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences by researchers at the Museum and at the Bayerische Staatssammlung für Paläontologie und Geologie and Ludwig Maximilians University, both in Germany. Read more
New fossil reveals evolutionary history of Jurassic dinosaurs
New fossil material found in Patagonia has shed light on the evolution of dinosaurs in the Jurassic age. When Tyrannosaurus and its relatives roamed North America and Asia, the abelisaurids occupied a similar niche in Patagonia and other areas of Gondwanaland. Read more