Dinosaurs

Minqaria bata was around the size of a pony (3-4 meters long) and closely resembles the European species of duckbill dinosaur. Credit: Raul MartinFossils of pony-sized duckbill dinosaurs from Morocco have been discovered by an international team of scientists. Their analysis reveals a surprising connection between the dinosaurs of Europe and Africa.How did duckbill dinosaurs, a group that evolved in North America, end up in Morocco? At the end of the Cretaceous period, 66 million years ago, high sea levels and the breakup…

What if the giant sail-backed Spinosaurus wasn’t actually a swimming dinosaur at all? Despite some scientists’ impressions of the dinosaur, as well as the way it is portrayed in Jurassic Park 3, the Spinosaurus might not have been very good at diving.This new theory is shared in-depth in a study featured in the latest edition of PLOS ONE. Paleontologists generally agree that the Spinosaurus was a fish-eater. But, what they haven’t always agreed on is how the dinosaur went about catching its meals and whether or…

While Forza Motorsport fans eagerly anticipate the seemingly game-changing Update 6, Forza Horizon 5 continues its assortment of wacky hijinks by introducing dinosaurs into its roster of usable assets. The game’s major Eurotrip update is, therefore, particularly eclectic, and bound to thrill players this way or the other. Notably, the Horizon Festival is now being overtaken by a fleet of European vehicles, from top-tier Bentleys to classic AMG Hammer wagons, and they’re being joined by lovingly recreated dinosaur props.…

A groundbreaking study has identified common feather characteristics among flying birds, revealing that all possess 9 to 11 primary feathers, a trait that provides insights into the evolution of flight from dinosaur ancestors. By combining analysis of museum specimens and fossil data, researchers suggest that flight evolved only once among dinosaurs, highlighting the significance of feathers and flight in the evolutionary success of these species. Above is a fossil showing the wing and feathers of the prehistoric bird…

It's difficult to imagine the Earth without its forests, but it wasn't until the Devonian just 400 million years ago that the first awkward tree sprouted like fuzz from Earth's pubescent chin.What little we know of critical periods of ancient arborescence, or tree development, is mostly based on stumps and roots preserved in rock, with a scattering of leaves and branches squished flat between layers of mud and stone.A 2.3 meter (7.5 foot) long by roughly 2 meter wide block of stone stored at Canada's New Brunswick Museum…

By Laboratory of Behavioral Ecology and Evolution at Seoul National University February 5, 2024A collaborative study introduces the ‘flush-pursue hypothesis’ to explain the evolutionary origins of wings and tails in birds, tracing back to feathered dinosaurs. The hypothesis, supported by robotic simulations and biological studies, suggests that proto-wings and tail feathers were used to flush out prey, enhancing foraging efficiency. This discovery adds a new dimension to our understanding of dinosaur behavior and the…

Forests of giant, scaly-stemmed club mosses rose from ancient swamps in Atlantic Canada 350 million years ago.But below the canopy sprouted even stranger trees, whose fossils were recently discovered in a quarry in Norton, N.B."What it really does look like is one of those truffula trees from The Lorax," said Olivia King, one of the researchers that discovered the fossil. She referred to a famous children's picture book by Dr. Seuss that features fantastic, colourful trees decimated to produce clothing called…

Scaly, feathered, toothed, or beaked—long-necked, spike-tailed, tiny, or gargantuan—dinosaurs are a wildly diverse group. But certain dinos stand above the rest, both literally and on the plinth of our imagination. Here’s my definitive ranking of the best dinosaurs; I’ll be mightily impressed if you’ve heard of every…Read more... Scaly, feathered, toothed, or beaked—long-necked, spike-tailed, tiny, or gargantuan—dinosaurs are a wildly diverse group. But certain dinos stand above the rest, both literally and on the…

Birdlike dinosaur Eoneophron infernalis was about the size of an adult human. Credit: Zubin Erik DuttaNew findings, including the discovery of Eoneophron infernalis, suggest that dinosaurs, particularly caenagnathids, were not declining in diversity before the asteroid impact, contradicting earlier theories of their vulnerability.Were dinosaurs already on their way out when an asteroid hit Earth 66 million years ago, ending the Cretaceous, the geologic period that started about 145 million years ago? It’s a question that…

Were dinosaurs already on their way out when an asteroid hit Earth 66 million years ago, ending the Cretaceous, the geologic period that started about 145 million years ago? It's a question that has vexed paleontologists like us for more than 40 years.In the late 1970s, debate began about whether dinosaurs were at their peak or in decline before their big extinction. Scientists at that time noted that while dinosaur diversity seemed to have increased in the geologic stage that spanned 83.6 million to 71.2 million years…