Dinosaurs

A new study hopes to finally settle a debate that has been raging since 1988. The study focuses on a 23-inch-long dinosaur skull. Some believe it is a teenage Tyrannosaurus rex, but others believe it is its own distinct animal, known as Nanotyrannus lancensis.The study, which was published in the journal Fossil Studies this week, argues that the animal that many believed to be a teenage T. rex is its own distinction and that, based on the anatomical features, it might not even be particularly closely related to…

Artist illustration of Nanotyrannus attacking a juvenile T. rex. Credit: Raul MartinNanotyrannus was a smaller, longer-armed relative of T. rex, with a narrower snout.A new analysis of fossils believed to be juveniles of T. rex now shows they were adults of a small tyrannosaur, with narrower jaws, longer legs, and bigger arms than T. rex. The species, Nanotyrannus lancensis, was first named decades ago but later reinterpreted as a young T. rex.The first skull of Nanotyrannus was found in Montana in 1942, but for decades,…

A scientist says that the human lifespan could be so short due to the dinosaurs. While that might sound a bit wild, especially since modern humans didn’t live at the time that dinosaurs did, it all comes down to evolution and how mammals evolved during the time of the dinosaurs.So, how did the dinosaurs affect humanity’s ability to live longer lives? Well, the idea proposed by a microbiologist named João Pedro de Magalhães suggests that mammals may have had longer lifespans in the past. However, they may have…

Bronwyn has always loved words and animals, and she has the journalism and zoology degrees to prove it. After more than 20 years as a writer and editor, the former music journalist went back to university to build on her passion for wildlife and conservation with a Bachelor of Zoology, which unlocked two new loves: sharing animal facts at any opportunity and getting others excited about science. Particularly interested in…

Do we have any dinosaur fans over here? If so, perfect! We’d like to present you with the most recent strips from Alex Fridlin. The artist from Germany is known for his prehistoric feel-good comics “Fossil Fools”. The series is dedicated to funny stories of cute-looking reptiles who lead human-like lives. If you missed our last post featuring earlier strips by this author, you should definitely check it out.During our last interview, Alex shared with us: “When I was a child, I had plenty of dinosaur books and figures.…

Scientists have, for the first time, unearthed incredibly well-preserved stomach contents from within a fossilized skeleton of a young tyrannosaur, which has led to a curious discovery about the growing beast’s paleo palate.The preserved Gorgosaurus libratus specimen was found in Dinosaur Provincial Park, Canada’s historic region that has so far unearthed the fossils of 58 different species. But it wasn’t until much later, after Royal Tyrrell Museum paleontology staff had spent years removing rocks from the delicate…

An illustration shows a young tyrannosaur, Gorgosaurus libratus, tearing apart and eating its prey, a bird-like dinosaur called Citipes elegans, in what's now Alberta during the Cretaceous period. (Julius Csotonyi/Royal Tyrell Museum)Scientists have made a rare and extraordinary fossil find in Alberta — a young tyrannosaur with the remains of two baby dinosaurs inside its stomach.The discovery offers new hints about how tyrannosaurs' behaviour and their role in ecosystems changed as they grew, say the Canadian researchers…

Sorry Evolution fans, there’s a new Jurassic Park game in town. Saber Interactive and Universal just dropped a trailer for Jurassic Park: Survival at The Game Awards. This is an adventure game just one day after the events of the original film. You play as InGen scientist Dr. Maya Joshi, who missed the last plane out of dodge. In other words, she’s stuck on an island full of hungry dinosaurs.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UinsNBOTNyUThe single-player action-adventure has you hiding from all kinds of menacing species,…

A study has revealed that over 210 million years ago, ancient animals possibly possessed bird-like feet. This discovery comes from an analysis of Trisauropodiscus footprints found in southern Africa, dating back to the Late Triassic and Early Jurassic Periods. These footprints, which differ from any known fossil animals of that era, suggest that either early dinosaurs or other reptiles may have evolved bird-like feet, predating the earliest bird fossils by 60 million years. (Artistic concept artwork.) Credit:…

Recent research suggests that volcanic eruptions, causing global cooling, significantly contributed to the dinosaurs’ extinction, challenging the long-held belief that a meteorite was the sole cause. McGill researchers challenge the current understanding of dinosaur extinction by unearthing a link between volcanic eruptions and climate change. What wiped out the dinosaurs? A meteorite plummeting to Earth is only part of the story, a new study suggests. Climate change triggered by massive volcanic eruptions may have…