In a Cretaceous Research study, paleontologists described a new species of hadrosaur found in Morocco. While paleontologists have found numerous fossils of duckbilled dinosaurs at spots around the world-from North America to Antarctica-no one had ever found one in Africa. Sometimes dinosaurs show up where we don’t expect them. Researchers found the remains of a duckbilled dinosaur in Morocco. If the asteroid had missed, the Age of Dinosaurs would have continued for a very long time. In fact, dinosaurs seemed perfectly capable of evolving new species. After sifting through the data, the paleontologists didn’t find any sign that dinosaurs were declining before the asteroid strike. The researchers looked at different evolutionary trees for what dinosaurs were around during the end of the Cretaceous to track whether dinosaurs were dying out, thriving or staying the same. But an increasing amount of evidence contracts that view, including a study published this year in Royal Society Open Science. If dinosaurs “ruled the Earth” for millions of years, why were they hit so hard by the mass extinction of 66 million years ago? Paleontologists have been puzzling over this question for decades, and, some have suggested, dinosaurs might have already been dying back by time the asteroid struck. Dinosaurs Weren’t in Decline When the Asteroid HitĪ Tyrannosaurus rex holotype at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History The animal, a horned dinosaur known to experts as Centrosaurus, probably coped with declining health before its eventual death in a coastal flood that caught its herd off-guard. A study published this year in The Lancet reported on the first well-documented case of malignant bone cancer in a non-avian dinosaur. The truth, however, is that they suffered from many of the same injuries and maladies that humans do. Dinosaurs Suffered From Cancer, TooĪ Centrosaurus skeleton in the mass dearth assemblage at the Royal Tyrrell Museumĭinosaurs are often celebrated for being big, fierce and tough. The fact that the tail goes with the other fossils found at the site also confirm that they all go to one individual, underscoring the fact that Spinosaurus had strange body proportions unlike any other dinosaur yet discovered. The tail is more like a paddle than what’s seen in other carnivorous dinosaurs and would have been suited to swishy, side-to-side motions that propelled Spinosaurus through the water. The appendage, found at the same quarry as the 2015 skeleton, is long and deep. Fossils reported in 2015 went a step further-flat feet and dense bones indicated that Spinosaurus spent a great deal of time in the water and is the first known semi-aquatic dinosaur. Paleontologists have long suspected that the giant carnivore Spinosaurus spent much of its time around the water. Winner By a Tail Spinosaurus used its tail to swim This hints that some key dinosaur traits, such as warm-bloodedness and insulating body coverings, evolved early in their history and were elaborated upon as dinosaurs eventually diversified into all sorts of shapes and sizes. This small, insect-eating reptile likely moved nimbly to catch lunch and may have sported a coat of fuzz to help regulate its body temperature.
While not a dinosaur itself, this animal was close to the ancestors of both dinosaurs and related flying reptiles called pterosaurs. This year experts reported the discovery of a tiny reptile from the Triassic of Madagascar they named Kongonaphon.
Some of the key traits that allowed dinosaurs to be such an evolutionary success story-from fuzzy feathers to warm-running metabolisms-may have first evolved in their tiny ancestors. Life restoration of Kongonaphon kely, a newly described reptile near the ancestry of dinosaurs and pterosaurs Tiny Fuzzball Shows How Dinosaurs Started Small As we anticipate what the fossil record might reveal in 2021, here’s a look back at ten dinosaur discoveries that surprised and enthralled dinosaur enthusiasts this year. The discoveries continue even now, with the fluffy “maned” dinosaur Ubirajara named just last weekend. Even in a year where fossil explorations have been curtailed because of the COVID-19 pandemic, paleontologists have dug deep to describe dozens of new species and unlock new secrets about our favorite prehistoric creatures. There’s never been a better time to be a dinosaur fan. Centrosaurus had the first well-documented case of malignant bone cancer in a non-avian dinosaur.įred Wierum via Wikimedia Commons under CC BY-SA 4.0
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