The fossil of a small herbivorous dinosaur discovered in Fukushima Prefecture has provided new evidence of the diversity of dinosaurs living along Japan’s ancient coastline during the Late Cretaceous. The fossil was found in 1999 at the Iwaki City Ammonite Center in rocks of the Ashizawa Formation dating to about 90–88 million years ago. Although…
A new study published in Evolution suggests that one of the greatest mysteries of dinosaur evolution is not why some species became enormous, but why even the smallest non-bird dinosaurs never evolved to truly tiny sizes. Researchers from the American Museum of Natural History and Princeton University used mathematical models to examine body size evolution…
A new international study led by researchers at Okayama University of Science has proposed a new hypothesis for how dinosaur digestive systems evolved by examining gastroliths—stones preserved in the abdominal cavities of dinosaur fossils. By comparing the shape and wear of these stones with those found in modern birds and crocodilians, the researchers found that…
A new study published in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences suggests that the asteroid impact that created the Chicxulub crater 66 million years ago may have caused far more immediate devastation than previously believed. Researchers found that, in addition to the intense heat generated by falling molten rock droplets (spherules), a thick global cloud…
A new study from Purdue University proposes that the asteroid impact responsible for the extinction of the dinosaurs 66 million years ago caused far more than a massive explosion. Researchers found that the Chicxulub impact generated a global cloud of extremely fine dust that trapped heat radiating from millions of molten rock droplets, or spherules,…
A new study published in PLOS One has found that some tooth marks on fossilized dinosaur bones from Wyoming were most likely made by Tyrannosaurus rex, offering fresh evidence of predator and scavenger activity during the Late Cretaceous. Researchers examined more than 3,000 fossils, most belonging to the duck-billed herbivore Edmontosaurus annectens, and identified tooth…
Researchers at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign have conducted a comprehensive study examining how the shapes of biological puncture tools—from cactus spines and rose prickles to snake fangs, shark teeth and dinosaur teeth—affect their performance. Published in Science Advances, the research used computer models based on more than 140 natural puncture structures to investigate how…
Researchers have discovered new evidence from the rich Late Cretaceous fossil site of Lo Hueco in Spain showing that the carcasses of giant titanosaur dinosaurs remained exposed for much longer after death than previously believed. A study published in Earth-Science Reviews identified insect-made boreholes not only in dinosaur bones but, for the first time, in…
Researchers from the University of California, Berkeley have uncovered a remarkably well-preserved fossil forest in New Mexico that challenges the long-held belief that flowering plants only became dominant after the extinction of the dinosaurs 66 million years ago. Buried beneath volcanic ash about 74.6 million years ago, the site—dubbed a “botanical Pompeii”—captures a Late Cretaceous…
Researchers have identified a new species of feathered dinosaur, Jian changmaensis, from a fossil-rich site in northwestern China that may explain a long-standing mystery surrounding hundreds of prehistoric bird remains found there. Many of the bird fossils were discovered as crushed bone clusters resembling pellets regurgitated by modern owls, suggesting they had been eaten by…