Fossils
Judging a Dinosaur By its Cover
A new study suggests that you can distinguish different hadrosaur species by their pebbly hides alone
February 07, 2012 |
By Brian Switek
The Debate Over Dinosaur Sight
Did Velociraptor hunt under the cover of darkness?
February 03, 2012 |
By Brian Switek
The “Duck-billed” Dinosaur That Wasn’t
Instead of a long, low duck bill, the beak of Tethyshadros was shaped like a snowplow and serrated. Why it had such a strange beak is a mystery
February 01, 2012 |
By Brian Switek
How an Ankylosaur Went Out to Sea
How did a heavily armored dinosaur wind up at the bottom of Alberta's Cretaceous sea?
January 30, 2012 |
By Brian Switek
Paleontologists Uncover Oldest Known Dinosaur Nest Site
The "lay 'em and leave 'em" strategy might not have been the ancestral state for these dinosaurs
January 25, 2012 |
By Brian Switek
Fearsome Dinosaur Had Ridiculously Short Arms
The forelimbs of this animal look like an evolutionary joke
January 24, 2012 |
By Brian Switek
Some Dinosaurs Used Natural Heat for Their Nests
The sauropod site may have resembled Yellowstone National Park, with geysers, hot springs and mud pots
January 23, 2012 |
By Brian Switek
Dinosaurs of a Feather
Some researchers insist that birds are not dinosaurs, but do they have any evidence?
January 13, 2012 |
By Brian Switek
The Greatest Dinosaur Hits of 2011
This was a big year for dinosaur discoveries and debates. Here are a few highlights
December 30, 2011 |
By Brian Switek
How to Turn a Dinosaur Into a Bird
Two classic bits of animation beautifully visualized the evolution of birds from dinosaurs
December 28, 2011 |
By Brian Switek
Huxley’s Apocryphal Dinosaur Dinner
Fossil lore says 19th century naturalist T.H. Huxley realized that birds were dinosaurs when he carved into a Christmas turkey, but what really happened?
December 22, 2011 |
By Brian Switek
Eggs and Enigmatic Dinosaurs
Paleontologists have found the bones of a new dinosaur with eggs nearby, but how do we know whether the bones and eggs go together?
December 21, 2011 |
By Brian Switek
Hitchcock’s Primeval Birds
Paleontologist Edward Hitchcock was one of the first dinosaur track experts, but why did he insist that birds left the footprints?
December 19, 2011 |
By Brian Switek
Nedoceratops: To Be, or Not to Be?
Should Nedoceratops and Torosaurus be sunk into Triceratops? The debate continues, and it's not just a bit of paleontological arcana
December 15, 2011 |
By Brian Switek
Alamosaurus Gets Pumped Up
New fossils give a body size boost to what may have been North America's largest dinosaur, Alamosaurus
December 09, 2011 |
By Brian Switek
Spinops: The Long-Lost Dinosaur
Spinops was one funky looking dinosaur, and its discovery emphasizes the role of museum collections. Who knows what else is waiting to be rediscovered?
December 07, 2011 |
By Brian Switek
A Detailed Guide to a Hadrosaur’s Foot
This is not super-sexy research, but some of the biggest gaps in our understanding about dinosaurs involve relatively simple things
December 02, 2011 |
By Brian Switek
Inside Sauropod Armor
A hollow, thin-walled bone is not exactly the sort of structure that is going to protect a sauropod from attack—so what was its purpose?
November 30, 2011 |
By Brian Switek
Was Tyrannosaurus a Big Turkey?
Tyrannosaurus has an image as the apex of the apex predators, and maybe that's why people get upset when paleontologists suggest it was at least partly covered in a coat of feathers
November 23, 2011 |
By Brian Switek
Non-Avian Dinosaur Eats Avian Dinosaur
Paleontologists have found the bones of a bird inside a feathered dinosaur. What can this discovery tell us about how Microraptor lived?
November 22, 2011 |
By Brian Switek
