Fossils
The Intriguing, Frustrating Camposaurus
Paleontologists have reexamined the paltry bones and affirmed that the creature is an important link to the early days of theropod dinosaurs
July 29, 2011 |
By Brian Switek
Tendaguru’s Lost World
The African fossil sites preserve dinosaur fossils that are strangely similar to their North American counterparts
July 28, 2011 |
By Brian Switek
Taking a Bite Out of a Sauropod Tail
The tail vertebra has gouges, divots and scores in five places from at least two different predators
July 25, 2011 |
By Brian Switek
Acristavus: North America’s New Hadrosaur
Dinosaurs with weird structures such as sails, crests and arrays of horns often make the news, but in this case, the lack of specialized structures is more important
July 22, 2011 |
By Brian Switek
Wyoming Paleontology Dispatch #3: How to date a fossil
The Bighorn Basin’s colorful stripes reveal an ancient riverbed
July 20, 2011 |
By Scott Wing
Making a Home in a Dinosaur Egg
There were five spherical eggs in the 70-something-million-year-old clutch. One egg was cracked in half and filled with cocoons
July 18, 2011 |
By Brian Switek
A Truly Exceptional Allosaurus
Cope did not know it at the time, but he had described an especially large representative of a species his rival had named just a year before
July 14, 2011 |
By Brian Switek
Dispatches From a Smithsonian Dig Site
Follow paleobiologist Scott Wing as he looks for 56-million-year-old specimens in the fossil-rich fields of Wyoming
July 13, 2011 |
By Smithsonian.com
Wyoming Paleontology Dispatch #1: Why 56 Million Years Ago?
What did the earth look like during the Paleocene Epoch? A Smithsonian researcher investigates
July 13, 2011 |
By Scott Wing
Wyoming Dispatch #2: The Scene at Field Camp
Before digging, the paleobiologists must go through the arduous process of setting up camp
July 13, 2011 |
By Scott Wing
Dome-Headed Dinos Well-Suited to Butting Heads
The researchers compared the skulls of Stegoceras and Prenocephale with head-butting mammals including elk, duiker and musk ox
July 12, 2011 |
By Brian Switek
Dryptosaurus’ Surprising Hands
This enigmatic tyrannosauroid may have had the novel combination of short arms with big hands
July 11, 2011 |
By Brian Switek
Kentrosaurus Had a Formidable Swing
In one of my favorite bits of fossil terminology, the spiked tails of stegosaurs are known as "thagomizers." Get hit with a tail like that and you'd be turned into an instant shish kebab
July 08, 2011 |
By Brian Switek
Has a Tiny Tyrant Been Dethroned?
A 2009 discovery of a new tiny tyrant has been called into question by a recently released study
July 06, 2011 |
By Brian Switek
Peloroplites: That’s One Big Ankylosaur
The "monstrous heavy one" was stout, armored and may have supported huge spikes on its neck and shoulders
June 17, 2011 |
By Brian Switek
Jack Horner Explains How to Build a Dinosaur
By fiddling with the genetic toggles of birds, scientists might be able to reverse-engineer a dinosaurian creature
June 13, 2011 |
By Brian Switek
Slurp! The Marine Reptile Shastasaurus Was a Suction Feeder
Thanks to new specimens found in China, paleontologists have discovered that Shastasaurus ate very much like a beaked whale does today
May 25, 2011 |
By Brian Switek
One Dinosaur Too Many?
Are there too many dinosaurs? Paleontologist Jack Horner thinks so, and he explained his reasoning in a short TED talk last month
May 24, 2011 |
By Brian Switek
Dinosaur Skin Scraps Are a Jurassic Mystery
Though not nearly as common as the bone fragments and bits of tooth found at dinosaur fossil sites, remnants and impressions of dinosaur skin are not as rare as you might think
May 20, 2011 |
By Brian Switek
Tarbosaurus Gangs: What Do We Know?
The proposal of pack-hunting dinosaurs is old news in paleontological circles, and the hard evidence to support the claims about Tarbosaurus has not yet been released
May 19, 2011 |
By Brian Switek
