Geologic Eras
Geologic eras measure the story of Earth in spans of time—Paleozoic, Mesozoic and Cenozoic—determined by major geologic events and independent of human history
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
The Largest Ceratosaurus
How many species of this rare, ornamented genus were there?
January 19, 2012 |
By Brian Switek
Dinosaurian Snorkels, Air Tanks and Tubas
Parasaurolophus is one of the most perplexing dinosaurs - what did it use its huge crest for?
January 10, 2012 |
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
A Comedy of Dinosaur Errors
If any dinosaur has a tortured history, it's the giant predator Saurophaganax
December 16, 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
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
Lambe’s Lazy, Scavenging Gorgosaurus
Back when tyrannosaurs were new to science, paleontologist Lawrence Lambe cast them as bumbling scavengers that ate rotten flesh
December 01, 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
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
Paleontologists Track Dinosaurs Near Las Vegas
Very few skeletons have been found from this period, and much of what we know about the dinosaurs of the Early Jurassic Southwest comes from tracksites
November 21, 2011 |
By Brian Switek
Pampadromaeus: Brazil’s Triassic Plains Runner
A newly discovered dinosaur from Brazil may give paleontologists a better understanding of what the ancestral dinosaur looked like
November 17, 2011 |
By Brian Switek
The Mysterious Marshosaurus
The collected remains seem to represent an approximately 18-foot-long predator in a lower weight class than the giants living in the same environment
November 16, 2011 |
By Brian Switek
What Caused the Dinosaur Stampede?
According to a recent study, the cause of Australia's "Dinosaur Stampede" may have been more comedic than nightmarish
November 15, 2011 |
By Brian Switek
