The similarities are so pronounced that when they were first discovered, some scientists believed these dinosaurs might be the direct ancestors of some living birds. More recent research has instead revealed that they are relatives who adapted to similar challenges in a process known as convergent evolution. The fossil skeleton, unveiled in December in the journal Nature, belongs to a newfound type of small armored dinosaur called Stegouros elengassen. The creature is named for its bizarrely shingled “roof tail” and an armored beast in the mythology of the Patagonian Aónik’enk people. Its novel tail weaponry is now named the macuahuitl, after a bladed club wielded by the Aztec.

To translate the information contained in the fossils into data that could be used in the machine learning models, the researchers first had to produce a 3D model of each tooth from CT scanning. A primitively feathered theropod dinosaur carries off a mammalian victim during a snowy volcanic winter. This is similar to how birds sleep, with the pose thought to help the animals keep warm by reducing heat loss.The teeth we analysed include what are currently the only troodontid and therizinosaur fossils ever recorded from the UK and are the oldest evidence of these dinosaurs anywhere in the world.' A scientist known as Richard Owen invented the word "dinosaur" in early 1842 after examining the species that were named by those who came before him. After his examination, he came up with the word “dinosaur.” For this reason, he is credited as the man who discovered dinosaurs despite all the hard work that had already been done for him, hence the argument that all credit should go to his nemesis, Gideon Mantell. Will DNA from the likes of Tyrannosaurus ever be found? The consensus has been “No,” as DNA decays too fast after death to survive millions and millions of years. But in a study published in National Science Review this year, researchers have proposed that they’ve found chemical signatures consistent with DNA in the bones of a 70 million-year-old hadrosaur called Hypacrosaurus. The results have yet to be expanded upon or verified, but the idea that even degraded DNA from non-avian dinosaurs might survive is tantalizing for all such a discovery might teach us about prehistoric life. Polar Dinosaurs Remained Year Round Megan Jacobs is no stranger to finding fossils. She’s a lifelong collector and the co-founder of the fossil hunting experience company Wight Coast Fossils.

Tlatolophus galorum is a type of herbivorous dinosaur called a lambeosaur. The dinosaur is so named because its dramatic crest resembles the tlahtolli, a comma-like symbol in Aztec art that stands for “word” in the Nahuatl language. The species name galorum combines two family names, Garza and López, to honor people who aided with the fossil’s collection. Regardless of the status of Nyasasaurus, a pretty good picture of what the first dinosaur looked like can be discerned by drawing from the evidence provided by the earliest true dinosaurs. By confirming the presence of these dinosaur groups in the Middle Jurassic, the paper also lends support to theories that maniraptorans had already achieved a worldwide distribution before the supercontinent of Pangaea began to break up around 170 million years ago.Today, the southwestern coast of the U.K.’s Isle of Wight is a picturesque seascape framed by sandstone cliffs. But more than 125 million years ago, this vista was a savanna-like valley cut through with rivers and floodplains—a fitting home for two hulking dinosaurs with sleek, crocodile-like skulls. However, it wasn’t just dinosaurs leaving their mark. The researchers found one footprint with four digits that might have been left by a pterosaur landing in the mud. Scientists also have a more refined sense of what a dinosaur “species” actually is. Paleontologists once gave the name Iguanodon to fossils that spanned tens of millions of years. Re-evaluations now show that Iguanodon is really multiple species, including a new one unveiled in November.

Bipedality is really important for defining early dinosaurs,' says Paul. 'To do that, they also had to modify their hind legs.' Previously, this posture has only been seen in a couple of dinosaurs, including a troodontid known as Mei,’ Paul explains. ‘As it comes later in the dinosaur lineages than other bird-like poses, such as brooding, it’s reasonable to assume that birds and their near relatives inherited their resting position from a common ancestor.’ Isolated teeth found in southern England could represent some of the earliest relatives of birds ever discovered. The models were then applied to the unidentified, isolated teeth, which found that most of the teeth belonged to maniraptorans, and dromaeosaurids in particular. These teeth were split into three distinct groups based on their size and shape.Artist's reconstruction of the world's oldest modern bird, Asteriornis maastrichtensis, in its original environment