Extinct Species, features and articles | Educational Science

Sep 29, 2022

Spectacular T. rex skeleton may fetch $25 million at auction (the new owner gets to name it, too)

The mighty Tyrannosaurus rex once stalked western North America, but now, in a first, the fossil remains of the dinosaur king are hitting an auction block in Asia, where the prehistoric beast's bones might sell for as much as $25 million, according to Christie's Hong Kong. The 3,000-pound (1,400 kilogram)...

Nov 9, 2022

Maximus, 'one of the best' T. rex skulls on record, could fetch $20 million at auction

A remarkably complete adult Tyrannosaurus rex skull will appear at a public auction in New York City in December and will likely sell for between $15 million and $20 million, according to Sotheby's auction house. The T. rex fossil was nicknamed Maximus, though it is unknown if the animal was...

Nov 11, 2022

Teenage duck-billed dinosaurs struck out on their own, forming cliques

Teenage duck-billed dinosaurs broke off from the herd — essentially saying See you later! to older and younger paleo-pals — and traveled together in cliques, new research suggests. Paleontologists made the discovery after studying two North American bonebeds that held the fossilized remains of the duck-billed dinosaur Hypacrosaurus stebingeri, also...

Nov 17, 2022

T. rex could have been 70% bigger than fossils suggest, new study shows

There's no denying that Tyrannosaurus rex was one of the biggest and baddest dinosaurs to ever walk the planet. But exactly how big could this ferocious dinosaur get? In a new investigation, researchers attempted to answer that question. Paleontologists from the Canadian Museum of Nature in Ottawa, Ontario, estimated that...

Nov 22, 2022

How to watch Jurassic World Dominion

Say hello to 'Jurassic World Dominion', one of the gargantuan blockbusters that kicked off this summer season and is the sixth – and seemingly final – entry in the Jurassic Park franchise. Here’s how to watch 'Jurassic World Dominion' plus a complete overview of its premise and the new and...

Nov 24, 2022

$25 million auction of T. rex skeleton called off at the last minute over replica bone controversy

The sale of a Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton, which was expected to fetch up to $25 million, has been controversially called off shortly before the behemoth's bones were due to hit the auction block. The cancellation comes after experts raised concerns that a significant proportion of the bones are actually replicas...

Nov 25, 2022

Ravenous meat-eating dinosaur's guts preserved in exceptionally rare fossil

More than 100 million years ago, a fearsome birdlike dinosaur was swept into a lake and transformed into an exceptional fossil in what is now China, preserving one of the few intact gut remnants known from nonavian dinosaurs, a new study finds. Paleontologists knew they had unearthed something special when...

Nov 29, 2022

'Dwarf dinosaur' that lived on prehistoric island unearthed in Transylvania

If you think of Transylvania, you might imagine a place populated by vampires and werewolves. Now, you can add dwarf dinosaurs to that list. A group of researchers recently identified a new species of dinosaur from the region, dubbing it Transylvanosaurus platycephalus, or, flat-headed reptile from Transylvania. And it's part...

Dec 1, 2022

Noodle-necked swimming dinosaur may have been a diving predator like a penguin

A dinosaur with an undulating noodle neck and a streamlined body like those of modern diving birds may have plunged through the depths of a Cretaceous sea about 71 million to 72 million years ago, in what is now Mongolia. This predator belonged to a different lineage of theropods —...

Dec 7, 2022

Mammals were already poised to take over the world before the dino-killing asteroid struck

Dinosaurs largely died off when a Manhattan-size asteroid slammed into Earth 66 million years ago. Meanwhile, in the shadows, tiny mammals had steadily picked up adaptations that helped them survive the disaster and thrive in its aftermath, a new study suggests. The study, published Wednesday (Dec. 7) in the journal...

Dec 8, 2022

'Jousting ankylosaurs' whacked their peers with their 'sledgehammer-like tails'

Equipped with massive tails studded with spikes, ankylosaurs were heavily armored herbivores that could do real damage in a fight. Paleontologists once thought that these tank-like dinosaurs used their tail clubs solely to fight off predators, but a new study published Dec. 6 in the journal Biology Letters reveals that...

Dec 9, 2022

Did long-necked dinosaurs' whip-like tails really break the sound barrier? Not so fast.

Similar in length to a semitruck, diplodocids could whip their long, sinuous tails as fast as a big rig cruising down the highway at 62 mph (100 km/h), a new study reveals. The investigation, published Dec. 8 in the journal Scientific Reports, contradicts a previous claim that the long-necked dinosaurs,...

Dec 16, 2022

Ancestors of 'veggie' dinosaurs actually feasted on meat

It's long been believed that Tyrannosaurus rex was a meat-eating maniac while long-necked dinosaurs serenely chomped away at leaves in the background. However, a new study suggests that dinosaurs' diets were far more diversified than previously thought. To get a better idea of what different dinosaurs actually ate, paleobiologists from...

Dec 23, 2022

Scientists find the earliest evidence of a dinosaur eating a mammal

Around 120 million years ago, a crow-size raptor gobbled up a mammal for its last meal. Researchers came across the last supper of the Microraptor, a birdlike carnivorous dinosaur with four wings, while examining its fossilized remains at an undisclosed museum in China, a new study reveals. The well-preserved fossil...

Jan 10, 2023

Ancient bird with T. rex-like skull discovered in China

About 120 million years ago, a fearsome bird with a skull that looked eerily similar to that of a Tyrannosaurus rex flew the early Cretaceous skies, hunting for a meaty meal to gobble down, a new study finds. A newly described specimen of this previously unknown species provides clues about...