Extinct Species, features and articles | Educational Science

Jan 11, 2024

Newfound T. rex relative was an even bigger apex predator, remarkable skull discovery suggests

Paleontologists have uncovered a never-before-seen tyrannosaur species in North America that has been masquerading as a Tyrannosaurus rex for decades. The newly identified species is the closest known relative of T. rex and could have been even larger than the dinosaur king, a new study shows. The newfound sister species,...

Jan 24, 2024

'I felt my heart skip a beat': Researcher discovers dinosaur 'chicken from hell' after buying fossil online

A grad student has discovered a never-before-seen dinosaur after he purchased fossils online for a class project. The beaked beast, nicknamed pharaoh's dawn chicken from hell, roamed Earth during the late Cretaceous period (100.5 million to 66 million years ago) and hails from the South Dakota section of the Hell...

Jan 25, 2024

Gargantuan 'star lizard' was one of the last (and largest) dinosaurs of its kind

Researchers have identified a newfound sauropod species that was the largest of its kind and one of the last living members of its family. Paleontologists first discovered fossils from the species, now named Sidersaura marae, in 2012 in the Huincul Formation in Argentina's Neuquén Province. It took researchers multiple excavations...

Jan 26, 2024

Scientists say their robot dinosaur could help explain the evolution of wings. But 1 expert says the study is flawed.

A robot dinosaur is helping scientists peer into our prehistoric past to learn why some dinosaurs evolved feathered wings before they could fly. But one expert is skeptical that this robot can reveal much about the ancient predators, because there isn't yet evidence that the dino ate the prey these...

Jan 29, 2024

What was the typical life span of a dinosaur?

Dinosaurs have left a wealth of information behind in their fossils, including how they defended themselves, what they ate and sometimes even how they died. But when these beasts bit the dust, did they leave any clues behind about how old they were, indicating whether they were youngsters, middle aged...

Feb 7, 2024

Temperature inside Chicxulub crater after dinosaur-killing asteroid hit revealed with 'paleothermometer'

Using a paleothermometer, researchers have determined the temperature of the Chicxulub crater just after the dinosaur-killing asteroid created it 66 million years ago. Rocks sampled from within the crater reached a sizzling 625 degrees Fahrenheit (330 degrees Celsius) at the end of the Cretaceous period (145 million to 66 million...

Feb 13, 2024

Dinosaurs dominated our planet not because of their massive size or fearsome teeth — but thanks to the way they walked

Dinosaurs may have taken over the planet and ruled for over 160 million years thanks to the way they walked, a new study suggests. By adapting to walk on both two and four legs, they diversified and outcompeted other organisms to become the dominant terrestrial vertebrates from the end of...

Feb 20, 2024

'Cut down in their prime': Dinosaurs were thriving in Africa before the asteroid hit

66 million years ago, the last dinosaurs vanished from Earth. We're still trying to understand why. New fossils of abelisaurs — distant relatives of the tyrannosaurs — from north Africa suggest that African dinosaurs remained diverse up to the very end. And that suggests their demise came suddenly, with the...

Feb 23, 2024

Stunning 240 million-year-old 'Chinese dragon' fossil unveiled by scientists

Scientists have unveiled stunning fossils of an ancient seaborne dragon discovered in China. The 240 million-year-old animal — nicknamed the Chinese dragon — belongs to the species Dinocephalosaurus orientalis, a reptile that used its remarkably long neck to ambush unsuspecting prey in shallow waters during the Triassic period (252 million...