an adorable juvenile pachycephalosaur crosses a log over a stream in a dense conifer forest
look at this cute baby π moore et al. describe a juvenile pachycephalosaur from saskatchewan's frenchman formation, with interesting implications for pachycephalosaur ontogeny
www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
(art by kaitlin lindblad)
Just saw the incredibly sad news that Hans-Dieter Sues has passed away. Beyond his major contributions to paleontology, in all my interactions with him over the years, he was a stellar human being. He took great joy in life and in being a paleontologist. I learned so much from him.
Any of those verts have neurals or transverse processes intact? Thank you for taking the time to answer!
Looks like the article is behind a paywall, but it doesn't look like there's any postcrania? Just skull material?
Aaaand here's the paper! Looking forward to reading through!
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Figure 2: Three-dimensional model rendering from CT data for MOR 1627. (A) Left lateral view of entire skull with close-up (D) of the embedded tooth. (B) Dorsal view of entire skull with close-up (E) of the embedded tooth. (C) Anterior view of entire skull with close-up (F) of the embedded tooth. Dashed lines indicate the specimen midline. (Wyenberg-Henzler & Scannella, 2026)
New behavioral #paleontology paper out today about tyrannosaur predation! The authors (Wyenberg-Henzler & Scannella) contend that the find is "consistent with a bite inflicted during an attempt to control the struggling Edmontosaurus or deliver a killing blow followed by carcass consumption". Nice!
Probable evidence of *successful* predation by a non-avian theropod. Lucky day for paleontologists and enthusiasts!
peerj.com/articles/207...
I've decided to revise and update one of my most important and popular blogposts "How do I become a paleontologist?".
I still get asked this every few weeks so having a new version of this post to share is so useful to put people on track.
archosaurmusings.wordpress.com/2026/02/17/h...
Skeletal and reconstruction from Martz & Small (2019). Known bone elements indicated in lighter colors. File accessed via Wikimedia Commons
#Kwanasaurus (Martz & Small, 2019) was native to North America ~210my ago. It belongs to the silesaurids - a clade that is increasingly interpreted as a step in the evolution of the ornithischian dinosaurs. Its leaf-shaped teeth indicate it was already well on its way to herbivory.
The Brymbo Fossil Forest is offering students the chance to get involved in palaeontological excavations of a Carboniferous fossil forest in North Wales. QR code on image directs to further details.
π¨ UK Student Palaeo Research Opportunity π¨
Brymbo Fossil Forest are offering students the chance to get involved in active palaeontology research & excavations βοΈ at a unique #Carboniferous fossil site in Wales π΄σ §σ ’σ ·σ ¬σ ³σ Ώ - See below for more details β¬οΈ
#Paleontology #Geology #Fieldwork #FossilFriday #ECR
A new titanosauriform with European affinities in the Early Cretaceous of Brazil: insights on Somphospondyli phylogeny, histology and biogeography
Dasosaurus tocantinensis gen. et sp. nov.
www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
I dug into the Epstein files for this story.
Jack Horner visited Epstein at Zorro Ranch in 2012, emails show. He later thanked βthe girlsβ as hosts.
Now a Chapman U fellow, Horner regrets using the term in emails.
The university is looking into the files.
www.latimes.com/socal/daily-...
happy #FossilFriday. It is very early in the year and I already have a favorite paper with the newly described Haolong. HOWEVER, this is *not* a feathered dinosaur! The structures on Haolong are very different from filaments. A π§΅
Maybe a bit late for web timing, but ehy, NEW PAPER ON #fossilfriday!!!
I am proud to present you Haolong dongi gen. nov. sp. nov., a new hadrosauroid from the Early Cretaceous of China!
The specimen, almost complete, is a juvenile iguanodontian from the Yixian Formation of the Barremian (125 Mya).
VOLUNTEER ON A DINOSAUR DIG: We run one of the only free dinosaur digs in the USA. We work public land and the fossils go in our public museum, forever. It's hard work, but we find some cool things. If this sounds like you, we're taking applications. Link in comms. #dinosaurs
CANNIBALISM OF AN ADULT TYRANNOSAUR BY A JUVENILE:
Our new study on a Badlands Dinosaur Museum fossil reveals dinosaur cannibalism where a juvenile tyrannosaur feasted on the carcass of a dead adult!
3D reconstructions supervision Yu Xin, designer Shen Li, sculptor Liang Junwei
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What is prospecting?
In paleontology, prospecting means carefully scanning and exploring the landscape for fossils exposed at the surface. Several of our active dig sites were first discovered this way by participants, proof that just being observant can lead to real scientific discoveries!
go.bsky.app/QWhLarC
Many more have joined our ranks since this was made, but here's a good starter pack for people and institutions to follow in the world of #PaleoSky:
A photograph of the research team who described this new dinosaur, with my illustration on a large screen behind them.
A digital illustration of Xenovenator - a dinosaur with a long snout, large eyes and a tough, bony mantle on the top of its skull. It is shown with a mix of blue/grey and peach coloured feathers.
Introducing Xenovenator espinosai, a new troodontid dinosaur with some fascinating cranial anatomy. I had the honour of being approached to create the illustration for this weekβs official announcement. (1/3) #SciArt
#Xenovenator is one of the first named dinosaurs of the year! Assigned by Rivera-Sylva et al (2026) to the troodontid lineage, it has oddly thickened frontals - creating a bulbous/domed forehead. Could this be a combat or display adaptation? It's remains from Coahuila, #Mexico date back ~73m years.
Of note: this information and these photos come from Wikipedia, which recently featured this tracksite on their homepage!
Public Domain Image from the US Forest Service: "Aerial view of the West Gold Hill Dinosaur Tracksite; view towards the west."
Public Domain Image from the US Forest Service: "Paleontologists working on the West Gold Hill Dinosaur Tracksite in September 2020"
Happy #FossilFriday from the West Gold Hill Dinosaur Tracksite in #Colorado! These sauropod footprints are exposed for roughly 100 meters and can be accessed via a hiking trail on public lands! Apart from being a notably long trackway, they are also unique for being at ~2800 meters in elevation
Out in @nature.com today, we shake up the ornithischian family tree. Remember those weird Late Cretaceous iguanodontians, the rhabdodontids? Well they're weird because they aren't iguanodontians. They're ceratopsians. Well, at least some of them are... www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Did spinosaurids really survive into the latest Cretaceous? The postprint for our latest work on these incredible dinosaurs is out today, where @neilgostling.bsky.social, @tetzoo.bsky.social and I examine claims of spino persistance beyond the Cenomanian www.ameghiniana.org.ar/index.php/am...
Adam RL - 2022 painting of a Rex + it's chick touching noses. A beautiful piece I knew I wanted for my child when they were born last year.
2025 was eventful to say the least... In my world, and why posting Dino Facts has been much less frequent, is my little hatchling arrived! A big shoutout to @adamrl.bsky.social for putting this Rex & chick print for sale so I could hang it in the nursery!
Hopefully 2026 is less hectic for us all
By my count, 46 new species of Mesozoic dinosauromorph (& lagerpetid) taxa this year, which is close to the average for the time period 2003-2025 (the range over which I have been compiling data):
Merry Christmas, to one and all!
Manipulonyx, new WEIRD alvarezsaurid
A.O. Averianov, A.V. Lopatin and A.A. Atuchin (2025)
Forelimb structure and function in a new Late Cretaceous parvicursorine theropod dinosaur from Mongolia
Proceedings of the Zoological Institute RAS 329(4): 382β408 www.zin.ru/journals/tru...
β¦
Fossilized forearm and hand bones of a small dinosaur. Most of the bones are short and stubby, with the exception of a single enlarged claw.
New alvarezsaurian dinosaur Manipulonyx reshetovi: www.zin.ru/journals/tru... As if alvarezsaurid hands couldn't get any weirder, this one preserves several odd, spike-like elements, interpreted as adaptations for gripping eggs. I have thoughts but they'll have to wait... π§ͺ (π·Averianov et al.)
