As mentioned above (and a few other times on this blog), Ceratopsids are weird. Especially Centrosaurines. Here’s a little lesson in dinosaur family trees.

The big family of Ceratopsidae is split into two groups: Centrosaurinae and Chasmosaurinae (for some reason, it seems to be a scientific convention that all Ceratopsian group names must start with ‘C’). The families have been divided based on four main factors. These are frill size, nose horn size and brow horn size. Chasmosaurines generally have big frills, small nose horns and long brow horns. Our friend Judith from a few weeks ago is one of these. Continue reading →

Ceratopsians are bizarre. There are multitudes of them, each with their own array of horns, spikes, ridges and lumps. Which makes it rather depressing that only Triceratops and a few others, like Styracosaurus and Pachyrhinosaurus, are widely recognised (mostly due to the fact that they are the only ones anybody uses in movies). That may be about to change, for a new ceratopsian has been discovered whose life could be perfectly adapted into a tragic drama film. Meet Judith. Continue reading →

“230 Million-Year-Old Dinosaur Footprint Fount In North Spain!” claims ABC News and The Telegraph. U.S.News reports that “Spain says a footprint of a dinosaur that roamed the area 230 million years ago has been found in northeastern Catalonia, and says it’s the best preserved dinosaur print seen so far on the Iberian Peninsula“. Dinosaur footprints are a very under-appreciated type of fossil, that can actually tell us a lot about how they behaved. I’ll tell you guys about Lark Quarry sometime.

This footprint is also exceptionally preserved, with claws and even skin impressions. It is a very exciting find, but there’s just one problem… Continue reading →

Hey, it’s my first actual dinosaur news report! The blog is finally doing what it’s supposed to do. (Also, thanks to Han for the link from her blog, The Han Dynasty. You can read it here)

In the field of palaeontology, sauropods are a bit annoying. It seems that the bigger they get, the less we find of them. With the largest sauropods, it’s often a case of “are these scattered neck bones different enough from the other scattered neck bones to call it a new species?”. I’m not kidding, look at this.

Even more rare are sauropod skulls. Dinosaur skulls generally don’t fossilise too well, as they are full of holes and tend to break apart. Many sauropod heads in reconstructions are inferred from related species, especially titanosaurs, of which there are only four species with relatively intact skulls. Which makes it all the more surprising and exciting when a complete titanosaur skull is found, as has happened recently. Ladies and gentlemen, meet Sarmientosaurus. Continue reading →