Palaeontology: More than 2.5 BILLION T. Rexes roamed the Earth over their 2.5 million years

Tyrannosaurus rex. Their name means ‘tyrant lizard king’ — and as far as popular culture goes, they certainly ruled the dinosaurs. But just how many were there? According to experts from California, the answer is a whopping 2.5 billion of the beasts over the 2.5 million years they roamed North America in the Late Cretaceous. Around 20,000 … Read more

Palaeontology: Fossilised remains found of a dinosaur sitting on a nest of eggs with embryos inside

The fossilised remains of a dinosaur sitting on a nest of eggs, complete with embryos preserved inside, has been unearthed from China, a study has reported. The find — a world first — is an oviraptorosaur, one of a group of bird-like, theropod dinosaurs that thrived from 130–66 million years ago, during the Cretaceous Period. According … Read more

Palaeontology: Young giant carnivorous dinosaurs made up a significant portion of the population

If you thought the ‘youths’ of today were bad, think again — for teenage T. rex and adolescent Allosaurus outcompeted smaller rival species for food, a study found. US experts found that the young of giant carnivorous dinosaurs, or megatheropods, acted as their own ecological entity in both the Jurassic and Cretaceous Periods. They were so … Read more

Palaeontology: David Attenborough’s new app brings prehistoric creatures into your home

David Attenborough is bringing long-extinct prehistoric creatures into people’s homes through the magic of augmented reality in a new app. ‘Museum Alive’, from Alchemy Immersive and Atlantic Productions, is an extension of Sir David’s BAFTA-winning 2013 documentary ‘Natural History Museum Alive’. Suitable for all ages, the app uses your camera to create the illusion of … Read more

Palaeontology: chicken-sized dinosaur with long ‘needles’ sticking out of it is discovered in Brazil

A peacock-like elaborate dinosaur with a mane of yellow and brown fur down its back and long ‘needles’ growing from its shoulders has been identified. Dubbed Ubirajara jubatus — indigenous Indian for ‘Maned Lord of the Spear’ — the creature’s neck spines are unique in the fossil record and made of keratin, which is the same … Read more

Palaeontology: chicken-sized dinosaur with long ‘needles’ sticking out of it is discovered in Brazil

A peculiar, chicken-sized dinosaur which sported long ‘needles’ sticking out of its shoulders has been discovered. Experts led from Portsmouth found the new species — originally unearthed in 1995 in the Chapada do Araripe in north-eastern Brazil — among the collections of the State Museum of Natural History in Karlsruhe, Germany. Dubbed Ubirajara jubatus — indigenous Indian for ‘Maned … Read more

Palaeontology: 75 million-year-old burrow contains fossilised rodents snuggled-up together 

Cuddling may date back further than we thought, as scientists have unearthed the remains of a 75.5 million-year-old burrow containing the fossils of snuggling rodents. US palaeontologists made the find — the oldest evidence of social behaviour among mammals — in a noted dinosaur nesting site called Egg Mountain, in Montana. The small mammals — … Read more

Palaeontology: 75 million-year-old burrow contains fossilised rodents snuggled-up together 

Cuddling may date back further than we thought, as scientists have unearthed the remains of a 75.5 million-year-old burrow containing the fossils of snuggling rodents. US palaeontologists made the find — the oldest evidence of social behaviour among mammals — in a noted dinosaur nesting site called Egg Mountain, in Montana. The small mammals — … Read more

Palaeontology: Pterodactyls and other winged reptiles took 150 million years to master the sky

Winged reptiles like the pterodactyls may have ultimately become ‘deadly masters of the sky’ — but it took then 150 million years to reach this point, a study has found.  Researchers from Reading, Bristol and Lincoln found that a series of steady improvements over this time improved the pterosaurs’ flying skills two-fold. Pterosaurs — which first … Read more

Palaeontology: Bizarre, parrot-like toothless two-fingered dinosaur unearthed in the Gobi Desert 

Bizarre new species of toothless two-fingered dinosaur that looked like a giant parrot and lived 68 million years ago is unearthed in the Gobi Desert Researchers from Edinburgh have named the new species Oksoko avarsan It would have grown to around 6.5 feet in length and sported feathers and a beak Most members of its genus … Read more