A fossil bone from a Tyrannosaurus rex, recently discovered in Wyoming sandstone, bears the telltale signs of having been gnawed and stripped clean of its meat — by another tyrannosaur….
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Montana Dinosaur Species Grew Fast, Died Young, May Have Been Warm-Blooded
It walked on two feet when it was young, but on four when it was old. It could grow up to 3 meters in a single year — if it…
Read MoreNorthernmost Dinosaur Discovered in ‘Lost World’ of Animal Fossils in Alaska
Scientists exploring a remote riverbank on Alaska’s North Slope have made a surprising find — the discovery of the northernmost species of dinosaur ever found — and it’s just one…
Read More‘Remarkable’ Dinosaur Nest Discovered in Montana Suggests Some Dinos Re-Used Breeding Sites
A pair of fossilized dinosaur nests offer some of the strongest indications yet that certain dinos brooded their eggs, re-used their nests, and possibly defended their nesting territory much like…
Read MoreDinosaur Blood Cells, Soft Tissue Discovered in 75-Million-Year-Old Fossils
Scientists say they’ve isolated what appear to be red blood cells and other microscopic bits of soft tissue from several 75-million-year old dinosaur fossils, using a technique that could revolutionize the…
Read More‘Hellboy’ Dinosaur Discovered in Alberta Reveals Evolutionary Surprises
Discovered in the ancient sediments of Alberta, and named for a monstrous hero from ’90s comics, a strange new species of horned dinosaur is an object lesson in how appearances…
Read MoreMysterious Large Carnivore Is First Dinosaur Discovered in Washington State
A large carnivore that lived on what’s now the San Juan Islands probably had many distinguishing characteristics that we don’t know about. But for now, it can claim at least one important distinction: the…
Read MoreBrontosaurus ‘Resurrected’ as a Type of Dinosaur by New Fossil Study
For more than a hundred years, Brontosaurus — the long-necked and long-neglected icon of the Ancient West — has been dismissed as a mere duplicate in the record books of…
Read MoreWestern Digs’ Top 5 Paleontology Stories of 2014
A red-headed mammoth, a cave piled high with ancient animal remains, and an unusual South Dakota dinosaur are all among the discoveries that shaped Western Digs’ most popular paleontology stories of…
Read MoreOldest Horned Dinosaur in North America Discovered in Montana
The oldest known species of horned dinosaur in North America has been identified from a fossil skull no larger than your fist. Although it’s a distant relative of the great…
Read MoreNew Species of Giant Dinosaur From South Dakota ‘Fills Gap’ in America’s Fossil Record
It isn’t a brachiosaur — the type of giant, plant-eating dinosaur that had a titanic body and a peculiarly tiny head. Nor is it quite like a diplodicid, the sauropod…
Read MoreAllosaurus Died From Stegosaur Spike to the Crotch, Wyoming Fossil Shows
Analysis of an Allosaurus fossil from southern Wyoming shows that the giant meat-eater died from a painful wound that appears to be unique in the fossil record: a deep stab…
Read MoreSpiky, Scaly New Species of Ankylosaur Discovered in New Mexico
The remains of an unusual armored dinosaur found in New Mexico may “fill the gap” in the fossil record of the lumbering, plated beasts known as ankylosaurs, paleontologists say. Its…
Read MoreBaby and Adult Dinosaur Tracks in Alaska Prove Duck-Bills Lived in ‘Social Herds,’ Study Says
Tiny baby dinosaur tracks discovered in Alaska may have big implications for our understanding of the giant herbivores that once roamed the Arctic, paleontologists say. The baby tracks are among…
Read MoreNew Species of Horned Dinosaur With Flashy, Butterfly-Shaped Frill Discovered in Montana
One of the most abundant and diverse families of dinosaurs from the Ancient West has a new member among its ranks. Two new specimens of ceratopsid, or horn-faced dinosaur, have…
Read MoreGiant Crested Bird-Like Dinosaur Discovered in the Dakotas
Two teams of paleontologists were each puzzling over unusual, but incomplete, fossil skeletons of an animal they couldn’t identify, when they finally met and realized that they were all looking…
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