Home >> Science & Nature >> Animals & Science

Dinosaur Fossil Discoveries

Dinosaur fossils have been discovered since ancient times, but the bones were incorrectly assumed to belong to other animals. For example, the Chinese thought the bones belonged to dragons. In 1676, part of a dinosaur's femur was described as a thigh bone belonging to an elephant that had been brought in by the Romans. Fossils continue to be excavated and new species of dinosaurs are still being discovered.

Sue
- Sue is a famous Tyrannosaurus rex fossil that is located in Chicago's Field Museum. Sue stands 14 feet tall at the hips and would have weighed up to seven tons. She is the most complete T. rex skeleton the world has ever seen and is named after the woman, Sue Hendrickson, who discovered the fossil in South Dakota. The fossil was bought for over 8 million dollars and it took over 30,000 hours to prepare the bones and put the skeleton together.
Xiongguanlong Fossil
- In 2007 and 2006, dinosaur skeletons were found in China's Gobi Desert by an international team of researchers. Two of these fossils belonged to a new species of dinosaur known as the theropod dinosaurs. Xiongguanlong baimoensis weighed almost 600 pounds and was about 5 feet tall at the hip. The discovery of Xiongguanlong, an early relative of T. rex, is important because it fills in a gap in the history of the tyrannosaur.
Beishanlong Fossil
- The other theropod dinosaur fossil discovered in the Gobi desert was named Beishanlong grandis. This is a new species of ornithomimosaur, weighed up to 1,400 lbs. and had 6-inch hand claws. Scientists have theorized that although the fossil's skull was missing, the ornithomimosaur may have had a beak and possibly ate a vegetarian diet. From growth rings in the bones, it was calculated that the fossil belonged to a teenage ornithomimosaur and had not grown to its full size.
Therizinosaurus
- In 2009, the discovery of a new species of therizinosaur was announced. While the therizinosaur, also known as reaper-lizards, belong to the same group of dinosaurs that counts the carnivorous Tyrannosaurus rex and Velociraptor amongst its members, scientists believe that they were herbivorous. The new dinosaur was named Nothronychus graffami and its fossilized bones represent the most complete collection of a therininosaur. N. graffami was discovered unexpectedly in southern Utah while excavation was under way for pleiosaurs in marine rocks. This species had small heads with tiny teeth and a long neck. It's most notable feature is its large hand claws, which were shaped like scythes.

Animals & Science