Spinosaurus and child

Today’s Exhibit of the Day? The Museum’s mummified hadrosaur—one of the most complete pieces of Mesozoic dinosaur remains ever found! This fossil represents one of the greatest discoveries in the history of paleontology: a rare glimpse at the texture of dinosaur skin. Like the skin on modern birds’ feet, this duck-billed dinosaur’s skin was marked by bumps called tubercles. The tubercles are larger along the animal’s back and sides and smaller around the joints, which needed to be flexible.

Photo: Image no. ptc-7737 © / AMNH Library (Circa 1992)

well, it seems a new Tyrannosaurus species was described today! the paper, (authored by Sebastian G. Dalman, Mark A. Loewen, and Nicholas R. Longrich) is based on remains from ancient Laramidia (now New Mexico) previously attributed to T. rex. These particular fossils are dated 6-7ish million years before T. rex. This newly proposed species, Tyrannosaurus mcraeensis, will hopefully give some insight into the evolution of T. rex, which has largely been shrouded in mystery.

The working theory has been migration from what is now Asia, *but* if T. mcraeensis continues to hold up to scrutiny it would turn out that the reverse is true! or even that a double back migration saw large tyrannosaurine dinosaurs migrate to Asia, only to migrate once again towards the northern part of North America!

Obviously the paper goes into far more detail, so i’ve included it below. give it a look!

(art at the top of the post was made by Sergey Krasovskiy)

Turf Dispute

Done for someone very dear to me whose favorite dinosaur is Apatosaurus.

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[ The skull is mounted on a custom steel armature, which allows for it to be seen all the way around. ]

"After seven years of work, the best preserved and most complete triceratops skull coming from Canada — also known as the "Calli" specimen — is on display for the first time since being found in 2014 at the Royal Tyrrell Museum in Drumheller, Alta. A museum news release calls the specimen "unique" because of where it was discovered, the age of the rock around it, and how well it was preserved. Following the floods that tore through Alberta about 10 years ago, the Royal Tyrrell staff were engaged in flood mitigation paleontology work when the triceratops skull was discovered in 2014. Triceratops fossils are rare in Canada. This skull was found in the foothills of southwestern Alberta — an area where dinosaur fossils in general are uncommon — and nicknamed "Calli" after Callum Creek, the stream where it was discovered. Transported via helicopter in giant, heavy chunks, the skull and most of the jaw pieces were extracted over the course of a month in 2015. The rest of the triceratops' skeleton was not found. Roaming the earth roughly 68 to 69 million years ago, the museum says this skull was buried in stages, evident by the fossilization process.  "Paleontologists know this because the specimen was found in different rock layers, and the poorly preserved horn tips suggest they were exposed to additional weathering and erosion," reads a museum blog about the triceratops skull.  "The rest of the skeleton likely washed away," noting that the lower jaws were found downstream. From 2016 to 2023, Royal Tyrrell technician Ian Macdonald spent over 6,500 hours preparing this fossil, removing over 815 kilograms of rock that encased the skull. This triceratops skull is the largest skull ever prepared at the museum and its third largest on display."

Read more: "Canada's biggest and best triceratops skull on display in Alberta" by Lily Dupuis.

Triassic non-marine horseshoe crabs,

many ancestors of today's marine animals find refuge in brackish environments, as the Permian Great Dying caused the sea to become anoxic and choked most of the marine life at the time

I was today years old when I heard about the incredible Incense-Cedar Wood Wasp. Syntexis libocedrii is the only living species of Symphytan in the Anaxyelidae. It is considered a living fossil since the family has an extensive Mesozoic fossil record. It has the unique ability to oviposit in burnt incense-cedar. The wood is often still smoldering when the sawfly is laying its eggs. Nature is fascinating.

People have reposted this on reddit apparently so I might as well repost them on tumblr:

the Kung fu Panda crew as Dinosaurs / Prehistoric Animals

Origami Tyrannosaurus rex, designed by Fernando Gilgado and folded by me using a square of double tissue paper.

hello hi it has been a while, i am still hyerfixating on Hades but i got a little guy for you! Leaellynasaura! i have no idea how to pronounce it and the fact that i memorized how to write it is good enough for me

this is a collab with a friend of mine who made a plush that i designed! go visit @bladespark he makes amazing things and this was super fun

A skittish Thecodontosaurus antiquus surveying its surroundings. From my book ”De första dinosaurierna” (”The first dinosaurs”)

They’re Moving In Herds.

Prints now available at wootusart.com

They Do Move In Herds.

drawing along with the flocking paleostream

i’m dinobrained rn sorry