Hi Dino Gang,
This month’s newsletter is hitting your inbox a little later than usual, but trust me, it’s SO worth the wait.
Why? Because these new discoveries are nothing short of mind-bending. We’re talking sail-backed plant-eaters from England, a sauropod in China that might rewrite the Jurassic timeline, and armored dinosaurs with spikes so massive they’d make a porcupine jealous. Add in raptor-turned-bird revelations and predators with wildly different bite styles, and you’ve got one of the most fascinating research round-ups we’ve ever shared.
Oh, and as a thank-you for being part of this community, newsletter subscribers get 10% off in the shop all month long. Just use code NEWSLETTER at checkout! 🦖
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So scroll on, because if you thought you knew how dinosaurs lived, fought, and maybe even evolved into birds… think again 👇
A new dinosaur was discovered and it had the strangest body! Istiorachis is a new iguanodont dinosaur that lived in England 125 - 121 million years ago. This roughly 18 ft (5.5 m) long dinosaur walked on four legs and had powerful jaws for chewing. But the most unique feature was the nearly foot and a half (0.5 m) sail on its back. What’s unique about this is that it’s only the second sail-back iguanodont to ever be found, with the first being Ouranosaurus from Africa. Normally, it’s been thought that these sails would be used to help dissipate heat and keep the dinosaur from overheating. While Europe during this time was a tropical destination, the Early Cretaceous was one of the colder periods that dinosaurs lived through, so there’s still so many questions as to why dinosaurs evolved sails!
A new dinosaur was discovered and it's changing the ancient history of China! Huashanosaurus is a new long-necked dinosaur that lived in China during the Jurassic. The reason this dinosaur is important is that its discovery seems to contradict other Jurassic fossils! The environment Huashanosaurus lived in features a unique array of ferns and conifers that were thought to be from the Early Jurassic. However, early Sauropods like Huashanosaurus didn't appear until the Middle Jurassic, up to 40 million years later. The authors stated this suggests that the environment was younger than originally thought because of this new Sauropod. On the other hand, without running any exact dating experiments, this could also mean that Sauropods evolved much earlier than originally thought! More research could reveal the truth in the future!
Not all of the biggest and baddest predators hunted the same! Paleontologists reconstructed the skulls of several gigantic predators and tested how they handle stress. They found that Allosaurs, Megalosaurs, and Spinosaurs all had skulls that weren’t designed to handle stress well. Instead Allosaurs were better adapted for slashing bites and Spinosaurs were better at snapping down on small prey, like fish. Tyrannosaurus on the other hand were the only predators to evolve crushing bites. This shows that even though T. rex was one of the most famous dinosaurs, its highly specialized lifestyle made it a black swan of an animal!
This dinosaur just got an upgrade, and you wouldn’t want to mess with it! Several new fossils have been unearthed in Morocco of the dinosaur Spicomellus. This species is not new, however, it was only known from a few small spikey bones. But now these new fossils reveal a more complete skeleton that was adorned with massive spikes! The spikes on its neck could reach up to 3 ft (1 m) in length - longer than any other dinosaur. Additionally the spikes on its tail were rough 1.5 ft (0.5 m) in length, making them a deadly weapon. This dinosaur would have been one of the most dangerous herbivores to have ever existed!
We used to think the dinosaurs were raptors, now we don’t!
Unenlagiines are a strange type of dinosaur, especially considering their name literally translates to “half-bird”. Their sharp teeth and curved foot claw have always been markers that these were unique raptors that lived in the Southern Hemisphere. But new research suggests they may actually be some of the earliest birds instead! Their delicate skulls and bird-like hips show they are more closely related to Archaeopteryx than Velociraptor. This discovery reveals that birds were deadlier than we originally thought!
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Q: Why haven’t we found a complete Spinosaurus fossil?
A: It’s really hard to find Spinosaurus skeletons! Most of the fossils we’ve uncovered so far are only partial bones or fragments, not whole skeletons. That’s partly because Spinosaurus lived in what is now North Africa, an area where fossil preservation isn’t always great. And honestly, finding a complete skeleton of any dinosaur is super rare since it requires the entire body to be quickly buried and kept from decomposing.
Q: What’s your favourite dinosaur
A: My favorite dinosaur is probably T. rex! I love that it is one of the only dinosaurs to have a bite that can crush bone. I also did quite a bit of research on their growth and the fact that they can reach over 40 ft (12 m) in length and up to 17,000 lbs (8,000 kg) in about 30 years is absolutely mind boggling!
Q: How do I become like you?
A: Well I'm flattered you'd like to be like me! If you mean as far as education, I got a bachelors in geology and a masters in biology. But I got involved pretty early in doing research so I would recommend you prioritize that. But if you want to be a science communicator, I would start getting reps at communicating! Look for opportunities to present to the public or find science communicator workshops (there’s likely one near your university). Also, get practice at being able to explain paleontology or just scientific concepts at a very basic level. You should try and explain concepts to people like your grandparents or parents.
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6 New Dinosaurs Just Discovered in 2025 — and They’re STRANGE!! Watch the full video now 👆🏻
THANKS FOR BEING A PART OF THE DINO GANG,
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