Lots of new discoveries of soft tissues in dinosaurs. Plus new studies to confirm old soft tissues and a new—controversial—iguanodont.

For links to every news story, all of the details we shared about Santanaraptor, and our fun fact check out https://iknowdino.com/Santanaraptor-Episode-563/

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Dinosaur of the day Santanaraptor, a small theropod found with soft tissue.

In dinosaur news this week:

• There’s a potentially new iguanodont, Paulodon galvensis (but it is controversial)
• Soft tissues can be preserved in fossils regardless of the species, age of the bones, or where the animal was buried
• A new method using Cross-polarized light microscopy (XPol) helps identify organic molecules in fossils
• New Edmontosaurus "mummies" show hooves, small spikes down the tail, and a banded fleshy crest over the neck and back
• Scientists re-evaluated the soft tissue crest of an edmontosaur hadrosaur dinosaur
• Dinosaurs likely had muscles forming cheeks
• New titanosaur sauropod tracks found in Mongolia show a lot of soft tissue details in the hands and feet

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A new troodontid with a skull like a pachycephalosaur, two new prehistoric birds, the bird evolutionary tree, how birds developed the ability to fly, how we know Microraptor turned out to be a decent flier, and a mathematical rule that shapes theropod faces

For links to every news story, all of the details we shared about Archaeopteryx , and our fun fact check out https://iknowdino.com/Archaeopteryx -Episode-562/

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Dinosaur of the day Archaeopteryx , the "ancient wing" dinosaur that was originally named for just a single feather, but is now known from over a dozen individuals.

In dinosaur news this week:

• A new troodontid theropod, Xenovenator espinosai, has an extremely thick skull—like a pachycephalosaur
• Scientists have created a complete evolutionary tree of all birds (over 9,000 species)
• There’s a new neoavian Aequornithes bird from Antarctica, Pujatopouli soberana
• There is a new euornithean bird, Kunpengornis anhuimusei, that has gut contents!
• How the structure of feathers in the Cretaceous tells us about their evolution
• The specialization of a small wrist bone, the pisiform, helps birds to fly
• A key wing muscle that helps birds fly appears to have evolved by fusing cells from multiple muscles
• How often birds, bats, and insects flap when flying may be related to a built in constraint related to the vortex their wings generate with each flap
• More Microraptor specimens (with soft tissues!) show it was a decent flier
• A set of raptor dinosaur tracks indirectly shows it used its arms to help it run faster
• Just because a theropod dinosaur had short arms and not many fingers, doesn’t mean their hands and arms were useless
• Birds have a special organ to help them balance (which doesn't seem to matter as much for flight)
• Birds have been nesting in the Arctic for at least 73 million years
• How theropod dinosaur (non-avian and bird) faces are shaped may have followed a mathematical rule
• A study of the Chicago Archaeopteryx found that could definitely fly
• Birds need a lot of calories to fly, and Archaeopteryx, the oldest known bird, has three features modern birds also have to eat efficiently

This episode is brought to you by the Colorado Northwestern Community College. Join them for two weeks digging up dinosaur bones in the field, preparing fossils in their lab, or in their new field geology program. For details go to CNCC.edu/paleo26

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Plus a duck-billed dinosaur with a strong jaw and a couple of small dinosaurs from the the U.S. and Europe

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In dinosaur news this week:

• A New Jurassic neornithischian dinosaur with a Voice Box. Pulaosaurus qinglong, from China’s Tiaojishan Formation, has only the second larynx ever found preserved with a non-avian dinosaur. Source
• The small ornithischian Enigmacursor mollyborthwickae was found in the Morrison Formation of Colorado. Reminding us that it wasn't just huge sauropods and stegosaurs eating plants in the Late Jurassic. Source
• A new ornithopod named Obelignathus septimanicus was identified from a stronger jawbone than other Late Cretaceous ornithopods (like Rhabdodon) in what is now southern France. It's name refers to the French comic character Obelix who has superhuman strength (like the "unusually robustly-built" jawbone on Obelignathus). Source
• An Early Cretaceous basal hadrosauroid, Cariocecus bocagei, was named from Portugal. It had a fused upper jaw and cheekbone, possibly letting it chew tougher plants than its relatives. Source

This episode is brought to you by the Colorado Northwestern Community College. Join them for two weeks digging up dinosaur bones in the field, preparing fossils in their lab, or in their new field geology program. For details go to CNCC.edu/paleo26

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Plus a new alvarezsaurid theropod, Manipulonyx; A huge bonebed in Romania; new dinosaur fossils found at Dinosaur National Monument; and our first Dino Duels winners

For links to every news story, all of the details we shared about Inosaurus, links from Mark Witton, and our fun fact check out https://iknowdino.com/Inosaurus-Episode-561/

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Dinosaur of the day Inosaurus, a dubious theropod known from vertebrae and a piece of its shin.

Interview with Mark Witton, a paleontologist, author, and artist, known for his research on pterosaurs and his work with museums, universities, and shows including Walking with Dinosaurs, Planet Dinosaur, Prehistoric Planet, and the IMAX film T. rex. He also has published a number of books, including the recently published King Tyrant. Follow him on bluesky and patreon @markwitton

In dinosaur news this week:

• There’s a new alvarezsaurid theropod, Manipulonyx reshetovi
• Paleontologists have found thousands of fossils in a bonebed in Romania (Hateg Basin), including bones from titanosaurs and rhabdodontids
• New dinosaur fossils have been found at Dinosaur National Monument

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This episode is brought to you by the Colorado Northwestern Community College. Join them for two weeks digging up dinosaur bones in the field, preparing fossils in their lab, or in their new field geology program. For details go to CNCC.edu/paleo26

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Riley, one of our favorite dinosaur writers, returns to discuss her latest book and lots of other dinosaur topics. Plus a new ceratopsian—Ferenceratops. And a new Dino Duels Championship.

For links to every news story, all of the details we shared about Quaesitosaurus, links from Riley Black, and our fun fact check out https://iknowdino.com/Quaesitosaurus-Episode-560/

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Dinosaur of the day Quaesitosaurus, a titanosaur with a skull similar to Diplodocus.

Interview with Riley Black, an award-winning science writer whose work has appeared in National Geographic, Scientific American, Nature, Smithsonian, and more. She has written a number of books, including “The Last Days of the Dinosaurs,” “When the Earth was Green,” and most recently “The Shortest History of the Dinosaurs”. Follow her on Bluesky @restingdinoface

In dinosaur news this week:

• There’s a new ceratopsian dinosaur, Ferenceratops shqiperorum
• Dinosaurs were “ecosystem engineers” that shaped their landscapes while they were alive—and after they died out
• A study of New Mexican dinosaurs supports that they were still thriving before the Cretaceous-ending asteroid hit the Earth
• Our dino duels are going again! Create your bracket here: bit.ly/dinoduelsbracket
• Then enter your picks for a chance to win a year of Triceratops-level patreon membership at bit.ly/dinoduelspicks
• Complete rules and restrictions at bit.ly/dinoduelsrules

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This episode is brought to you by the Colorado Northwestern Community College. Join them for two weeks digging up dinosaur bones in the field, preparing fossils in their lab, or in their new field geology program. For details go to CNCC.edu/paleo26

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Five new sauropods from all across the world and the sauropod family tree. Plus new embryos and hatchlings, sauropod speed estimates, and much much more.

For links to every news story, all of the details we shared about Cetiosauriscus, and our fun fact check out https://iknowdino.com/Cetiosauriscus-Episode-559/

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Dinosaur of the day Cetiosauriscus, a sauropod that isn't Cetiosaurus, but was also from Middle Jurassic of England.

In dinosaur news this week:

• Sauropod experts wrote an introduction to Diplodocoidea
• There’s a new titanosaur sauropod, Utetitan zellaguymondeweyae
• A new Alamosaurus fossil was found
• There’s a new dicraeosaurid sauropod, Athenar bermani
• There’s a new titanosaur sauropod, Yeneen houssayi
• There’s a new eusauropod sauropod, Jinchuanloong niedu
• There’s a new species of the sauropod Mamenchisaurus, Mamenchisaurus sanjiangensis
• Some sauropods chose to lay eggs surrounded by fast moving waters, possibly to protect them from predators
• New Massospondylus embryos and hatchling show how they started on all fours before growing up and walking on two legs
• Large sauropods may have had max speeds of 6 mph (10 km/h)
• A nearly complete Plateosaurus tail shows this sauropodomorph could do damage with its tail

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This episode is brought to you by the Colorado Northwestern Community College. Join them for two weeks digging up dinosaur bones in the field, preparing fossils in their lab, or in their new field geology program. For details go to CNCC.edu/paleo26

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New track sites, swim tracks, and mating dance arenas around the world tell us about the behavior of theropods, ceratopsians, and sauropods. Plus David Spira joins from Room Escape Artist to share his favorite dinosaur themed escape rooms.

For links to every news story, all of the details we shared about Segnosaurus, links from David Spira, and our fun fact check out https://iknowdino.com/Segnosaurus-Episode-558/

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Dinosaur of the day Segnosaurus, a therizinosaur with interesting teeth.

Interview with David Spira, co-creator of RoomEscapeArtist.com, which publishes well-researched, rational, and reasonably humorous escape room reviews, design tips, player tips, and industry commentary

In dinosaur news this week:

• The Science Museum of Minnesota closed for a day in response to the local ICE presence. If you want to support Minnesotans go to www.standwithminnesota.com/
• In Bolivia, there are almost 18,000 theropod dinosaur tracks that show evidence of running, sauntering, and swimming
• An earlier study of the Carreras Pampa site also found that the theropods feet sunk in the mud
• One set of footprints shows the fastest running theropod trackway in the Cretaceous
• Scientists re-examined the longest known theropod trackway in China
• Dinosaur Ridge, Colorado, has the largest known dinosaur mating dance arena
• Tracks from 76 million years ago may show that ceratopsians and ankylosaurs hung out together
• Paleontologists found a set of sauropod tracks that show it made a loop
• Scientists found multiple trackways in Oxfordshire, England, from mostly sauropods walking at a steady pace
• Theropod footprints were found in a crisscross pattern in Texas, U.S.
• Thousands of prosauropod footprints from the Triassic were found in a national park in Italy

This episode is brought to you by the Colorado Northwestern Community College. Join them for two weeks digging up dinosaur bones in the field, preparing fossils in their lab, or in their new field geology program. For details go to CNCC.edu/paleo26

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Robert (Bob) Nicholls has been painting, sculpting, and painting some of our favorite paleoart for decades. He joins us to share how he does it. Plus, a fossil found hundreds of feet below a natural history museum; The world's oldest cerapodan dinosaur; And new theropod and iguanodontian fossils

For links to every news story, all of the details we shared about Emausaurus, links from Bob Nicholls, and our fun fact check out https://iknowdino.com/Emausaurus-Episode-557/

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Dinosaur of the day Emausaurus, a very early armored dinosaur to rival Scutellosaurus and Scelidosaurus.

Interview with Bob Nicholls, world-renowned paleoartist, painter, sculptor, and illustrator. His work has been published in more than 40 books (including the Secret Lives of Dinosaurs) and exhibited in nearly 50 museums, universities, and attractions around the world. He’s also appeared on a number of shows and he designed coins for the Royal Mint. Follow him @BobNichollsart

In dinosaur news this week:

• Paleontologists found the world’s oldest cerapodan dinosaur in Morocco
• Scientists found a dinosaur bone underneath the parking lot of the Denver Museum of Nature and Science
• New theropods have been found at the St. George Dinosaur Discovery Site in Utah, U.S.
• There’s a new large iguanodontian dinosaur that lived in the Late Jurassic in what is now Portugal

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Two new dinosaurs from the middle of the Triassic: the theropod Anteavis and the sauropodomorph Huayracursor. Plus our reviews of several TV shows, movies, and books including Walking with Dinosaurs.

For links to every news story, all of the details we shared about Ornithopsis, and our fun fact check out https://iknowdino.com/Ornithopsis-Episode-556/

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Dinosaur of the day Ornithopsis, a titanosaur found way back in the 1830s which was named for its bone's similarity to the lightweight structure of a bird's skeleton.

In dinosaur news this week:

• We not yet have found the earliest dinosaur fossils, but they may be in the Amazon and areas by the equator in South America and Africa
• Dinosaurs may have originated in South America, and then moved simultaneously to the east and north
• There’s a new very early theropod dinosaur, Anteavis crurilongus
• A nearly complete skeleton from a Triassic sauropodomorph, Huayracursor jaguensis

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Spicomellus, Nanotyrannus, and tons of other fantastic new discoveries!

For links to every news story, all of the details we shared about Garudimimus, and our fun fact check out https://iknowdino.com/Garudimimus-Episode-555/

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Dinosaur of the day Garudimimus, an ornithomimosaur that wasn't that fast.

In dinosaur news this week:

• Smallest find to make a big impact: Ahvaytum (ep 531)
• HM: Archaeocursor (ep 533)
• HM: Itaguyra (ep 545)
• HM: Maleriraptor (ep 550)
• HM: Taleta (ep 553)
• Most surprising new dinosaur: Nanotyrannus lethaeus (ep 554)
• Best new therizinosaur: Duonychus (ep 535)
• Best new pachycephalosaur: Zavacephale (ep 553)
• HM: Brontotholus (ep 553)
• Best new ornithomimid: Mexidracon (ep 551)
• Best new basal neornithischian: Pulaosaurus (DD 7)
• Best new ankylosaurid genus: Huaxiazhoulong (ep 530)
• Best new dromaeosaur: Shri rapax (DD8)
• Best new compsognathid*: Huadanosaurus (ep 541)
• Best new iguanodontian: Istiorachis (ep 548)
• Best new megaraptor: Joaquinraptor (ep 552)
• Best new basal sauropodomorph: Xingxiulong yueorum (ep 549)
• HM: Lishulong (ep 539)
• Best new enantiornithine: Navaornis (ep 533)
• New genus hiding for the longest in plain sight: Newtonsaurus (DD8)
• HM: Tameryraptor (ep 534)
• Best new basal allosauroid: Yuanmouraptor (ep 536)
• Best new oviraptorosaur: Yuanyanglong (ep 532)

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Two separate groups of researchers have independently confirmed that Nanotyrannus is its own genus and not just a juvenile T. rex. Plus a new Nanotyrannus species and another new tyrannosauroid and tyrannosaur injuries.

For links to every news story, all of the details we shared about Calamosaurus, and our fun fact check out https://iknowdino.com/Calamosaurus-Episode-554/

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Dinosaur of the day Calamosaurus, a small theropod that’s been mixed up with lots of other theropods.

In dinosaur news this week:

• A new complete Nanotyrannus skeleton confirms that it deserves its own genus and is not just a juvenile Tyrannosaurus rex
• A close analysis of the small throat (hyoid) bone from the Nanotyrannus holotype confirms it was nearly full-sized
• Review of the taxonomic history of Nanotyrannus
• There’s a new Late Cretaceous tyrannosauroid, Khankhuuluu mongoliensis, related to the fluffy Yutyrannus
• Scotty the T. rex appears to have blood vessel structures in a rib showing how it healed. (in the fun fact)
• Companies are claiming to make luxury fashion items out of T. rex leather but that’s not currently possible. (in the fun fact)

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