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Non - aviandinosaurshave not roamed Earth for around 66 million years . But thanks to the dodo they left behind , we can patch togethertheir account . And this year , paleontologists reveal even more ancient clew about our major planet ’s former residents . From a tyrannosaurus ’s last repast and communal nest to a ossified voice loge , here are 10 of the best dinosaur fossils unearthed this twelvemonth .
First-ever tyrannosaur meal
research worker in Canada discovered the close - complete remains of a teenage tyrannosaur with itsfinal meal perfectly save in its stomach . It was the first sentence that food had been chance inside tyrannosaur grit .
The stomach of the juvenileGorgosaurus , which dates to around 75 million twelvemonth ago , contain two sets of hind peg belonging to the smaller bird - alike dinosaurCitipes elegans . researcher conceive the young Tyrannosaurus rex tear the smaller dinosaur in half and ate their legs , leaving the rest of their bodies untouched .
The findings suggest that juvenile tyrannosaur , includingTyrannosaurus king , preferred track down small prey rather than move after the bigger dinosaur that adult tyrannosaurs would have place .
A fossilized juvenileGorgosauruswas found with the hind legs of a smaller dinosaur in its stomach.
Never-before-seen ‘titan’
A new metal money of titanosaur was identified from 122 million - class - old fossils found in Spain . Thegigantic long - necked dinosaur was likely as big as a basketball game royal court .
The newly identified metal money , namedGarumbatitan morellensis , belongs to the sauropod dinosaur group — long - necked dinosaurs includingDiplodocusandBrachiosaurus . Its bones are less typical than those of other species in this group , which suggest it is a primitive sauropod species .
Until now , scientists did n’t know where sauropods originated . But the new fossil suggest that they may have first emerge from around what is now the Iberian Peninsula ( Spain and Portugal ) .
The new species of titanosaur was namedGarumbatitan morellensis.
Footprint-covered cliff
Researchers discovered that a remote cliff in Alaska was covered infossilized footprint from dozens of unlike dinosaurs .
The 20 - story rock face , which researchers dubbed " The Coliseum , " contains cartroad from tusk dinosaurs , small raptors , duck - bill dinosaur and at least one tyrannosaur . The footprints were not immediately obvious to the researchers until the John Rock caught the Dominicus at a specific slant . But they are " incredibly detailed . "
Around 70 million years ago , the drop was a muddy caterpillar track next to a tearing hole . But at some point after the footprints fossilized , the ground was lifted into the air and turned on its side by a tectonic crustal plate collision .
A cliff covered with footprints from multiple dinosaurs was discovered in Alaska.
‘Mortal combat’ battle
Researchers exploringChina ’s " dinosaur Pompeii " reveal the knit fossils of a small biped dinosaur and a Wisconsinite - like mammal thatappear to have been locked in a battle to the deathwhen they were entombed by a volcanic eruption 125 million years ago .
Experts believe the rodent - like mammal , Repenomamus robustus , in all probability won the fight against the dinosaur from the genusPsittacosaurusbecause the furred creature ’s teeth were embedded in the dinosaur ’s ribcage .
The new finding upends researcher ' assumptions that dinosaur in the main huntedmammalsand not the other means around .
A dinosaur and a small mammal were in a fight to the death when they were killed by a volcanic eruption 125 million years ago.
Fossilized voice box
Researchers in Mongolia discovered an80 million - twelvemonth - old voice box from an armoured dinosaur . It is the first - ever non - avian dinosaur larynx ever found .
The unique eubstance part belong toPinacosaurus grangeri — a squat , armour - plat and society - tailedankylosaur .
Until now , researchers guess that most dinosaur communicated via crocodilian reptile - alike grunt , hoot , rumbles and boom . However , the shape and structure of the voice box hint that it was capable of acquire more dame - like sounds , include chirp , which suggest dinosaurs may have had a more complex vocal repertoire than previously thought .
For the first time ever, paleontologists unearthed a dinosaur voice box.
Animated ‘missing link’
A never - before - seen duck - bill dinosaur was unearth in Chile and brought to life story in a stunninganimation that indicate it walking , drinking and socializing .
The newly identified hadrosaurus species , Gonkoken nanoi , date to around 72 million years ago . By analyzing its tooth , vertebrae , skull bones , jaw fragments , limb bones and ribs , investigator recreated what it may have await like and how it behaved .
The squad believes thatG. nanoirepresents an " evolutionary contact " between older and younger hadrosaurus species .
A never-before-seen species of duck-billed dinosaur was brought to life in a new animation.
Blade-like armor
A never - before - seen coinage of ankylosaur let out in the U.K.was in all likelihood cover in brand - same spikes .
The new metal money , Vectipelta barretti , dates to 140 million class ago . It hadosteoderms , or bony home , in the shape of a scythe that adhere out from the residue of its armor metal plating . Researchers reconstructed its intact frame using a computer programme to piece together the fogy they found .
Two other ankylosaur specie have also been expose in the same area as the new fogey butV. barrettidoes not appear to be tight related to either of them . Instead , the new metal money is more closely touch to ankylosaurs line up in China . This suggest that the armored dinosaur may have take in charge a antecedently obscure migration from what is now Asia to what is now Europe .
A new species of ankylosaur was discovered on the Isle of Wight in England.
A godly raptor
researcher discovered a new mintage of plant - feeding , raptor - like dinosaur from dodo in Utah and list it after a two - faced Roman god .
The newly draw species , Iani smithi , see back to around 99 million year ago during a period of extreme clime modification that kill off multiple dinosaur linage . It was likely a " missing link " between early bird - like dinosaurs and a chemical group of duck’s egg - bill dinosaurs . The nameIaniis a cite to Janus , the R.C. god of change who is often depicted with two faces .
" This dinosaur stand up on the precipice — able to search back at the mode North American ecosystems were in the past tense , but shut enough to see the future derive like a bullet power train , " researchers said .
The newly describedIani smithiwas named after a Roman god.
Feather X-rays
This year researcher reanalyzed fossilized feathers from several non - avian dinosaurs using disco biscuit - irradiation scans . It turns out , dino feathers weremore similar to advanced Bronx cheer feathers than we realized .
The fossils , which included feathers fromSinornithosaurusandConfuciusornis , contained traces of corneous beta - proteins ( formerly hump as beta - keratins ) , which are proteins necessary for strengthen feathers for flight . When the researcher compare these proteins to the same proteins from zebra finches ( Taeniopygia ) , they obtain that they were unusually similar .
The researchers had expected that dinosaur feathers would be made from a more primitive rendering of the protein , but the final result show that the same proteins have been present in feathering for eons .
Dinosaur feathers are more similar to modern bird feathers than researchers expected.
" The interpersonal chemistry of modern - twenty-four hours plume is actually a lot more ancient than we antecedently thought , " the researchers said .
Communal nests
In Canada , researchers unearthed the fossilise remains ofegg - make full nest that belong to a little skirt - like dinosaur , Troodon formosus .
The nests , which date back to 74 million years ago , had too many testicle for one individual to have place alone , which advise that multiple females belike shared a undivided nest . This is the first evidence of communal nesting ever seen in dinosaur .
analytic thinking of the egg case propose thatT. formosuswas endothermic , or warm - blooded , which means the females may have taken go brooding on top of the ball .
Researchers discovered that some small dinosaur moms used communal nests.
