Meat-eating Dinosaurs Not So Carnivorous After All

Scientists have found that although Tyrannosaurus rex may have been a flesh-eating terror, many of his closest relatives were more content with vegetarian fare.

The scientists used statistical analyzes to determine the diet of 90 species of theropod dinosaurs. Their results challenge the conventional view that nearly all theropods hunted prey, especially those closest to the ancestors of birds.

The research shows that among the most bird-like dinosaurs--known as coelurosaurs--plant eating was a common way of life.

"Most theropods are clearly adapted to a predatory lifestyle, but somewhere on the line to birds, predatory dinosaurs went soft," says Lindsay Zanno, co-researcher of the study.

New Mexico giant dinosaur - Titanoceratops

"Many unknown dinosaurs await discovery in rock formations all over the world, however some new species are defeat in plain sight. One such animal, explained in an in-press Cretaceous Research paper, had one of the biggest heads of any dinosaur."

The recognition of Titanoceratops creates new hypotheses about the evolution of the last of North America’s horned dinosaurs. At about 74 million years old, Titanoceratops expands the range of the Triceratopsini back about five million years and may specify that large body size evolved among this subgroup earlier than had been thought.

Though surely an imposing specimen, the main value of Titanoceratops may be in assisting paleontologists trace the evolution of horned dinosaurs just ahead of the catastrophic end-Cretaceous mass extinction.

For more information visit this link Titanoceratops.

Horny find uncovers Triceratops' predecessor

Two enormous heads arrayed with horns are the first striking images of a pair of newly discovered dinosaur species.

The ornate heads belong to Kosmoceratops richardsoni and the Utahceratops gettyi, two species of dinosaur found in southern Utah's Grand-Staircase-Escalante National Monument.

Both Kosmoceratops and Utahceratops were plant-eating inhabitants of the 'long lost continent' of Laramidia about 76 million years ago, says Dr Eric Roberts, one of the scientists involved in the discovery, who is now based at James Cook University in Townsville.

"The two dinosaurs are relatives of the famous Triceratops but they are about 10 million years older," says Roberts.

He says it's particularly exciting because they are among the first of many dinosaur discoveries being made in the region.

"The area we're working in is yielding a whole slew of other dinosaurs as well," says Roberts.

"This pair is from a whole amazing range of discoveries, from other dinosaurs to other mammals."

The two new dinosaurs have a much more elaborate array of horns than the more familiar Triceratops, with the smaller of the two, Kosmoceratops, baring 15 of different shapes and sizes.

It is the most ornate dinosaur head yet discovered ('kosmos' is Greek for ornate). The discoverers speculate that rather than being used for fighting, the horns may have been for decoration and advantage in courtship displays, as well as to deter mating rivals.

The Utahceratops doesn't have so many horns, but is distinguished with a massive head - its skull measuring 2.3 metres long. It is said to resemble a giant rhino with a supersized head.

AMNH declared 'The World's Largest Dinosaurs' Exhibition starts on April 16, 2011 and end on January 2, 2012

The American Museum of Natural History today announced a foremost new exhibition, The World's Largest Dinosaurs (from April 16, 2011 to January 2, 2012), which will get visitors beyond the bones and into the amazing anatomy of a uniquely super-sized group of dinosaurs who flourished for 140 million years: the long-necked and long-tailed sauropods, which ranged in size from 15 to 150 feet long.

Drawing on the most recent science that looks in part to presented organisms to realize these long-extinct giants, The World's Largest Dinosaurs will reply such intriguing questions as how an very large animal breathes, eats, moves, and survives by illuminating how size and scale are related to fundamental biological functions.

Modern interactive exhibits-including the centerpiece, a life-sized, detailed model of a 60-foot Mamenchisaurus-will receive visitors inside these giants' bodies, shedding light on how heart rate, respiration, metabolism, and reproduction are linked to size.

Cause of death of dinosaurs

Our current thinking is that dinosaurs passed away due to the following sequence of events:

A large asteroid from space crashing to the earth, producing a large amount of debris in the atmosphere.

The high amount of debris created dirty "clouds" which blocked out the sunlight and reduced the amount of sunlight reaching the earth.

Because of the reduced sunlight, plants began to die off. These plants included those which served as the dinosaurs food. The dinosaurs also began to die off due to the lack of food.

Over time scientists have had several theories regarding the disappearance of Dinosaurs. As I mentioned this is the current idea.

Dinosaurs Like You've Never Seen Before!

Fighting Dinosaurs: New Discoveries from Mongolia features more than 30 of the best preserved and scientifically important dinosaur and other ancient animal fossils ever discovered in Mongolia's famed Gobi Desert. On view through the exhibition focuses on the "Fighting Dinosaurs" of Mongolia — one of the most famous fossil finds in the world. Never before seen in North America and designated a national treasure of Mongolia, are the two Fighting Dinosaurs a fierce Velociraptor that was apparently buried alive while attacking a plant-eating, shield-headed Protoceratops.

Also featured are many new specimens from Mongolia, including a number of species yet to be named, some of the most complete meat-eating theropod dinosaurs ever found, several nesting dinosaurs, and some of the finest lizard and mammal fossils ever discovered. These specimens have enhanced our understanding of life in the Gobi region 80 million years ago, and they shed new light on the rise of modern bird and mammal groups.

This exhibition showcases discoveries and research by Museum and Mongolian Academy of Sciences paleontologists over the last 10 years, and reflects the most current thinking on dinosaur traits, behavior, and evolutionary links to birds. Discoveries in China from just two years ago reveal that a number of dinosaur species had feathers; among the highlights of the exhibition are fully feathered models of Velociraptor (shown above) and a nesting Oviraptor protecting its eggs.