The Coolest Dinosaur-Age Discoveries of 2023

A mammal… inside a dinosaur

A paleoart illustration of Microraptor eating a mammal’s foot. Illustration: Ralph Attanasia

Okay, this one is technically from December 2022, but close enough. Paleontologists found a small, four-winged dinosaur—Microraptor zhaoinus—with a mammal’s food in its stomach. More dino-mammal interactions please, paleontology! We can’t get enough of them. Read more.

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Meet Nanotyrannus, a Tiny Tyrannosaur Previously Mistaken for a Teenage T. Rex

Paleontologists have long debated whether small tyrannosaurs were their own species or simply teenage T. rexes. This debate just got a major shake-up.

Biology Margherita Bassi Oct 30

This Dinosaur Probably Chirped Like a Bird

A new fossil discovery in China could push the evolutionary origins of birdsong back millions of years.

Biology Natalia Mesa Jul 27

Newly Discovered Dinosaur Is T. Rex’s Awkward Cousin

This new tyrannosauroid serves as an evolutionary link between the colossal T. rex and its tinier ancestors.

Biology Natalia Mesa Jun 11

Wealthy Collectors Are Snatching Up T. Rex Fossils, Leaving Scientists Behind

More than half of the world's scientifically useful T. rexes are in the hands of private or commercial owners, and not accessible to scientists, according to research.

Biology Isaac Schultz Apr 19

Iron Coating on Komodo Dragon Teeth Sets Them Apart as the Most Metal Lizards

If Komodo dragons weren't terrifying enough already, researchers accidentally discovered that their razor sharp, serrated teeth are coated in metal.

Biology Adam Kovac Jul 25

Illustration: Andrey Atuchin/Museum of Evolution in Maribo, Denmark.

Meet ‘Loki,’ the Triceratops Relative With the Most Unbelievable Frill Horns

Lokiceratops rangiformis made its home in parts of what's now northern Montana and is thought to have the largest frill horns ever seen among its kind to date.

Biology Ed Cara Jun 20