dinosaurs

That said, humanities majors like Jeff Goldblum tried to prevent Jurassic Park from happening while those pesky scientists soldiered on.

This is either the most disgusting or coolest thing I've seen BBC News report on ever.

Via Washington Post:

A new species found in North Carolina is one of the oldest and largest crocodile relatives ever known.

Back before dinosaurs were the big bads of our continent, Carnufex carolinensis ruled the scene. At nine feet long and walking on its hind legs, this croc would have been a fierce predator 230 million years ago. Researchers described the species (which translates to "Carolina Butcher," which is awesome) for the first time Thursday in Scientific Reports.

Via the Smithsonian:

It may be one of the most famous dinosaurs of all time. The trouble is that shortly after being discovered, the Jurassic creature fell into an identity crisis. The name for the long-necked, heavy-bodied herbivore Brontosaurus excelsus—the great "thunder lizard"—was tossed into the scientific wastebasket when it was discovered that the dinosaur wasn't different enough from other specimens to deserve its own distinct genus.

But now, in a paleontological twist, Brontosaurus just might be back. A new analysis of dinosaur skeletons across multiple related species suggests that the original thunder lizard is actually unique enough to resurrect the beloved moniker, according to researchers in the U.K. and Portugal.

Diplodocids, the group of long-necked, four-legged, plant-eating dinosaurs that includes the apatosaurus (not a brontosaurus), have never been found in South America until a new species was discovered in Argentina last week. Leinkupal laticauda, whose name means "vanishing family" (heartbreaking!) and "broad tail" (uh, ok), has projections on the bones of its spine that set it apart from any other known species of dinosaur. But new species, never before found in South America, whatever, who cares—one of the most interesting things about this find is that diplodocids were all believed to have died out in the Jurassic Period (you know the one), but this fossil is dated from the Cretaceous, making it the most recent diplodocid ever found.

Archaeologists have unearthed the fossil of a "four-winged" dinosaur bird – indicating that feathered dinosaurs may have been able to fly before the evolution of birds.

The long tail feathers of Changyuraptor, from north-east China, would have provided the stability and speed control required for a safe landing.

At four feet long and weighing 90 pounds, the creature, which lived 125 million years ago, is the biggest dinosaur of its type yet discovered.

The well-preserved fossil shows that its body was cloaked by a full set of feathers and, in comparison with its body size, the foot-long tail feathers were unusually long.