Five of our Favorite Paleontology Publications of 2021
Last year was a year full of new research on dinosaurs and other fossil creatures, and here are some of our favorite paleontology papers that made headlines in 2021! From dino butts to bony armor, paleontologists published some amazing discoveries. What were your favorites?
An exceptionally preserved dinosaur egg
The discovery of one of the best preserved dinosaur eggs ever discovered is teaching us about the way dinosaurs grew and hatched, and is another reminder of their close link to modern birds. The egg, found in the Late Cretaceous Hekou Formation of China, contains the beautifully articulated embryo of an oviraptorid theropod dinosaur. By studying this embryo, the authors of this paper were able to determine that this dinosaur was sitting in its egg in a similar position to the pose of modern birds before hatching.
Artist: Lida Xing
Artist: Bob Nicholls
The first “perfect & unique” preserved dinosaur butt hole (yes, you read that correctly)
The preservation of soft tissue (body parts other than bones and teeth) is rare in the fossil record, but one exquisitely preserved specimen of the Cretaceous dinosaur Psittacosaurus was found with soft tissue preservation and is teaching us about never before studied dino anatomy. This specimen had previously been the subject of studies on its color, patterns, and feather-like protrusions on its tail, but it also has a perfectly preserved dino posterior. This discovery is the first direct evidence that dinosaurs had a cloaca, a multipurpose hole for everything from laying eggs to pooping. Plenty of modern animals have cloacas too, including birds, reptiles, and even a few mammals!
Armored to the bone
Spicomellus afer is a new dinosaur discovered in Africa may be the oldest known member of the group of armored dinos called ankylosaurs. But its age isn’t the only exciting thing about this new dinosaur, it also possessed a unique anatomical feature not seen anywhere else in the animal kingdom: bony spikes growing directly out of its ribs! While ankylosaurs are known for having armor all over their bodies (even on their eyelids), this dinosaur is the first known with spikes growing straight out of its ribs.
Image credit: Natural History Museum, London
Artist: Mauricio Alvarez
A dinosaur the size of a dog with a tail like Viking weaponry
Another unique and exciting ankylosaur discovery announced this year, Stegouros elengassen was found in southern Chile. This ankylosaur had an interesting variation on the round tail clubs of its northern relatives, with a broad, flat tail weapon resembling an axe or sword more than a club. Its unusual anatomy also suggests it may be part of an early group of ankylosaurs that split off from the family tree along with other species found in Australia and Antarctica.
Earth's first giant
Image credit: Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County
If you pay attention to paleontology news, you may have heard about a huge and amazingly intact ichthyosaur specimen that was recently discovered in the U.K., but a paper describing another giant ichthyosaur was published late last year. Cymbospondylus youngorum is the earliest known reptile of its kind, and has been called "Earth's first giant". It lived during the middle of the Triassic period and grew to 17 meters, the size of a sperm whale! While the specimen is an amazing discovery in itself, it is also helping us understand the rate of the evolution of gigantism in ichthyosaurs, which may provide insights into how whales came to attain their massive size.