Sauropodomorpha

Footprints are among the most common kind of dinosaur fossils. Sometimes scientists find a single, lonely footprint. Sometimes they come across a chaotic jumble of tracks resembling a dance floor, sort of a dinosaur discotheque. But identifying which dinosaur left which track has been notoriously difficult.

New AI method helps identify which dinosaur made which footprintsCNA

Researchers have now developed a method harnessing artificial intelligence to assist in pinpointing the type of dinosaur responsible for the tracks, based on eight different traits of a given footprint.

230-Million-Year-Old Dinosaur Footprint is Australia’s Oldest: Study | Sci.NewsSci.News: Breaking Science News

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Ichnofossils from Petrie’s Quarry at Albion in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. Image credit: Anthony Romilio & Bruce Runnegar, doi: 10.1080/03115518.2025.2607630.

The footprint, measuring 18.5 cm (7 inches) long, was collected at Petrie’s Quarry (part of the Aspley Formation) in 1958 along with a slab bearing a narrow linear groove interpreted as a possible tail trace.

Both specimens were removed from the quarry before the site was redeveloped and have since passed through several university teaching collections.

“This is the only dinosaur fossil to be found in an Australia capital city and shows how globally significant discoveries can remain hidden in plain sight,” said Dr. Anthony Romilio, a paleontologist at the University of Queensland.

“Subsequent urban development has made the original site inaccessible, leaving this footprint as the only surviving dinosaur evidence from the area.”

Although fragmentary, the Albion footprint preserves impressions of three forward-pointing digits and shows a fan-shaped outline with weak central toe dominance, features consistent with a bipedal dinosaur.

The detailed 3D modeling and morphometric analysis indicate that the track closely resembles the ichnogenus Evazoum, a type of footprint associated elsewhere with early sauropodomorph dinosaurs.

Dippy the dinosaur to stay in Coventry until 2027www.bbc.com

Dippy the Diplodocus is to spend another year in Coventry after the exhibit's residency in the city was extended due to its popularity, said organisers.

The 85ft-long ( 26 meters ) replica dinosaur skeleton arrived at Herbert Art Gallery and Museum in 2023, but now a three-year loan from London's Natural History Museum has been extended until 19 February 2027.

Museum heads said the "nation's favourite dinosaur" had captured the imagination of hundreds of thousands of visitors to the Coventry venue.

"Dippy has been a huge hit for visitors of all ages over the last three years", said Marguerite Nugent at CV Life, which manages the museum.

Official paper :

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/400003503_HERE_SIZE_IS_NO_ACCIDENT_A_NOVEL_FOOD_WEB_ANALYSIS_OF_THE_DRY_MESA_DINOSAUR_QUARRY_AND_ECOLOGICAL_IMPACT_OF_MORRISON_FORMATION_SAUROPOD_FAUNA?origin=mail

Baby dinosaurs were common prey for Late Jurassic predators, reconstructed food web suggestsphys.org

''' A reconstruction of a Late Jurassic Dry Mesa Dinosaur Quarry ecosystem around 150 million years ago which shows a diverse array of bipedal theropod dinosaurs including the largest in the ecosystem Torvosaurus ( far right in the brown ) alongside Two Allosaurus in the center ( green ) hunting a Stegosaurus ( green with red plates on its back ) ~ while Ceratosaurus and Marshosaurus prowl for food in a shallow stream and a Stokesosaurus pursues a small mammal, in the U.S. state of Colorado...

in this illustration obtained by Reuters on January 28, 2026. University College London/Sergey Krasovskiy and Pedro Salas/Handout via REUTERS Purchase Licensing Rights

TL;DR : Study looked at a Jurassic Period ecosystem in Colorado. The Researchers reconstructed the food web in the ecosystem; and voila ! The Slow and defenseless baby sauropods tempted predators.

Baby Dinosaurs Were the Ultimate Fast Food for Jurassic PredatorsScienceBlog.com

It may have been suicidal for a predator to go after a healthy adult Brachiosaurus, a behemoth weighing perhaps 60 tons that was a member of the long-necked group of dinosaurs called sauropods that included the largest land animals ever on Earth.

But ~ as new research shows, Brachiosaurus and other sauropod babies appear to have been regular dinner fare for meat-eating dinosaurs 150 million years ago.

Using multiple lines of evidence, scientists reconstructed the food web for a Jurassic Period ecosystem represented by the numerous fossils unearthed at the Dry Mesa Dinosaur Quarry in southwestern Colorado, mapping out who ate what and who ate whom...

The ecosystem was teeming with life, with at least six types of sauropods, known for their long necks, small heads, four pillar-like legs and lengthy tails, and five types of meat-eating dinosaurs.

There also were various other plant-eating dinosaurs as well as flying reptiles called pterosaurs, smaller reptiles, early mammals, crocs, fish and insects. The researchers concluded that baby, young and juvenile sauropods were the most common food source for the meat-eating dinosaurs at the top of the food chain.

" These sauropods would have been high in abundance compared to larger adult sauropods and were relatively defenseless and slow-moving, hence easy to catch and a perfect snack " said paleontologist Cassius Morrison, a postdoctoral researcher at University College London and lead author of the study published in the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science Bulletin, opens new tab.

Baby dinosaurs were common prey for Late Jurassic predators, reconstructed food web suggests | Phys.org@linkedin

• https://phys.org/news/2026-01-baby-dinosaurs-common-prey-late.html

• https://www.reuters.com/science/baby-long-necked-dinosaurs-were-perfect-snack-predators-2026-01-30/

• https://scitechdaily.com/the-biggest-dinosaurs-left-their-babies-to-be-eaten/

A vertebrate palaeontologist at the University of Queensland put it simply: some tracks here are so huge, most people could actually fit inside one. The dinosaurs that left them probably stood about 5.3 to 5.5 meters tall at the hip. Even for dinosaurs, that’s seriously massive !

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These footprints sit in what people now like to call Australia’s own Jurassic Park. Along the coast where the Broome Sandstone stretches out, scientists have found over 150 tracks from at least 21 different kinds of dinosaurs.

We’re talking big meat-eaters like theropods, two-legged plant-eaters called ornithopods, armoured dinosaurs known as thyreophorans, and quite a few sauropods too.

This makes the site one of the most varied dinosaur tracksites you’ll find anywhere, and it gives Australia some of its best proof of dinosaur life from the Early Cretaceous.

Australia uncovers the world’s largest dinosaur footprints from 130 million years ago | World News - The Times of IndiaThe Times of India

Paleontologists Unearth New Species of Titanosaur in Argentina | Sci.NewsSci.News: Breaking Science News

A new genus and species of titanosaur sauropod dinosaur that lived during the Cretaceous period has been identified from the fossilized remains found in northern Patagonia, Argentina.

Named Yeneen houssayi, the new species roamed our planet approximately 83 million years ago (Late Cretaceous epoch).

The ancient creature belongs to Titanosauria, a group of large, long-necked, plant-eating dinosaurs that were widespread across the supercontinent Gondwana.

First new fossils in more than 100 years discovered at Colorado's Dinosaur National Monumentphys.org

Dinosaur bones found underneath parking lot in Dinosaur, ColoradoPopular Science

First new fossils in more than 100 years discovered at Colorado’s Dinosaur National MonumentPonca City News

Another dinosaur found at Dinosaur National Monument outside ColoradoDenver Gazette

'''' Parking lot construction at Colorado's Dinosaur National Monument unearthed new fossils last fall, the first discovery at the monument in more than 100 years, according to the National Park Service. Monument staff discovered the fossils—which likely belong to the Diplodocus, a large, long-necked dinosaur — on Sept. 16 near the Quarry Exhibit Hall, according to a news release from the park service.

Asphalt removal during construction exposed dinosaur-bearing sandstone. The Quarry Exhibit Hall, also known as the "Wall of Bones," showcases roughly 1,500 dinosaur bones from the Late Jurassic period, some dating back 150 million years, according to the park service... ''''

https://scitechdaily.com/these-giant-long-necked-dinosaurs-could-stand-upright-and-scientists-finally-figured-out-why/

https://abdullahfarhan.com/these-giant-long-necked-dinosaurs-could-stand-upright-and-scientists-finally-figured-out-why/

https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1103088

scitechdaily.com

Two Neuquensaurus stand on their hind legs to reach the top of a tree. Computational analyses indicate that the species could easily remain in this position 66 million years ago. Credit: Guilherme Gehr

Sixty-six million years ago, two types of long-necked, four-legged dinosaurs had an edge over other sauropods because they could readily rise up and remain standing on their hind legs for long stretches of time. This ability likely helped them deter predators and reach leaves growing high in trees, among other advantages.

The Brazilian Uberabatitan and the Argentine Neuquensaurus were roughly comparable in size to a modern elephant. While they were relatively small members of the sauropod group, adult Uberabatitans are estimated to have grown as long as 26 - 27 meters, making them the largest dinosaurs known from Brazil !

Because of their enormous size, these animals were probably only able to stay upright for extended periods when they were still young. This finding comes from a study supported by FAPESP and published in the journal Palaeontology. The research team included scientists from Brazil, Germany, and Argentina.

Researchers Discover the Largest Dinosaur Footprints Ever Found, Big Enough to Swallow a Grown Adult WholeThe Daily Galaxy - Great Discoveries Channel

The biggest dinosaur footprints ever found were hiding in plain sight, and they were almost destroyed.

Deep in the sandstone cliffs of Western Australia’s remote Kimberley region, researchers have uncovered dinosaur footprints of unprecedented scale, some extending over 1.7 meters in length.

Etched into the tidal flats over 130 million years ago, these giant impressions were left by sauropods, among the largest animals to ever walk the Earth.

Scientists from the University of Queensland report that the site offers much more than just size, it contains an extraordinary range of 21 different dinosaur track types, making it one of the richest and most varied fossil tracksites ever found.

Argentina: Thousands of Fossils Recovered after Being Smuggled to SpainOCCRP

[ Argentina : Thousands of Fossils Recovered after Being Smuggled to Spain ]

Fossils from the largest cultural property theft in Argentina's history have returned home. More than 6,400 specimens, including The world's oldest daisy flower fossil and a complete duck-billed dinosaur skeleton, were officially handed over to the Río Negro Province on Tuesday, three years after they were smuggled into Spain in September 2020.

The trafficked fossils were part of the extensive collection of the now-shuttered Museum of Paleontology located in San Carlos de Bariloche in the province of Rio Negro. The museum, which was founded in the 1990s, has been closed since 2019. Authorities say Rodolfo Pedro Corsolini, the museum’s director, was responsible for illegally shipping the paleontological collection to Spain. Corsolini reportedly requested permission from the Secretariat of Culture of Rio Negro to take the pieces out of the country in April 2020, but was denied.

After the refusal, neighbors of the museum noticed unusual activities at the closed museum. By the time the customs authorities were informed, the fossils were gone....

160-Million-Year-Old Dinosaur Footprints Discovered in Chile | Sci.NewsSci.News: Breaking Science News

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Paleoartistic reconstruction of Quebrada Huatacondo during the Late Jurassic epoch. Image credit: Nahuel Vásquez.

“The Late Jurassic fossil record exhibits notable disparities in the abundance and distribution of dinosaur tracksites between Laurasia and Gondwana,” said Dr. Marko Yurac from the Unidad de Patrimonio Paleontológico and his colleagues.

“In Europe alone, several sites have been documented, including those in Italy, Croatia, Poland, Spain, Switzerland, France, Germany, and Portugal.”

“Additionally, North America hosts extensive tracksites with abundant ichnological evidence.”

“In contrast, the dinosaur track record in Gondwana is markedly more limited and fragmented. Notable exceptions include track-bearing outcrops in the High Atlas Mountains of Morocco.”

“Beyond these, ichnological evidence is relatively scarce, with only a few records from Australia.

“In South America, most dinosaur tracksites are concentrated along the eastern margin of the continent, particularly in Brazil, Guyana, and Uruguay, with additional reports from northern regions such as Colombia.”

“In contrast, the western margin of South America — corresponding to the western boundary of Gondwana — has yielded Late Jurassic dinosaur tracksites exclusively from Chile.”

More than 16,000 dinosaur tracks discovered at a site in Boliviaphys.org

16,000 dinosaur footprints discovered in Bolivia. It's the largest collection ever found | Discover WildlifeDiscover Wildlife

More than 16,000 tracks found at a ‘dinosaur freeway’ in Bolivia | CNNCNN

The world's largest dinosaur footprint site is located in the Bolivian desert and contains more than 16,000 footprints of these incredible animalsECOticias.com

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[] '''' | Scientists have discovered the single largest dinosaur track site in the world in Carreras Pampa, Torotoro National Park, Bolivia. The tracks were made about 70 million years ago, in the late Cretaceous Period, by theropods—bipedal three-toed dinosaurs—with bird tracks also present in this ancient beach scene...

More than 16,600 footprints and swim traces cover the ancient trackway surface, all heading in the same direction. Swim traces form when floating or swimming animals briefly touch the bottom, often with just their toes making contact. The researchers suggest the traces were made parallel to an ancient shoreline, which preserves beautiful ripple marks.

Modern studies of animals at African water holes and lake margins suggest that herbivores tend to move perpendicular to a shore, moving quickly across the open areas close to a lake. In contrast, carnivores tend to travel parallel to the shore, since this gives them the best chance of intersecting prey... | '''' []

Scientists found a hidden clock inside dinosaur eggshellsScienceDaily

Dinosaur eggshells are turning out to be time capsules—finally giving scientists a direct way to date the age of dinosaurs...

Researchers have found that fossilized dinosaur eggshells contain a natural clock that can reveal when dinosaurs lived. The technique delivers surprisingly precise ages and could revolutionize how fossil sites around the world are dated.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/images/1200/newly-hatched-troodontid-like-dinosaur.webp

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Theropod chick !

Artistic reconstruction of a newly hatched troodontid dinosaur [ 11DuckHunt moment ] peacefully resting among fragments of its eggshell (loosely based on Mongolian microtroodontid-type). These eggshells, when buried within ancient soil, interacted with meteoric waters, leading to early uranium incorporation into the eggshell calcite crystals. Credit: Eva Utsukiyouhei (宇津城遥平)

From : Thomas R. Holtz Jr : The Goat !

What Kind Of Parents Were Dinosaurs?IFLScience

Mammals tend to invest a lot in just a few offspring. Dinosaurs went a very different route.

Dinosaurs had more babies than mammals, and those babies fulfilled many ecological niches as they grew up.

The scientists digging in China discovered a fossil that changed the way we saw dinosaurs. It was a Psittacosaurus, a horned herbivore that lived around 120 million years ago. It wasn’t alone in death, however, as scientists found the fossils of 34 offspring huddled around it.

It was one of the earliest pieces of evidence that some form of parental care existed among dinosaurs, and could explain why we see parental instincts in modern-day birds and reptiles. We don’t know if this Psittacosaurus was a male or female, but then the idea that parental care is sex-specific is something of a mammalian outlook – a lens that’s often gotten in the way of us understanding dinosaur behavior....

Bringing up baby: preliminary exploration of the effect of ontogenetic niche partitioning in dinosaurs versus long-term maternal care in mammals in their respective ecosystemswww.italianjournalofgeosciences.it

The Mesozoic dinosaurs and Cenozoic mammals are often regarded as broadly ecologically equivalent, as they included the majority of medium-to-large-bodied terrestrial vertebrates of their respective eras. One of the most significant differences between them is their mode of reproduction: oviparity and large clutch size regardless of adult body size in the former; viviparity and litter size decreasing with adult body size in the latter.

Furthermore, the disparity between hatchling and adult body size is much greater in dinosaurs than neonate and adult body size in mammals on average. The effects of these differences are examined with regards to the size distribution and species richness in fossil communities. Species lists and estimated adult body sizes were assembled for Jurassic and Cretaceous dinosaur and Cenozoic mammal communities based on the instantaneous diversity within well-sampled formations.

The distribution of adult sizes within communities were compared to cases in which earlier growth stages were included: dinosaur hatchling size was estimated from known egg sizes of related taxa, while mammalian neonate size was estimated from those of extant relatives.

The size distribution including the entire ontogenetic series results in a greater shift of average body size in dinosaurian communities than in mammals due to the much smaller dinosaur baby size. However, these two sets of plots may not reflect the ecological realities of their respective communities. In many mammals the young are provisioned via lactation and later by provisioning by mothers until they are a substantial fraction of adult body size: thus, the adult-only plots for mammals may be accurate reflections in terms of the realised feeding community structure.

In contrast, evidence for long-term parental care in non-avian dinosaurs is scanty for most clades, with many juvenile dinosaurs living (individually or in small groups) independently for most of their lives. Thus, due to these ontogenetic niche shifts, plots in which different growth stages are counted as their own “taxa” might more accurately represent the trophic ecology within dinosaurian communities.

In this scenario, effective “species” counts are higher in dinosaurian communities compared to mammalian ones: a reversal of the situation when only adult size is examined.

https://scitechdaily.com/a-hidden-difference-between-dinosaurs-and-mammals-is-changing-sciences-view-of-the-past/

A Hidden Difference Between Dinosaurs and Mammals Is Changing Science’s View of the PastUnexplained Mysteries Discussion Forums

[] New research suggests dinosaurs lived in ecosystems very different from those shaped by modern mammals, not because of size or dominance, but because of how they raised their young.

Unlike mammals, juvenile dinosaurs quickly became independent, occupying ecological roles distinct from their parents...

New University of Maryland research suggests that dinosaur parenting strategies helped transform the Mesozoic world, as “latchkey kid dinosaurs” spread into ecological niches their parents left untouched... []

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• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SS6nbr-MZCE

Mamenchisaurus sanjiangensis

Paleontologists Discover New Species of Mamenchisaurid Dinosaur | Sci.NewsSci.News: Breaking Science News

Life Science Network

A new mamenchisaurid sauropod dinosaur from the upper jurassic of Southwest China reveals new evolutionary evidence from East Asian eusauropods - PubMedPubMed