Juliasaurus
Image courtesy Wikimedia Commons
I wondered is this was an April Fool’s joke, but apparently Juliasaurus Paleo was discovered in the Morrison Formation, Wyoming, North America in 2020. The Morrison Formation, an area covering 1-3 million square kilometres, has been a rich source of dinosaur fossils since the late nineteenth century.
It prowled the earth around ninety million years before its infamous, much larger cousin, Tyrannosaurus Rex. Its skull formation and dentition suggest that it slashed its prey rather than crushing it. Juliasaurus is a specimen that is almost three-quarters complete, which is unusual, as most dinosaur discoveries are highly fragmented.
Research continues to determine whether Juliasaurus is an entirely new species.
Meanwhile, on loan from a private collector, it goes on public display at Hollytrees Museum in Colchester on April 3rd.
It doesn't look terrifying - but who knows what a dinosaur really looked like. I read somewhere recently that there is a rethink going on over skin and scales to 'maybe' they were covered in feathers. Big Chook....
ReplyDeleteIt amazes me how new species can be discovered after all this time.
ReplyDeleteI find all dinosaur findings vey interesting, though I do feel sorry for the T-Rex with his shorter upper limbs. Life must have been harder with those.
ReplyDeleteI guess but needed a better publicist to get on Jurassic park
ReplyDeleteWyoming is my original homeland- dinosaur bones and poop were a common thing to find while strolling through sage and dirt. There is a house not far from my home made entirely out of dinosaur bones called "the oldest house on the planet".
ReplyDeleteMy favourite dinosaur is the "doyouthinkhesaurus"!
ReplyDeleteIt looks very much like a brontosaurus to me. I wonder where it got its name from; was it after the woman who found the skeleton, or funded the excavation?
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ReplyDeleteThe best April fool I saw was an article about the new inflatable boats commissioned by the Royal Navy with a view to doubling the size of the fleet. They would be tested on the Serpentine lake in London...
ReplyDeleteLocally we had another giant leek in a newly repaired road.
ReplyDeleteMmmm ;) That wonderful tracking source called my co-pilot can't find it but I am sure Juliasaurus exists.
ReplyDeleteAmazing that it took this long to discover a new species of dinosaur
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