Study casts doubt on the idea of 'big fluffy T. rex'
Despite its ancestors having feathers, Tyrannosaurus rex most likely had scaly skin, according to fossil evidence. Researchers say the huge predator had scales much like modern reptiles rather than feathers or fluff. The dinosaur may have ditched its feathers because it no longer needed insulation when it reached gigantic proportions, they propose. Read more
New idea shakes up dinosaur family tree for T. Rex and pals
Tyrannosaurus Rex and his buddies could be on the move as a new study proposes a massive shake-up of the dinosaur family tree. Scientists who took a deeper look at dinosaur fossils suggest a different evolutionary history for dinosaurs, moving theropods such as T. Rex to a new branch of the family tree and hinting at an earlier and more northern origin for dinosaurs. The revised dinosaur tree makes more sense than the old one, initially designed more than a century ago based on hip shape, said Matt Baron, a paleontology doctoral student at the University of Cambridge in England. He is the lead author of the study in Wednesday's journal Nature. Read more
Those tiny T. rex arms appear little used, researchers say
It turns out The Field Museum's T. rex Sue didn't use those tiny arms very much. At least that's the initial conclusion from a detailed look at the fossil's right forelimb at the Argonne National Laboratory outside Chicago. Researchers there used a scan to generate a 3-D image of the arm bones down to the cellular level. Read more
A 201-million-year-old dinosaur that fell out of a cliff face at Penarth in South Wales in 2014 has been formally named as Dracoraptor hanigani. Loosely translated, the Dracoraptor part means "dragon thief"; hanigani honours Rob and Nick Hanigan - the two fossil-hunting brothers who found it. In a new analysis, scientists say the specimen is possibly the oldest known Jurassic dinosaur from the UK. Read more
Welsh dinosaur foot found by university student could be mini T-Rex ancestor
A Welsh university student has discovered what could be the world's oldest Jurassic dinosaur on a beach during an archaeological dig. Palaeontology student Sam Davies' academic career got an unexpected leg-up when he made the discovery while searching for fossils on Lavernock Beach, near Penarth. Read more
Scientists have discovered the unique internal structure of the serrated teeth belonging to carnivorous dinosaurs like T. rex and Allosaurus. This structure allowed them to rip through flesh and bones of larger animals, surviving as top predators for around 165 million years. Read more
Two fossilised dinosaur teeth found in southern Japan are the first evidence that huge tyrannosaurs once roamed the area, it's reported. The teeth were discovered in an 81 million-year-old layer of rock in Nagasaki Prefecture last year, and now palaeontologists have announced that they're likely from the lower jaw of a 10m (33ft) long dinosaur Read more
Wales' 'first meat-eating' Jurassic dinosaur on show
A fossilised skeleton of a meat-eating Jurassic dinosaur found on a south Wales beach is being revealed to the public for the first time. The small theropod dinosaur - a distant cousin of the giant Tyrannosaurus rex - was uncovered by spring storms in 2014 at Lavernock, Vale of Glamorgan. Read more
Daspletosaurus fossil has battle scars and signs of cannibalism
The skull of an adolescent tyrannosaur shows signs of vicious combat and of being eaten by other big dinosaurs, possibly of the same species. The 500kg animal was a Daspletosaurus, a slightly smaller cousin of the mighty T. rex - which has already faced scientific accusations of cannibalism. Read more
Scientists have unveiled what appears to be the first truly semiaquatic dinosaur, Spinosaurus aegyptiacus. New fossils of the massive Cretaceous-era predator reveal it adapted to life in the water some 95 million years ago, providing the most compelling evidence to date of a dinosaur able to live and hunt in an aquatic environment. Read more