Tag archives for Paul Sereno
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National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence Paul Sereno and his team have discovered a new dinosaur species! Pegomastax africanus was only about 2 feet long, and had fangs and was covered with quills like a porcupine’s. Even though it had fangs, this tiny dino ate plants. Because of its small size, Sereno says that “it would be a nice pet–if you could train it not to nip you.”
Would you like to have a dinosaur as a pet?
Read more about Pegomastax africanus on National Geographic News.
Read about more tiny dinos on National Geographic Kids.
Learn more about Paul Sereno and the rest of the National Geographic explorers.
llustration by Todd Marshall via Science
Meet Raptorex kriegsteini, a new dinosaur species described this week in the journal Science. This “tiny” Tyrannosaurus rex ancestor would still look big to us at nine feet (three meters) tall., but quite small compared to its descendent T. rex. Other than the size difference, the two dinosaurs look remarkably alike, according to Paul Sereno of the University of Chicago and a National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence.
This new dino changes the way scientists think about the evolution of T. rex‘s short arms. Raptorex kriegsteini also had short arms, meaning that T. rex‘s short arms evolved later than previously believed, according to Thomas Holtz of the University of Maryland (who is not associated with the study).
Learn more about this find on National Geographic News.
Get the facts on Tyrannosaurus rex on National Geographic Kids.
Search for T. rex bones in Zipper’s Cave Maze.
Learn
more about paleontologist and National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence
Paul Sereno on National Geographic.
Scientists have uncovered a new dinosaur in Argentina, and it’s a big one! The Austroraptor cabazai is the largest raptor ever found in South America and it is among the largest members of the carnivorous raptor family. These raptors grew to be 16.5 to 21 feet long (5 to 6.5 meters).
A raptor this big would certainly have been a fierce predator. Paul Sereno, a paleontologist at the University of Chicago, says that “this was a monster raptor that makes the Velociraptor look like kid’s play.”
Read more on National Geographic News.
Check out the Velociraptor Creature Feature.
Learn more about paleontologist and National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence Paul Sereno on National Geographic.
Image courtesy Fernando Novas
