This nearly whole, deep-black skull belongs to the most complete specimen of 'Tyrannosaurus rex' on display in Europe, an individual nicknamed Tristan Otto. With 170 of its 300-odd bones preserved, this scientifically important skeleton is held at the Museum für Naturkunde in Berlin, Germany. Discovered in 2010 in Montana’s famed Hell Creek Formation of the late Cretaceous, the 40-foot-long fossil took four years to excavate and prepare.
A close-up shows the spine and tail bristles on an incredibly well-preserved fossil of the herbivorous dinosaur 'Psittacosaurus mongoliensis', on display at the Senckenberg Museum in Frankfurt, Germany. These bristles are most likely related to the feathers found on other dinosaurs and may have been used for communication and display. The dark material seen here is the preserved remains of soft tissue, such as skin.
'Sinosauropteryx prima', from China’s northeastern province of Liaoning, was found in 1996 and is recognised as the first known feathered dinosaur. The discovery of downy plumage – seen here as dark fuzz surrounding the fossil – shook the foundations of paleontology; many dinosaur experts were already convinced that birds descended from dinosaurs, but here was the feathery proof turned to stone. More than 50 other species of dinosaur have been found with impressions or other evidence of feathers in the past few decades.
The fossil deposits of Liaoning, China, not only preserve dinosaurs, but also early birds, such as these delicate and beautiful specimens of the 120- to 125-million-year-old species 'Confuciusornis sanctus'. This bird – noted for its two long, ribbon-like tail feathers – is one of the most commonly discovered animals in the Yixian and Jiufotang formations of the early Cretaceous, with many hundreds of specimens now in Chinese museums. This means researchers can ask questions about variation within the population, an unusual opportunity in a fossil species.
At about 200 million years old, the dainty carnivore 'Coelophysis bauri' was one of the earliest dinosaurs to live in the U.S. Southwest. This late Triassic species, which is the state fossil of New Mexico, reached up to 3 metres (9.8 feet) in length but weighed just 16 to 21kg (33 to 44 pounds). This specimen has its head twisted back over its spine in what is known as the 'death pose' – a common position for fossilised dinosaurs that is possibly caused by the contraction of muscles and ligament after death.
These eggs belonged to sauropods, giant long-necked dinosaurs that grew to be the largest land animals that ever lived. While sauropod eggs have been found across the world, from Spain and France to Argentina and the United States, these particular specimens still embedded in rock hail from China. Dinosaur eggs are usually found in groups and would have been laid in depressions in the ground. They come in a variety of shapes and sizes, depending on the species, but sauropod eggs are typically round and about the size of a grapefruit.
A skull of the late Jurassic predatory dinosaur 'Allosaurus fragilis' remains encased in rock in the Quarry Exhibit Hall of the Dinosaur National Monument in Jensen, Utah. The apex carnivore of its time, 'Allosaurus' terrorised the western United States about 150 to 155 million years ago.
'Protoceratops andrewsi', an early relative of the horned dinosaur 'Triceratops', is seen on display at CosmoCaixa Barcelona as part of an exhibit of dinosaurs from Mongolia’s Gobi desert. Sheep-size 'Protoceratops' was a major prey animal for the turkey-size 'Velociraptor mongoliensis', and remarkable fossils of the two have sometimes been found locked in combat.
Exhibition workers put the finishing touches on an anatomically precise, life-size reconstruction of a 'Spinosaurus aegypticus' skeleton created from digital models of the fossil bones. The 17-metre (50-foot) long model went on display at the National Geographic Museum in Washington, D.C., in September 2014 as the centrepiece of the “Spinosaurus: Lost Giant of the Cretaceous” exhibition.
This close-up shows the formidable teeth and jaws of a female 'Tyrannosaurus rex' known as ‘Trix,” which is on display at the Natural History Museum of Leiden in the Netherlands. Excavated in 2013 in Montana by museum scientists, the fossil skeleton is more than 80 percent complete, ranking it among the top T. rex specimens in the world.
This picture shows armoured plates on the spectacularly complete fossil of an ankylosaur named 'Borealopelta markmitchelli'; the lighter bands represent more flexible tissue between this dinosaur’s tough defensive exterior. Discovered in 2011 at an oil sands mine in the Canadian state of Alberta, the fossil bears a crack from the impact of a tractor shovel. Thankfully, it was rescued from the mining machinery before more damage occurred. After six years and 7,000 hours of preparation, it is now on display at the Royal Tyrell Museum.
This unusual skull comes from a relative of 'Triceratops' named 'Kosmoceratops richardsoni'. This rhino-size ceratopsian dinosaur lived on the late Cretaceous landmass of Laramidia, which is today the western part of North America. 'Kosmoceratops' means “ornamented horned face,” and the species has 15 horns and frills on its skull, which were probably used to attract mates or battle rivals rather than defend against predators.
Two sets of footprints at the Moenkopi Dinosaur Tracks in Arizona were likely left by a mother and a young 'Dilophosaurus wetherilli' about 193 million years ago – an evocative record of dinosaur behavior from the early Jurassic period. These narrow, three-toed footprints are typical of carnivorous theropod dinosaurs.
As winds and rain pound surface layers of sediment, they slowly expose any dinosaur fossils encased within, which are made of more hardy material. Here, a two-foot-long section of the tail of a duck-billed hadrosaur emerges from sandstone. Some of the world’s best fossil-hunting locales are badlands, where surface sediments are rapidly eroded by weathering.
This cast of 'Triceratops horridus' resides at the Royal Tyrell Museum in Alberta, Canada. 'Triceratops' was the first known horned dinosaur, or ceratopsian, described in 1889. More than 80 other species of ceratopsians have now been described, the vast majority from western North America, and new finds are revealed every year.
A close-up shows the tail region of the early Cretaceous Chinese dinosaur, 'Sinornithosaurus millenii'. This feathered dromaeosaur relative of 'Velociraptor' had ossified tendons in its tail anchored by its vertebrae or backbones. These narrow bony rods stiffened the tail, improving balance and aiding manoeuverability for this fleet-footed, predatory species.
A set of dinosaur tracks crosses the Valley of the Dinosaurs in Sousa, northeastern Brazil. While fossilised dinosaur bones tell us about the anatomy of these long-extinct animals, so-called ichnofossils, such as footprints, teeth marks, nest scrapes, and coprolites (dung) give us important clues to the behaviour and lives of ancient species.
This skull of the dinosaur 'Velociraptor mongoliensis' comes from the early Cretaceous formations in Mongolia’s Gobi desert. Made famous by the 1993 movie 'Jurassic Park', these dromaeosaurs were much smaller in real life than what’s been depicted in the film and its sequels, reaching just 45cm (1.6 feet) high and probably weighing little more than about 15kg (33 lbs).
The name of this species, 'Mei long', comes from the Chinese for “soundly sleeping dragon,” reflecting the fact that this remarkable fossil captures a rare and peaceful moment of dinosaur behaviour. Seen here from underneath, this troodontid is tucked up in the roosting position familiar from modern birds, with its head nestled under its forearm. The folded-up feet and legs run right-left in this image, with the tail wrapped across the top.
Stitched together from a number of images, this panorama shows the massive reconstruction of a titanosaur sauropod installed at the American Museum of Natural History in New York in January 2016. This 122-foot behemoth may be the largest dinosaur that ever lived and was described as a new species dubbed 'Patagotitan mayorum' in 2017, based on a number of fossils excavated from the Chubut region of Patagonia in Argentina.
A detail shows the feet and claws of a near-complete specimen of 'Tyrannosaurus rex' dubbed Tristan Otto, which is on display at the Museum für Naturkunde in Berlin, Germany. In life these claw bones would have been covered with keratin sheaths, akin to the claws of a cat, but much larger and capable of inflicting far more significant damage.
This cast of the extravagantly crested duck-billed hadrosaur 'Parasaurolophus walkeri' is on display at the Senckenberg Museum in Frankfurt, Germany. The nasal passages and forehead of this species extend to the rear of its head, forming a six-foot-long hollow, bony crest. This is thought to have been used as a resonance chamber, akin to a wind instrument such as a trombone or trumpet, probably allowing the species to produce loud calls that carried over great distances.
This highly ornamented dinosaur, featured on the December 2007 cover of National Geographic magazine, was originally described as a new species called 'Dracorex hogwartsia', or “dragon king of Hogwarts” after the wizarding school in the Harry Potter books. However, subsequent research from several teams suggests that this unusual skull covered in spikes and knobs belongs to a juvenile form of the dome-headed dinosaur 'Pachycephalosaurus'.
