Lindsay Patterson

At least it seems that way to me, and my highly advanced dinosaur-news radar. This week, Earth & Sky featured not one, but two dinosaur shows. Just today, two brand-new dinosaurs appeared on the fossil scene.

A long-necked dinosaur, the Glacialisaurus hammeri, was pulled out of the ice and rock of Antarctica almost a decade ago. Paleontologists recently identified the fossils as belonging to the Jurassic period, a kind of sauropodomorph distantly related to Diploducus and Apatosaurus. And the BBC announced the discovery of “one of the largest meat-eaters that ever lived, rivalling T. rex in size and ferocity.” The dinosaur was recently found hanging around at the University of Chicago, where it had been collecting dust since 1997. Before that, it was dug up in the Sahara by paleontologist Paul Sereno, who only weeks ago unveiled his “Mesozoic cow” - the Nigersaurus - also from the Sahara.

It was actually when I spoke to Sereno that I caught the dinosaur bug. Sereno is a National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence, and he’s discovered and named several new dinosaur species. If paleontology has a star, Sereno is it. He told me that he was currently working with 30 tons of material unearthed from Africa, and gave clues about a raptor, and a 60 foot long-necked dinosaur to come. He also dropped a hint about an important archaeological find his team “bumped into” while digging for dinosaurs, but that’s all he could say.

The whole scientific field of paleontology seems like a grown-up treasure hunt. Sereno told me Africa is a “goldmine” for new species, and added, “To say that there are deposits in the Sahara that have barely been walked - is to say that we have many more dinosaurs to name.” And then he gave a little happy laugh.

I immediately ran off to find another dinosaur story. I ended up talking to Jack Horner, a paleontologist at Montana State University. Horner was a technical adviser for the Jurassic Park films, but he’s really more interested in how dinosaurs grow. He told me about his recent dinosaur discovery - that what was thought to be three separate species of dinosaur is actually the pachycephalosaurus, in three different stages of growth. And with one scientific swipe, he knocked Stygimoloch and Dracorex Hogwartsia (the discoverer was obviously a Harry Potter fan) out of their former existence.

Dinosaurs bring up fantastic images of lost ancient worlds, but Horner is a dinosaur realist. He told me that species are misidentified all the time. For example, a dinosaur called the nanotyrannosaur was revealed to be a juvenile T-Rex - as if it wasn’t obvious. “A whole bunch of people are naming new species and we’re sinking them,” he said.

Horner’s job also involves shooting down cool theories about what dinosaurs did with their strange and glamorous skeletal features. The pachycephalosaurus has a bizarre-looking boned dome, which paleontologists fantasized they butted together in fights. Horner’s research showed that pachycephalosaur skulls were not at all suited to this activity. The idea had grown out of a passing resemblance to big-horned sheep, which have cushions to protect their brains during head butting.

“But there’s lots of people who would like them to do this,” said Horner. “It takes some time to convince people that they’re wrong.”

The other night I was playing a game of Dinosaur Bingo featuring Stygimoloch (”Lizard from Hell”). The informational card informed me that Stygimoloch, in addition to being its own species, “most likely” butted heads. Thankfully, I know better. But I wondered what other flaws were in the game. Of course it seems like paleontology is set in stone, but I suspect that all those new dinosaurs will be partially rewritten within the next few years.

By the way, Dinosaur Bingo is totally fun. Instead of yelling “Bingo!” when you complete a row, you’re supposed to shout, “Terrible Lizard!” Trust me, it’s a very cool game.