Paleontologists made many new discoveries about dinosaurs in 2025 – so many that scientific literature about them simply did not have time to be published. Smithsonian Magazine speak about the most remarkable discoveries about the world of dinosaurs made during the year.
New information about mini tyrant dinosaurs
Nanotyrannus was a predatory dinosaur with a scandalous reputation. It was officially named in 1988, but paleontologists cannot agree on whether the remains of a medium-sized dinosaur actually belong to a young tyrannosaur or an independent species.
Findings made in recent years lean more towards the first hypothesis, but in October the journal Nature published an analysis of “Bloody Mary” – one of two creatures included in the so-called. Collection “Fighting with dinosaurs”. The authors of the monograph found enough anatomical evidence to confirm that nanotyrannus was different from the common tyrannosaurus. It has fewer tail vertebrae and more teeth, as well as longer and stronger forelimbs.
And a few weeks later, another paper published in the journal Nature, by other authors, reached the same conclusion, starting from the fact that the skull of the first named nanotyrannus species belonged to an adult animal and not a young individual.
Sauropod scale color
Herbivorous sauropods are easy to recognize due to their small heads, long necks, and large bodies. But beyond the familiar skeletons, science knows very little about the appearance of these creatures – traces in sauropod scales and fossilized soft tissue samples are rare.
However, paleontologists still found the remains of sauropod skin, so well preserved that the fossil even has traces of pigment-bearing structures – melanosomes. According to scientists, if we talk specifically about the young Diplodocus, whose remains have been studied by paleontologists, then the sauropods had a rather complex scale pattern.
Dinosaur eggs lead to new dating methods
Dating detection is a long-standing problem in paleontology. If dinosaur remains are found in rock near an ash layer or other source of volcanic rock, scientists can directly date the surrounding material. And information about it, in turn, will help determine the approximate date of the fossil. But they are often found in rock layers that cannot be easily dated, so their age must be estimated by other methods.
Now, two teams of paleontologists are confident they have found an alternative method for working with similar rock layers – analyzing dinosaur eggs. One team was able to date minerals preserved in fossilized dinosaur eggshells to determine the age of the remains. Another radioactive isotope is studied in the crust itself – they can be viewed in a similar way to ash layers. Such techniques will allow paleontologists to more accurately determine dates at excavation sites.
Fossil veins in Tyrannosaurus Rex
“Scotty”, one of the largest tyrannosaurus rex skeletons discovered by science, rivals “Sue”, another famous skeleton in size; When alive, this giant could weigh nearly 10 tons. But in 2025, Tyrannosaurus rex made headlines again because of small fossil structures found inside one of its ribs.
The authors of a study published in Scientific Reports in July said these fossils were nothing more than blood vessels. True, they are not preserved in their original form: hardened minerals in the ribs of dinosaurs form a kind of natural vein, allowing paleontologists to visualize them.
Dinosaurs thrived just before the asteroid hit
For a long time, paleontologists have been trying to figure out where the flightless dinosaurs were at the end of the Cretaceous period – whether they flourished or were in decline before the asteroid hit 66 million years ago. Previously, many people were inclined to believe that at that time in North America there were significantly fewer species than there were 10 million years ago.
But gradually more evidence to the contrary began to emerge. And in October, a study published in the journal Science found that many dinosaurs in New Mexico lived for 400,000 years before the asteroid hit – we're not talking millions of years. Paleontologists also studied the composition of this dinosaur community and concluded that it included not only different species but also different groups. Therefore, dinosaurs continued to actively reproduce and develop even before they died.
New species of megaraptor discovered
Megaraptors are considered one of the most mysterious dinosaurs. Although paleontologists have known about these predators since 1998, they have survived to our time only in fragments. Any megaraptor skeleton is a valuable find for science.
One such discovery appeared in 2025. In the journal Nature Communications, scientists announced the discovery of a new species of megaraptor – Joaquinraptor, whose partial skeleton, including part of the skull, front and hind legs, was found by experts. They even discovered in the predator's jaws the bones of an unknown species of crocodile that had become the predator's prey.
Scientists have learned about the last meal of dinosaurs
Paleontologists often determine dinosaur dietary preferences based on teeth and other skeletal features. But it is much more difficult to clarify exactly what a particular species or individual ate. To do this, you need to rely on direct evidence of nutrition, such as fossil gut contents – like what paleontologists found in the bones of the herbivore Diamantinosaurus.
The last meals of dinosaur fossils included pine cones, leaves of flowering plants and fruit from fern seeds. Furthermore, the pieces of food are not chewed but torn apart and crushed into pieces. Fossil remains of sauropod food confirm that they actually used their long necks to reach food sources and quickly swallow what they ate – their digestive tracts did most of the work for them.
