Gongshuilong: Beast of the Week

 Today we're checking out a recently described hadrosaur with a unique look, Gongshuilong fanwei!

Gongshuilong lived in what is now eastern China, during the late Cretaceous period, between 68 and 66 million years ago.  From beak to tail it measured about 23 feet (7m) long and would have been a plant-eater when alive.  The genus name translates from Mandarin to "Gong River Dragon" in reference to the Gong River near where its bones were discovered.

Gongshuilong life reconstruction in watercolors by Christopher DiPiazza.

Gongshuilong was a member of the hadrosaurid ("duck- billed") family of dinosaurs.  More specifically it was a saurolophine hadrosaur, which is the group that had broader bills and sometimes had crests made of solid bone structures on their heads.  Maiasaura and Probrachylophosaurus are two examples of close relatives.  Like its relatives, Gongshuilong would have been able to walk on all four legs or just its hind legs if it wanted to.  Its claws would have been hoof-like and the middle three fingers of each hand would have been fused together into a mitt, with one single hoof-like claw on the tip of them.  Like all members of its family it would have possessed a broad beak in the front of its jaws, backed up by rows of small teeth packed together to form what are referred to as "dental batteries".  These teeth were ideal for chewing up tough plants.

Photo of some of Gonghsuilong's bones, zooming in on the tall neural arches on the tail.  Image from the paper by Yao et al. listed below.

What makes Gongshuilong unusual for a hadrosaur is the fact that it had a display structure on its tail, in the form of a tall sail made up of elongated neural arches.  This would have given it a unique profile for a dinosaur, which makes me think of some living species of lizards which also sport similar structures on their tails for display within the species.  (Spinosaurus funnily enough independently had something similar)  It is likely Gongshuilong was doing something similar with its tail, possibly signaling to members of the same species for mating displays or to intimidate rivals.  Perhaps females possessed smaller sails than males?  We would need to find more fossils to have a better idea for sure.  

References

Ibrahim, Nizar; Maganuco, Simone; Dal Sasso, Cristiano; Fabbri, Matteo; Auditore, Marco; Bindellini, Gabriele; Martill, David M.; Zouhri, Samir; Mattarelli, Diego A.; Unwin, David M.; Wiemann, Jasmina; Bonadonna, Davide; Amane, Ayoub; Jakubczak, Juliana; Joger, Ulrich; Lauder, George V.; Pierce, Stephanie E. (May 7, 2020). "Tail-propelled aquatic locomotion in a theropod dinosaur". Nature. 581 (7806): 67–70.

Yao, Han; Qiu, Wenjiang; Yu, Juan; Yang, Ling; Wang, Huimin; Cao, Shenghua; Zhao, Kui; Xu, Mengyuan; Shi, Guo; Lou, Fasheng; Zeng, Cuimin; Lu, Pikun; Wu, Rui; Xu, Xing; Han, Fenglu (2026-03-30). "A new saurolophine hadrosaurid (Dinosauria: Ornithopoda) from the Upper Cretaceous of South China, providing further support for the possible Asian origin of Brachylophosaurini".

Mexidracon: Beast of the Week

 This week we will be taking a look at a unusual theropod.  Check out Mexidracon longimanus!

Mexidracon was a theropod dinosaur that lived in what is now Coahuila, Mexico, during the late Cretaceous period, about 72 million years ago.  From beak to tail it measured about 10 feet (3m) long.  Its genus name translates to "Mexican Dragon" and its species name to "long hand".  It may have been a plant-eater when alive or possibly eaten a mix of both plants and meat.  

Mexidracon life reconstruction in watercolor by Christopher DiPiazza.  This dinosaur may have been an omnivore, using its long hands to reach narrow places where prey might hide.

Mexidracon was a member of the ornithomimid family of dinosaurs, famous for resembling modern ostriches as a result of convergent evolution.  They had long necks with beaks with the later surviving forms lacking teeth.  The skull of Mexidracon was never found so it is difficult to know for sure if this was the case for it, but given its presence in the late Cretaceous and its close relationship to relatives we know were toothless, like Struthiomimus, it may have been as well.  Mexidracon is noted to have slightly shorter, more robust lower leg bones than other ornithomimids, but it was still likely a fast runner in life.  

Photograph of some of Mexidracon's bones with labels (in Spanish) (photo credit: Global Revista)

The most notable and unique feature about Mexidracon, however, is its hands.  The hand bones, called metacarpals (bones that make up our palms), were extremely long, which is where it earned its species name from.  It then also had three average length for an ornithomimid (but still relatively long) fingers, each tipped with a claw on each hand.  It is a total mystery why this dinosaur would evolve such an odd trait but there are a few ideas.  The first is the hands may have helped it get food, perhaps gathering vegetation or reaching into crevices or burrows of small creatures, more effectively.  The other possibility is the elongated hands may have been part of a display for members of the same species.  We know ornithomimids had feathers, so perhaps there were fancy display feathers growing there to impress mates or intimidate rivals?  We may never know.  

Mexidracon came from a habitat that paleontologists are still very much actively investigating and finding new exciting specimens from right now.  Other dinosaurs that have been found in the same area of Mexico include the hadrosaur, Velafrons, and the ceratopsian, Coahuilaceratops.

References

Serrano-Brañas, Claudia Inés; Espinosa-Chávez, Belinda; de León-Dávila, Claudio; Maccracken, S. Augusta; Barrera-Guevara, Daniela; Torres-Rodríguez, Esperanza; Prieto-Márquez, Albert (2025-01-28). "A long-handed new ornithomimid dinosaur from the Campanian (Upper Cretaceous) Cerro del Pueblo Formation, Coahuila, Mexico".

Peloroplites: Beast of the Week

 This week we will be checking out a large tank dinosaur.  Enter Peloroplites cedrimontanus!

Peloroplites was a plant-eating dinosaur that lived in what is now Utah, USA, during the Cretaceous period, between 98 and 93 million years ago.  From snout to tail it would have measured about 20 feet (6m) long.  It's genus name translates to "Giant Hoplite" in reference to hoplites, the ancient Greek soldiers who famously carried spears and large shields.  The species name translates to "Cedar Mountain" in reference of the geologic location in which its bones were found, the Cedar Mountain Formation.

Peloroplites life reconstruction in watercolor by Christopher DiPiazza.

Peloroplites was a member of the ankylosaur group of dinosaurs, famous for their heavy armored bodies.  More specifically within the ankylosaur group, it was in the nodosaur family, which are known for having spiky armor, especially around their necks.  Unlike more iconic ankylosaurs, nodosaurids lacked bony tail clubs.  Gargoyleosaurus and Priconodon are other examples of nodosaurs.

Peloroplites had a particularly boxy skull, with a snout that slopes down at the front.  The beak was broad and had a little notch in the center of it.  It also possessed blunt horns on its cheek bones in addition to thick bony armor on the top of its head. Only one tooth was found for Peloroplites, and it is typical for nodosaurs, proportionally small and leaf-shaped, for cutting plants.  Because of this dinosaur's noticeably wide face, it may have been a generalist feeder, hoovering up any plant material it could reach. 

Pelororoplites skeletal mount on display at the USU Eastern Prehistoric Museum, in Utah, USA.

A good amount of Peloroplites' skeleton is known, including much of its skull and many limb and other body bones, but sadly very little armor.  Because of this the skeletal ad life reconstructions of this dinosaur have the armor and spikes are based on other nodosaurs which we do have the armor of.  (Special thank you to Dr. Kenneth Carpenter, the paleontologist who originally described Peloroplites, for confirming this for me.)

When alive, Peloroplites' habitat would have been seasonally wet/flooded environment on the western shore of the shallow sea that used to be present down the middle of the United States during the Cretaceous.  It coexisted with many other dinosaurs, including the small tyrannosaur, Moros, and the larger theropod, Siats.  

References

 Carpenter, Kenneth; Bartlett, Jeff; Bird, John; Barrick, Reese (2008). "Ankylosaurs from the Price River Quarries, Cedar Mountain Formation (Lower Cretaceous), east-central Utah". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 28 (4): 1089–1101.

Diamantinasaurus: Beast of the Week

This week we'll be learning about a beast that greatly helps us understand how sauropod dinosaurs ("long-necks") looked and lived.  Check out Diamantinasaurus matildae!

Diamantinasaurus lived in what is now Queensland, Australia during the middle Cretaceous period, between 95 and 92 million years ago.  It's considered medium-sized for a sauropod, and would have measured about 52 feet (16m) long from snout to tail. (Yes. 52 feet is only medium for sauropods!) Like all sauropods it would have eaten plants when alive.  It's genus name is after the Diamantina River, near where its bones were initially discovered.  The species name is after the popular Australian song, "Waltzing Matilda".

Watercolor reconstruction of Diamantinasaurus by Christopher DiPiazza.  Fossil evidence shows this dinosaur wasn't a picky eater, eating a wide variety of plants.

Diamantinasaurus was initially known from limb bones, ribs, and pelvis bones.  It's limbs stand out as being particularly robust, even for a sauropod.  Another interesting feature is the fact that its front limbs possessed short little finger bones and a single large claw on each hand.  These are common traits to most sauropods from earlier times, but were lost in most later sauropods that lived during the Cretaceous period. Diamantinasaurus appears to have retained what is otherwise considered this primitive trait.  

Photograph of the bones in Diamantinasaurus' manus(hand).  Note the prominent claw that grew out of the side of the hand.

Later on after its initial discovery Diamantinasaurus' skull was discovered.  This is exciting since the skulls of sauropods notoriously are hard to find. (they appear to have tended to get separated from the rest of the body and destroyed before fossilization, which makes sense how small they are compared to the bodies) Diamantinasaurus' snout sloped downwards, and actually resembles the skull of Brachiosaurus, even thought it is believed to have been more closely related to fellow Cretaceous sauropods, like Saltasaurus.  A few of Diamantinasaurus' teeth were also found still in the jaw that had not grown in yet, which were narrow and rod-shaped with chisel-like tips.  

Front and side view of the skull of Diamantinasaurus.

More recently in 2025, fossilized gut contents of Diamantinasaurus were discovered.  This is amazing since up until this point, even though everyone assumed sauropods ate plants, actual proof in the form of a fossilized last meal had never been found in one.  As it turns out Diamantinasaurus appears to have been a generalist plant-eater, with remains of all sorts of plants, including ferns, pine trees, and flowering plants found in its stomach.  This means Diamantinasaurus wasn't only feeding at the tops of trees, like sauropods are often depicted doing, but rather was using its long neck to reach all sorts of heights to feed.  Like all sauropods, Diamantinasaurus couldn't chew since its teeth were only at the front of its snout for chomping.  Rather it would have swallowed mouthfuls of plants whole and relied likely on fermentation inside its body to digest the meals.  Some believe that sauropods also could have swallowed stones to help aid in digestion, like some birds and other reptiles are known to do today.

References

Poropat, S.F.; Upchurch, P.; Mannion, P.D.; Hocknull, S.A.; Kear, B.P.; Sloan, T.; Sinapius, G.H.K.; Elliot, D.A. (2014). "Revision of the sauropod dinosaur Diamantinasaurus matildae Hocknull et al. 2009 from the mid-Cretaceous of Australia: Implications for Gondwanan titanosauriform dispersal". Gondwana Research. 27 (3): 995–1033.

Poropat, Stephen F; Kundrát, Martin; Mannion, Philip D; Upchurch, Paul; Tischler, Travis R; Elliott, David A (2021-01-20). "Second specimen of the Late Cretaceous Australian sauropod dinosaur Diamantinasaurus matildae provides new anatomical information on the skull and neck of early titanosaurs". Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. 192 (2): 610–674.

Poropat, S.F.; Mannion, P.D.; Upchurch, P.; Hocknull, S.A.; Kear, B.P.; Kundrát, M.; Tischler, T.R.; Sloan, T.; Sinapius, G.H.K.; Elliott, J.A.; Elliott, D.A. (2016). "New Australian sauropods shed light on Cretaceous dinosaur palaeobiogeography". Scientific Reports. 6 34467.

Poropat, S. F.; Tosolini, A.-M. P.; Beeston, S. L.; Enchelmaier, M. J.; Pentland, A. H.; Mannion, P. D.; Upchurch, P.; Chin, K.; Korasidis, V. A.; Bell, P. R.; Enriquez, N. J.; Holman, A. I.; Brosnan, L. M.; Elson, A. L.; Tripp, M.; Scarlett, A. G.; Godel, B.; Madden, R. H. C.; Rickard, W. D. A.; Bevitt, J. J.; Tischler, T. R.; Croxford, T. L. M.; Sloan, T.; Elliott, D. A.; Grice, K. (2025). "Fossilized gut contents elucidate the feeding habits of sauropod dinosaurs". Current Biology. 35 (11): 2597–2613.

Daemonosaurus: Beast of the Week

 This week we will be checking out a unique looking early dinosaur with a very cool name.  Meet Daemonosaurus chaoliodus!

Daemonosaurus was a small meat-eating dinosaur that lived in what is now New Mexico, United States, during the late Triassic period, roughly between 205 and 200 million years ago.  From nose to tail it is estimated to have measured roughly 5 to 7 feet (1.5-2.2m).  These are estimates based on the fact that only the skull and neck were found.  The genus name translates to "Demon Reptile" and the species name translates to "Prominent Tooth" in reference to its unusual front teeth.  

Watercolor reconstruction of Daeomonosaurus by Christopher DiPiazza.

The first thing you notice about Daemonosaurus is its unusual face.  It possessed round, short-snouted skull with huge eye sockets, so it probably had sharp vision in life.  It possessed unusually long curved teeth right in the front of its mouth.  In fact, the very frontmost teeth are the longest overall.  The teeth themselves are mostly rounded in cross section with shallow serrations on the anterior sides only.  It is difficult to exactly know what these extreme teeth were adapted for, but it was likely eating some form of meat.  Perhaps it was a fish and other water prey specialist?  Maybe it was snapping up small fast creatures, like insects?  We may never know.

The identity of what kind of dinosaur Daemonosaurus is somewhat mysterious mostly because simply not that many dinosaurs from the Triassic period are known compared to other times.  The Triassic was also a time when dinosaurs were still not clearly diversified into the more distinct forms we recognize from later times.  Initially, when Daemonosaurus was first published on in 2011, it was identified as a theropod dinosaur, closely related to its contemporary, Coelophysis.  This makes sense since they both had sharp curved teeth with serrations, and they even both possess a notch at the front of the upper jaw, which is a common trait among early theropod dinosaurs.  Later on in 2020, however, those same paleontologists who wrote the first paper identifying Daemonosaurus as a theropod revised their stance based on more information, placing it just outside the theropod group as a kind of very early saurischian dinosaur. To review, the saurischian dinosaurs are the broader group that contains both the bipedal theropods and the long-necked sauropods.  This means Daemonosaurus was closer to older dinosaurs, like Herrerasaurus.  Since only Daemonosaurus' skull and neck have been found, we may still learn new things about it and its identity may change yet again in the future! 

Photograph of all the fossil material that is currently known from Daemonosaurus.  Note the long front teeth and huge eye socket. Photo featured in the 2011 paper by Seus et al. referenced below.

When alive Daemonosaurus would have lived in a environment that swung between extreme aridness and heavy rain and flooding during the year.  In fact, the bonebed it was found in is thought to be the result of a flash flood wiping out a bunch of animals.  Daemonosaurus' most common neighbor appears to have been Coelophysis, which it was surrounded by many skeletons of when it was discovered.  It also would have coexisted with the early crocodilian, Hesperosuchus, and the giant predator Postosuchus, to name a few more.

References

Hans-Dieter Sues; Sterling J. Nesbitt; David S. Berman & Amy C. Henrici (2011). "A late-surviving basal theropod dinosaur from the latest Triassic of North America". Proceedings of the Royal Society B. 278 (1723): 3459–3464.

Nesbitt, Sterling J.; Sues, Hans-Dieter (3 August 2020). "The osteology of the early-diverging dinosaur Daemonosaurus chauliodus (Archosauria: Dinosauria) from the Coelophysis Quarry (Triassic: Rhaetian) of New Mexico and its relationships to other early dinosaurs". Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. 191: 150–179.

Novas, Fernando E.; Agnolin, Federico L.; Ezcurra, Martín D.; Temp Müller, Rodrigo; Martinelli, Agustín G.; Langer, Max C. (2021-10-01). "Review of the fossil record of early dinosaurs from South America, and its phylogenetic implications". Journal of South American Earth Sciences. 110 103341.

Elasmosaurus: Beast of the Week

 This week we will be checking out a sea beast who's proportions were so outrageous, it confused even scientists! Check out Elasmosaurus platyurus.

Elasmosaurus was a large reptile that lived in he sea that covered what is now central part of the United States during the late Cretaceous period, between 80 and 77 million years ago.  From snout to tail it would have measured about 34 feet (7.1m) and would have eaten meat when alive.  Its genus name translates to "plate reptile" in reference to how wide and flat some of its hip and chest bones were.  

Watercolor life reconstruction of Elasmosaurus by Christopher DiPiazza.

The first thing you notice about Elasmosaurus is its extremely long neck.  Plesiosaurs, the group of marine reptiles it belonged to, are famous for having long necks, but Elasmosaurus stands out even among them.  Proportionally one of the longest necks of any animal that ever lived, it accounts for more than half of its total body length.  Unlike many other kinds of long-necked animals, like giraffes or the sauropod dinosaurs, which evolved their necks by elongating the individual vertebrae, Elasmosaurus' ancestors appeared to have simply increased the number of vertebra instead, resulting in a whopping seventy two vertebra in just the neck! Because of this, Elasmosaurus' neck would have been relatively flexible, at least when it moved its head side to side.  (I like to compare it to one of those wooden snake toys that you can hold by the tail to make it move around.)  Because the neural arches on the tops of the neck vertebra were pretty tall, Elasmosaurus' vertical range of motion would have been much more limited.  This means that the iconic swan-like neck pose many older depictions of plesiosaurs, as well as most images of the Loch-Ness Monster and other lake cryptids based on plesiosaurs, are anatomically wrong.  

Cheap and surprisingly lifelike, this snake toy has limited movement in an up and down motion but pretty flexible side to side, similar to how Elasmosaurus' neck likely was.

The neck of Elasmosaurus is so unusually long, it even tricked scientists at the time of its discovery.  The first skeletal mount of Elasmosaurus accidentally has the head placed on the end of the tail, instead of the neck, since a reptile with a super long tail seemed more logical at first. (at least to the scientist who drew it)

Drawing of the initial interpretation of Elasmosaurus with the head incorrectly placed at the tip of the tail and has what was really the neck as a long tail.

So why such a long neck?  This is something paleontologists are still contemplating and we may never truly know the answer.  One strong hypothesis is the long neck would have allowed Elasmosaurus to get its head closer to fish, which it would have hunted, without scaring them away with its huge body, essentially tricking them into thinking it was smaller and less threatening, than it really was.  Another idea is the neck may have enabled Elasmosaurus to pursue prey that may have hidden between rocks or other difficult to reach places.  A third idea is that Elasmosaurus evolved such long neck due to sexual selection, being a sign of genetic fitness and therefore attractive as a mate.  Maybe rival Elasmosaurus settled disputes by showing off who had a longer neck?  We may never know for sure.

Elasmosaurus skeletal mount (with the head on the right end) on display at the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia, USA.

Elasmosaurus had a proportionally tiny head which was flattened top to bottom. Like most long-necked plesiosaurs, its eyes were positioned on the top of its head and its jaws were lined with long cone-shaped teeth that interlocked when its jaws were closed.  The longest teeth were in the front of the mouth, likely an adaptation to hold onto slippery fish prey. 

The body of Elasmosaurus is wide and almost turtle-like in shape and function, with virtually no flexibility, since some parts of its pelvis and shoulder blades were fused together at the midline of its torso, forming wide plate-shaped structures.  This would have made its body stable when swimming at higher speeds.  Like all plesiosaurs, its limbs were modified into long rigid flippers, with upper limb bones and joints suggesting they would have been able to move them like the oars of a boat as they swam for sustained periods of time. Similar to modern sea turtles, Elasmosaurus' front flippers appear to have been where most of its power for swimming came from while the hind flippers would have been more for steering.  It's tail was proportionally short and flattened from side to side like a rudder. 

Elasmosaurus' habitat was a shallow warm sea that existed in the middle of what is now the United States during the late Cretaceous, dividing the continent into two landmasses.  Many marine fossils have been unearthed and studied from there.  When alive Elasmosaurus would have shared its habitat with many kinds of fish, ammonites, turtles, seagoing birds, the pterosaur, Pteranodon, and of course, mosasaurs(marine lizards), including Tylosaurus, Globidens, and Prognathodon.

References

Cope, E. D. (1869). "Synopsis of the extinct Batrachia, Reptilia and Aves of North America, Part I". Transactions of the American Philosophical Society. 14: 44–55. 

Houssaye, A. (January 1, 2013). "Bone histology of aquatic reptiles: what does it tell us about secondary adaptation to an aquatic life?". Biological Journal of the Linnean Society. 108 (1): 3–21.

O'Gorman, J. P. (2016). "A Small Body Sized Non-Aristonectine Elasmosaurid (Sauropterygia, Plesiosauria) from the Late Cretaceous of Patagonia with Comments on the Relationships of the Patagonian and Antarctic Elasmosaurids". Ameghiniana. 53 (3): 245–268.

Sachs, S. (2005). "Redescription of Elasmosaurus platyurus Cope, 1868 (Plesiosauria: Elasmosauridae) from the Upper Cretaceous (lower Campanian) of Kansas, U.S.A". Paludicola. 5 (3): 92–106.

Haolong: Beast of the Week

 This week we'll be checking out a newly described dinosaur that is so unique, it completely changes what we think we knew about dinosaur skin!  Enter Haolong dongi!

Haolong was a plant-eating dinosaur that lived in what is now Liaoning, China, during the Early Cretaceous period, about 112.5 million years ago.  The only specimen on record measures about 8 feet (2.45m) from beak to tail but was a juvenile when it died so the species likely grew larger.  The genus name translates from Chinese to "Spiny Dragon" for a very good reason we are about to get into!

Life reconstruction of Haolong in watercolors by Christopher DiPiazza.

Haolong is an incredibly interesting find because it possesses a feature never before seen in any dinosaur.  like many dinosaur fossils found in this part of China, it includes more than bones, including much of its skin, which was scaly as you might expect for an ornithopod.  What nobody would have predicted, however, is the presence of pointed spines growing out from between the scales.  These spines are relatively short, extremely narrow, and tube shaped.  When examined with a microscope paleontologists were able to see that they were actually hollow with keratin (same material that the outer layer of claws and beaks are made of) outside and bony pulp on the inside.    These strange features are growing out from between the mosaic-like scales on much of the upper part of the dinosaur's body, stopping at the base of the tail.  It is a mystery as to exactly what these spines evolved for.  They very well could have been for protection against predators, similar to what modern hedgehogs have.  Others have suggested they may have also helped keep the dinosaur warm by providing extra insulation.  

Close up image of some of the spines found on Haolong.  These happen to be from the neck.  Image from the paper referenced below by Huang et al. 

In addition to the spines, the skin covering Haolong's tail was also preserved.  It possessed rows of broad overlapping shingle-like scales running down the top and sides of the tail, another feature never before seen in an ornithopod dinosaur.  

Haolong belonged to the iguanodontid family of ornithopod dinosaurs, so it was closely related to the famous Iguanodon, as well as dinosaurs like Mantellisaurus and Tenontosaurus.  Like them it had shorter front limbs than hind limbs and could have likely walked on two and four legs in life.  Each hand had five fingers.  The middle three were fused together into a mitt-like structure, and would have been for supporting its body when standing or walking on all fours.  The pinky jutted out to the side and would have been flexible, possibly to help grab plants.  The thumb claw was in the form of a cone-shaped spike, a trademark feature for iguanodontids.  The thumb spikes could have been for defense against predators but also very well could have been for combat within the species for dominance. (or both?)

Photograph of the complete fossilized skeleton of Haolong dongi. (image credit: Theirry Hubin, Institute of Natural Sciences)

On its skull Haolong possessed a large broad beak backed up by of relatively large blocky teeth in its jaws, which would have been ideal for chopping up plants.    

The environment Haolong lived in when alive would have been warm and humid based on the plant fossils that are found there, like horsetails and ferns, but thanks to paleontologists being able to examine growth rings on fossilized trees from there, we know it also was seasonally quite cold, down to 50 degrees Fahrenheit (10 degrees celsius).  Based on this it would make sense if Yaolong's unusual covering was indeed a way for it to maintain warmth.  Other dinosaurs it would have coexisted with were the therizinosaur, Beipaosaurus, the hawk-sized four-winged dromaeosaur, Changyuraptor, and the large fluffy tyrannosaur, Yutyrannus.  

References

Huang, J.; Wu, W.; Mao, L.; Bertozzo, F.; Dhouailly, D.; Robin, N.; Pittman, M.; Kaye, T. G.; Manucci, F.; He, X.; Wang, X.; Godefroit, P. (2026). "Cellular-level preservation of cutaneous spikes in an Early Cretaceous iguanodontian dinosaur". Nature Ecology & Evolution: 1–8.