Awesome New Dinosaurs Named in 2021
Among them, the “hell heron”, a spinosaurid from the UK…
2021 was a remarkable year for dinosaur discoveries. To give you an idea, over 35 new species have been described during the past twelve months. Some of the newly-named genera challenged the way we perceive these animals, while others helped us to better understand their evolutionary relationships.
Below follows a quick recap of seven awesome dinosaur species discovered this year.
Australia’s Titan
Starting off with the exciting discovery of Australotitan cooperensis made by paleontologists from the Queensland and Eromanga Natural History Museum back in June.
Australotitan belongs to the iconic group of dinosaurs known as sauropods. These creatures had very long necks, long tails, small heads, and four thick, pillar-like legs. Australotitan was enormous even by sauropod standards. Scientists estimate it could have grown to around 25–30 meters (82–98 ft) in length and could have easily reached the height of a two-story house. Its mass is estimated up to 74 tonnes — or about 9 African elephants!
According to paleontologists, the giant sauropod has been officially recognized as the largest ever found in Australia and among the biggest in the world!
