Unveiling the Hidden: The Count of Unexplored Dinosaurs | Insights from Science

The rate at which paleontologists are uncovering new dinosaur species is remarkable. On average, a new species of dinosaur is named approximately every two weeks, thanks to fossil sites all around the world. With each new discovery, the dinosaur family tree undergoes significant changes. Fossil hunters are not only finding new species, but they are also revealing previously unknown groups of dinosaurs, which were unheard of just a decade ago.

According to University of Edinburgh paleontologist Stephen Brusatte, “We are currently in the golden age of paleontology,” which he often mentions during public talks and in his scientific writing.

The 19th-century “Bone Wars” are well-known for the many dinosaur discoveries that took place during that time. However, the early 21st century is witnessing the greatest rush in dinosaur bone discoveries. Paleontologists are rapidly documenting various non-avian dinosaurs that inhabited Earth between 66 million and 235 million years ago. This timespan is over two and a half times longer than the post-Cretaceous history of our planet. Experts believe that there are still more unknown dinosaurs waiting to be uncovered.

“These new dinosaurs are not just variations of existing species like sauropods or stegosaurs, or slightly different types of tyrannosaurs,” explains Brusatte. “Some of them represent entirely new groups of dinosaurs that can change our understanding of dinosaur evolution during the Triassic, Jurassic, and Cretaceous Periods.”

Recent examples of such discoveries include the naming of Iani, a new dinosaur from Utah that belongs to a group called rhabdodontomorphs, which was only recognized in 2016. Another example is Gonkoken, a beaked dinosaur from Chile that represents a previously unknown offshoot of dinosaurs and has similar features to famous duck-billed dinosaurs. Additionally, experts announced the discovery of Jakapil, a dinosaur from Argentina that could either be a form of early armored dinosaur or belong to a new group altogether.

Paleontologist Karen Poole from the New York Institute of Technology believes there are still more undiscovered dinosaur groups out there. She emphasizes the incompleteness of the fossil record, as it only represents a fraction of the various environments that existed throughout history. Additionally, many organisms never made it into the fossil record due to consumption, decay, or other factors. Despite these challenges, paleontologists continue to make new discoveries every year.

Future discoveries are likely to involve small dinosaurs. Large dinosaurs were often found first because their remains were more resistant to scavenging and destruction, and museums preferred to showcase impressive, large dinosaurs. However, paleontologists are now focusing on filling in entire ecosystems, leading to the discovery of smaller dinosaurs that were previously overlooked. Even formations that have been explored for centuries, like the Jurassic Morrison Formation in the United States, continue to yield new finds.

These new discoveries often challenge our existing understanding of dinosaur relationships. Paleontologists have had to revise the dinosaur family tree multiple times, sometimes finding that what was thought to be a familiar animal actually belongs to an entirely new group. For example, the giant dinosaur Deinocheirus was named in 1970 based on massive arms, but the rest of its body was unknown. It was only in 2014 that the complete animal was revealed, showing that it belonged to its own evolutionary group called the Deinocheiridae.

Discoveries can occur through fieldwork in rock formations, but they can also be made in museum collections or through re-examining previously known fossils. Paleontologists are aware that there are still unknown dinosaurs waiting to be found, whether through new discoveries or re-evaluating existing evidence.

The number of dinosaur species that once lived is likely much greater than previously expected. As Stephen Brusatte suggests, there are approximately 14,000 dinosaur species living today as birds. Extrapolating from this, the number of dinosaur species that existed in the past could be in the millions or even tens of millions.

In conclusion, the field of paleontology continues to thrive, with new dinosaur discoveries reshaping our understanding of these prehistoric creatures. As more areas are explored, more hidden dinosaurs are expected to be revealed.

Image Credits:  Connor Ashbridge via Wikipedia under CC By-SA 4.0 / FunkMonk (Michael B.H.) via Wikipedia under CC By-SA 3.0 / Arsdraco via Wikipedia under CC By-SA 4.0 / Jorge Gonzalez

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