Join Dr. Keegan Melstrom as he explores his postdoctoral research of the dizzying array of Mesozoic teeth shapes, how they help reconstruct the lifestyles of extinct animals, and how the data is used to better understand how ecosystems change through time.
How do we know what a saber-toothed cat looked like? Short answer? We don’t! Here at La Brea Tar Pits, we only find the bones of ancient animals, so we have to get creative to visualize it.
Dinosaur Institute researcher shows throat bones accurately record maturity in dinosaurs, establishing Nanotyrannus was a fully grown, entirely distinct species from T. rex
Discovery of Bolg amondol, a name inspired by J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings universe, reveals the complex evolutionary history of giant Gila Monster relatives
A new study finds that land-dwelling crocodile-like sebecids were the apex predators of the West Indies, surviving on the islands after vanishing from South America
Through advanced microscopy and imaging techniques, La Brea Tar Pits scientists successfully identify a previously unknown species to Southern California from fossilized seeds, revealing a drought-fueled dance between two species of juniper with lessons for the region’s climate future
