A newly discovered ankylosaur species in Alberta is making headlines for its unusually spiky armor and club-less tail, suggesting it may have used defense strategies other than bashing. 

In Argentina, paleontologists unveiled fossilized skin impressions from a 90-million-year-old titanosaur, offering rare insight into sauropod textures. 

Meanwhile, CT scans of Spinosaurus fossils continue to stir debate over its swimming ability, with new analysis hinting it may have been more semi-aquatic than previously thought. 

And in Morocco, the unearthing of a bizarre toothy pterosaur adds to the growing picture of Late Cretaceous aerial diversity.

Excavations in Denver unearthed a 70-million-year-old dinosaur vertebra—likely from a herbivorous species—found 763 feet beneath a parking lot, marking the city's deepest fossil discovery to date. 

In Texas, researchers uncovered Swaindelphys solastella, a raccoon-sized marsupial and the largest known metatherian from North America's Paleocene era. 

Meanwhile, scientists in Colorado described Enigmacursor mollyborthwickae, a small herbivorous dinosaur from the Morrison Formation. The specimen, remarkably complete, is now displayed in London. 

Together, these finds reveal how both urban and remote landscapes continue to reshape our understanding of prehistoric life.

Researchers unveiled Maleriraptor kuttyi, a dog‑sized predatory herrerasaurian dinosaur from India, pushing the geographic reach of these early carnivores beyond South America and highlighting post‑extinction survival patterns.

In Queensland, the Eromanga Natural History Museum named a newly discovered sauropod “JoJo” in honor of two community heroines, reinforcing local support following major floods.

Finally, in Texas, an amateur fossil hunter recovered a nearly complete Jurassic plesiosaur skeleton near Celina, now under preparation and slated for display at the Perot Museum

Sul Ross State University geology students uncovered a massive Alamosaurus vertebra at Big Bend National Park—part of North America’s largest land dinosaur—now under study, alongside a rare mammoth tusk find.

In Argentina’s Neuquén province, researchers described a new rebbachisaurid sauropod, Cienciargentina sanchezi, enhancing our understanding of Gondwanan giants.

Meanwhile, in Utah, local officials halted substation construction to protect a rich Jurassic fossil site in St. George, preserving over 1,000 specimens and footprint trackways.

From colossal bones to community-led preservation, April’s discoveries highlight the range of paleontological wonders—from remote parks to urban landscapes.

2024 witnessed a burst of paleontological breakthroughs, spanning continents and eras. 

In dinosaur research, teams unveiled Tyrannosaurus mcraeensis, a new tyrannosaur species closely related to T. rex, alongside several deep-time finds such as a small, burrowing dinosaur whose tracks hinted at unexpected behaviors—an event dubbed the “Dinosaur Renaissance” by colleagues. 

Researchers also uncovered a trove of trilobite fossils in Morocco’s Cambrian strata, revealing exceptionally preserved specimens thanks to rapid ash burial.

Archosaur paleontology advanced with detailed studies, such as the redescription of Malerisaurus robinsonae and insights into rhynchosaur vision. 

In Brazil, the discovery of Gondwanax paraisensis—a 237-million-year-old silesaurid—sheds light on dinosaur precursors in the Triassic, highlighting key evolutionary transitions. 

Marine paleontology also moved forward with lungfish and coelacanth species emerging from Triassic and Devonian deposits across Africa and Australia.

On a microscopic scale, new research examined paleozoic arthropods, like the giant centipede Arthropleura, whose gait-bearing details were clarified via modern tomography. 

Finally, paleoichthyology saw significant progress with the naming of new Devonian and Triassic fish genera, improving our understanding of early vertebrate evolution .

Taken together, these discoveries—from giant Paleozoic millipedes to tiny Cretaceous dinosaurs—paint a vibrant picture of 2024: a year in which science and technology brimmed with fresh insights into Earth’s prehistoric tapestry.