Palaeontologists announced several striking dinosaur finds this year, spanning from heavily armoured herbivores to fierce predators. These discoveries, reported across various global sites, offer fresh insights into prehistoric life. Highlights include a dome-headed species from Mongolia and an early bird-like fossil from China.
In 2025, researchers unveiled a series of dinosaur fossils that captivated the scientific community, revealing diverse forms from the Mesozoic era.
One standout is Zavacephale rinpoche, unearthed in Mongolia and dating back 108 million years. This pachycephalosaur, the oldest known of its kind, featured a skull resembling a cabochon jewel. The juvenile specimen measured about one metre in length and weighed roughly six kilograms, though adults could reach four metres and 400 kilograms.
From Morocco comes Spicomellus afer, a 165-million-year-old ankylosaur with extraordinary armour. Susannah Maidment of London's Natural History Museum called it baroque, noting its uniquely elaborate structure that defied easy description.
In the Gobi Desert, Duonychus tsogtbaatari, a 90-million-year-old bipedal herbivore, sported hands with just two fingers, each ending in claws up to 30 centimetres long—possibly for grasping vegetation despite its plant-based diet.
Another Gobi find, Shri rapax, lived 75 to 71 million years ago and measured two metres long. This velociraptor relative boasted rapacious claws, earning its name from the Latin for greedy, suggesting it was a formidable hunter in ancient dunes and lakes.
Baminornis zhenghensis, a quail-sized fossil from China aged 150 million years, puzzled experts with its traits. Classified as potentially the earliest bird, it had a notably shorter tail than Archaeopteryx, indicating that modern bird features evolved sooner than thought.
Finally, Joaquinraptor casali from Patagonia, dated to 66 million years ago, was a megaraptor predator with a thumb claw as large as a human forearm. This 19-year-old individual spanned seven metres and weighed at least one tonne, its jaw containing a lodged crocodyliform leg, and possessed more robust arms than Tyrannosaurus rex.
These fossils enhance our understanding of dinosaur diversity and evolution, bridging gaps in the fossil record.