Hadrosaurus (1858)

Hadrosaurus is considered to be one of the most important discoveries in the field of paleontology and why is that? Because this was the first dinosaur that was discovered in full-length. It was the American paleontologist Joseph Leidy who named this dinosaur Hadrosaurus. There are still some unsolved debated about its existence in the paleontology community.

Archaeopteryx (1860)

It was soon after in 1860 when Charles Darwin published his famous ground-breaking book, ” On the Origin of Species,” there was a huge wave of discoveries related to dinosaurs. The most important one was of Archaeopteryx in Solnhofen, Germany where the fossil was found of this ancient creature. Archaeopteryx discovery proved to be a very important one as it helped the scientists to find a link that was lost between dinosaurs and birds. There have been several discoveries such as Sinosauropteryx, but this discovery has left a profound impact in the paleontology community.

Diplodocus (1877)

Between late 18th century and early 19th century, the scientists were discovering several fossils in Europe which were comparatively small ornithopods and theropods. But then the discovery of Diplodocus in western North America’s Morrison Formation changed everything. The scientists’ imagination around dinosaurs grew and they started seeing the reality behind dinosaurs that made them the most fearful creature on the Earth.

Coelophysis (1947)

It was Edwin H. Colbert who discovered several skeletons that belonged to Coelophysis in 1947. The skeletons were found at the Ghost Ranch popularly known as fossil site in New Mexico. What made this discovery so important was the fact that scientists got some insight on dinosaur’s nature. They found that Coelophysis had the same characteristics as present animals that travel in herds.

Maiasaura (1975)

If you have seen the movie, Jurassic Park directed by Sam Neill, then you’ll be surprised to know that it was Jack Horner who inspired him. Jack Horner is a very famous name inside the paleontology community who discovered the massive nesting grounds belonging to Maiasaura, a medium sized hadrosaur that walked around the American West in a large number of herds. What Jack Horner found was amazing as his discovery showed skeletons consisting of a baby and two adult Maiasaura, which proved the possibility of some dinosaurs had a family too and they didn’t kill their newborns after they were born.

Sinosauropteryx (1997)

It is believed that Sinosauropteryx belongs to the same chain as Archaeopteryx. It is popularly known as “dino-bird” and was discovered in China’s Liaoning quarry. The fossil the scientist found was in a very good condition as compared to other discoveries and it’s now well preserved in the museum. This discovery helped further in solving the mystery behind the evolution of dinosaurs into birds. There are still many questions that need some answers but we are progressing and sooner or later we will have them.

Discoveries made by Ryleigh and other scientists prove that there is a lot that we aren’t aware of and things like these will keep on coming out in future that will shock the world around us.