An article published in the journal “eLife” reports the identification of a new species of armored dinosaurs that lived between 192 and 174 million years ago, at the beginning of the Jurassic period, in today’s China. A team of researchers named it Yuxisaurus kopchicki and assigned it to the group of thyreophorans (Thyreophora), which includes the many armored dinosaurs such as the famous stegosaurs and ankylosaurs. The new species is the first of this group to be described thanks to early Jurassic fossils discovered in Asia. This confirms this group’s quick spread and diversification.

An article published in the journal “Peer J” reports the identification of the largest dinosaur species that lived in today’s Australia. A team of researchers named Australotitan cooperensis this dinosaur that lived in the Cretaceous period, between 92 and 96 million years ago, and included it in the group of titanosaurs, the giant long-necked herbivores that include the largest animals that lived on land. The identification represents the culmination of a long task on the scattered bones of various specimens.

An article published in the “Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology” reports the discovery of a carnivorous dinosaur that lived about 80 million years ago in today’s Argentina. A team of researchers led by paleontologist Federico Gianechini of the National University of San Luis named it Llukalkan aliocranianus after examining a partial skull discovered in the Bajo de la Carpa Formation. The new species and the new genus have been attributed to the Furileusauria group, part of the abelisaurid family, widespread in the ancient subcontinent Gondwana. The examination of the uncovered bones suggests that it had better hearing than the other abelisaurids.

An article published in the journal “Science Bulletin” reports the discovery of fossils of a species of feathered dinosaur attributed to the oviraptorid family that include a partial skeleton of an adult that was brooding a group of 24 eggs, some of which were broken and showed bones still in their embryonic state. A team of researchers conducted the first study of these fossils dating back to about 70 million years ago, during the Cretaceous period, discovered in the Nanxiong Formation, near the city of Ganzhou, China. This is the first discovery of a non-avian dinosaur while it was brooding a nest with eggs that preserved their embryos.

An article published in the journal “Royal Society Open Science” reports the identification of a new species of parrot-like feathered dinosaur that lived in modern Mongolia about 68 million years ago, at the end of the Cretaceous period. A team of researchers named it Oksoko avarsan after examining various specimens in various states of incompleteness. Some of the specimens had been confiscated by the Mongolian authorities after they were found in the possession of smugglers. These dinosaurs were classified within the oviraptorid (Oviraptoridae) family, but were toothless and had two fingers instead of the typical three of their closest relatives.