Werkgroep Fossielen regio Wageningen

A Spinosaurus (Spinosaurus mirabilis) has been discovered in Niger. None had been found for a century; the first was described in 1915. This species has a horn on its head. Based on this discovery, it is believed that the Spinosaurus hunted fish in a manner similar to a heron.

The giant snail from the Champagne region, near Damery, has been studied by KU Leuven. The calcium in the shell has been examined because it grows so quickly and can therefore provide information about climate change during the snail's lifetime. The full Nature article can be found here.

In Bolivia, numerous dinosaur tracks (1,275) have been found in Torotoro National Park, as described in Plos (full article available!). These include individual and group tracks. The parallel tracks seem to indicate group behaviour. Walking and swimming behaviour has been further investigated, as has tail swishing. This research dwarfs the recently found track in England. Unfortunately, few bones have been found to supplement the tracks. The photo is of a track in Portugal.

After being domesticated in Egypt around 5,000 years ago, domestic cats were brought to Europe by the Romans only around 2,000 years ago. This has become known from new DNA research, as published in Science.