Dinosaur discovery: a cavalcade of new giant dinosaurs is unearthed

Recent discoveries are adding greatly to our understanding of the giant sauropod dinosaurs

The sauropod dinosaurs are instantly recognisable to anyone with the most passing knowledge of dinosaurs. The huge size, columnar limbs, long tail and, in particular, long necks make them distinctive even among the huge diversity of the dinosaurs. Familiar names like Brontosaurus and Diplodocus bring up images of multi-tonne giants filling landscapes. Yet surprisingly our understanding of these great animals is often limited.

Although they make up around a quarter of dinosaur species (birds aside), are obviously large and were often common animals, their fossil record is rather poor, at least in some key areas. Firstly, these giants often had very small and very fragile skulls. Loads of sauropods are known from great specimens that are basically complete apart from some bits like ribs and toe bones but completely lack a head. The skull is critical for huge amount of research as it contains the brain, the major sense organs and the feeding apparatus, so missing this for most species is more than a bit of a handicap for researchers.When found, a great skull can help produce important research.