Very shortened synopsis.
Paleontologists have named a brand-new dinosaur species: Athenar bermani, a long-necked plant-eater from the Late Jurassic period (about 150 million years ago).Found in Dinosaur National Monument, Utah, the fossil is a partial skull and braincase (specimen CM 26552) dug up in 1913. It sat in a museum drawer for decades and was once thought to belong to the famous Diplodocus.After careful study, scientists realized it’s not a Diplodocus at all—it’s a rare type called a dicraeosaurid, a group known for shorter necks and sometimes spiky backs. This makes Athenar bermani only the fourth dicraeosaurid found in North America.Key features that set it apart:
- Holes in the top of the skull (frontoparietal and postparietal fenestrae)
- A unique “tooth-like” bump where two skull bones meet
- A downward-angled face and sturdy braincase
It was likely a subadult (teenage dinosaur) when it died, but already bigger than some adult Diplodocus skulls.Why the name?
- Athenar honors a Cleveland musician (and Steelers fan) whose music powered the research.
- bermani salutes paleontologist David S. Berman, who first described the fossil in 1978.
This find boosts our understanding of dinosaur diversity in the Morrison Formation—a famous rock unit full of Jurassic giants—and shows dicraeosaurids were more common in North America than we thought.Published October 2025 in Palaeontologia Electronica.
https://doi.org/10.26879/1550
Copyright Society of Vertebrate Paleontology, October 2025
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