2015 was an exceptionally productive year for paleontology. Brontosaurus made a comeback. Paleontologists further decoded the coloration patterns of long extinct animals. Jurassic World brought dinosaurs back to the big screen. And most importantly, scientists around the world made thousands of new discoveries, both in the field and in the lab, which have further reconstructed our understanding of Earth’s murky ecological past.
So without further ado, I present to you the 2015 Best in Show winners for extinct animals that were either discovered, named, or properly classified within the 12 months. From its Cambrian weirdos to its gigantic raptors, this will be a hard year to beat. Bring it, 2016.
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Best Mammal: Kimbetopsalis simmonsae
Concept drawing of Kimbetopsalis simmonsae. Image: Sarah Shelley
This diminutive creature lived in the apocalyptic aftermath of the asteroid impact that killed off half of all life on Earth, including the dinosaurs. Kimbetopsalis simmonsae roamed what is now New Mexico, casually surviving during a full-scale ecological collapse.
So what was this little cutie’s secret? In a nutshell: it fed on exactly the kinds of flowering plants that thrived in the wake of the Cretaceous-Paleogene extinction event. “There weren’t any mammals like [Kimbetopsalis] that lived with the dinosaurs—maybe a handful of species that were beaver-sized and few, if any, that exclusively ate plants,” co-author Steve Brusatte told me when the discovery was announced in October.
“So it looks like mammals rapidly began to get bigger, evolve new diets, and colonize new environments very soon after the dinosaurs bit the dust,” he said. “That’s a neat story because that is the story of how we got here. That explosive diversification of mammals led to primates, which led to us.”
Runner-up: These gnarly 10,000-year-old cave lion cubs that were found frozen with their fur, skin, and tissue intact.
Best Bird: Llallawavis scagliai
A very metal digital reconstruction of Llallawavis scagliai. Video: Eloy Manzanero/YouTubeThis formidable predator roamed the grasslands of Argentina some 3.5 million years ago, and was classified as the new species Llallawavis scagliai—“the Magnificent Bird of Scaglia—in April.
Its remains represent the most intact example from the group of so-called “terror birds” that dominated many South American ecosystems during the Pliocene epoch. Ninety percent of the animal was recovered, including crucial parts of its vocal anatomy that suggest the bird sung in low, deep pitches.
Runner-up: Archaeornithura meemannae, the oldest common ancestor of all birds, found in China.
Best Sea Monster: Aegirocassis benmoulae
CGI reconstruction of Aegirocassis benmoulae. Image: Spiridon Ion Cepleanu
Measuring almost seven feet in length, this filter-feeding arthropod was an absolute giant of the seas, some 480 million years ago. “They were the largest animals during the Cambrian and Ordovician [periods],” Yale paleontologist Peter Van Roy told me when this discovery was announced in March.
“In fact, Aegirocassis benmoulae is one of the largest arthropods—[the kingdom that includes modern crustaceans, insects, and arachnids]—to have ever lived, reaching a length of at least 2.1 meters.”
Runner-up: Pentecopterus decorahensis, a giant sea scorpion that lived 467 million years ago.
Best Raptor: Dakotaraptor
Sup human, ready to be eaten? Image: Matthew Martyniuk
Thanks to the Jurassic Park franchise, Velociraptors have become the most well-known and feared of the hook-toed dromaeosaurid clan (“dromaeosaurid” being the scientific term for raptors).
But as has been pointed out ad nauseum, Velociraptors were only about the size of turkeys, far smaller than the intimidating monsters we’ve become accustomed to on screen.
That said, dromaeosaurids like Dakotaraptor, a new genus announced in November, genuinely were the size of the animals depicted in the films—bigger even. Based on its remains, Dakotaraptor appears to have been among the largest raptors that ever lived, measuring 17 feet from head to tail, and brandishing a massive 9.5-inch-long claw on each foot.
“These claws could grab on to anything and just slice them to bits.”
“It really was the Ferrari of competitors,” paleontologist Robert DePalma, who led the new research into the animal, told the BBC. “It could run very fast, it could jump incredibly well, it was agile and it had essentially grappling hooks on the front and rear limbs.”
“These claws could grab on to anything and just slice them to bits,” he added. “It was utterly lethal.”
Sounds like Dakotaraptor would make for a much more intimidating companion for Chris Pratt in any future Jurassic World movies, especially since the animal’s remains show plenty of evidence of some truly dope feathers. Velociraptors have had a great run, but it’s time to step aside for the real terrors of the late Cretaceous.
Runner-up: Zhenyuanlong suni, an incredibly well-preserved raptor specimen discovered in China, featuring the largest wingspan of any dinosaur ever recovered.
Best Head Swag: Regaliceratops peterhewsi
Concept drawing of Regaliceratops. Art by Julius T. Csotonyi. Courtesy of Royal Tyrrell Museum, Drumheller, Alberta
Ceratopsids, the group of dinosaurs that includes Triceratops, are known for their ostentatious head frills and crests. But even amongst its peers, Regaliceratops peterhewsi, or “Hellboy” as it has been nicknamed, stands out with its striking crown of horns and large nasal shiv.
The unique look is thought to have been used mostly as a display to attract mates, which is especially delightful considering that paleontologist Caleb Brown, who led the team that discovered the new species, proposed to his girlfriend in the acknowledgements of his paper (she said yes). When it comes to courtship, some things never change, regardless of whether you are looking to woo your honey with sweet gestures in academic papers, or with funky head spikes.
Runner-up: Probrachylophosaurus bergei, aka “Super-Duck,” a five-tonne dinosaur that sheds the light on the evolution of forehead crests in hadrosaurs.
Best Total Freakin’ Weirdo: Collinsium ciliosum
Collinsium ciliosum. Image: Javier Ortega-Hernández
Good God: What even is this thing? Collinsium ciliosum looks like something evolution would sneeze out during a fever dream. Measuring about four inches long from whatever the hell is its front to whatever rounds out its rear, this sea worm lived 518 million years ago during the Cambrian period. It had 12 feather-like legs for filtering food and another 18 clawed legs for clinging to its hosts, and was topped off with a bunch of armored spikes along its spine.
Up until this year, the Hallucigenia worm was assumed to be the weirdest thing the Cambrian ever cooked up, but this “Hallucigenia on steroids,” as paleontologist Javier Ortega-Hernández described the new species, has undoubtedly upped the stakes.
Runner-up: Carnufex carolinensis, a bipedal crocodile of the late Triassic.
Best Hominid: Homo Naledi
Homo nadeli specimens. Image: Lee Roger Berger research team
Homo nadeli nabs this illustrious title for its origin story alone. Locked away in the chambers of the labyrinthine Rising Star Cave system in South Africa, the remains had to be carefully removed by professional spelunkers. The expedition was a classic Indiana-Jones-style mix of adventure and academic reward, resulting in the recovery of thousands of fossil specimens from this bygone hominid community.
It’s thought that Homo nadeli lived around two million years ago, though there is still a lot of controversy over the age and interpretation of the fossils, given that they are so new.
Runner-up: An innovative “virtual fossil” of the last common ancestor between humans and Neanderthals.
Best in Show: Isle of Skye Dinosaur Footprints
Sauropod tracks on the Isle of Skye. Image: Steve Brusatte
By far the most astonishing paleontological story of 2015, in my opinion, was the discovery of hundreds of dinosaur footprints on the coast of Scotland’s Isle of Skye.
These tracks were left by large, long-necked sauropods 170 million years ago, and were described as a makeshift “dinosaur dance floor” by paleontologist Steve Brusatte, who was one of the researchers that discovered and categorized them.
As Brusatte explained to me a few weeks ago, part of the magic of these footprints is their physical immediacy. “Tracks are really important because they record real animals interacting with their environment,” he said. “Bones and teeth are great—they can tell us a lot about ancient animals. But bones and teeth can be transported. They can be scooped up by rivers and deposited almost anywhere. Not tracks. Tracks are made in a particular place and can’t be moved.”
“So we know these sauropods were actually moving around in these lagoons,” he added. “The real animals were physically there. And many of them, and over multiple generations. That really blows my mind.”
