![]() The study also provides some tantalising hints as to what killed off the dinosaurs – a topic that is still hotly contested today. ![]() We have found less than a third of all possible groups, and a further 1300 or so are still hidden beneath our feet. By their reckoning, we have only begun to scratch the surface of dinosaur diversity. ![]() Now, Steve Wang and Peter Dodson from the University of Pennsylvania have plugged the data from the Dinosauria into an established mathematical model to work out how many genera are still undiscovered. The newcomers have included several record-breakers, including the massive Argentinosaurus, the tyrannosaur-trumping Giganotosaurus, and the minute Microraptor. About 15 new genera are discovered every year, and the total has almost doubled to 527, excluding those based on isolated teeth or single fragments. Countries like China and Argentina have proven to be particularly rich digging grounds and the number of new groups being unearthed has accelerated at a tremendous rate. Since 1990, palaeontologists have been busy. For dinosaurs, it is a good an indicator of diversity as any, as most genera have only one representative. ‘Genera’ is a term referring to groups of closely related species. The best information we have comes from the Dinosauria - the dinosaur enthusiast’s bible – which put the number of known genera at 285 in its 1990 edition. ![]() For a start, the fossil record is incomplete and many species are known only from small fragments. There are many problems with estimating dinosaur numbers.
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