Science and research

The Dinosaur Museum has served as the showcase for a palaeontological research centre for nearly 40 years. It devotes part of its budget to scientific research, through the organisation of excavation sites and fieldwork in France and abroad, technical laboratory work, scientific publications, the organisation of international conferences, and making its collections available to palaeontologists from around the world, amongst other activities. This work is often carried out in collaboration with various international institutions, as part of research programmes.

Our exhibitions are enriched every month by the discoveries made by our excavation teams, as well as through donations or exchanges with other institutions. We avoid purchasing fossils, as we do not wish to contribute to the commodification of what we regard, above all, as scientific and educational material. The museum team is involved in the protection of geological and palaeontological heritage, particularly through the regional inventory of this heritage.

We also contribute to the training of future palaeontologists through our excavation projects, as well as by welcoming student researchers to work with our collections.

  • Halle aux dinosaures du monde

  • Deux archéologues ou chercheurs examinent et restaurent une ancienne structure en pierre dans un laboratoire.

  • Une main tient une reproduction d'une illustration anatomique du squelette humain avec une coupe transversale de la tête, sur une table recouverte de livres, papiers et objets divers, y compris une roche semble-t-il. Autour, il y a des livres ouverts, un marque-page bleu, un téléphone portable et d'autres documents.

  • Un camion orange transportant des blocs de pierre. Trois hommes travaillent autour du camion, un d'eux est debout à côté, un autre est à l'intérieur chargeant les blocs, et un troisième est assis sur la cabine du camion. Il y a un terrain en terre avec quelques herbes et un espace extérieur arboré en arrière-plan.

Oryctos

Couverture d'un magazine intitulé 'Oryctos', concernant un symposium international sur les dinosaures et autres vertébrés paléoichnologie, qui s'est tenu à Fumanya, Barcelone, du 4 au 8 octobre 2005, volume 8, 2008.

Oryctos is the scientific journal published by the Dinosaur Museum. Ten volumes have been published since 1998. All of Oryctos’s content is available as open access on our website.

‍ Volume 1, 1998

Gilles Cuny, Primitive neoselachian sharks : a survey. Oryctos 1, 3-21.

Paul H. Lambers, The genus Furo (Pisces, Halecomorphi) from the Upper Jurassic Plattenkalke of Germany. Oryctos 1, 23-35.

‍Paulo M. Brito , David M. Martill & Sylvie Wenz, A semionotid fish from the Crato Formation (Aptian, Lower Cretaceous) of Brazil: palaeoecological implications. Oryctos 1, 37-42.

‍Haiyan Tong, Pleurodiran turtles from the Eocene of Saint Papoul (Aude), Southern France. Oryctos 1, 43-53.

‍Eric W.A. Mulder, John W.M. Jagt, Marcel M.M. Kuypers, Hans H.G. Peeters & Peggy Rompen. Preliminary observations on the stratigraphic distribution of Late Cretaceous marine and terrestrial reptiles from the Maastrichtian type area (SE Netherlands, NE

‍Denis Vasse & Stéphane Hua, Diversité des crocodiliens du Crétacé supérieur et du Paléogène. Influences et limites de la crise Maastrichtien-Paléocène et des

‍David M. Martill & Eberhard Frey, A new pterosaur Lagerstätte in N. E. Brazil (Crato Formation; Aptian, Lower Cretaceous) : preliminary observations. Oryctos 1, 79-85.

‍Zoltan Csiki & Dan Grigorescu, Small Theropods from the Late Cretaceous of the Hateg Basin (Western Romania) - an unexpected diversity at the top of the food chain. Oryctos 1, 87-104.

‍Jean Le Loeuff & Eric Buffetaut, A new dromaeosaurid theropod from the Upper Cretaceous of Southern France. Oryctos 1, 105-112.

‍John Martin, Valérie Martin-Rolland & Eberhard Frey, Not cranes or masts but beams. The biomechanics of sauropod necks. Oryctos 1, 113-120.

‍Julio Company, Angel Galobart & Rodrigo Gaete. First data on the hadrosaurid dinosaurs from the Upper Cretaceous of Valencia, Spain. Oryctos 1, 121-126.

‍Mette Elstrup Rasmussen, Notes on the morphology and the orientation of the forelimb of Ouranosaurus nigeriensis. Oryctos 1, 127-130.

‍Eric Buffetaut, First evidence of enantiornithine birds from the Upper Cretaceous of Europe : postcranial bones from Cruzy (Hérault, southern France). Oryctos 1, 127-130.

‍Paulette Pauc & Eric Buffetaut, Reproduction de perles circulaires en coquille d'oeufs de dinosaures. Oryctos 1, 137-146.‍ ‍

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Volume 2, 1999

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Michel Martin, Laurent Barbieri & Gilles Cuny, The Madagascan Mesozoic ptychoceratodontids (Dipnoi) : systematic relationships and paleobiogeographical significance. Oryctos 2, 3-16.

‍Gilles Cuny, François-Xavier Gauffre and Adrian Hunt, First discovery of a cynodont from the Moenkopi Formation (Middle Triassic) of Northeastern Arizona. Oryctos 2, 17-20.

‍Virginia Tidwell, Kenneth Carpenter & Williams Brooks, New sauropod from the Lower Cretaceous of Utah, USA. Oryctos 2, 21-37.

‍Valérie Martin, Varavudh Suteethorn & Eric Buffetaut, Description of the type and referred material of Phuwiangosaurus sirindhornae Martin, Buffetaut et Suteethorn, 1994, a sauropod from the Lower Cretaceous of Thailand. Oryctos 2, 39-91.

‍Zoltan Csiki, New evidence of armoured titanosaurids in the Late Cretaceous - Magyarosaurus dacus from the Hateg Basin (Romania). Oryctos 2, 93-99.

‍Eric Buffetaut, Mantell, Cuvier, Buckland and the identification of Iguanodon : a contribution based on unpublished annotations by Mantell. Oryctos 2, 101-109.

‍Christian A. Meyer & Adrian P. Hunt, The first pterosaur from the Late Jurassic of Switzerland: evidence for the largest Jurassic flying animal. Oryctos 2, 111-116.

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‍Volume 3, 2000

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David M. Martill & Paulo M. Brito, First record of Calamopleurus (Actinopterygii: Halecomorphi: Amiidae) from the Crato Formation (Lower Cretaceous) of north-east Brazil. Oryctos 3, 3-8.

‍Haiyan Tong & Eugene S. Gaffney, Description of the skull of Polysternon provinciale (Matheron, 1869), a Side-Necked Turtle (Pelomedusoides : Bothremydidae) from the Late Cretaceous of Villeveyrac, France. Oryctos 3, 9-18.

‍Yves Laurent, Eric Buffetaut & Jean Le Loeuff, A thoracosaurine skull (Crocodylia, Crocodylidae) in the Late Maastrichtian of Southern France. Oryctos 3, 19-27.

‍Daniel J. Chure, Observation on the morphology and pathology of the gastral basket of Allosaurus, based on a new specimen from Dinosaur National Monument. Oryctos 3, 29-37.

‍Erika Posmosanu & Elizabeth Cook, Vertebrate taphonomy and dinosaur palaeopathology from a Lower Cretaceous bauxite lens, North West Romania. Oryctos 3, 39-51.

‍James W.R. Martin, Cyril A. Walker, Richard H.C. Bonser, and Gareth J. Dyke, A new species of large auk from the Pliocene of Belgium. Oryctos 3, 53-60.

‍Dominique Delsate, Presence of a small Multituberculata at the Paleocene-Eocene transition of Dormaal (Belgium, MP7). Oryctos 3, 61-69.

‍Norihisa Inuzuka, Preliminary Report on the Evolution of Aquatic Adaptation in Desmostylians (Mammalia, Tethytheria). Oryctos 3, 71-77.

‍Jason S. Anderson and Lawrence G. Barnes, A Fossil Miocene Whale from the Tipam Sandstone, St. Martin's Island, Bangladesh. Oryctos 3, 79-84.

‍Federica Marcolini , Giovanni Zanchetta & Francesco Paolo Bonadonna, Some preliminary data on two small mammal bearing paleosols from the Tyrrhenian and Adriatic sides of Italy. Oryctos 3, 95-94.

‍Eric Buffetaut, Mantell, Cuvier, Buckland and the identification of Iguanodon : a correction. Oryctos 3, 95-97.

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‍Volume 4, 2002‍ ‍

Dorin Sorin Baciu & Bruno Chanet, Fossil flatfishes (Teleostei: Pleuronectiformes) from the Oligocene of Piatra Neamt (Romania). Oryctos 4, 17-38.

‍Gerald Mayr, A postcranial skeleton of Palaeopsittacus Harrison, 1982 (Aves incertae sedis) from the Middle Eocene of Messel (Germany). Oryctos 4, 75-82.

‍Kathrin Dietze, Heterochrony within Amblypterydae (Actinopterygii; Permo-Carboniferous)? Oryctos 4, 3-15.

‍Marie Pincemaille-Quillevéré, Description of a partial skeleton of Rhabdodon priscus (Euornithopoda) from the Upper Cretaceous of Vitrolles (Bouches du Rhône, France). Oryctos 4, 39-70.

‍Peter J. Adam & Annalisa Berta, Evolution of Prey Capture Strategies and Diet in Pinnipedimorpha (Mammalia, Carnivora). Oryctos 4, 83-107

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Volume 5, 2004

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Julien Claude & Haiyan Tong, Early Eocene testudinoid turtles from Saint Papoul, France, with comments on the early evolution of Testudinoidea. Oryctos 5, 3-45

‍Marie-Céline Buchy , Philippe Taugourdeau & Philippe Janvier. Stomach contents of a Lower Triassic ichthyosaur from Spitzbergen. Oryctos 5, 47-55.

‍Stéphane Hua, Crocodilians from the Sparnacian (Lower Eocene) of Le Quesnoy (Oise, France). Oryctos 5, 57-62.

‍Eric Buffetaut, An Iguanodon jaw (Dinosauria, Ornithopoda) from the Lower Cretaceous of Aube (eastern Paris Basin, France). Oryctos 5, 63-68

‍Gilles Cuny, A Late Triassic Cynodont from Holwell Quarries (Somerset, England). Oryctos 5, 69-73.

‍Richard Smith & Thierry Smith, Are the mammals from the middle Ypresian of the Paris Basin (reference-level MP8-9) already present from the Paleocene/Eocene boundary at Dormaal (reference-level MP7, Belgium)? Oryctos 5, 75-82.

‍Aurora Grandal-d'Anglade & Fernando Lopez-Gonzalez, A study of the evolution of the Pleistocene cave bear by a morphometric analysis of the lower carnassial. Oryctos 5, 83-94.

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Volume 6, 2006

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Marie-Céline Buchy, Eberhard Frey, Wolfgang Stinnesbeck & José Guadalupe Lopez-Oliva, An annotated catalogue of the Upper Jurassic (Kimmeridgian and Tithonian) marine reptiles in the collections of the UniversidadAutónoma de Nuevo León, Facultad de Ciencias de la Tierra, Linares, Mexico. Oryxtos 6, 1-18.

‍Eberhard Frey, Marie-Céline Buchy, Wolfgang Stinnesbeck, Arturo Gonzalez Gonzalez & Alfredo di Stefano, Muzquizopteryx coahuilensis n.g., n. sp., a nyctosaurid pterosaur with soft tissue preservation from the Coniacian (Late Cretaceous) of northeast Mexico (Coahuila). Oryctos 6, 19-40.

‍Anne S. Schulp, Geert H.I.M. Walenkamp, Paul A.M. Hofman, Yvonne Stuip & Bruce M. Rothschild, Chronic bone infection in the jaw of Mosasaurus hoffmanni (Squamata). Oryctos 6, 41-52.

‍Dan Grigorescu & Emese Kazar, A new Middle Miocene odontocete (Mammalia: Cetacea) locality and the Sarmatian Marine Mammal Event in the Central Paratethys. Oryctos 6, 53-68.

‍Olivier Lambert, First record of a platanistid (Cetacea, Odontoceti) in the North Sea Basin: a review of Cyrtodelphis Abel, 1899 from the Miocene of Belgium. Oryctos 6, 69-79.

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‍Volume 7, 2008

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Andrzej Elzanowski, The avian femur: morphology and terminology of the lateral condyle. Oryctos 7, 1-5.

‍Richard Hinchliffe, Bird wing digits & their homologies: reassessment of developmental evidence for a 2,3,4 identity. Oryctos 7, 7-12.

‍Kenneth E. Campbell, The manus of Archaeopterygians: implications for avian ancestry. Oryctos 7, 13-26.

‍David A. Burnham, A review of the Early Cretaceous Jehol Group on northeastern China and a revision of concerning the origin of flight paradigm. Oryctos 7, 27-43.

‍Larry D. Martin, Origins of avian flight – a new perspective. Oryctos 7, 45-54.

‍Attila Ösi, Enantiornithine bird remains from the Late Cretaceous of Hungary. Oryctos 7, 55-60.

‍Larry D. Martin & Virginia L. Naples, Mandibular kinesis in Hesperornis. Oryctos 7, 61-65.

‍Gerald Mayr, The higher-level phylogeny of birds - when morphology, molecules,and fossils coincide. Oryctos 7, 67-74.

‍Eric Buffetaut, First evidence of the giant bird Gastornis from southern Europe: a tibiotarsus from the Lower Eocene of Saint-Papoul (Aude, southern France). Oryctos 7, 75-82.

‍Kazuhiko Sakurai, Masaichi Kimura & Takayuki Katoh, A new penguin-like bird (Pelecaniformes:Plotopteridae) from the Late Oligocene Tokoro Formation, northeastern Hokkaido, Japan. Oryctos 7, 83-94.

‍Ursula B. Göhlich & Marco Pavia, A new species of Palaeortyx (Aves: Galliformes: Phasianidae) from the Neogene of Gargano, Italy. Oryctos 7, 95-108.

‍Carolina Acosta Hospitaleche & Claudia Tambussi,South American fossil penguins: a systematic update. Oryctos 7, 109-127.

‍Stig A. Walsh, Norman MacLeod & Mark O’Neill, Analysis of spheniscid humerus and tarsometatarsus morphological variability using DAISY automated image recognition. Oryctos 7, 129-136.

‍Claudia Patricia Tambussi & Carolina Acosta Hospitaleche, Skull shape analysis and diet of South American fossil penguins (Sphenisciformes). Oryctos 7, 137-145.

‍Antoine Louchart, Yohannes Haile-Selassie, Patrick Vignaud, Andossa Likius & Michel Brunet, Fossil birds from the Late Miocene of Chad and Ethiopia and zoogeographical implications. Oryctos 7, 147-167.

‍Cécile Mourer-Chauviré & Denis Geraads, The Struthionidae and Pelagornithidae (Aves: Struthioniformes, Odontopterygiformes) from the late Pliocene of Ahl Al Oughlam, Morocco. Oryctos 7, 169-194.

‍Walter E. Boles, Systematics of the fossil Australian giant megapodes Progura (Aves: Megapodiidae). Oryctos 7, 195-215.

‍Nikita V. Zelenkov, Evgeny N. Kurochkin, Alexander A. Karhu & Peter Ballmann, Birds of the Late Pleistocene and Holocene from the Palaeolithic Djuktai Cave site of Yakutia, Eastern Siberia. Oryctos 7, 217-226.

‍Joanne H. Cooper & Alan J. D. Tennyson, Wrecks and residents: the fossil gadfly petrels (Pterodroma spp.) of the Chatham Islands, New Zealand. Oryctos 7, 227-248.

‍Tommy Tyrberg, The Late Pleistocene Continental Avian extinction – an evaluation of the fossil evidence. Oryctos 7, 249-269.

‍Vasily A. Ilyinsky, Locomotor Adaptations in the Hindlimbs of Owls: the Burrowing Owl (Athene cunicularia), compared to the Little Owl (Athene noctua). Oryctos 7, 271-276.

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Volume 8, 2008

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Jean Le Loeuff, Bernat Vila, Àngel Galobart, Oriol Oms & Josep Marmi. 2008. An introduction to the Fumanya meeting. Oryctos 8, 1-2.

‍Marco Avanzini & Paolo Mietto. Lower and Middle Triassic footprint-based Biochronology in the Italian Southern Alps. Oryctos 8, 3-13.

‍Martin A. Whyte & Mike Romano. Dinosaur footprints associated with an ephemeral pool in the Middle Jurassic of Yorkshire, UK. Oryctos 8, 15-27.

‍Gerard D. Gierlinski & Karol Sabath. Stegosaurian footprints from the Morrison Formation of Utah and their implications for interpreting other ornithischian tracks. Oryctos 8, 29-46.

‍Octávio Mateus & Jesper Milàn. Ichnological evidence for giant ornithopod dinosaurs in the Upper Jurassic Lourinhã Formation, Portugal. Oryctos 8, 47-52.

‍Martin Lockley, José Carlos Garcia-Ramos, Laura Pinuela & Marco Avanzini. A review of vertebrate track assemblages from the Late Jurassic of Asturias, Spain with comparative notes on coeval ichnofaunas from the western USA: implications for faunal diversity in siliciclastic facies assemblages. Oryctos 8, 53-70.

‍Marco Avanzini, Laura Pinuela & José Carlos Garcia-Ramos. Theropod Palaeopathology inferred from a Late Jurassic trackway, Asturias (N. Spain). Oryctos 8, 71-75.

‍Vanda Faria dos Santos, Carlos Marques da Silva & Luís Azevedo Rodrigues. Dinosaur track sites from Portugal: Scientific and cultural significance. Oryctos 8, 77-88.

‍Fabio M. Dalla Vecchia. The impact of dinosaur palaeoichnology in palaeoenvironmental and palaeogeographic reconstructions: the case of the Periadriatic carbonate platforms. Oryctos 8, 89-106.

‍Gerard D. Gierlinski, Izabela Ploch, Eugenia Gawor-Biedowa & Grzegorz Niedzwiedzki. The first evidence of dinosaur tracks in the Upper Cretaceous of Poland. Oryctos 8, 107-113.

‍Bernat Vila, Oriol Oms, Josep Marmi & Àngel Galobart. Tracking Fumanya Footprints (Maastrichtian, Pyrenees): historical and ichnological overview. Oryctos 8, 115-130.

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‍Volume 9, 2010

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Jeff Liston, The occurrence of the Middle Jurassic pachycormid fish Leedsichthys, Oryctos 9, 2010, 1-36.

‍Romain Vullo, France de Lapparent de Broin, Didier Néraudeau & Nicolas Durrieu, Turtles from the Early Cenomanian paralic deposits (Late Cretaceous) of Charentes, France. Oryctos 9, 2010, 37-48.

‍Marie-Céline Buchy, Morphologie dentaire et régime alimentaire des reptiles marins du Mésozoïque : revue critique et réévaluation, Oryctos 9, 2010, 49-82.

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Volume 10, 2013

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Eric Buffetaut. 2013. An early spinosaurid dinosaur from the Late Jurassic of Tendaguru (Tanzania) and the evolution of the spinosaurid dentition. Oryctos 10, 1-8

‍Marie-Céline Buchy, Mark T. Young & Marco B. de Andrade. 2013. A new specimen of Cricosaurus saltillensis (Crocodylomorpha: Metriorhynchidae) from the Upper Jurassic of Mexico: evidence for craniofacial convergence within Metriorhynchidae. Oryctos 10, 9-21.

‍Jean Le Loeuff, Suravech Suteethorn & Eric Buffetaut. 2013. A new sauropod dinosaur from the Albian of Le Havre (Normandy, France). Oryctos 10, 23-30.