Fossils of a new species of dinosaur, Jobaria tiguidensis, were discovered in 1997.

In the autumn of 1997, paleontologist Dr. Paul Sereno led an 18-person, four-month expedition to Niger's Sahara Desert to search for fossils. The study took more than a year to plan and required five vehicles and over two tons of supplies (including a ton of dehydrated food). In the course of their excavations, the team discovered a new species of long-necked dinosaur from the Cretaceous period, 135 million years ago. The scientists were excited to discover that 95 percent of the skeleton was still intact, making it the most complete skeleton yet discovered of any long-necked dinosaur from the Cretaceous period.

After two years of preparation, cleaning and study of the bones, paleontologists have determined that Jobaria weighed an estimated 20 tons and grew to be more than 70 feet in length. The fossil beds from which the scientists extracted the bones of Jobaria were between 110 and 135 million years old, and also contained other fossils, including other adult and juvenile Jobaria skeletons, as well as fossils of Suchomimus, a 36-foot long fish-eating predator.

Xpeditions
In How Do Scientists Find Dinosaur Fossils? (3-5), students learn about the process by which paleontologists locate, excavate and study dinosaurs. They then write journal entries pretending they are on a dinosaur dig.

The Science of Digging Up Dinosaurs (6-8) has students trace the steps of a paleontologist from determining where to look for dinosaur fossils to studying the completed dinosaur skeleton for clues about the dinosaur's behavior, diet and anatomy.

Dinosaur Bodies (K-2) asks students to think about the ways in which living animals use their bodies and the ways in which dinosaurs might have used their bodies, based on fossil evidence and the best educated guesses of paleontologists.

In The Evolution of Dinosaurs Over Time (9-12), students to combine their knowledge of evolution, geologic time and dinosaurs into a discussion of how these three topics overlap with regard to dinosaur evolution in the Cretaceous period.

Science NetLinks
Hollywood Dinosaurs (6-8) helps students examine characteristics of the scientific process in the study of dinosaurs. This lesson allows students to differentiate between fact, theory and speculation as they develop theories about dinosaurs based on relevant evidence, and then to examine recent evidence that challenges the prevailing theory that all dinosaurs were cold-blooded.