Sinosauropteryx
"Sinosauropteryx" was a small theropod with an unusually long tail and short arms. The longest known specimen reaches up to in length, with an estimated weight of It was a close relative of the similar but older genus "Compsognathus", both genera belonging to the family Compsognathidae. Only one species of "Sinosauropteryx" has been named: "S. prima", meaning "first" in reference to its status as the first feathered non-avialian dinosaur species discovered. Three specimens have been described. The third specimen previously assigned to this genus represents either a second, as-yet unnamed species or a distinct, related genus.
Paleontology in New Mexico
In 1979, two hikers discovered a series of gigantic articulated vertebrae fossils near San Ysidro. They reported the remains to David Gilette of the New Mexico Museum of Natural History. Gillette led an expedition into the region and used cutting edge technology to locate the remains while they were still entombed in sandstone. The team excavated a massive quarry and gradually recovered a significant portion of the rear half of a diplodocid sauropod dinosaur. In 1991 this dinosaur was formally described as the new genus "Seismosaurus" and estimated to be the longest dinosaur known to science at long. In 1989, excavation began at the fossils site Rodney Peterson discovered near Albuquerque. Fossils recovered included a huge allosaurid that may be referrable to the genus "Saurophaganax", "Camarasaurus", and the skull and teeth of a diplodocid. This was the first major quarry in New Mexico to preserve a significant number of bones from a variety of dinosaur species. During the early 80s, another partial sauropod skeleton was discovered near San Ysidro. The remains were thought to belong to the species "Camarasaurus supremus". Prior to these discoveries most dinosaur fossils discovered in New Mexico were scrappy remains uncovered serenipitously by mining operations and surveys for uranium. More recently, in the 2000s, "Seismosaurus" was found to be the same as "Diplodocus", a previously known dinosaur of similar age from the western United States.