Newly Identified Dinosaur Grew a Giant Back Sail Just to Have Sex

Paleontologists have identified a new type of iguanodontian dinosaur in England—and these dinos have some of the coolest back fins we’ve ever seen.

Like many recent discoveries, researchers “discovered” Istiorachis macarthurae after re-examining previously excavated fossils. The species is named after a famous sailor from the Isle of Wight, where the fossil, dated to around 125 million years old, was originally found.

After inspecting the fossil more closely, paleontologist Jeremy Lockwood and his colleagues came to the realization that they were looking at a completely different kind of dinosaur. Previously, researchers believed these bones belonged to one of the two known iguanodontian species from the Isle of Wight. The results of this investigation were published on Augu