Dr Emanuel Tschopp, a Swiss evolutionary paleobiologist from Freie Universität Berlin, Germany, specialises in diplodocid sauropod dinosaurs. His research interests include understanding the taxonomy, evolution and ecology of sauropods. Recently, Dr Tschopp visited the Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum (LKCNHM) to study our three sauropods.  

Why dinosaurs? 

Like many palaeontologists, Dr Tschopp’s fascination with dinosaurs began in his childhood. This passion guided his academic journey, leading him to pursue a master’s degree at the University of Zurich, with a focus on sauropods. Since then, he has mostly worked on sauropods.  

Research work in LKCNHM 

Dr Tschopp visited the Museum from 2 to 15 May 2025 and conducted preliminary investigations on the identity of the three sauropods in the Museum’s gallery: Prince, Apollonia and Twinky.  

These three sauropods are special as they were found at Dana Quarry, Ten Sleep, Wyoming. Dating from the Jurassic period, the sauropods found in that area are from the Morrison Formation. Typically, only partial skeletons of sauropods are found, which makes identification challenging. Interestingly, Twinky, the smallest of the three sauropods, was found with almost the entire vertebral column intact. This rarity provides crucial insights for researchers like Dr Tschopp to better interpret and understand what species they might belong to.  

“As for Apollonia and Prince, both have skull material associated with material from the rest of the skeletons and that is also very rare”, Dr Tschopp noted, “very often you find either the skull, or the rest of the skeleton. For some reason they are very often detached.”  

When asked about the techniques used in examining the sauropods, Dr Tschopp mentioned he conducts detailed measurements of their bones and uses a list of traits to build a database known as a matrix. The data is then fed into a specialised software that produces a cladogram, a family tree of these sauropods, to help identify the species they belong to.  

From colossal creatures to tiny lizards 

Dr Tschopp also works on extant lacertid lizards, using them as study systems to extrapolate to his studies on dinosaurs. With living animals, their DNA, external appearances and behaviours can be studied, which is impossible to study in extinct animals. Studying the skeletons of these lizards also helps Dr Tschopp to understand how the shape of the bones can vary among individuals of a species.  

Given that species identifications in dinosaurs and other extinct vertebrates are done based on the shapes of their bones, having an idea about how skeletons differ in living species can be important when working with dinosaurs.  

“Sometimes people notice very small differences between bones of a skeleton, and they argue that these are different species, but it just might be different between individuals of the same species”, Dr Tschopp explained. “It is also quite funny; I went from studying some of the biggest animals to very tiny skeletons. I really had to learn how to handle these minute bones with tweezers after trying to study these enormous bones that sometimes you could not even flip over.” 

Digital tools in research 

During his visit, Dr Tschopp also delivered a talk, ‘Digital Dinosaurs,’ on 13 May 2025. He shared about how the latest digital technologies help to examine and reconstruct the lives of dinosaurs. 

One such example of digital technologies are CT scans. This is a common tool used to see the internal structure of a bone or a tooth without having to cut it. Using CT scans on dinosaurs jaws can provide insight on the speed of which dinosaurs replaced their teeth. 

Laser technology helps to measure the surface texture of the teeth and produce three-dimensional models of the texture, offering clues about the diet and ecology of dinosaurs.  

3D models of bones have also been used to reconstruct skeletons digitally and simulate the movements of dinosaurs, such as tail mechanics. 

The joys of palaeontology 

For Dr Tschopp, fieldwork is a highlight. He finds it exciting to go out to the field to search for fossils and excavate while enjoying the beautiful landscapes of Wyoming, where he often visits. 

Museum visits also excite him as they have allowed him to travel to different places, meet new people and view a huge variety of specimens from all over the world. “It’s especially interesting when you visit these classic museums with collections that were made 150 years ago with new questions and more context, and you still can get so much data out of this historic material, I think that is very inspiring”, he shared.  

What truly fascinates Dr Tschopp about this job is its detective-like nature. Despite few specimens to work with, particularly in vertebrae palaeontology, many different methods must be applied to extract as much information as possible. Piecing these bits of information to understand these magnificent creatures has proved to be challenging yet extremely rewarding. 

The Museum extends our gratitude to Dr Tschopp for his work and the invaluable insights he has shared with us during his visit. We are excited to see what future discoveries may emerge from this partnership and look forward to continued collaboration!  

Written by: Yew Jia Yin