Do you want to meet the largest flying reptile of ancient times? How about a five-foot-seven-inch sea scorpion? We’ll warn you: The sea bug has a dozen claw arms sprouting from its head and tail!

Guess what? You can meet these creatures. At least, you can meet their fossils. Scientists seem to be digging them up left and right these days!

On a towering cliff-side in Utah, dusty researchers are discovering dinosaur fossils by the fistful. As they dig up their dinos, they believe they are uncovering what that part of the American West looked like long ago. They guess that the land stretched far and wide, dusty like a big sandbox. There, the large flying reptile, pterosaur (TEH-ruh-sawr), ate tiny crocodiles for breakfast. The crocs looked like they had Chihuahuas’ legs. They wore built-in armor on their backs. Scientists named them sphenosuchians (SPHEN-oh-soo-chi-ans).

Scientists found eight creatures in Utah. Each might be brand-new to science. And some of these antique animals are too cool for categories. Take the drepanosaur for example. What group does she belong to? She has the head of a bird. She has the arms of a mole. Her tail is shaped like a claw.

Scientists started looking for fossils in the area in 2008. At first, they didn’t expect to find much. But then scientists Dan Chure and George Englemann stumbled on a section of land about the size of a living room. Inside, they have found 11,000 fossils!

The huge, creepy sea scorpion came from another dig site. Geologists in Iowa dug 60 feet under the Upper Iowa River. They found 150 pieces of scorpion fossil. They believe the scorpion was a predator. They named it Pentecopterus decorahensis. That name comes from an ancient Greek warship. James Lamsdell studied the big sea bug. After looking at the fossils, he made a decision: He wouldn’t want to swim with it!

Paleontologist Brooks Britt works at the dig in Utah. He says handling the dino remains feels like Christmas every day. Which dino would you want to unwrap?