On Monday palaeontologists found the remains of a 72-million-year-old dinosaur tail in a North Mexico desert. 

The tail was 5 metres long and once part of a hadrosaur, or duck-billed dinosaur.

While the discovery has no doubt gotten people like Ross Gellar hot under the collar, it isn't that strange when compared with some of the other fossils scientists have found over the years. 

Zombie Ants

At one point or another, Zombies were real. Except they were tiny, and were ants.

In 2010 scientists at the University of Exeter in England announced the discovery of a 48-million-year-old fossilised leaf infected by an ant which had been overtaken by a zombie parasite.

While it’s not exactly The Walking Dead, The Discovery Channel provides an explanation of how infection occurred:

• Spores from a fungus entice an ant to leave its colony.
• The ant, now under the control of the fungal parasite, is attracted to a leaf that contains the fungus.
• The ant, in its zombie-like state, bites down on the major vein of the leaf.
• The ant dies, but hangs on to the leaf for weeks while the fungus grows inside its body.
• The spores are released and other ants are infected.

Sounds like a cross between World War Z and A Bug’s Life. 

Horny Dinosaurs

The Utahceratops Gettyi, recently discovered in Utah, had three horns: two next to its eyes which jutted out at either side and a third over its nose which stuck straight upwards.

A similar but smaller species was also found. The Kosmoceratops Richardsoni had the same series of horns as the Gettyi, but it also had 10 more across the top of its head.

Horny. 

Beezlebufo / The Devil Frog

First discovered in Madagascar, this gigantic frog wouldn’t have looked out of place in the Dreamworks film series.

The Beezlebufo was estimated to have weighed about 10 pounds (that’s about 1.2 royal babies) and ate anything within reach, even small dinosaurs.

But what’s really strange about the Beezlebufo is that its closest relatives were found in South America, far-flung from Madagascar, which is an island off the east coast of Africa.

One theory is that Madagascar was once part of Africa; another suggests South America was linked to the island via Antarctica and the frogs ribbited their way across. But it’s still not entirely clear how the large amphibian vacated the African island.

Maybe someone should ask Skipper and the rest of the penguins?

Albertonykus Borealis

You’ve got your T-Rex and Triceratops, but in 2008 fossils were discovered in Alberta, Canada which showed that terrier-sized dinosaurs co-existed alongside the big guys.

The Albertonykus Borealis stood upright on long, skinny legs, had short arms with huge claws and a birdlike head with a sharp beak it used to pick out termites from logs of wood.

An even smaller species was discovered in Canada a year later, about half the size of a small house cat.

Scientists were surprised to figure out that these weren’t just baby dinosaurs; they were fully-grown adults. 

Way to ruin one of our favourite childhood TV shows, scientists. 

Woofing Whales

Scientists have long believed that whales descened from dog-like mammals that could walk on land.

The proof came in 2007 when they found the fossil of a 48-million-year old mammal in India that was the size of a fox and had similar bone structure, density and teeth to water-based mammals. 

So that's why dogs like water so much.