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The Palaeontology thread |
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#251 |
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For all the 'Creationists and 'Intelligent Design' nutters.
Take this in your pipe and smoke it! ![]() ![]() ![]() http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3NCYTDulAyM |
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#252 |
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Just popping in to post this lovely article (with video) about a man who has found peace in his life and made some really wonderful fossil discoveries along the way.
Scott Richardson I truly envy you your freedom and wisdom. ![]() http://www.latimes.com/nation/great-...ry.html#page=1 |
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#253 |
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Beautiful cladogram of the Artiodactylamorpha.
Now you know where whales and dolphins came from. ![]() http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...tiodactyla.png |
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#254 |
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There's a programme on the BBC iPlayer at the moment, about some fossils recovered from the Messel Pit fossil site, which demonstrate the evolution of the horse in the clearest way possible. I'd love to hear the Creationists try to talk their way out of that one.
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#255 |
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Quote:
There's a programme on the BBC iPlayer at the moment, about some fossils recovered from the Messel Pit fossil site, which demonstrate the evolution of the horse in the clearest way possible. I'd love to hear the Creationists try to talk their way out of that one.
![]() A truly wonderful series that not many people will have seen (because they just cannot be arsed to turn over from all the moronic celebrity shit and watch the best channel on the box - BBC4). It's their loss. |
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#256 |
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The latest Brachiosaurus altithorax skeletal reconstruction by the superb Nima Sassani.
![]() http://fc08.deviantart.net/fs70/i/20...ng-d4slf2d.jpg And the huge titanosaur Futalognkosaurus dukei. http://fc09.deviantart.net/fs71/i/20...ng-d5m5zf4.jpg |
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#257 |
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...and now for some fossils of tiny animals:
Fossils push animal-made reefs back in time A 548-million-year-old reef in central Namibia is the earliest known ecosystem built by hard bodied animals, according to a new study...Until now, the oldest reefs on record made of hard-bodied animals had been dated to about 530 million years of age. The reefs were built by tiny, filter-feeding animals called Cloudina that lived on shallow equatorial seabeds during the Ediacaran Period, which ended 541 million years ago. http://www.abc.net.au/science/articl...27/4033932.htm The clear relevance of this development to later life forms is highlighted later on in that article. (As an aside, the very best we can probably hope for on Mars is microfossils from long extinct microbial life) |
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#258 |
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Quote:
...and now for some fossils of tiny animals:
Fossils push animal-made reefs back in time A 548-million-year-old reef in central Namibia is the earliest known ecosystem built by hard bodied animals, according to a new study...Until now, the oldest reefs on record made of hard-bodied animals had been dated to about 530 million years of age. The reefs were built by tiny, filter-feeding animals called Cloudina that lived on shallow equatorial seabeds during the Ediacaran Period, which ended 541 million years ago. http://www.abc.net.au/science/articl...27/4033932.htm The clear relevance of this development to later life forms is highlighted later on in that article. (As an aside, the very best we can probably hope for on Mars is microfossils from long extinct microbial life) ![]() Unfortunately my next one is just a load of shit! ![]() http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-27981702 |
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#259 |
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Via Reddit, picture of a goose (dinosaur)
http://i.imgur.com/jPQGJkb.png |
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#260 |
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Quote:
Via Reddit, picture of a goose (dinosaur)
http://i.imgur.com/jPQGJkb.png The Giant Petrel (Macronectes giganteus) - is the most formidable of the all the sea birds and is all theropod! http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...ant_petrel.jpg http://www.antarctica.gov.au/__data/.../antarctic.jpg http://www.antarctica.gov.au/__data/.../antarctic.jpg http://i878.photobucket.com/albums/a...psd86290f3.jpg http://www.antarctica.gov.au/__data/.../antarctic.jpg http://shortwing.co.uk/assets/catabl...s_g_111109.jpg |
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#261 |
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A very atmospheric (and impressionistic style) Triceratops in the deep forest.
http://fc04.deviantart.net/fs71/f/20...61-d5xq80x.jpg And another by the same artist of a Corythosaurus (a Hadrosaurid - duck billed- dinosaur). http://fc01.deviantart.net/fs71/i/20...es-d4r2now.jpg Both reconstructions are scientifically accurate and up to date but with a lovely 'old fashioned' feel to them.
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#262 |
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A beautifully preserved new specimen of Archaeopteryx (there were two species lithographica and siemensii).
Notice that the reconstructions follow the evidence presented in 2011 that suggest that the remarkable little dino-bird had primarily black plumage - at least on the wings. The first link below has a little video on the topic. ![]() http://news.nationalgeographic.com/n...saurs-science/ http://phenomena.nationalgeographic....d-new-clothes/ http://www.latimes.com/science/scien...702-story.html And Wikipedia's entry on the species is excellent. ![]() http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archaeopteryx |
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#263 |
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This latest Archaeopteryx news is also covered below in a couple of sources:
New specimen of Archaeopteryx provides insights into the evolution of pennaceous feathers http://www.nature.com/nature/journal...ture13467.html http://www.nature.com/nature/podcast/ (really worth a listen) |
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#264 |
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Quote:
This latest Archaeopteryx news is also covered below in a couple of sources:
New specimen of Archaeopteryx provides insights into the evolution of pennaceous feathers http://www.nature.com/nature/journal...ture13467.html http://www.nature.com/nature/podcast/ (really worth a listen)
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#265 |
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Quote:
Thanks for that.
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#266 |
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Quote:
What is interesting in this study is that the feathers didn't necessarily first evolve for flight but for other purposes such as display.
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#267 |
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Quote:
What is interesting in this study is that the feathers didn't necessarily first evolve for flight but for other purposes such as display.
![]() After all if you are 'Sue' the T.rex with a minimum weight of 9.5 tons (latest weight estimates have gone up 30% for Tyrannosaurus), you are not flying anywhere very soon!
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#268 |
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And here is Sue being tickled with a feather duster.
More feathers! ![]() http://blog.everythingdinosaur.co.uk...ing_clean1.jpg |
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#269 |
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An updated version of Scott Hartman's wonderful size comparison of the largest sauropods for which we still have skeletal material (the gigantic Amphicoelias fragillimus vertebrae is now lost forever so he did not include the species in the illustration).
This one has the colossal Alamosaurus specimen from Mexico included. By the way notice how massive good old Apatosaurus could get (most people still think of it as Brontosaurus). We now know most skeletons were nowhere near fully grown and with a possible length of between 28 - 32 metres (rather than 20 metres or so) it has returned to it's rightful place as a truly monstrous sauropod. ![]() The Giraffatitan and Brachiosaurus are scaled to their skeletons but they are not full grown either (we know this from really huge fragmentary remains). In fact all of these awe-inspiring animals could probably grow considerably larger than shown here. http://fc06.deviantart.net/fs71/i/20...an-d6909lc.jpg |
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#270 |
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A gigantic pseudo-toothed fossil seabird Pelargornis sandersi has finally been fully described 30 years after it's remains were first found, and with an enormous wing-span of up to 7.3 metres it was in the same size league as the colossal teratorn, Argentavis magnificens.
But of course the very largest pterosaur species (with a wingspan of up 13 metres) would have dwarfed even this monstrous creature. ![]() It truly is the golden age of Paleontology right now. ![]() http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-28164063 http://www.newscientist.com/article/...l#.U7smqPldXuI http://online.wsj.com/articles/scien...ird-1404759602 http://www.washingtonpost.com/nation...70a_story.html http://news.nationalgeographic.com/n...eston-science/ http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencete...years-ago.html |
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#271 |
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A nice little video on Pelagornis with the palaeontologist whose research has shed new light on the remarkable creature.
http://www.frequency.com/video/meet-...47882/-/5-7810
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#272 |
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Interesting Keyser, watched the video
, did it have teeth?
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#273 |
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Quote:
Interesting Keyser, watched the video
, did it have teeth?They were actually sharp extensions of the jawbone.
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#274 |
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Quote:
A nice little video on Pelagornis with the palaeontologist whose research has shed new light on the remarkable creature.
http://www.frequency.com/video/meet-...47882/-/5-7810 ![]() The sheer size compared to today's birds? I wonder why it became extinct? Pesky science ey?
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#275 |
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Wow fascinating stuff! 25 million years ago.
The sheer size compared to today's birds? I wonder why it became extinct? Pesky science ey? ![]() ![]() There is so much going on I never can decide what to post!
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