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Old 25-06-2014, 21:49
Keyser_Soze1
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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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Old 26-06-2014, 17:25
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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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Old 26-06-2014, 18:26
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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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Old 26-06-2014, 19:03
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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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Old 26-06-2014, 19:42
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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.
Fossil Wonderlands: Nature's Hidden Treasures with the superb Professor Richard Fortey.

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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Old 28-06-2014, 04:27
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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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Old 29-06-2014, 20:35
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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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Old 29-06-2014, 21:51
Keyser_Soze1
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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)
Thanks for the post.

Unfortunately my next one is just a load of shit!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-27981702
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Old 29-06-2014, 21:54
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Via Reddit, picture of a goose (dinosaur)
http://i.imgur.com/jPQGJkb.png
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Old 29-06-2014, 22:22
Keyser_Soze1
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Old 01-07-2014, 08:16
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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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Old 03-07-2014, 03:54
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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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Old 04-07-2014, 20:30
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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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Old 04-07-2014, 20:33
Keyser_Soze1
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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)
Thanks for that.
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Old 04-07-2014, 20:39
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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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Old 04-07-2014, 21:50
anne_666
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What is interesting in this study is that the feathers didn't necessarily first evolve for flight but for other purposes such as display.
Yes the urge to procreate is amazing.
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Old 05-07-2014, 00:12
Keyser_Soze1
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What is interesting in this study is that the feathers didn't necessarily first evolve for flight but for other purposes such as display.
That has been known for quite some time, sexual display and insulation were the key factors that began feather evolution.

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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Old 05-07-2014, 06:55
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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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Old 06-07-2014, 09:03
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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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Old 08-07-2014, 00:05
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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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Old 08-07-2014, 00:21
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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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Old 08-07-2014, 00:29
jzee
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Interesting Keyser, watched the video , did it have teeth?
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Old 08-07-2014, 00:38
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Interesting Keyser, watched the video , did it have teeth?
Pseudo-teeth.

They were actually sharp extensions of the jawbone.
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Old 09-07-2014, 22:22
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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

Wow fascinating stuff! 25 million years ago.

The sheer size compared to today's birds?

I wonder why it became extinct?

Pesky science ey?
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Old 09-07-2014, 22:27
Keyser_Soze1
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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?
Argentavis magnificens was the heavier bird (think of a giant predatory condor with a 6-7 metre wingspan) but Pelagornis is a remarkable discovery nonetheless.

There is so much going on I never can decide what to post!
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