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Old 23-01-2015, 12:34
Keyser_Soze1
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Some very good articles on the mega-rhino Paraceratherium - which was probably the largest land mammal ever to exist (rivalled only by the biggest mammoth species).

http://phenomena.nationalgeographic....oceros-titans/

http://phenomena.nationalgeographic....biggest-rhino/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paraceratherium

Also here are a few nice size comparisons with a bull African elephant and a human being - it may not be in the same size league as the largest sauropod dinosaurs but it was an awe-inspiring beast nonetheless.

http://prehistoric-fauna.com/image/c...ik-738x591.jpg

http://fc04.deviantart.net/fs70/f/20...ca-d4r9avu.jpg

http://cryptomundo.com/wp-content/up...eriumhuman.jpg
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Old 24-01-2015, 02:14
Regis Magnae
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I expected to see giant horn. You can see the connection in the head, though.

It's ironic that had it lived into modern times this hornless Rhino might have avoided being hunted for its body parts.
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Old 24-01-2015, 17:29
Keyser_Soze1
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I expected to see giant horn. You can see the connection in the head, though.

It's ironic that had it lived into modern times this hornless Rhino might have avoided being hunted for its body parts.
Indeed, although I expect somebody at some point in time would have decided that some part of it's body had a 'medicinal' or an 'aphrodisiac' value - and the relentless slaughter would soon begin.

The massive Elasmotherium almost did survive into modern times and may have been the source of the unicorn myth.

http://fc01.deviantart.net/fs70/f/20...ca-d4ztqyj.jpg

http://fc07.deviantart.net/fs71/f/20...we-d5uo89h.jpg

http://static2.wikia.nocookie.net/__...smotherium.png

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...7/Elasm062.jpg

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elasmotherium
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Old 25-01-2015, 00:03
CLL Dodge
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Hominin tool use may go back further than genus Homo:

http://www.newscientist.com/article/...l#.VMQxov6sV8E
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Old 25-01-2015, 23:20
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There's an article in the Guardian about a potential new visitor centre in Dorset that will showcase sea creatures from the Jurassic:

http://www.theguardian.com/artanddes...museum-culture

More about the proposed idea can be read here:

http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-dorset-28290760

I used to live near Charmouth and loved going to the beach looking for fossils (although where I am at the moment, in France, is very rich in ammonites. The geology is limestone and I've found quite a few while out walking, just sitting on top of the soil where a plough has broken open the matrix. They range from an inch or so across to fragments of ones that must've been well over 12 inches when alive).
Yes, there's an updated article about the plans here http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-dorset-30910933. It looks good and l wish this educational venture well.

In other news:

The [Canadian] public will get its first look at the fossils of a new species of dinosaur — a cousin of the Triceratops — when a new exhibit opens at the Royal Ontario Museum on Saturday. Dino Unearthed will join other dinosaurs on display on the second floor of the Toronto museum. The unnamed dinosaur is a member of the horned dinosaur Ceratopsidae family, which includes the Triceratops. Researchers say the dinosaur lived 79 million years ago in what is now the Milk River badlands of southern Alberta.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toront...ibit-1.2927844

In 1890 Belgian palaeontologist Louis Dollo postulated that evolution could not run backwards - something widely accepted by the scientific community. But now a study has claimed that the changes induced by evolution can be reversible, meaning certain animals can return to an earlier biological trait. The remarkable discovery was made by finding birds had regrown a bone previously discarded by dinosaurs millions of years ago.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencete...#ixzz3PsVsL300
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Old 26-01-2015, 19:53
Keyser_Soze1
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An example of how Creationists are often valued more than rational people in the US media and that even mentioning evolution can get you suspended.

I have never heard of either one of these blokes but I know whose side I am on.

http://www.addictinginfo.org/2014/11...inger-to-espn/

A couple of other recent stories.

http://www.slate.com/articles/health...ones_from.html

http://motherboard.vice.com/read/par...e-of-dinosaurs
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Old 28-01-2015, 21:05
Keyser_Soze1
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A few recent stories that may be of interest.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-30905267

https://dinosours.wordpress.com/2015...rgeous-george/

http://blogs.plos.org/everyone/2015/...historic-path/

The earliest snakes in the fossil record (so far) have been discovered after been hidden in museum collections and misidentified as lizards.

http://uofa.ualberta.ca/news-and-eve...ils-identified

http://www.sciencedaily.com/videos/0...b1e161fb18.htm

http://news.discovery.com/animals/ea...urs-150127.htm
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Old 29-01-2015, 22:29
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The meanies at the Natural History Museum are trying to ditch Dippy:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-31025229

I've always loved that dinosaur, even though he's made of plaster.
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Old 29-01-2015, 23:24
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The meanies at the Natural History Museum are trying to ditch Dippy:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-31025229

I've always loved that dinosaur, even though he's made of plaster.
I think it's a really bad idea. Not only is Dippy great for getting children's attention, a dinosaur skeleton (albeit a replica) is useful because it illustrates a number of science issues such as the real extreme age of the Earth and concepts such as evolution and extinction.

Save Dippy now! https://www.change.org/p/natural-his...eum-save-dippy
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Old 30-01-2015, 00:05
Keyser_Soze1
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I think it's a really bad idea. Not only is Dippy great for getting children's attention, a dinosaur skeleton (albeit a replica) is useful because it illustrates a number of science issues such as the real extreme age of the Earth and concepts such as evolution and extinction.

Save Dippy now! https://www.change.org/p/natural-his...eum-save-dippy
I agree although I think old Dippy is rather unimpressive by todays standards. I would much rather them have purchased a cast of one of the 'Giga-pods' that have recently been discovered rather than sticking the mouldy old Blue whale skeleton in there.

A few recent stories that some may find interesting.

Reading this article remember that Dreadnaughtus was only young and may have grown up to rival the very largest super-sauropods once fully grown.

http://askmagazine.org/it-takes-a-village/

I do love Mark Witton's pterosaurs - physically and behaviourally so very realistic.

http://markwitton-com.blogspot.co.uk...art-youve.html

Some nice artwork on this short little piece.

http://www.atlasobscura.com/articles...ory-of-alabama

Highly speculative but interesting.

http://io9.com/when-will-we-stop-dis...urs-1682407379
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Old 30-01-2015, 12:24
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I've been trying to learn Dinosaur. I learned this today: http://cdnimg.visualizeus.com/thumbs...38206dab_h.jpg

Do you know any other words, Keyser?
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Old 30-01-2015, 22:58
Keyser_Soze1
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Old 31-01-2015, 14:59
The Martian
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Long-necked Jurassic 'dragon' discovered in China

A new dinosaur which had an extraordinarily long neck has been discovered in China and named the ‘Dragon of Qijiang.’

Qijianglong (pronounced "CHI-jyang-lon") is about 15 metres in length and lived about 160 million years ago in the Late Jurassic.

The fossil site was found by construction workers in 2006, and the digging eventually hit a series of large neck vertebrae stretched out in the ground.

Incredibly, the head of the dinosaur was still attached.

"It is rare to find a head and neck of a long-necked dinosaur together because the head is so small and easily detached after the animal dies," said Univerity of Alberta doctoral student Tetsuto Miyashita.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/scie...-in-China.html

This is super exciting, I love that neck of necks. Giraffes need to STFU.
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Old 01-02-2015, 00:04
Keyser_Soze1
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Long-necked Jurassic 'dragon' discovered in China



http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/scie...-in-China.html

This is super exciting, I love that neck of necks. Giraffes need to STFU.
Giraffe necks are ever so slightly feeble when compared to sauropods as this scale comparison chart shows.

https://dfzljdn9uc3pi.cloudfront.net...1/fig-3-2x.jpg

Some more links including an excellent article on the dinosaur/bird transition.

http://phenomena.nationalgeographic....awn-of-snakes/

http://www.audubon.org/magazine/janu...nosaur-or-bird

A small low-budget children's film is being released - and their dinosaurs are fantastic - accurate, colourful and feathered (including the rex).

http://www.broadwayworld.com/bwwmovi...e-214-20150123

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U18sOypRW8s

Just think what Jurassic World - with it's vastly larger scale and production budget could have been like - instead we are getting naked, scaly, dull and boring dinosaurs that are stuck in the 1980's.

Disgusting.
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Old 01-02-2015, 04:16
The Martian
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Giraffe necks are ever so slightly feeble when compared to sauropods as this scale comparison chart shows.

https://dfzljdn9uc3pi.cloudfront.net...1/fig-3-2x.jpg

Some more links including an excellent article on the dinosaur/bird transition.

http://phenomena.nationalgeographic....awn-of-snakes/

http://www.audubon.org/magazine/janu...nosaur-or-bird

A small low-budget children's film is being released - and their dinosaurs are fantastic - accurate, colourful and feathered (including the rex).

http://www.broadwayworld.com/bwwmovi...e-214-20150123

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U18sOypRW8s

Just think what Jurassic World - with it's vastly larger scale and production budget could have been like - instead we are getting naked, scaly, dull and boring dinosaurs that are stuck in the 1980's.

Disgusting.
Dinosaur Island looks fantastic. My little sister is 12 and she loves dinosaurs, so I'll be taking her to see it as soon as it's released.

The trailer looks like a lot of fun. http://youtu.be/U18sOypRW8s

My uncle sent my sis this to use for school last year and she just uses it all the time to carry her things in: http://karmakiss.net/en/karmakiss-fa...d-tillion.html

I have no idea what she keeps inside but she has it with her every time I see her.
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Old 01-02-2015, 22:39
Keyser_Soze1
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Dinosaur Island looks fantastic. My little sister is 12 and she loves dinosaurs, so I'll be taking her to see it as soon as it's released.

The trailer looks like a lot of fun. http://youtu.be/U18sOypRW8s

My uncle sent my sis this to use for school last year and she just uses it all the time to carry her things in: http://karmakiss.net/en/karmakiss-fa...d-tillion.html

I have no idea what she keeps inside but she has it with her every time I see her.
That looks a lot of fun - they do some great things for children nowadays!

I don't know how widely the film is being released - but I am sure it will be on DVD soon enough.
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Old 03-02-2015, 09:54
mr. mustard
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Brachiosaurus

Searchers unearthed something vast,
So big it blew their minds,
Something came out of the past
To beat all fossil finds.

Fieldwork is empirical
And digging is no doddle
But it's a bloody miracle
That fifty tons could waddle.

This gentle monster slow and deft,
This looming sauropod,
At eighty-two feet long it left
Deep footprints where it trod.

What a giant to behold,
No path or trail was quiet,
It shook the landscape as it strolled
But had a veggie diet.

Head extended to the leaf,
A neck to overawe us,
Looking at the world beneath
Itself, Brachiosaurus.


©
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Old 03-02-2015, 09:56
mr. mustard
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Please forgive my poetic intrusion - my friend Belly Button said this one might be appreciated here
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Old 03-02-2015, 23:33
Keyser_Soze1
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Please forgive my poetic intrusion - my friend Belly Button said this one might be appreciated here
And it is a very welcome intrusion - thanks for that!

For what it's worth Jurassic World has a new trailer out - the pterosaurs are so incredibly inaccurate words just fail me.

The first film was iconic and a genuine attempt to bring at least some realistic science and education of what was known at the time as well as entertainment to the public (despite a few obvious mistakes to move the plot along - the T. rex had the superb avian eyesight of a bird of prey for example - not being able to see someone standing still my arse lol).

This trailer just looks mediocre and I will just treat it as another mundane 'monster' movie rather than try and list all of the mistakes about the 80's look of the dinosaurs and other prehistoric animals (or even the 19th century idea of 'frills' on the Mosasaur).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4mvWuky1g0g
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Old 04-02-2015, 02:35
Keyser_Soze1
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A couple of recent links including some bee friendly palaeo-art.

http://www.palaeontologyonline.com/a...s-elasmosaurs/

http://markwitton-com.blogspot.co.uk...s-and-bee.html
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Old 04-02-2015, 19:47
Keyser_Soze1
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Just briefly popping on here to show some recent news for fans of The Princess Bride - a real prehistoric ROUS (Rodent of Unusual Size) and its massively powerful bite.

Try keeping this bastard in a little cage!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-31111843

http://phenomena.nationalgeographic....-awesome-bite/
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Old 04-02-2015, 22:00
Keyser_Soze1
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Genuine 'scientific' illustration from a Creationist website (presumably trying to explain dragons in the OT).

http://www.genesispark.com/wp-conten...g-Fire-ICR.jpg

The artistic and morphological accuracy combined with the attention to detail are simply beyond compare.

Just look on in sheer awe and wonder as a Parasaurolophus drenches a Tyrannosaurus rex with cleansing holy fire (presumably to save it's poor immortal soul).

I expect the rest of the site is of similar superb 'quality' - but I have not looked in case my cerebral cortex melts and pours out of my ears.
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Old 04-02-2015, 22:15
belly button
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Please forgive my poetic intrusion - my friend Belly Button said this one might be appreciated here

Sits well in here

Anyway, not sure if you have posted this link Keyser as the thread is soooo big now, but I'll put it up anyway if that's ok.
I haven't registered myself but it looks quite interesting .
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Old 04-02-2015, 22:58
Keyser_Soze1
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Sits well in here

Anyway, not sure if you have posted this link Keyser as the thread is soooo big now, but I'll put it up anyway if that's ok.
I haven't registered myself but it looks quite interesting .
Thanks belly button.

I have not played the game (and due to the relentless progress of scientific discovery the Spinosaurus is now totally inaccurate) but it might be fun!

This also looks good judging by the preview clip on Youtube - I have posted the first two links before on here.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L_5gOI9QqpI

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3dZRRqvwQ_M

http://dinologue.com/2014/12/behind-...aur-simulator/
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