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Old 29-05-2015, 22:43
Keyser_Soze1
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Another excellent article from Mark Witton - his superb illustrations really are so very evocative.

http://markwitton-com.blogspot.co.uk...upergroup.html

Fancy a drink of lovely dinosaur piss?

No?

Sorry but you are already far too late!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KK64DqpIy0s

More on quad-launching in pterosaurs.

http://pteroformer.blogspot.co.uk/20....html?spref=tw

Sharks - simply the most perfect vertebrate evolutionary survival-machines that the planet has ever seen.

http://www.news.com.au/technology/sc...-1227373511159
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Old 30-05-2015, 00:03
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The example of shark is yet another example of evolution not being as straight forward as many think and how advanced looks basic.
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Old 30-05-2015, 19:11
Keyser_Soze1
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The example of shark is yet another example of evolution not being as straight forward as many think and how advanced looks basic.
Indeed the idea of evolution leading 'upwards' is a very 'Victorian' and outdated notion.

All the major clades have their stand out cognitive stars for example - and the science of studying the intelligence capabilities of non-mammals is only just beginning.

Sharks are the most perfect survival machines that vertebrate evolution had ever produced.

Jurassic Park III fans - eat your heart out.

http://img15.hostingpics.net/pics/190529spinogod.png

Prehistoric River Monsters.

http://www.animalplanet.com/tv-shows...uve-ever-seen/

Size chart (although Xiphactinus and Dunkleosteus could grow a bit larger than shown here).

http://img11.hostingpics.net/pics/18...ermonsters.png

The debate over dinosaurian thermo-physiology goes on.

http://phenomena.nationalgeographic....ues-to-simmer/
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Old 31-05-2015, 15:15
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I think the following article is quite significant and it's worthy of reporting:

Oldest broken bone reveals our ancestors' switch to life on land
A gap in the tetrapod fossil record means we know little about what happened between the time when limbs evolved from fish fins some 360 million years ago and the first land-adapted tetrapods appeared 330 million years ago. To find out, Peter Bishop at the Queensland Museum in Hendra, Australia, and his colleagues analysed a rare tetrapod fossil from that gap, a 1.5-metre-long Ossinodus which lived some 333 million years ago in what is now Australia. They found that Ossinodus's forearm bones were strong enough to support the animal's body on land.
http://www.newscientist.com/article/...l#.VWsXlO_w9v8
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Old 02-06-2015, 23:24
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Forget Mongolia, China and Argentina, the new dino fossil hotspot is...Yorkshire!

Dinosaur vertebra discovered in Yorkshire revealed to be 176 million years old
Scientists have revealed that a prehistoric 15kg vertebra has been found to belong to the oldest sauropod [long-necked, long-tailed, tiny-headed] dinosaur ever discovered in the UK. “Alan”, the 176 million-year-old dinosaur, has beaten the cetiosaurus, previously Britain’s oldest sauropod, by about five million years, and in so doing has broken a record that had stood since 1841, before the term “dinosaur” was coined.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk...-10290442.html

Extra links:

Yorkshire's Jurassic Park

Yorkshire Coast - The Fossil Coast

Jurassic Coast
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Old 02-06-2015, 23:43
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So pleased this thread is still going

I have just completed a degree in Geology and found the palaeontology module really interesting, especially the Ediacaran Period and Paleocene-Eocene epoch.
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Old 02-06-2015, 23:56
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So pleased this thread is still going

I have just completed a degree in Geology and found the palaeontology module really interesting, especially the Ediacaran Period and Paleocene-Eocene epoch.
Well done on your degree.

I will do my best to keep the thread going.

A remarkable new Mesozoic bird fossil from Brazil - with possible traces of colour remaining and ribbon-like tail feathers.

http://www.livescience.com/51047-fos...rs-brazil.html

http://www.livescience.com/51035-pho...-feathers.html

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ieOBg0TB0T8

Some other recent stories that may be of interest.

http://phenomena.nationalgeographic....mini-mammoths/

http://equatorialminnesota.blogspot....-think-of.html

http://subhumanfreak.blogspot.co.uk/...tory-hall.html
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Old 03-06-2015, 19:40
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So pleased this thread is still going

I have just completed a degree in Geology and found the palaeontology module really interesting, especially the Ediacaran Period and Paleocene-Eocene epoch.
That's a time period where I'm sure that there's more to be discovered about some of the earlier multi-celled life forms.

Well done on your degree.

I will do my best to keep the thread going.

A remarkable new Mesozoic bird fossil from Brazil - with possible traces of colour remaining and ribbon-like tail feathers.

http://www.livescience.com/51047-fos...rs-brazil.html

http://www.livescience.com/51035-pho...-feathers.html

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ieOBg0TB0T8

Some other recent stories that may be of interest.

http://phenomena.nationalgeographic....mini-mammoths/

http://equatorialminnesota.blogspot....-think-of.html

http://subhumanfreak.blogspot.co.uk/...tory-hall.html
One of links highlighted just how colourful these ancient creatures were as opposed to the sombre greens and browns that have been used to illustrate the older text books.

It's time to move over to Canada now where something really fishy is going on in the scenic province of Alberta:

Alberta 'creationist' finds 60m-year-old fish fossils
When Calgary digger driver Edgar Nernberg came across five fish fossils in his digger bucket, he knew right away his find was "extraordinary". The Albertan, who has a longstanding interest in fossils, was digging a basement for a new home in Calgary's north-west...However, he realised these fossils should be seen by a palaeontologist.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-32928979
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Old 03-06-2015, 23:28
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That's a time period where I'm sure that there's more to be discovered about some of the earlier multi-celled life forms.

One of links highlighted just how colourful these ancient creatures were as opposed to the sombre greens and browns that have been used to illustrate the older text books.

It's time to move over to Canada now where something really fishy is going on in the scenic province of Alberta:

Alberta 'creationist' finds 60m-year-old fish fossils
When Calgary digger driver Edgar Nernberg came across five fish fossils in his digger bucket, he knew right away his find was "extraordinary". The Albertan, who has a longstanding interest in fossils, was digging a basement for a new home in Calgary's north-west...However, he realised these fossils should be seen by a palaeontologist.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-32928979
I saw that story - ironic to say the least.

The cognitive dissonance of the Creationist who discovered the fossil is both hilarious and so very sad at the same time.
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Old 04-06-2015, 21:01
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A spectacular new ceratopsian species Regaliceratops peterhewsi (or 'Hellboy' for short) has been discovered.

The truly awesome skull is virtually complete.

http://phenomena.nationalgeographic....was-a-copycat/

http://www.smithsonianmag.com/scienc...955496/?no-ist

http://www.livescience.com/51093-new...ur-canada.html

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=piJJ...ature=youtu.be
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Old 06-06-2015, 09:32
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Part two of Mark Witton's superb updated illustrations of the prehistoric beasts of the Wealden.

The massive Cretaceous shark Leptostyrax macrorhiza which reached a length of almost ten metres.

http://www.livescience.com/51072-gia...uncovered.html

http://news.discovery.com/animals/sh...eas-150604.htm

A very nice size comparison of the great elasmobranch.

http://img04.deviantart.net/7dc5/i/2...an-d8vyfxx.jpg
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Old 07-06-2015, 00:05
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Tyrannosaurus sex.

http://www.slate.com/blogs/wild_thin...c_channel.html
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Old 07-06-2015, 09:41
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Item on Triceratops' teeth::

http://www.livescience.com/51108-triceratops-teeth.html
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Old 07-06-2015, 11:35
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I expect there will be more on this story next week.

Ceratopsians and Hadrosaurids had such a sophisticated dental armoury - every time we thinks the poor mammals were superior in some way along comes another discovery to disprove that.

Wonderful avian eyesight, air-sac breathing systems and superb physiology - no wonder they ruled for so long.

Jurassic World will be out very soon.

I am sure it will be entertaining enough in a dumb 'monster movie' sort of way but if only they had given as much thought to recent discoveries as the original did (apart from the 'not seeing you if you did not move' bullshit - the T. rex was the very best it could be at the time - superb).

The 1993 film had dinosaurs reconstructed from the knowledge of the '80's.

This film still has bloody naked, featherless dinosaurs from the '80's, a mosasaur with 'frills' (a century out of date cobblers) and pterosaurs so remarkably inaccurate that I would happily blast them all away with a shotgun.

Rant over from a self confessed dinosaur nerd.
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Old 07-06-2015, 12:56
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Last night, I watched the following documentary on BBC Four and I can highly recommend this exploration of Cambrian period fossils:

Fossil Wonderlands: Nature's Hidden Treasures
Weird Wonders
Episode 1 of 3
Professor Richard Fortey journeys high in the Rocky Mountains to explore a 520-million-year-old fossilised seabed containing bizarre and experimental lifeforms that have revolutionised our understanding about the beginnings of complex life. Among the amazing finds he uncovers are marine creatures with five eyes and a proboscis; filter-feeders shaped like tulips; worm-like scavengers covered in spikes but with no identifiable head or anus; and a metre-long predator resembling a giant shrimp.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b03xsfrq

Extra links:

The Cambrian period

Burgess Shale

...and now for something completely monster:

T. rex Autopsy, 9pm, National Geographic Channel, 7 June 2015
With the help of cutting-edge technology, the world's first full-size reconstruction of an anatomically complete T-rex is unveiled. Contains scenes some viewers may find distressing.
http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/t-rex-autopsy/

There are clips available online and the programme will no doubt be available online as well in due course.
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Old 07-06-2015, 15:38
Keyser_Soze1
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Last night, I watched the following documentary on BBC Four and I can highly recommend this exploration of Cambrian period fossils:

Fossil Wonderlands: Nature's Hidden Treasures
Weird Wonders
Episode 1 of 3
Professor Richard Fortey journeys high in the Rocky Mountains to explore a 520-million-year-old fossilised seabed containing bizarre and experimental lifeforms that have revolutionised our understanding about the beginnings of complex life. Among the amazing finds he uncovers are marine creatures with five eyes and a proboscis; filter-feeders shaped like tulips; worm-like scavengers covered in spikes but with no identifiable head or anus; and a metre-long predator resembling a giant shrimp.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b03xsfrq

Extra links:

The Cambrian period

Burgess Shale

...and now for something completely monster:

T. rex Autopsy, 9pm, National Geographic Channel, 7 June 2015
With the help of cutting-edge technology, the world's first full-size reconstruction of an anatomically complete T-rex is unveiled. Contains scenes some viewers may find distressing.
http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/t-rex-autopsy/

There are clips available online and the programme will no doubt be available online as well in due course.
Richard's series on BBC4 have always been fascinating and highly enjoyable and deserve to be seen by a wider audience.

I hope that you enjoy the other two programmes in 'Fossil Wonderlands' TelevisionUser - they are excellent.
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Old 08-06-2015, 22:30
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A couple of recent Switek articles.

http://phenomena.nationalgeographic....t-rex-autopsy/

http://phenomena.nationalgeographic....saur-tracking/
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Old 09-06-2015, 11:10
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This programme really does look tremendous fun for those who have been lucky enough to have seen it over the weekend.

http://theconversation.com/how-i-dis...of-latex-42920
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Old 09-06-2015, 19:25
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This programme really does look tremendous fun for those who have been lucky enough to have seen it over the weekend.

http://theconversation.com/how-i-dis...of-latex-42920
One of the most surreal aspects of that documentary was the need to transport a T. rex 'carcass' around London on a lorry: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pxrHjn03ccc

In other news:

Wales' 'first meat-eating' Jurassic dinosaur on show
A fossilised skeleton of a meat-eating Jurassic dinosaur found on a south Wales beach is being revealed to the public for the first time. The small theropod dinosaur - a distant cousin of the giant Tyrannosaurus rex - was uncovered by spring storms in 2014 at Lavernock, Vale of Glamorgan. Fossil-hunting brothers Nick and Rob Hanigan made the discovery and are donating it to National Museum Wales.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-s...wales-33053184


'Blood cells' found in dino fossils
Researchers have discovered what appear to be the remnants of red blood cells and connective tissue in 75 million-year-old dinosaur fossils. The work could shine a light on long-standing questions about dinosaur physiology, including whether specific species were warm- or cold-blooded. Chemical analysis revealed similarities between blood cells from fossils and those from living emu.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-33067582
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-33065414

Not so long ago, I was discussing with one of my relatives in the US about doing a dino road trip across North America and, east to west, the following itinerary was agreed:

1. Royal Ontario Museum

2. Carnegie Museum of Natural History

3. Wyoming Dinosaur Center

4. Museum of the Rockies

5. Royal Tyrrell Museum of Paleontology, Alberta
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Old 09-06-2015, 22:19
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One of the most surreal aspects of that documentary was the need to transport a T. rex 'carcass' around London on a lorry: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pxrHjn03ccc

In other news:

Wales' 'first meat-eating' Jurassic dinosaur on show
A fossilised skeleton of a meat-eating Jurassic dinosaur found on a south Wales beach is being revealed to the public for the first time. The small theropod dinosaur - a distant cousin of the giant Tyrannosaurus rex - was uncovered by spring storms in 2014 at Lavernock, Vale of Glamorgan. Fossil-hunting brothers Nick and Rob Hanigan made the discovery and are donating it to National Museum Wales.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-s...wales-33053184


'Blood cells' found in dino fossils
Researchers have discovered what appear to be the remnants of red blood cells and connective tissue in 75 million-year-old dinosaur fossils. The work could shine a light on long-standing questions about dinosaur physiology, including whether specific species were warm- or cold-blooded. Chemical analysis revealed similarities between blood cells from fossils and those from living emu.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-33067582
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-33065414

Not so long ago, I was discussing with one of my relatives in the US about doing a dino road trip across North America and, east to west, the following itinerary was agreed:

1. Royal Ontario Museum

2. Carnegie Museum of Natural History

3. Wyoming Dinosaur Center

4. Museum of the Rockies

5. Royal Tyrrell Museum of Paleontology, Alberta
That sounds like an excellent idea and you would be so very lucky to be able to do that.

Obviously with the release of Jurassic World this week articles about the (seemingly deliberate) inaccuracies of the various animals featured are being discussed all over the web.

I mean they even have some of the (naked featherless) dinosaurs bloody tail dragging - remind me again is this the 1950's?

Why the Dimorphodon in the film is so awful.

http://markwitton-com.blogspot.co.uk...is-one-of.html

Other related news.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/s...jurassic-park/

https://palaeosam.wordpress.com/2015...ark-franchise/

http://www.ttalents.com/dont-believe-the-dinos/

Another link to the early Welsh theropod.

http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wa...enarth-9416435

A trio of tyrants.

http://extinctmonsters.net/2015/06/0...io-of-tyrants/
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Old 10-06-2015, 21:40
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Brian Switek recommends a few books.

http://phenomena.nationalgeographic....-for-everyone/

The excellent series 'Your Inner Fish' is currently on BBC4.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b05yxzxc

Another nerd nitpick.

On the Jurassic World website it states in their creature profile that the Mosasaur is 18 metres long - fair enough - in fact several of the largest species could have exceeded 15 metres and even reached that length.

But then they state the marine mega-lizard's (yes it was a lizard) weight as only 5,000 kg - oh dear, what is it made out of?

Candy floss?

Perhaps they missed out a '2' as around 25,000 kg would be a far more realistic for a mosasaur of that massive size despite their relatively gracile build.
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Old 11-06-2015, 17:15
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The ugly, dull, tail-dragging Stegosaurus from 'Jurassic World'.

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-d-d4jcWaFi...STEGOSAURO.jpg

The far superior reconstruction of the animal from 'The Lost World' almost 20 years ago (although it needed more colourful plates for sexual display purposes).

https://caragaleblog.files.wordpress...014/07/lw6.jpg

They must be taking the piss.
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Old 11-06-2015, 18:40
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New!

Dinosaur discovery dirty deeds:

The Bone Wars
This is a tale of corruption, bribery and sabotage - not by cowboys, but by two palaeontologists, Edward Drinker Cope and Othniel Charles Marsh, who would stop at nothing in their race to find new dinosaur fossils. This was the golden age of dinosaur discovery, and their bitter war led to the discovery of some of our most iconic dinosaur species: Stegosaurus, Triceratops, Diplodocus and Camarasuarus to name a few.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b05xh31n

----------0----------

Can we actually clone a dinosaur?
“DNA has never been recovered from a Mesozoic dinosaur, and therefore we have virtually no genetic blueprint for cloning one. This means that scientists are light years away from being able to clone a dinosaur like T. rex or Triceratops. It is important to remember that birds are actually living dinosaurs. We have genomes for a number of birds, but cloning living birds remains a challenge do to complex aspects of their egg-laying mode of development.
http://news.nationalpost.com/arts/mo...one-a-dinosaur
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Old 13-06-2015, 14:57
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7pm, this evening, BBC Four - you know you want to:

Feathered Dinosaurs
Professor Richard Fortey travels to north eastern China to see a fossil site known as the 'Dinosaur Pompeii' - a place that has yielded spectacular remains of feathered dinosaurs and rewritten the story of the origins of birds. Among the amazing finds he investigates are the feathered cousin of T-rex, a feathered dinosaur with strong parallels to living pandas, and some of the most remarkable flying animals that have ever lived.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b03yfqj8

Although this film may be a bit of a lemon from a technical point of view, if it inspires a new generation of young people to become vertebrate palaeontologists then some good will have come from it.
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