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Old 27-05-2014, 22:58
AOTB
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The trouble with dinosaur documentaries is that (as the palaeontologists will tell you) - the programme makers often chop and edit what they say to create a more sensational program (and sometimes the graphics a f*****g awful).

In the last couple of years Planet Dinosaur, Jurassic CSI and if you want a laugh and dinosaurs with superb graphics and personalities (not to be taken too seriously) Dinosaur Revolution.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Planet-Dinos.../dp/B005F3DFR2

http://www.amazon.co.uk/National-Geo...RTCZHQ5GE12KNW

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Dinosaur-Rev...aur+revolution
Ta, I may check some of those out.

I know what you mean re the sensationalising of certain programs.

Dino Revolution looks like it could be amusing though.
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Old 27-05-2014, 23:00
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The commonality in those three places is that the discovery sites have tended to be arid with a low human population and with low disturbance. That indicates to me that's a habitat type to look out for when looking for potential new discovery areas, e.g. in Africa and Australia.

One of the fascinating things for me has been the discovery in recent years of the third modern branch of humanity - the Denisovans - based on the analysis of a couple of teeth and a toe bone.

Links:
http://www.newscientist.com/article/...l#.U4UH-7xUdyA
http://www.sciencemag.org/content/33...1-3079b157d697
http://www.sciencemag.org/content/33...1084/suppl/DC1
http://www.nature.com/news/new-dna-a...sovans-1.11331
And while all this wonderful science is going on creationists will continue to close their eyes put their fingers in their ears and ignore all the mountains of evidence staring them in the bloody face.
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Old 27-05-2014, 23:06
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Ta, I may check some of those out.

I know what you mean re the sensationalising of certain programs.

Dino Revolution looks like it could be amusing though.
Some people moaned, but I loved it and the graphics are the finest I have ever seen.

A few very minor things - the programme was made before the new much heavier mass estimates for Tyrannosaurus have come recently (at around 8.5 - 10 rather than 6 tons for an average mature adult) and before we knew most if not all Tyrannosaur species probably had a full covering of feathers (at least in colder latitudes).

But this is not the programme maker's fault of course.

Some of the characters are just fantastic.

It will certainly be a better watch than the utterly appalling sequels to Jurassic Park (the plot of the latest upcoming film is one of the stupidest I have ever heard of).
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Old 28-05-2014, 20:37
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The Bird is the Word today!

http://phys.org/news/2014-05-prehist...diversity.html

http://www.redorbit.com/news/science...ersity-052814/

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/n...rd-pollinator/

http://phys.org/news/2014-05-dinosau...retaceous.html

And finally...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2WNrx...hl=en-GB&gl=GB
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Old 28-05-2014, 21:19
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Yes indeed!

And all these birds liked to be treat like dirt, as people on here will tell you!
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Old 28-05-2014, 21:20
The Martian
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Fossilised crocodile tooth 'largest of its kind in UK'

The fossilised tooth of a prehistoric crocodile has been recorded as the largest of its kind found in the UK.

The 2in (5.5cm) tooth was dredged from the seabed near Chesil Beach, Dorset.

It belonged to an ancient relative of modern crocodiles, known as Dakosaurus maximus.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-dorset-27606864

It looks like a cross between a crocodile and shark.
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Old 28-05-2014, 21:31
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Yes indeed!

And all these birds liked to be treat like dirt, as people on here will tell you!
Ha ha, your comment in that other 'FB/ Twitter pictures of women' thread made me chuckle, but they closed it too soon. I appreciate to anyone who didn't see it, that my 'pwoarr' post here might look rather odd.

Having said that I reckon Megalodon was a proper bad boy who never got friend zoned...
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Old 28-05-2014, 21:39
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Fossilised crocodile tooth 'largest of its kind in UK'

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-dorset-27606864

It looks like a cross between a crocodile and shark.
Good post.

The Metriorhynchoids ranged up to seven metres or so (Plesiosuchus manteli) and show once again the incredible variety of crocodilians and their close relatives that existed in the past.

http://www.technodhuniah.com/2012/10...-has-been.html

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-lt6Rp6lHer...odhuniah_8.jpg

When I have time I will post on them, duck-croc, rabbit-croc, dog-croc cat-croc, boar-croc, super-croc etc etc. Nicknames for an incredible range of terrestrial species that existed along side the dinosaurs.
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Old 28-05-2014, 21:42
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Ha ha, your comment in that other 'FB/ Twitter pictures of women' thread made me chuckle, but they closed it too soon. I appreciate to anyone who didn't see it, that my 'pwoarr' post here might look rather odd.

Having said that I reckon Megalodon was a proper bad boy who never got friend zoned...


Nothing beats Megalodon in my opinion, not the giant Pliosaurs, Mosasaurs or the killer sperm whale Livyatan.

More on these massive buggers when I have more time as well.
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Old 30-05-2014, 20:06
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I, for one, welcome our new chicken overlords.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/0...n_4740209.html

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencete...-CHICKENS.html

http://io9.com/heres-a-chicken-weari...ike-1517456040
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Old 30-05-2014, 20:17
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The trouble with dinosaur documentaries is that (as the palaeontologists will tell you) - the programme makers often chop and edit what they say to create a more sensational program (and sometimes the graphics are f*****g awful).

In the last couple of years Planet Dinosaur and Jurassic CSI for the science.

And if you want a laugh and dinosaurs with superb graphics and personalities (not to be taken too seriously but sometimes really wonderful) - Dinosaur Revolution.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Planet-Dinos.../dp/B005F3DFR2

http://www.amazon.co.uk/National-Geo...RTCZHQ5GE12KNW

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Dinosaur-Rev...aur+revolution
In fairness they need to sex it up a bit. Imagine if it was realistic.

T-Rex sleeping for 20 hours a day.
60 minute program of a herbivore eating, farting and taking a dump.
Two hours of a pterodactyl chick looking bored as it waits for the parents return.
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Old 30-05-2014, 20:20
Keyser_Soze1
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In fairness they need to sex it up a bit. Imagine if it was realistic.

T-Rex sleeping for 20 hours a day.
60 minute program of a herbivore eating, farting and taking a dump.
Two hours of a pterodactyl chick looking bored as it waits for the parents return.
Good point.

I really loved Dinosaur Revolution though.

Man's Best Friend was a Mammoth's worst nightmare.

http://news.sciencemag.org/archaeolo...r-graves?rss=1

http://news.psu.edu/story/317201/201...-dead-mammoths
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Old 30-05-2014, 20:42
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In fairness they need to sex it up a bit. Imagine if it was realistic.

T-Rex sleeping for 20 hours a day.
60 minute program of a herbivore eating, farting and taking a dump.
Two hours of a pterodactyl chick looking bored as it waits for the parents return.
If pterodactyl mums did the same as their modern day counterparts, partly digesting and regurgitating a dead chick a couple of times, in order that the young can get it down their greedy little necks, as on Springwatch last night - I'd probably struggle to watch for long. I wonder how long they've had that behaviour.
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Old 30-05-2014, 21:05
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If pterodactyl mums did the same as their modern day counterparts, partly digesting and regurgitating a dead chick a couple of times, in order that the young can get it down their greedy little necks, as on Springwatch last night - I'd probably struggle to watch for long. I wonder how long they've had that behaviour.
Well pterosaurs are close relatives but not dinosaurs/birds so if they did it would be more a case of convergent evolution.

A pterosaur like Hatzegopteryx with a 10-13 metre wingspan puking up a small dinosaur is not one of the prettiest sights I can imagine.
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Old 30-05-2014, 22:29
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Well pterosaurs are close relatives but not dinosaurs/birds so if they did it would be more a case of convergent evolution.
You can see the evil cunning of the dinosaur in the cuckoo can't you, bastard .
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Old 30-05-2014, 22:32
The Martian
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You can see the evil cunning of the dinosaur in the cuckoo can't you, bastard .
Or the complete insanity of the dinosaur in the woodpecker.
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Old 30-05-2014, 22:35
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Or the complete insanity of the dinosaur in the woodpecker.
And the sheer genius of the Corvids and Parrots!
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Old 31-05-2014, 00:21
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One of the most bizarre marine reptiles of all time.

I just love extreme evolutionary adaptations.

There is never a dull moment.

http://www.sci-news.com/paleontology...ina-01768.html

http://phenomena.nationalgeographic....low-your-mind/

http://fc04.deviantart.net/fs70/i/20...it-d75p182.jpg

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-bcG3hNoaJz...ia-d7hioe6.png
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Old 31-05-2014, 00:24
The Martian
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It's really odd where the teeth are. Very bizarre indeed.
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Old 31-05-2014, 00:34
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Just found this: http://earthsky.org/earth/an-ancient...-58-foot-snake

An ancient, 16-foot, 900-pound crocodile may have been overmatched by a monster snake that swam in the same rivers 60 million years ago.

The newly named reptile, Anthracosuchus balrogus, which had an unusually blunt snout for species in the dyrosaurids family, was unearthed from the same layer of rock as the 58-foot Titanoboa in the Cerrejon coal mine of northern Colombia.
Watching those massive beasts brawl must have been quite the spectacle for the other wildlife looking on.
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Old 31-05-2014, 00:44
Keyser_Soze1
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Just found this: http://earthsky.org/earth/an-ancient...-58-foot-snake

Watching those massive beast brawl must have been quite the spectacle for the other wildlife looking on.
The headline is a bit misleading as I think Titanoboa was simply too large for this croc.

The giant carnivorous turtle Carbonemys Cofrinii could possibly have given it a better battle - they shared the same habitat.

http://news.ncsu.edu/releases/cadena-turtle/

http://www.wired.com/2012/05/huge-tu...boas-neighbor/

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/0...n_1524960.html

http://hariprajitno.files.wordpress....carbonemys.jpg

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...s_Cofrinii.jpg
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Old 31-05-2014, 01:17
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And the sheer genius of the Corvids and Parrots!
I pity our small mammalian ancestors at the end of their teethy beaks .
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Old 31-05-2014, 06:11
The Martian
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The headline is a bit misleading as I think Titanoboa was simply too large for this croc.

The giant carnivorous turtle Carbonemys Cofrinii could possibly have given it a better battle - they shared the same habitat.

http://news.ncsu.edu/releases/cadena-turtle/

http://www.wired.com/2012/05/huge-tu...boas-neighbor/

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/0...n_1524960.html

http://hariprajitno.files.wordpress....carbonemys.jpg

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...s_Cofrinii.jpg
I remember watching a video on youtube of this guy being bitten on his finger by his pet tortoise, and it left a rather nasty cut. That beast would bite you in half.
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Old 03-06-2014, 00:18
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A few nice links on those great marine lizards of the Cretaceous - the Mosasaurs.

http://www.oceansofkansas.com/about-mo.html

http://www.fossilguy.com/gallery/vert/reptile/mosasaur/

A paper on a huge Mosasaurus sp recently discovered in Italy.

http://www.disva.univpm.it/sites/www...20research.pdf

With some images of the beast.

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/--3K5-6ekGS...ostruzione.jpg

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-lgoYA6WZ6U...00/unnamed.jpg

Here is a size comparison between a couple of Tylosaurus proriger specimens and a large and 'world record' orca (although I very much doubt any orca has ever really reached ten metres).

https://o4pyeq.dm1.livefilestore.com...rca.jpg?psid=1

Finally a nice reconstruction of what may have been the most massive mosasaur of the lot, at a maximum length of 15 - 18 metres.

Mosasaurus hoffmani.

http://fc06.deviantart.net/fs71/f/20...ca-d6jmurs.jpg

Notice how some of these images have taken into account that mosasaurs were far more robustly built than previously thought, and also the very recently discovered fact that they had tail fins. Old reconstructions merely resemble a huge snake with flippers.

But they were far more formidable than that.
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