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Dinosaur news
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Britain’s oldest sauropod dinosaur identified from fossil bone that fell from a cliff face
Date: June 1, 2015 Source: Manchester University Summary: Experts have identified Britain's oldest sauropod dinosaur from a fossil bone discovered on the Yorkshire coast. The vertebra (backbone) originates from a group of dinosaurs that includes the largest land animals to have ever walked on Earth. This new sauropod dinosaur, from the Middle Jurassic Period at about 176 million years old, was found near Whitby, Yorkshire, after it fell out of a cliff face. This find represents the earliest skeletal record of this type of dinosaur from the United Kingdom and adds to existing evidence from Yorkshire dinosaur tracks that this part of the country was once Britain's very own 'Jurassic World'.  *This image is copyright of its original author Experts from the University of Manchester have identified Britain's oldest sauropod dinosaur from a fossil bone discovered on the Yorkshire coast. Credit: Jason Poole Experts from the University of Manchester have identified Britain's oldest sauropod dinosaur from a fossil bone discovered on the Yorkshire coast. The vertebra (backbone) originates from a group of dinosaurs that includes the largest land animals to have ever walked on Earth. This new sauropod dinosaur, from the Middle Jurassic Period at about 176 million years old, was found near Whitby, Yorkshire, after it fell out of a cliff face. This find represents the earliest skeletal record of this type of dinosaur from the United Kingdom and adds to existing evidence from Yorkshire dinosaur tracks that this part of the country was once Britain's very own 'Jurassic World'. Sauropods (often referred to as 'brontosaurs') include some of the largest plant-eating dinosaurs to have roamed the Earth and were a successful group for nearly 150 million years. They possessed distinctive long necks and tails, small heads, a large body and walked on all fours. Some species such as the Argentinosaurus grew up to 115 feet (35 metres) long and possibly weighed as much as 80 tonnes. The fragmentary nature of the new find from Yorkshire means it is not possible to generate a new species of dinosaur. However, this fossil clearly belongs to this distinctive group of titanic sized animals, the sauropods. This dinosaur fossil is an extremely rare find, given the Middle Jurassic rocks of the world are only exposed in a few areas, such as China and Argentina where similar-aged dinosaur fossils originate. Professor Phil Manning and his team from The University of Manchester used X-Ray Tomography to study the fossil bone, which is now held in the collections at the Yorkshire Museum in York (UK). They present their description of this new sauropod dinosaur in a paper published today in the journal PLOS ONE. Professor Manning said: "Many scientists have worked on the amazing dinosaur tracks from the Middle Jurassic rocks of Yorkshire. It was a splendid surprise to come face-to-face with a fossil vertebra from the Jurassic rocks of Yorkshire that was clearly from a sauropod dinosaur "This fossil offers the earliest 'body fossil' evidence for this important group of dinosaurs in the United Kingdom, but it is impossible to define a new species based upon this single bone." Whilst this is clearly frustrating for the team, there is possibly more of this Jurassic titan still to be discovered in the future and only then might it get a new species name. Until more bones are discovered the team have simply nicknamed Britain's oldest sauropod dinosaur, 'Alan', after the finder of this prehistoric beastie (Alan Gurr). Dr Victoria Egerton (co-author on the paper) added: "The Jurassic Park that was once Yorkshire clearly has much more to offer science in our understanding of the distribution and evolution of dinosaurs." Dr Mike Romano, another co-author on the paper said: "Dinosaur remains of Middle Jurassic age are generally rare, even on a global scale. So, to find a single distinctive vertebra of that age on the beach at Whitby, and one that represents a new taxon of sauropod dinosaurs, is indeed a (white) feather in the cap for Yorkshire." Journal Reference: http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article...ne.0128107 Article source: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/201...141523.htm 
Soft tissue found in 75 million-year-old dinosaur bones is a big deal for paleontology
http://www.theverge.com/2015/6/9/8751897...-years-old Dinosaur fossils may have more to share with us than originally thought. By analyzing poorly preserved dinosaur bone fragments, scientists have found structures that closely resemble red blood cells and collagen fibers, proteins found in various types of tissues. The finding is exciting because it contradicts a widely held belief that only exceptionally well-preserved fossils harbor soft tissues. And the fact that 75 million-year-old fossils hold these kinds of cells means that we may find similar tissues in other not-so-well-preserved bone fragments — a finding that could drastically increase our knowledge of dinosaur biology, behavior, and evolution."We were not expecting to find what we found at all.""We have several indications that the structures we found are consistent with red blood cells and collagen," explains Sergio Bertazzo, a physical chemist at Imperial College London and co-author of the study published in Nature Communications today. "We were not expecting to find what we found at all. So for us, every single discovery was quite exciting." In the study, researchers analyzed eight fossil fragments from two major dinosaur types, Ornithischia and Saurischia. To do this, they used a microscope called a "focused ion beam," which is equipped with a beam of atoms that can make tiny, nanometric cuts into a bone sample. The microscope also had a robotic arm with a micro needle that could be used to pick up and move things inside the microscope, Bertazzo explains."So, [by] combining the beam and the needle, we could cut small bits of the fossils and perform an analysis to check for any fragment of amino acids" — protein building blocks.Thanks to this technique, the researchers were able to identify tiny structures that are probably red blood cells and collagen fibers belonging to the dinosaurs — something they never expected to find. The researchers confirmed the finding by comparing the red blood cell-like structures in the dinosaur bones to emu blood cells; birds and dinosaurs are distant relatives after all.If other researchers can find similar results, scientists might be able to use these collagen structures to better understand relationships between different species. And because red blood cell size is known to correlate with metabolic rate, it's possible that these organic structures could help scientists find out more about how dinosaurs evolved in warm-blooded creatures. In the study, researchers analyzed eight fossil fragments from two major dinosaur types, Ornithischia and Saurischia. To do this, they used a microscope called a "focused ion beam," which is equipped with a beam of atoms that can make tiny, nanometric cuts into a bone sample. The microscope also had a robotic arm with a micro needle that could be used to pick up and move things inside the microscope, Bertazzo explains."So, [by] combining the beam and the needle, we could cut small bits of the fossils and perform an analysis to check for any fragment of amino acids" — protein building blocks.Thanks to this technique, the researchers were able to identify tiny structures that are probably red blood cells and collagen fibers belonging to the dinosaurs — something they never expected to find. The researchers confirmed the finding by comparing the red blood cell-like structures in the dinosaur bones to emu blood cells; birds and dinosaurs are distant relatives after all.If other researchers can find similar results, scientists might be able to use these collagen structures to better understand relationships between different species. And because red blood cell size is known to correlate with metabolic rate, it's possible that these organic structures could help scientists find out more about how dinosaurs evolved in warm-blooded creatures. And being able to identify structures like red blood cells and collagen in "unexceptional" fossils isn't going to lead to dinosaur de-extinctions — at least not any time soon. "At the moment we have no evidence for any DNA," says Susie Maidment, a paleontologist at Imperial College London and a co-author of the study. DNA is much smaller than collagen fibers and red blood cells, which means that it degrades more easily. "However, who knows what we might find in the future," she says."Unlikely that someone or some bird cut themselves and bled on the fossil."Now that the study has been published, the scientists want to understand this type of preservation better. "How far back in time does it extend? Is it restricted to a particular type of burial environment?" Maidment asks. They also hope to find out how this type of preservation occurs.The discovery could have a big impact on fossilization science. "Before this discovery, as a palaeontologist, I ‘knew’ that it was not possible for soft tissues to be preserved over geologic timescales, except in exceptionally rare circumstances," Maidment explains. "What is most exciting for me is the potential this opens up: if we are able to find these tissues in other specimens, and replicate the results, it indicates this type of preservation might even be the ‘norm.'" 
Has anyone seen Jurassic World?
The size of that Mosasaur is even more off than the Liopleurodon from BBC's "Walking with Dinosaurs". I wonder if it may be genetically modified from the original species? 
I saw it last night. Overall good movie. Something similar to first part, with little different story
Off course not a very good movie but I will say its kind of okay movie when compared to other crap hollywood movies released these days.
The only thing good in that movie is the return of the Queen T-Rex from the original movie.
PS, the Indominus Rex should be the Giganotosaurus instead, not that genetic modified crap.
I guess Mosasaur and Liopleurodon where very close in strength and dominance in their respective era. Since it is movie Mosasaur has been shown more gigantic and its ability has been exaggerated also a little different shape
(06-12-2015, 09:24 AM)GrizzlyClaws Wrote: The only thing good in that movie is the return of the Queen T-Rex from the original movie. I was expecting T-rex since I saw the genetic modified saurs. Raptor part was also very unusal.
Mosasaur looks like a sea snake, while Liopleurodon looks like a turtle with a crocodile head.
The Mosasaur in the movie looks even bigger than a blue whale, which is extremely unrealistic. I hates the genetic modified I-Rex and the oversized Mosasaur that have ruined the realism of the franchise. This is Jurassic Park, not Godzilla or King Kong. (06-12-2015, 09:30 AM)'sanjay' Wrote:(06-12-2015, 09:24 AM)'GrizzlyClaws' Wrote: The only thing good in that movie is the return of the Queen T-Rex from the original movie. They have genetically modified the clones of T-Rex and other dino species with the frog DNA, but the size stays mostly accurate in the original movie. The Queen T-Rex from the original movie is just a very large female specimen, maybe weighing about 10-12 tons or so, but not unrealistically exaggerated like the Mosasaur.
@GrizzlyClaws , This is hollywood movie. And I think this kind of movie is always exaggerate the Animals.
The Jurrasic World movie claim it was 18 mt long (60 feet) and 5000 KG. But in reality it was 14-15 mt long
I have completely lost my faith for the Hollywood movies, and i would rather see them to pull out a Megalodon than a chimera Mosasaur.
Scientists downsize the giant 'Dreadnoughtus' dinosaur
Date: June 9, 2015 Source: University of Liverpool Summary: Scientists have shown that the most complete giant sauropod dinosaur, Dreadnoughtus, discovered by palaeontologists in South America in 2014, was not as large as previously thought. Scientists at the University of Liverpool have shown that the most complete giant sauropod dinosaur, Dreadnoughtus, discovered by palaeontologists in South America in 2014, was not as large as previously thought. Found in Patagonia, the huge fossil had almost all of the major bones intact, allowing scientists to confidently estimate its overall size -- measuring in at 26 metres long. Preserved in rock, it is thought that the animal was close to maturity but not fully grown when it died, and may have grown to be even larger. The long-necked, plant-eating dinosaur was the biggest to ever walk the earth. To estimate the mass of Dreadnoughtus scientists originally used a scaling equation that predicts body mass based on the size of thigh and arm bones. This method produced a range of estimates with the average being a colossal 60 tonnes. Scientists at the University of Liverpool, in collaboration with researchers from Liverpool John Moores University, the University of Manchester, and Imperial College, re-evaluated this estimate after it became clear that other sauropod dinosaurs, only marginally smaller than the giant, weighed considerably less than 60 tonnes. The team used a three-dimensional skeletal modelling technique to examine body mass more directly. This method involves mathematically reconstructing a 'skin' volume around bones of Dreadnoughtus on a computer and then expanding that skin outline to account for muscle, fat and other tissues. The size of expanded skin outline is based on similar data from living animals. By exploring a range of expansions the team could more accurately predict how heavy Dreadnoughtus could realistically have been. The team found that the mass of the Dreadnoughtus was more likely to be between 30 and 40 tonnes, considerably less than originally thought. Dr Karl Bates, from the University's Institute of Ageing and Chronic Disease, explains: "Estimating the body mass of an extinct animal from approximately 77 million years ago of this size from only its fossilised bones is extremely challenging and relies on the availability of certain data from living animals and modelling techniques. "The original method used to calculate the mass of the animal is a common one and has been used successfully on many specimens. The highest estimates produced for this particular giant, however, didn't quite match up. "Using digital modelling and a dataset that took in species, alive and dead, we were able to see that the creature couldn't be as large as originally estimated." "Our analysis suggests that only the lower estimates produced by previous methods are plausible. Estimates of 60 tonnes and above do not fit with our current understanding of the mass characteristics of living land animals." It is unclear how accurate previous predictions on the scale of these creatures have been, but future studies of living animals and developments in modelling techniques could help build a more fulsome picture of the size and lifestyles of the dinosaurs. The research is published in the Royal Society journal Biology Letters. Source: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/201...213050.htm Paper: http://rsbl.royalsocietypublishing.org/c...6/20150215
A very new paper on a new type of allosauroid in Northern Patagonia.
Here's the abstract: "We report an isolated left frontal (MCF-PVPH 320) corresponding to a medium-sized theropod dinosaur from the Portezuelo Formation (Coniacian)of northern Patagonia. It shows a unique combination of traits that are not present in any other known Cretaceous theropod from South America.MCF-PVPH 320 is robust and anteroposteriorly short, with aflat and smooth dorsal surface largely excavated by the supratemporal fossa. Endocra-nially, the olfactory bulb impression is elongate, and the olfactory tract impression is markedly shortened anteroposteriorly. MCF-PVPH 320 differsgreatly from the frontals of Late Cretaceous theropods, such as abelisaurids, megaraptorines and carcharodontosaurids. In contrast, character statesincluding the thickness of the bone, V-shaped frontoparietal suture, reduced participation on the orbital margin and markedly short olfactory tractimpression suggest the presence of an unknown mid-sized to large allosauroid for the Portezuelo Formation." Paper attached. |
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