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How Did a Dinosaur Become a Mummy?
Fossilization happens when minerals gradually replace bone in an animal that is buried underground. Mummification happens when a body's soft tissue dries completely out and is preserved by desiccation. A few mummified remains of dinosaurs have been found with evidence that the dead animal was quickly buried in dry conditions, such as in an avalanche. But an Edmontosaurus found in South Dakota in 1999 defied all explanation. The 40-foot-long reptile died 67 million years ago, but its bones were found covered by fossilized skin! That could have only happened if the sky were dried out, as in mummification, before it was fossilized. But this dinosaur died in wet conditions, and was not immediately buried. In fact, there is evidence that it laid on the earth's surface long enough for other animals to take a few bites out of him. How could its skin have have been preserved at all?A new theory about the Edmontosaurus nicknamed Dakota was published this week. Scientists now believe that scavengers helped the drying process. By tearing the skin open, they allowed for the blood, gasses, body fluids, and internal organs to ooze out before putrefaction, which sped up the ability of the skin to dry out. The precise sequence of events that led to Dakota turning to just skin and bones before being buried and fossilized has to be a pretty rare event, but one that gave us dinosaur skin to study 67 million years later.(Image credit: Natee Puttapipat)#dinosaur #fossil #mummification #desiccation #mummy
The Oldest Mammal Yet Discovered
Fossils of a small animal that roamed what is now southern Brazil have turned out to be more than we thought. Brasilodon quadrangularis is an extinct species known to science and dated to 225 million years ago, but until recently it was thought to have been a small reptile. The oldest mammal was considered to be the 205 million-year-old Morganucodon. But a new study has determined that B. quadrangularis was actually a mammal, making it the oldest mammal species we know of. How does one recognize a mammal fossil without soft tissue, like mammary glands? By the teeth. Reptiles lose teeth and grow replacement teeth throughout their lives, while mammals have two sets, the milk teeth and the permanent adult teeth. B. quadrangularis, a shrew-like creature about eight inches long, has the skull features that signal two sets of teeth over its lifetime. We don't know whether B. quadrangularis is an ancestor of any of today's mammals, but its age is only five million years newer than the earliest dinosaurs we've found. Its existence shows us that mammals and dinosaurs co-existed for many millions of years. Read more about this discovery at CNN. -via reddit(Image credit: 2022 Anatomical Society/Wiley) #fossil #mammal #paleontology
Oldest Predator Yet is Named After David Attenborough
A fossil discovered in 2007 in Charnwood Forest, Leicestershire, England, has been determined to be a sea creature that used tentacles to hunt for food. It is dated to 560 million years ago, which makes it 20 million years older than the previously-known oldest predator. It is also the earliest fossil with a skeleton. The new species has been named Auroralumina attenboroughii, in honor of Sir David Attenborough, who himself had hunted for fossils in Charnwood Forest as a boy. The genus Auroralumina is Latin for "dawn lantern." Auroralumina attenboroughii has been classified into a group that includes jellyfish and sea anemones. Those were once thought to have originated with the Cambrian explosion, which occurred millions of years after this new species is now known to have existed. This discovery will cause paleontologists to reconfigure those animals' family trees. David Attenborough was tickled to learn of the species name, as he has fond memories of his expeditions into Charnwood Forest. The naturalist and TV host has already seen 40 species named for him. Read more about Auroralumina attenboroughii at the Guardian. -via Damn Interesting(Image credit: British Geological Survey/UKRI/PA) #fossil #predator #DavidAttenborough
Fossils May Show Us the Day of the Asteroid Impact
Around 66 million years ago, a 12-kilometer-wide asteroid slammed into the earth, causing a massive explosion that sent debris into the atmosphere for years. The impact was felt 3,000 kilometers away, where it caused animals to die instantly. Earth tremors caused waves of water to surge onto land. Particles of molten rock invaded the gills of fish. A turtle was impaled on a piece of wood. A dinosaur had its leg blown off. Some 66 million years later, humans dug up the remains of that devastating event in South Dakota, at an archaeological dig called Tanis. Scientists have been studying the fossils of Tanis for years. They can't definitively say that the chaos at Tanis was left on the exact day of the Chicxulub impact that wiped out the dinosaurs, but the signs are all there. The chemical makeup of the particles found in fish are what one would expect from the impact. The well-preserved dinosaur leg, from a Thescelosaurus, shows no signs of disease, and the rest of it is nowhere nearby. The Tanis fossils will be the subject of a BBC special titled Dinosaurs: The Final Day with Sir David Attenborough, to be broadcast on BBC One on April 15th. It will be aired on the PBS series Nova this fall. Read about the extraordinary finds from Tanis at BBC News. -via Damn Interesting#Chicxulub #fossil #dinosaur #Tanis #asteroid
Diegoaelurus vanvalkenburghae: The Oldest Sabertoothed Predator is 42-Million-Years-Old
This is a fossil jaw bone ofDiegoaelurus vanvalkenburghae, a newly discovered, earliest-known sabertooth species. This sabertooth lived approximately 42 million years ago in ancient San Diego, a warm environment covered in lush forests.
How to Become a Fossil
Of the billions of creatures that have roamed the earth, only a tiny fraction avoid decomposition after they die. It takes a very specific set of conditions to become fossilized. But if that tiny fraction hadn't fallen into those conditions, we wouldn't know about them at all. We saw a video recently about how much information is lost to nature over billions of years, so we should treasure the fossils we have. When we study the past we also think about the future. As we dig up fossils, could we someday be dug up and studied as well? Can we fossilize our own remains to provide clues to future humans, or other intelligent beings, about our existence? Our current burial practices make this highly unlikely, but if a certain set of conditions are met, there's small chance you could be a fossil. Read about what's involved in creating a fossil, and you'll understand the odds against every one of the fossils we have now. -via Digg(Image credit: Gary Todd) #fossil #fossilization
Ocucaje Predator: Ancient "Monster" Whale was a Sea Serpent-Like Mammal
The Ocucaje Desert in Peru was once a shallow sea home to primitive sea mammals. Which is why the discovery of a deadly marine mammal skull there makes sense. The relic belonged to a basilosaurus, which roughly translated to “king lizard”.It was uncovered in 2021 roughly 350 kilometers (215 miles) south of Lima. Excavators were impressed by how well preserved the specimen had been.The ocean giant has been nicknamed the “Ocucaje Predator,” a suitably fearsome name for a 17-meter (55-foot) long hunter with gigantic jaws. These teeth led paleontologists to place basilosaurus at the top of the food chain, making it more than qualified to take down fish, sharks, and other archaic whales.The 36-million-year-old basilosaurus leaves behind a complete skull, representing an exciting opportunity for scientists to learn more about these prehistoric predators.The specimen is now on display at the Museum of Natural History in Lima.Image: Andrew Janson#basilosaurus #paleontology #Ocucaje #skull #fossil #OcucajePredator
Construction Workers at Northwest Iowa Community College Discover Woolly Mammoth Tooth
A once-in-a-lifetime event indeed!Justin Blawet, a construction employee, found an item that was confirmed to be a woolly mammoth tooth on the grounds of a property owned by the Northwest Iowa Community College in Sheldon, Iowa. The tooth was exposed during excavation and was discovered by Blauwet. However, knowing what it was and realizing its importance at first glance was because of Blawet’s enthusiasm for fossils and prehistoric animals. The discovery was a lucky find, according to Tiffany Adrain, a Paleontology Repository Instructor at the University of Iowa. “While discovery of mammoth remains is not uncommon in Iowa, once the bones and teeth are out in the open, they can fall apart and disappear quickly because they are not completely fossilized,” she further explained. The professor was called by the staff to confirm the fossil’s identity. The tooth is now being preserved to protect it from drying out too rapidly and disintegrating. As for where it will be placed, the Northwest Iowa Community College said that the plan is to put it at the Sheldon Prairie Museum as a semi-permanently loaned display.Image credit: DGR Engineering #discovery #fossil #tooth #woollymammoth #Iowa
Dearc sgiathanach the Jurassic Pterosaur: World's Largest Pterodactyl Fossil Found in Scotland
What began as an ordinary excavation trip for Amelia Penny, ended up becoming a historic Jurassic Park moment. The University of Edinburgh’s PhD student unearthed a pterosaur fossil during a trip to the Isle of Skye, Scotland. The discovery is said to be the best-preserved skeleton of a pterosaur found in Scotland, experts say.The gigantic flying predator lived around 170 million years ago. Popularly known as a pterodactyl, the species had an estimated wingspan of over 2.5 metres. The species has been given the Gaelic name Dearc sgiathanach (pronounced jark ski-an-ach), which translates as ‘winged reptile’ and also references the Isle of Skye, whose Gaelic name means ‘the winged isle.’The pterodactyl will now be part of National Museum Scotland’s collection for further study.Image: Stewart Attwood/The University of Edinburgh#fossil #dinosaur #pterosaur #pterodactyl #Scotland #IsleofSkye
Scientists Find First Evidence of Respiratory Illness in a Dinosaur
A dinosaur with the sniffles? It's not so far-fetched. Paleontologists have previously found evidence of cancer and infections from injuries in dino fossils. But this discovery came in a roundabout way. In 1990, the skull and vertebrae of a long-necked diplodocid, later named Dolly, was unearthed in Montana. A 2018 study of the vertebrae found some growths that resembled broccoli. Paleontologist Cary Woodruff had never seen such growths. He reached out to other scientists (via Twitter), and heard back from avian and reptile experts who recognized the signs of a condition called airsacculitis that is found in modern birds and reptiles. That happens when an infected air sac is close to the vertebrae, and the bacteria or fungus that caused a respiratory infection migrates to the bone. Dolly must have been sick for some time.
Dinosaur Egg Fossil Contains Exquisitely Preserved Embryo
A group of fossils were uncovered in Ganzhou, Jiangxi province, China, in 2000. They were delivered to a museum where they were stored. Only in 2015 did a researcher notice that a fossil dinosaur egg had a crack that revealed an embryo inside, developed to just days short of hatching. The 66 million-year-old dinosaur was an oviraptorosaur, a type of dinosaur that would evolve into birds. And the embryo, named "Baby Yingliang," shows many birdlike features. These include a beak, egg teeth used to break out of a shell, a hard shell, and embryonic feathers. Baby Yingliang was still a dinosaur, however, as it had front claws instead of wings. A feature not previously seen in embryonic dinosaur fossils is the "head tucking" posture found in embryonic birds.
Millipede Nearly Nine Feet Long Discovered
Earth scientist Neil Davies and a group of his PhD students stumbled upon a fossil revealed by a cracked boulder in 2018 in Northumberland, UK. A thorough study of the fossil reveals it to be that of a millipede, or rather, one segment of a millipede, and the fossil was three feet long! The millipede of the Arthropleura genus lived between 295 and 345 million years ago. At that time, what is now England was much closer to the equator. The animal that once inhabited the fossil, which is believed to have been a carapace that was shed during its lifetime, was 2.7 meters (8.85 feet) long and weighed about 50 kilograms (110 pounds). This fossil is not the only giant millipede found in England, but now it's the largest. In fact, it sets a new record for the largest arthropod ever found. The discovery throws a wrench in one theory about why huge animals developed. It was previously thought that giant-sized creatures were the result of an abundance of oxygen, yet this species of millipede reached its huge size long before the rise in oxygen levels. Read more about this discovery at NPR. -via Damn Interesting (Image credit: Neil Davies/Sarah Collins) #fossil #millipede #giant
Pine Cone Sprouting Seeds Found in a 40-Million-Year-Old Amber
A pine cone seed sprouting while enclosed within an amber has been found, and it is the first plant fossil to show such germinating behavior. Researcher and international expert George Poinar Jr., professor emeritus in the Department of Integrative Biology of Oregon State University, discovered the said fossil. The specimen became the first fossil evidence of precocious germination or premature germination. As the name suggests, premature germination happens when the seeds germinate while still being in the parent plant, usually inside its fruits.According to Poinar, the pine cone is approximately 40 million years old, and from the Baltic region. It shows many embryonic stems emerging from the pine cone as well as needle clusters at the sprouts’ tips associated with the extinct pine species Pinus cembrifolia.“Crucial to the development of all plants, seed germination typically occurs in the ground after a seed has fallen,” said Poinar. “Seed germination in fruits is fairly common in plants that lack seed dormancy, like tomatoes, peppers and grapefruit, and it happens for a variety of reasons,” he added.What makes this discovery special is the fact that seed germination is rare in gymnosperms such as this pine species. In addition, it was found inside an amber case, being the first of its kind.Image: Steve Lundeberg#fossil #PineCone #seeds #amber
Fossil of 244-Million-Year-Old Bony Fish Discovered in China is the Oldest Ever Found
Fossils of the Peltoperleidus fish were discovered recently in Luoping, eastern Yunnan, China. These fossils were dated to be over 244 million years, making them the oldest fossils of the fish to be discovered, compared to the previous fossils found, which are only 242 million years old.It is worth noting that these fossils were discovered in China, as paleontologists thought that the species only existed in Europe.Unlike earlier fish, the Peltoperleidus has highly flexible dorsal and anal fins, which allowed it to be more agile in the water, making it a formidable predator in the Middle Triassic epoch.Learn more about the Peltoperleidus fish over at Daily Mail.(Images: Peer J via Daily Mail)#Prehistory #Fossil #Paleontology #TriassicPeriod
100-Million-Year-Old Tiny Cretapsara Athanata Crab Trapped in Amber is the Oldest Aquatic Animal Preserved in Amber
Fossils trapped in amber give us a great glimpse of what life was like in the ancient past. Most of the time, what scientists find in the amber are insects. But sometimes, to their surprise, they see aquatic organisms trapped in the fossilized tree resin. Recently, scientists have revealed that they have found the first dinosaur-era crab. Even better, it's fully preserved in amber!The crab in question, Cretapsara athanata, is said to be the oldest modern-looking crab, and they estimate its age to be about 100 million years old. Javier Luque, the lead author of the research, described the crab as "very special in many ways." Despite being modern-looking compared to the other crabs from its era, the mid-Cretaceous amber in which it is preserved is proof that this crustacean belonged to the same time.The question, however, is how did this aquatic animal become trapped in tree amber?More about this over at Harvard University.(All Images: Xing, L. et al., Longyin Amber Museum via Science Advances)#Paleontology #Amber #Fossil
What Dinosaurs Really Looked Like
It's only been a couple of hundred years since we identified the first dinosaur fossils. Since then, we've learned an awful lot about them, yet our knowledge is limited by what they left behind. Bones can fossilize, but there is a dearth of soft tissue, skin, hair, feathers, and all those things that we recognize existing species by. Since dinos were categorized as reptiles, we envisioned them as a prehistoric version of known lizards, with muscles and scaly skin draped over the bones. In the last few decades, better science tools have enabled us to detect clues about how wrong we were.
Microscopic Tardigrade Fossil Found in 16-Million-Year-Old Amber
Tardigrades are microscopic animals that can withstand extreme conditions, including the vacuum of space. But since they are so small, it is rare to find fossilized specimens. Still, scientists know they have been around for at least 500 million years. Now a preserved tardigrade has been found in a clump of amber that fell from a tree as sap 16 million years ago in what is now the Dominican Republic. The piece of amber held quite a few creatures, and it took extensive analysis to find the tardigrade. The extinct tardigrade species has been named Paradoryphoribius chronocaribbeus, part of a completely new genus, yet it resembles present-day tardigrades. Less than a millimeter long, the tardigrade is preserved so well that you can see the tiny claws on the ends of its eight legs -under a microscope. They are the smallest animal known that has legs. Read more about the preserved tardigrade found in Dominican amber at CNN.(Image credit: Holly Sullivan/Proceedings of the Royal Society B) #tardigrade #fossil #amber
Female Spiders’ Maternal Instincts Captured in 99-Million-Year-Old Amber
Four adult spiders encased in amber were found in the northern part of Myanmar that are estimated to be around 99 million years old. They belong to the extinct family of lagonomegopids, and show us how spider behavior has changed and how it stays the same. For example, these spiders did not build webs, but they did spin silk. In behavior that doesn't change, these four chunks of amber are the oldest known examples of a maternal instinct in spiders. One shows a spider, frozen in time, clutching her egg sac. The remaining three amber specimens showed already hatched spiderlings near fragments of their mother's legs. Researchers counted a total of 24, 26, and 34 hatched babies in the each. The amber also had pieces of wood wrapped with silk strands, suggesting that these pieces were preserved remnants of a spider nest. Together, the findings indicate that the spider babies stayed nearby and were guarded by their mothers. As their nest flooded with resin, the mother chose to stay and protect her spiderlings, reports New Scientist.Oh great, now I'm going to have a Charlotte's Web moment. Read about the discovery at Smithsonian. (Image credit: Xiangbo Guo)#spider #fossil #amber
Discovered Fossil was 'Closest Thing We Have to a Real Life Dragon'
Australia is known for the scariest animals on earth, and apparently that was true in prehistoric times as well. A newly-discovered fossil in western Queensland comes from a pterosaur with a wingspan that could have been as wide as seven meters (23 feet) and a snout full of terrifying teeth. Scientists have dubbed the species Thapunngaka shawi. [Tim] Richard led the research team analysing a fossil of the creature's jaw which was discovered in western Queensland, the northeastern Australian state, and published the research in the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology.He said: "It's the closest thing we have to a real life dragon. It was essentially just a skull with a long neck, bolted on a pair of long wings. This thing would have been quite savage.Advertisement"It would have cast a great shadow over some quivering little dinosaur that wouldn't have heard it until it was too late," he added.Read more about the discovery at Sky News or see the original research paper. (Image credit: Tim Richard)#fossil #pterosaur #dragon #paleontology #Australia
Newly Identified Beetle Species That Lived 49 Million Years Ago is Named After Sir David Attenborough
A newly identified prehistoric beetle which lived 49 million years ago was just named after naturalist Sir David Attenborough.The frog-legged beetle was identified by Frank Krell of Denver Museum of Nature & Science and Francesco Vitali of the Luxembourg National Museum of Natural History. The fossil of the insect was found in the Green River Formation in Colorado.The beetle's beautiful pattern on its wing casings caught Krell's attention and inspired its name,Pulchritudo attenboroughi or Attenborough's Beauty. "This is one of the most magnificent beetle fossils ever found," Krell said in a statement. "The patterning is preserved in unsurpassed clarity and contrast, making this one of the best-preserved beetle fossils. It is most definitely deserving of its name.#beetle #fossil #paleontology #SirDavidAttenborough
Ancient Mammoth Weevil Used Huge Beak To Fight
A 100-million-year-old weevil fossil has been identified to represent a new tribe, genus, and species. Internationally renowned paleobiologist George Poinar Jr. calls the specimen a ‘mammoth weevil’ because of its huge rostrum or beak. Scientifically called Rhamphophorus legalovii, experts believe that the weevil wielded its trunk against other males over potential mates. With its straight antennae, Rhamphophorus is classified as a primitive weevil. In addition, Poinar placed the creature in the Nemonychidae family, also known as “pine flower weevils.” According to Poinar, “the larvae and adults of many nemonychidae eat pollen from developing male cones of pines and other conifers.” In terms of genus and species, the Rhamphophorus was classified to belong to the sub-family Cimberidinae, which consists of particularly long-nosed weevils whose physical characteristics are developed like highly specialized tools. Image credit: Oregon State University #Weevil #Fossil #Science #MammothWeevil #NewDiscoveries
DNA Extracted From 1,600-Year-Old Sheep Leg Found In Salt Mine
Sheep are one of the first animals domesticated by humans, but not much is known about the details of sheep husbandry in ancient civilizations.Now, we have a bit more information on this topic. A team of researchers recently retrieved a well preserved sheep leg from the Chehrabad salt mine in Iran. It's over 1,600 years old but thanks to the salt, there was even still skin and fur present on it and scientists were able to take some of its DNA for their study.Usually, DNA breaks down quickly as enzymes in the cells degrade the strands in a chemical reaction which involves water. The high concentration of salt sequesters the water molecules, thus preventing them from breaking down the DNA strands.So, what did the scientists find out? Genetic analysis showed that the breed of sheep was that of a fat-tailed variety, which lacked the gene for a woolly coat. This breed of sheep was most likely raised for meat or milk, instead of fleece. Research fellow Kevin Daly said, "This study shows us that the people of Sasanian-era Iran may have managed flocks of sheep specialized for meat consumption, suggesting well developed husbandry practices."#sheep #sheepdomestication #fossil #mummy #mummified #saltmine #DNA #archaeology #genetics #domesticationImage: Deutsches Bergbau-Museum Bochum and Zanjan Cultural Heritage Centre, Archaeological Museum of Zanjan
Chicago T-Rex Ran Into an Old Friend at the Museum
YouTuber Chicago T-Rex visited the Field Museum in Illinois and ran into an old friend!#dinosaur #t-rex #FieldMuseum #fossil #ChicagoView the full video clip below:
New "Very Small and Cute" Beetle Species Found in Fossilized Dinosaur Dung
Biologist Martin Qvanström of Uppsala University in Sweden and his colleagues were studying 230-million-year-old coprolites or fossilized droppings when they discovered something unusual: a large number of beetle fragments preserved in the dung.The researches named the newly discovered beetle species Triamyxa coprolithica. Qvanström surmised that it was probably semiaquatic with a convex body shape, saying "Boat shaped almost. Very small and cute."From New Scientist:“To get fossilised remains of this quality, researchers have relied in the past on finding them in amber (fossilised tree resin),” says Jesus Lozano-Fernandez at the Institute of Evolutionary Biology in Barcelona, Spain. “The novelty here is the possibility of looking at what is inside of the opaque fossilised poo.”The earliest amber deposits formed about 140 million years ago early in the Cretaceous period, meaning we can’t rely on amber to learn about beetle evolution before that.These coprolites allow us to learn about this and ecological relationships in an earlier period called the Triassic.The droppings containing T. coprolithica probably came from Silesaurus opolensis, a reptilian dinosaur relative which ate these beetles in large numbers.#fossil #beetle #coprolite #dinosaur #paleontology #insect
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