All about dinosaurs, fossils and prehistoric animals by Everything Dinosaur team members.
9 06, 2009

CollectA to Add Becklespinax Dinosaur Model to the Range

By |2022-12-25T08:51:08+00:00June 9th, 2009|Dinosaur Fans|0 Comments

CollectA Becklespinax Dinosaur Model

CollectA have announced that amongst their new models to be introduced to their “popular” dinosaur range, the one we at Everything Dinosaur refer to as the “not-to-scale” series, there is going to be a CollectA Becklespinax.  Little is known about this English theropod dinosaur, although some palaeontologists believe that it is a member of the allosaur family and perhaps closely related to the Sinraptor genus known from China.

The CollectA Becklespinax Dinosaur Model

Becklespinax - an English dinosaur

Becklespinax – an English dinosaur.

Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur.

Becklespinax

Only a handful of fossils have been ascribed to this dinosaur, all material being associated with the Wealden Formation.  The fossils, three very distinctive and articulated back bones, were found near the town of Battle, East Sussex in 1884 by amateur fossil collector Samuel Husbands Beckles.  This large, meat-eating dinosaur that may have reached lengths in excess of eight metres, was named in honour of the finder of the first fossilised bones ascribed to this genus.

Very little is known about European Theropoda of the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods due to the lack of fossil evidence.  The very distinctive shape of the backbones with their tall neural spines have led to Becklespinax being declared as a valid dinosaur genus.  Some other fragmentary fossils found in the Wealden Formation may also belong to this genus, but the lack of clear data precludes this for the moment.

CollectA Becklespinax

A spokes person for the UK based, dinosaur toy company Everything Dinosaur stated:

“It is always exciting to hear news about the addition of a replica of a British prehistoric animal to a model series.  We look forward to stocking this Becklespinax dinosaur model”

To view the range of not-to-scale CollectA dinosaur and prehistoric animal models in stock at Everything Dinosaur: CollectA Age of Dinosaurs Prehistoric Life Models.

8 06, 2009

Life Begins at 40 for the Open University

By |2023-03-02T14:39:05+00:00June 8th, 2009|Dinosaur and Prehistoric Animal News Stories, Educational Activities, Main Page|0 Comments

Open University Celebrates Forty Years

The Open University is marking four decades of educating people far and wide, young and old with a series of events being held throughout the country over the Summer.  The Open University is the only British University dedicated to providing educational courses to students via distance learning.  The concept of the University is that you can study the courses, whether degree, post graduate or other on a part-time basis, perhaps whilst working or taking a career break.

The Open University

Founded in the late 1960s, the Open University was the world’s first successful distance teaching university and part of a vision by the UK Government to provide “Open Doors” to all members of the community in terms of education provision.  It now provides distance learning courses to many thousands of people, many of them overseas.

Established in the ‘White Heat of Technology’ era, the Open University was founded on the belief that communications technology could bring high quality degree-level learning to people who had not had the opportunity to attend campus universities.

A number of our staff and team members have studied with the Open University, everything from business qualifications to brushing up on geology.  The courses are very well written, up to date and extremely enjoyable.  We would recommend the Open University to anyone considering doing some part-time study.

A section dedicated to the educational sector.

The Open University has become a “Hot Spot” for education.  Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur.

Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur

Many thousands of people now study on a huge range of courses offered by the University.  In our experience as teachers, the courses offered are second to none but it is interesting to recall the opposition to a “University of the Air”, as the OU was called when it was first launched.

Celebrating Forty Years

The Open University was the first institution to break the insidious link between exclusivity and excellence.  It is a University founded on an ideal and, like all revolutionary ideas, attracted hostility and criticism.

In 1969, when the idea of The Open University was announced, it was described as “blithering nonsense” by Iain Macleod MP.  More than three decades on, The Open University has managed to convince sceptics that academic excellence need not be compromised by openness, indeed some of the degrees and courses offered are extremely well regarded in the academic world.

To learn more about the Open University and the courses that it offers: The Open University.

Happy 40th Birthday to the Open University.

7 06, 2009

Further Dinosaur Finds from the Morrison Formation

By |2023-03-02T14:41:30+00:00June 7th, 2009|Dinosaur and Prehistoric Animal News Stories, Main Page|0 Comments

Morrison Formation Dinosaur Discoveries

By the middle of the 19th century, pioneering palaeontologists had discovered the fossil rich Jurassic aged strata of mid-west America that became known as the Morrison Formation.  The Morrison Formation is exposed in several parts of the USA, in the south, the strata was laid down in an arid, dry desert-like environment and fossil finds are relatively sparse.  However, in the sequence of rocks exposed in Utah, they indicate a large, low-lying, alluvial flood plain and Mesozoic fossils, including dinosaurs are more numerous.

Morrison Formation

The rocks date from the Upper Jurassic and several genera of dinosaurs have been discovered in the many Utah quarries and dig sites, including famous dinosaurs such as Diplodocus, Allosaurus, Camptosaurus and Stegosaurus.  New discoveries are being made each year and scientists at the Burpee Museum of Natural History have reported unearthing a virtual treasure trove of dinosaur remains at a new excavation.

The researchers report that between 60-70 new bones have been found at this new dinosaur quarry, including several articulated cervical vertebrae (neck bones) of a sauropod.

A New Fossil Site

This new site is close to Hanksville, a small town in Wayne County Utah.  The early signs are that this could be an important site for Upper Jurassic fossils and may yield a new species or two.  It seems that the site represents sediment that was laid down at a bend or slower flowing part of a river.  Over many years, the remains of dead animals and drift wood were deposited in the same place and a sort of “Jurassic log jam” built up.  The fossils are concentrated into an area about 2/3 the size of a football pitch.

Commenting on the fossil bone concentration, Scott Williams, Collections and Exhibits Manager at the Burpee Museum stated:

“In some places you can’t work to remove one bone without finding four or five more”.

It sounds like there are going to be some very well stocked dig stations as the team continue to excavate the fossil bones from the site.  The researchers are hoping that the new discoveries will help them piece together a little more information about the ecosystem and the environment in the American mid-west 145 million years ago.

The team are expecting to have 10 years worth of digging ahead of them to fully explore this new location.  Free guided tours of the dig sites will be taking place for the first couple of weeks of June, after that it will be time to get done to work for the palaeontologists as they attempt to plot, map and decipher the position of the many bones trapped in the rocks.

Numerous Dinosaur Genera

The Morrison Formation has yielded a number of dinosaur genera, it is especially known for the number of sauropods (long-necked dinosaur) discoveries and the variety of theropods excavated.

The theropods in particular have provided scientists with a unique insight into the evolution of meat-eating dinosaurs and the relationships between genera.  Dinosaurs such as Ceratosaurus, Marshosaurus, Stokesosaurus and Torvosaurus are known from this area (Kimmeridgian to Tithonian faunal stages).

Perhaps the best known of all these theropods is Allosaurus (A. fragilis).  At least 44 individuals have been recovered from the Cleveland-Lloyd quarry alone.  Allosaurus was a formidable hunter, with a length of over 12 metres and weighing as much as 2.5 Tonnes. Its hind legs were massive, helping to support the animals weight and the head was perched on top of a “s” shaped neck.

The three-fingered hands had large claws on the digits and the arms were very strong.  It seems to have been one of the largest predators in the area during this particular part of the Late Jurassic.

A Model of an Allosaurus

The fearsome Jurassic predator Allosaurus.

Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur

Dinosaur Models

To view a model of an Allosaurus and other figures in the Wild Safari Prehistoric World series from Safari Ltd: Safari Ltd. Wild Safari Prehistoric World.

Allosaurus belonged to a group of theropod dinosaurs called the allosaurids, a group that also includes such giants as Giganotosaurus and Carcharodontosaurus as well as the more lightly built Sinraptor.

To see a model of Sinraptor, Everything Dinosaur recommends readers take a look at the extensive PNSO modell range: PNSO Age of Dinosaur Models.

During the Cretaceous these animals went into decline and were gradually replaced in most parts of the world by other types of meat-eating dinosaur such as the spinosaurids, abelisaurs and tyrannosaurs.  A few allosaurids survived into the Early Cretaceous but their remains are seldom found.  It seems that from a peak in the Late Jurassic this type of meat-eating dinosaur became a sort of “living fossil” for the remainder of the Mesozoic.

6 06, 2009

Ancient Barbecues Not for Wimps According to New Research

By |2024-04-17T10:22:31+01:00June 6th, 2009|Dinosaur and Prehistoric Animal News Stories|0 Comments

Mammoth on the Menu in Palaeolithic Barbecues

New research suggests that ancient barbecues were not for wimps.

In the Summer, when the weather is sunny, many people relish the idea of having a barbecue.  Last weekend for example, the air in our garden was filled with the smell of barbecues as a number of our neighbours busily cooked away outdoors.  No doubt burgers, sausages and perhaps even chicken drumsticks were on the menu, but had you been around central Europe 29,000 years ago our ancestors would have shown you a BBQ on a very different scale.  Excavations from a site of modern human settlement in the Czech Republic has revealed that our ancestors had a taste for Mammoth.

Ancient Barbecues

The site called Pavlov VI is close to the Austrian and Slovak Republic borders and has been excavated by a team of scientists and archaeologists to provide an insight into Palaeolithic settlement.  With sediments dated to the Upper Palaeolithic, the site reveals a sophisticated approach to cooking and a well stocked larder with our ancestors feeding on reindeer, horse, bear, wolverine, fox as well as giant elephants.  During this period Europe was home to two species of humans, the Neanderthals (Homo neanderthalensis) and our own species (Homo sapiens), although the fossil record indicates that Neanderthals were close to extinction at this point in Earth’s history with just a few pockets of population left in Europe; on the Iberian peninsula.

Studies of other ancient human sites in the region, indicate that smaller animals such as reindeer were the stable meat diet of other tribes, but in this part of the south east of what was to become the Czech Republic; at least one group of humans may have specialised on predating larger animals such as the Woolly Mammoths.  The cultural group to which these humans are believed to have belonged is known as eastern Gravettian.  Early human cultures are classified according to types of stone tools used and also by symbolic artifacts such as “Venus figures” that are often found by archaeologists.  The type of culture exhibited at this site is very reminiscent of Palaeolithic sites found in Russia.

Commenting on the Czech Republic site, Jiri Svoboda (Professor at the University of Brno and Director of the Brno Institute of Archaeology), the project leader on the dig stated:

“It seems that, in contrast to other Upper Palaeolithic societies in Moravia, these people depended heavily on Mammoths”.

Mammoth Remains

The remains of a female mammoth and a mammoth calf were found near a four-foot wide roasting pit.  It seems our ancestors dug pits, got fires going in them and then heated round river stones and used the heat from these stones on top of the fire to cook their dinner.  This form of cooking is known in many cultures and is still practised in many of the more remote cultures today.  It is known as Luau cooking, a Hawaiian term we believe, but this type of cooking is seen in southern Africa with the Bushman and also in Australia with the Aborigines.

The archaeologists found the heating stones still in and around the pit, whether hot rocks were placed inside the mammoth carcass to help cook it is something that can only be speculated about, but this practice is seen in ancient cultures today when cooking large game.  Several other pits have been found located near the main roasting pit, it seems that this was a substantial kitchen and food preparation area, probably sheltered by a large tee-pee or other tent like structure.

A Pair of Woolly Mammoth Models (Adult and Calf)

CollectA Woolly Mammoth models.

The CollectA Deluxe Woolly Mammoth model in 1:20 scale and the CollectA Prehistoric Life Woolly Mammoth calf. Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur.

Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur

A number of shells have also been recovered from the site, many of them showing signs of decoration.  It is not known whether these animals formed an important part of our ancient ancestor’s diets or whether the shells had a spiritualistic significance.  In addition, the excavators found a large number of stone tools, including spatulas, blades and saws, just the sort of equipment required when attempting to butcher a Mammoth.

It is possible that the Mammoth hunt was a seasonal activity, with the tribe stalking these huge animals as they migrated to fresh grazing across their lands.  The large number of ceramic pieces, decorative pebbles and fragments of fired clay indicate that these people attached a great deal of significance to this particular site.  The catching and killing of a Mammoth would have been a very important event to these people, ensuring a plentiful supply of meat and the number of ritualistic finds associated with this particular dig site demonstrate how significant the Mammoth hunt may have been.

Species of Mammoth

Although not the largest species of prehistoric elephant known, the Woolly Mammoth (Mammuthus primigenius) would have been a formidable animal to hunt and kill.  As long as a family car and standing over three metres tall at the shoulder, an adult Woolly Mammoth would have weighed nearly 3,000 kilogrammes.

Mammoths have long been associated with human culture and civilisation as demonstrated by the superb cave art at sites such as Lascaux in France.  Unfortunately, our modern way of living is damaging these ancient sites.

To read an article on the French cave art: Famous Cave Art under Threat.

We have just introduced a model of very young Woolly Mammoth into our prehistoric animal model collection.  The calf is a 1:20 scale model and it has been based on fossilised bones plus of course information obtained from the Siberian frozen Mammoths.  Our intention was to add a Woolly Mammoth calf to our range of adult Mammoths, we did not know at the time this new model would represent an item on the menu of early Europeans.

The New Baby Mammoth (Mammoth Calf) Model

A Baby Woolly Mammoth – just like Dima or Lyuba.  This is from the CollectA Prehistoric Life model range.

Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur

The Mammoth calf is a welcome addition to the Procon/CollectA range and represents a departure for the manufacturer away from dinosaurs to creating a set of prehistoric animal models.

To view the Mammoth Calf, prehistoric animal figures and dinosaur models in the CollectA Prehistoric Life range: CollectA Age of Dinosaurs Prehistoric Life Models.

5 06, 2009

A Chance to go Digging for Remarkable Dinosaurs

By |2024-04-17T10:23:24+01:00June 5th, 2009|Geology, Main Page, Palaeontological articles|0 Comments

Digging for Dinosaurs in the Dinosaur Provincial Park (Canada)

Looking for something to do over the Summer holidays, something a little bit out of the ordinary and unusual, well how do you fancy taking part in a real dinosaur excavation at a World Heritage site?

Digging for Dinosaurs

The Dinosaur Provincial Park, a UNESCO World Heritage site, situated in the Badlands of Southern Alberta, Canada, is offering a new dinosaur excavation programme.  For either one or two days participants (must be over 14), get the chance to take part in a real dinosaur bone bed excavation, working on real dinosaur fossils and helping to map the site and excavate Late Cretaceous dinosaurs.

The programme has been titled: “Bone Bed 30 – Guided Excavation Program”  not perhaps the most exciting or catchy title but an opportunity to help excavate dinosaur bones and take part in real research is a very serious business and there are very few opportunities to participate in such excavations.  The package is being offered throughout the Summer months (runs July to early September), and one or two day programmes are available.

Digging for Dinosaurs

Digging for Dinosaurs

Pause for a pic next to a digs station.  Team members at Everything Dinosaur have worked on fossil dig sites.

Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur

For any person lucky enough to be in that area of southern Alberta this Summer, we would heartily recommend you taking up this opportunity to, as the tourism information says:

“Unearth the past, contribute to the future”

To learn more about the opportunity to help excavate real dinosaur bones, visit the Dinosaur Provincial Park’s official website.

Dinosaur Models

Everything Dinosaur stocks a wide variety of prehistoric animal models and replicas including many models of dinosaurs, fossils of which come from the Upper Cretaceous deposits of the Dinosaur Provincial Park Formation.

For example, the PNSO range includes models of ceratopsians, tyrannosaurs and duck-billed dinosaurs: PNSO Age of Dinosaurs Models and Figures.

4 06, 2009

New Models from CollectA

By |2022-12-25T08:32:21+00:00June 4th, 2009|Everything Dinosaur News and Updates, Main Page|4 Comments

New Prehistoric Animal Models from CollectA

Everything Dinosaur announces new models from CollectA.

The manufacturer known as CollectA has continued to add new prehistoric animals to its very successful and popular CollectA model series, also known by Everything Dinosaur team members as the Dinosaur Collection.  The range has recently been expanded and the trend continued to add slightly more unusual animals to the series.

Recent additions have been a baby Woolly Mammoth calf, Sarcosuchus (a giant crocodile from the Cretaceous), Tylosaurus a fierce mosasaur (marine reptile), plus of course more dinosaurs.  The new dinosaur models, include a juvenile Tyrannosaurus rex plus Olorotitan, a hadrosaurine from Siberia and Becklespinax.  Becklespinax was a fierce meat-eating dinosaur, fossils have been found in the United Kingdom.

Additions to the CollectA Prehistoric Animal Model Range

Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur

To view the CollectA range: CollectA Age of Dinosaurs Prehistoric Life Models.

New Models from CollectA

It is pleasing to see dinosaurs like Becklespinax being added to the range.  The CollectA range already contains a number of prehistoric animals associated with Britain, Baryonyx, Polacanthus, Iguanodon and Neovenator for example.  Mind you, the collection also features models of dinosaurs from other parts of the world.  For instance, one of the new additions (CollectA dinosaurs) is a model of Rhoetosaurus in a rearing stance.  Rhoetosaurus is a sauropod, fossils of which are associated with Queensland, Australia.

All the models supplied by Everything Dinosaur, come with their own, unique fact sheet.  The fact sheets are written and produced by the dinosaur experts at Everything Dinosaur.

The new CollectA Baby Woolly Mammoth Photographed with the CollectA 1:20 Scale Mammoth

CollectA Woolly Mammoth models.

The CollectA Deluxe Woolly Mammoth model in 1:20 scale and the CollectA Prehistoric Life Woolly Mammoth calf.

Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur

3 06, 2009

The Joys of the Ornithomimids

By |2023-03-02T14:43:06+00:00June 3rd, 2009|Everything Dinosaur News and Updates, Main Page|0 Comments

The Joys of the Ornithomimids

Everything Dinosaur looks at the theropod dinosaurs known as ornithomimids.

A number of team members at Everything Dinosaur are involved in proof reading information to be used in a forthcoming dinosaur themed event.  One of the dinosaurs featured is an Ornithomimus (pronounced or-ni-tho-mime-us) and we have been asked to check the anatomical description.  This has led to some lively debate amongst us.  We were divided on how best to describe the forelimbs of Ornithomimus, the name means “bird mimic”.  With many advanced ornithomimids from Late Cretaceous North America and Asia, the length of the limbs did vary between genera.

For instance, when looking at overall body proportions the hind legs are long in Ornithomimus, but not as long in proportion to the body of Struthiomimus; for example.  Scientists are confident that these animals were cursorial and fast runners too, but when comparing body sizes between Ornithomimids confusion can arise, particularly when assessing length and size of forelimbs.

A Typical Ornithomimid Model (CollectA Struthiomimus Dinosaur Model

CollectA Struthiomimus dinosaur model.

A CollectA Struthiomimus dinosaur model.

Ornithomimids

With Ornithomimus, at least three species co-existed together in North America.  Slight differences in skull shape have proved to be the main diagnostic feature helping to distinguish O. antiquus from O. edmontonicus for example.  Despite being very well known, (at least in the public’s perception), taxonomic relationships between various genera are still not well understood – hence our debate this morning.

Team members will continue to work on the information.  We want to make sure that we provide the correct details about these “ostrich mimic” dinosaurs.

To view the range of dinosaur models within the CollectA Age of Dinosaurs model range: CollectA Age of Dinosaurs Prehistoric Life Models.

2 06, 2009

Remains of a Plesiosaur found at Lyme Regis

By |2022-12-25T07:25:04+00:00June 2nd, 2009|Dinosaur and Prehistoric Animal News Stories, Geology, Main Page, Palaeontological articles|0 Comments

Plesiosaur Fossil Discovery Announced

No sooner have record visitor numbers been declared for the Lyme Regis Fossil Festival, the Dorset town is back in the news again with the announcement of the discovery of a 70% complete plesiosaur fossil on Monmouth beach.

Plesiosaur Fossil

First the good news about the Fossil Festival, according to the organisers, an estimated 15,000 to 16,000 people attended the event, which was run from Friday 23rd May to the following Sunday.  A number of team members from Everything Dinosaur attended and we are sure the excellent attendance figures were helped by the super Bank Holiday weather the Dorset coast enjoyed.

Now, the finding of a fossilised plesiosaur is a very rare event at Lyme Regis, occasionally vertebrae are found (they look like cotton reels), but to discover a 70% complete specimen including skull material is a find of a fossil hunter’s career.  This is exactly what happened to Tracey Marler and her partner, keen fossil hunter Chris Moore on a visit to Monmouth beach to the west of Lyme Regis.

A close examination of the bones (which are in association and partial articulation), reveal teeth marks where the carcass was scavenged by another prehistoric animal.  Plesiosaurs first appear in the fossil record from the Late Triassic, they were typically, long necked animals with small heads with jaws lined with needle-like teeth.  The Loch Ness monster is regarded as a plesiosaur.  It is believed these animals were specialist fish hunters (piscivores).  The new discovery from Monmouth beach is believed to represent an individual that was over 4 metres long.

An Replica on Display in a Museum Similar to the Lyme Regis Plesiosaur

Oxford University Museum of Natural History plesiosaur.

A replica of a long-necked plesiosaur swims into view. Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur.

Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur

Richard Edmonds, Science Manager at the Jurassic Coast World Heritage site, stated:

“They [plesiosaurs] are rare.  There are only ten known examples of complete or partial skeletons of this species.  I have been doing this for thirty years and I have only ever found the odd bone”.

A Single Bone

Tracey and her partner Chris Moore, first found a single bone encased in the limestone rock, but they returned again and again to the location and were able to excavate about 150 vertebrae plus parts of the skull, the jaws and even a tooth.

To view a model of a plesiosaur, other marine reptiles and dinosaur toys: Prehistoric Animal and Dinosaur Models.

Commenting on their discovery, Mr Moore said:

“It came out in pieces but you could clearly see how it looked.  The tail bone was in position.  Some of the back bones were completely in place where they should be and the neck bones were there as well.  You could see some of the bones had actually been chewed up a bit”.

It is not known what animal could have scavenged the carcass, but some scientists have speculated that it probably was another marine reptile, probably an ichthyosaur.

To see a scale model of an ichthyosaur and dinosaur models, take a look at the range of prehistoric animal models and figures in the PNSO section of the Everything Dinosaur website: PNSO Age of Dinosaurs Models.

Plesiosaur

Natural England worked closely with the Jurassic Coast World Heritage team to ensure the fossilised bones were extracted from their matrix, it is hoped the bones will eventually be put on display at the Lyme Regis Museum.  A fitting location, as this building is very strongly associated with the famous Georgian fossil collector Mary Anning, the finder of the first plesiosaur fossils at Lyme Regis.

1 06, 2009

The Wyoming, Isle of Skye Dinosaur Track Mystery

By |2022-12-25T07:22:37+00:00June 1st, 2009|Dinosaur and Prehistoric Animal News Stories|0 Comments

Dinosaur Tracks in Wyoming and the Isle of Skye

A joint British and American team of ichnologists are trying to unravel the mystery of sets of dinosaur footprints that look so similar that they may have been made by the same type of dinosaur.  Trouble is one set of prints is in Wyoming the other tracks are to be found on the Scottish island of Skye, off the west coast of the United Kingdom.

Dinosaur Fossils

The three-toed tracks, indicating that they were made by a bipedal dinosaur, most probably a theropod, at the two locations look very similar but their resemblance may only be superficial and the American and British researchers intend to study them in more detail before making any specific pronouncements.  Scientists who study fossilised footprints and trackways are called ichnologists.  Footprints are an example of a trace fossil, they provide evidence of behaviour and unlike body fossils such as bones, they are “in situ”, meaning that a dinosaur actually walked over that area.  Bones can often be transported long distances from where the animal actually lived to where they eventually become fossilised.

The trackways have been known about for sometime and the connection between the two track sites had been reported in the Scottish Journal of Geology back in 2008, but now the teams are going to employ sophisticated 3-D mapping techniques to gain as much data about the footprints as possible.

An article was written about the Wyoming and Scottish dinosaur tracks, previously to read more about the prints and to see the type of animal that may have made them:

Wyoming and Isle of Skye Footprints: Earlier Wyoming and Scottish Trackway Article.

The trackways are very important as little is known about Middle Jurassic Dinosauria.  The dinosaurs were beginning to dominate life on land but the fossil record is particularly poor from rocks representing the Middle Jurassic (with the exception of sites such as Dashanpu quarry in China).

Studying Tracks

University of Glasgow (Scotland) palaeontologist Neil Clark who has studied both sets of 170-million-year- old tracks, admits that he has difficulty in finding any differences between the two sets of prints.  This may indicate that they were made by the same type of dinosaur, one that lived in Scotland and also in Wyoming in the west of the USA.

Commenting on the trackways, he stated:

“The fact that the footprints in Wyoming and the ones in Scotland are so similar suggest that they may have been produced by a very similar kind of dinosaur, if not the same species”.

If it is proved beyond reasonable doubt that the same dinosaur species made the trackways, this would be unique in the fossil record, as no scientist has been able to say for certain that the same dinosaur species was responsible for fossil tracks discovered at separate locations, not to mention thousands of miles apart.

The American scientists intend to study both sets of tracks in much more detail using sophisticated computer based mapping technology.  These will create three dimensional images that can be downloaded easily and shared between the scientists on different sides of the Atlantic.

Brent Breithaupt, a palaeontologist at the University of Wyoming and head of the school’s Geological Museum, commented:

“What we hope will eventually happen is that there will be this huge virtual archive that can be shared worldwide.  Tracks can be looked at in three dimensions on computer screens and can be rotated around by various researchers and can be compared”.

However, he doubts the same dinosaur species made the Wyoming and Scottish prints:

“The tracks are similar, that’s what we know.  It more than likely indicates similar types of dinosaurs living at higher latitudes at some point in time”.

Comparing Different Types of Dinosaur Tracks

Comparing different types of dinosaur footprint.

Theropod print compared to an ornithopod print. Typical examples of dinosaur tracks.

Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur

The environments at the time, may have been similar and this would have enabled similar types of dinosaurs to exist, although the locations were very far apart.

Most of the tracks Neil Clark examined from the two locations ranged from about an inch long to more than 8 inches.  He compared relative measurements including the length of each toe and angles between them.  One set of tracks is from the area of Red Gulch, near the town of Shell in arid north-central Wyoming.  The Scottish trackways are to be found on the shoreline on the west coast of the Isle of Skye.

Closer in the Middle Jurassic

The United States and Scotland were much closer together in the Middle Jurassic, the Atlantic ocean had not begun to separate Europe from the Americas, however, the tracks were approximately 2,500 miles apart when they were made, indicating that similar types of dinosaurs lived in what was to become Scotland and also in the western United States.

Breithaupt and geographer Neffra Matthews followed up Neil Clark’s visit to Red Gulch by travelling to the Scottish island.  They photographed the tracks there and plan to process those photos into three-dimensional images so that they can be compared with the three-dimensional images of the Wyoming prints.

Matthews works for the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) in Denver and her speciality is using photogrammetry to document archaeological and palaeontological sites on BLM land.  She has worked closely with Breithaupt at Red Gulch, hopefully this new study will provide a much more accurate analysis of the two sets of trackways.

Everything Dinosaur stocks a huge range of prehistoric animal models and toys, including many replicas of dinosaurs that lived in the Middle Jurassic: Dinosaur and Prehistoric Animal Models.

31 05, 2009

Fossil Hunting at the Beautiful Cleeve Hill Site

By |2024-04-17T10:26:06+01:00May 31st, 2009|Geology, Main Page|0 Comments

Fossil Hunting at Cleeve Hill

Team members take time out of their busy schedule to go fossil hunting at Cleeve Common.

Having had to spend some time in the south of England due to work commitments one of our team members had the opportunity to visit a popular fossil collecting site at Cleeve Common in Gloucestershire.

The area is popular with hikers and walkers as Cleeve Hill itself, is the highest point in the county of Gloucestershire as we recall and from the top there are stunning views of the English countryside.

The View from Cleeve Hill

Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur

The views from this location are wonderful and although there are no toilets or other facilities at this site, it is a wonderful place to walk and take a picnic.

Fossil Hunting

There is a private golf course on Cleeve Hill, and care should be taken to avoid the players and give them plenty of room, particularly considering the hilly nature of the course that they are playing on.  However, a public car park is available and makes a great starting point to explore the geological formations that are exposed along the western side of the hill.  Cleeve Hill has the remains of many old quarries and it is here in the scree and rubble that a number of good fossils can be found, given a keen eye and a little patience.

The exposed fossiliferous rocks date from the Jurassic period (Aalenian/Bajocian faunal stages), 178-166 million years ago and represent marine deposits.  Similar strata can be found elsewhere in the United Kingdom, notably in Dorset and also in Lincolnshire.

Hammering at the bedrock is not permitted, and care must be taken when close to overhangs as rocks have been known to fall, but with a little care some interesting fossils can be located.  We found a number of excellent examples of brachiopods associated with Jurassic oolite rocks from this location and a couple of fragments of belemnite guards (belemnites are a group of extinct cephalopods).  The crystalline structure of the guard can still clearly be made out, although the belemnite guards were not as numerous as in locations such as Charmouth near Lyme Regis.

A Belemnite (Extinct Cephalopod)

A belemnite model.  A replica of an extinct cephalopod.

Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur

CollectA have added several highly accurate replicas of extinct invertebrates to their model series.  This series includes replicas of ammonites, nautiloids and a model of a belemnite.

To view the CollectA Age of Dinosaurs range: CollectA Age of Dinosaurs Prehistoric Life Models.

One of the pleasant things about visiting a site like this is that sometimes you can find yourselves in little, tucked away exposed faces of rock were lots of fossils can be seen.  Towards, the end of our visit, it was decided to explore one last rise and as made our ascent the location did not seem very promising.  However, on reaching the top we were rewarded with the discovery of a hidden away area of rock and scree slope which had lots and lots of fossils to observe and photograph.

The “Hideaway” at Cleeve Hill

The “Hideaway” at Cleeve Hill.

Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur

This particular location is probably very well known to local collectors.  It is very probably featured in guidebooks, but to us it was a magical place that we simply stumbled upon at the very end of our trip that made the journey well worthwhile.  We were able to observe and photograph a number of fossils in situ and we had the site to ourselves (apart from one baby rabbit).  This might not be the Flaming Cliffs of Mongolia but sat on the grass leaning back on our rucksacks with a sandwich and a cup of coffee we felt like we were a million miles away.

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