All about dinosaurs, fossils and prehistoric animals by Everything Dinosaur team members.
12 01, 2010

The Evolution of Laughter

By |2023-01-02T07:28:41+00:00January 12th, 2010|Animal News Stories, Dinosaur and Prehistoric Animal News Stories, Main Page|0 Comments

The Evolution of Laughter – The Development of the Ability to Mock

Tickle a Gorilla, a Bonobo chimp (our closest extant relative); or an Orangutan and they will express pleasure with laughter but to use laughter to mock, or scorn such as you might hear in the Palace of Westminster at Prime Minister’s Question Time, that is a distinctly human trait.

A team of researchers from the University of Portsmouth (UK) have carried out research into the origin and characteristics of the ability to laugh in higher apes.  They conclude that only our species H. sapiens uses laughter to convey negative emotions such as sneering and mocking.  Our ancestors, and the vast majority of their descendants, laugh to convey positive emotions.  They laugh as they are enjoying themselves, according to this new study.

The Evolution of Laughter

However, over the millions of years of hominid evolution, more advanced human species developed laughter to scorn or ridicule others.  There is no fossil evidence to indicate a sense of humour or sense of sarcasm, however, at some point in our evolutionary line the role of laughter in a social context changed.

It is thought that the apes that roamed the primeval forests of some 16 million years ago were the first creatures to develop the ability to laugh.  This research led by Dr Marina Davila Ross (University of Portsmouth) shows that the extant species of ape use laughter slightly differently from each other.

In the complex research programme, which involved tickling various ape species and then gauging/recording their reactions, it was discovered that the Orangutan laughs when it is having fun.  This Asian ape projects a laughing sound that consists of a series of squeaks, to express delight and joy.  The African apes, such as Gorillas and the Chimpanzees have perhaps, a more sophisticated vocalisation of laughter.  These apes have learnt to use the sound to influence others as well as to express pleasure.  Chimps may laugh to encourage others to joy in their rough and tumble games, laughter in chimp society, according to this new study, can be used to influence other troop members or is the collective noun for chimpanzees a cartload?

Our species, has taken the sound and use of laughter further.  We use laughter to express negative emotions such as ridicule and sarcasm.  You only have to listen to our members of Parliament for plenty of examples.  Somewhere on our evolutionary line the role of laughter and its expression became more sophisticated.  Who knows, perhaps H. Heidelbergensis shared a joke at another person’s expense or do we have to go further back in the fossil record to find the origins of the use of laughter for an expression of negative emotions?

Did Homo habilis wandering the African plains 2 million years ago, use laughter to mock a troop member?  It may be fascinating to consider these points but given the virtually impossible task of uncovering fossil evidence to substantiate such claims, much of this will have to remain as conjecture.  The lack of extant human species to work with precludes conclusive results.

Commenting on her research, Dr Ross stated:

“Humans and the African ape developed laughter further than the Asian great ape to have an effect on others.  Something happened in the last five million years which means humans use laughter for a much wider range of situations than our primate ancestors.

Our species, uses laughter to convey a range of feelings and emotions, as Dr Ross states:

“Laughter occurs in close to every imaginable form of human social interaction, including to mock others.”

These findings, which are due to be published in the scientific journal of Communicative and Integrative Biology, show the differences in the use of laughter amongst extant species of great ape.  As hominids developed it seems that laughter as well as other vocalisations became more sophisticated and complex.  The common ancestor of humans and chimps may have laughed but it was a sound with a limited meaning, as Dr Ross comments:

“It [the sound of laughter] probably had little effect on the way others behaved.”

The research team also discovered that other animals made different sounds when they were tickled, but these may not be the same as laughter.  Anyone who has tickled their pet dog will tell you that the animal is able to express delight and pleasure at the sensation but this is not thought to be laughter in the strictly “human” understanding of the term.

Visit Everything Dinosaur’s website: Everything Dinosaur.

11 01, 2010

From the Water onto the Land only 35 million Years Earlier – Update

By |2023-03-03T22:27:50+00:00January 11th, 2010|Educational Activities, Everything Dinosaur News and Updates, Main Page, Palaeontological articles|0 Comments

Tetrapods – Why bother coming onto the Land?

Following our publication of an article providing information on the recent discovery of tetrapod trace fossils in a Polish quarry, we have had the question posed to us – why evolve into cumbersome land dwelling tetrapods when as fish you are extremely well adapted to a life in water?  Good question and one that continues to puzzle scientists.

To read the report on the trace fossils: From the Water onto the Land 35 million years Earlier.

The Devonian Period

The Devonian Period is often referred to as the “Age of Fishes”, there certainly was evolutionary radiation in some of the fish clades that existed during this geological period.  The actinopterygians or the ray-finned fish diversified extensively, indeed this group is still represented today by something like 25,000 species.  However, clades declined and many important fish groups that had evolved during the early Devonian did not survive to see the Carboniferous.

Jawless fishes, once common in the Late Silurian and up until the Middle Devonian, went into steep decline, clades such as the osteostracans and the Heterostracans were all but extinct some 370 million years ago.  Just a few families of jawless fish represented these once diverse and abundant groups as the Devonian drew to a close – sort of “dead clades walking”.

Invasion of the Land

On the subject of walking, the Devonian saw the invasion of the land by the first four-legged vertebrates – the tetrapods had arrived.  In the light of the article published regarding the discovery of tetrapod trace fossils in Poland we received some information from Dr Zerina Johanson, from the Natural History Museum in London.

Dr Johanson, has published a number of papers on Devonian vertebrates, here are her comments:

The article on the Polish trackways is very important because of its age – Middle Devonian (Eifelian) based on conodonts (extinct, jawless marine creatures whose fossils are used to help date rock strata – biostratification), found 20 metres above the trackways.

As the authors note, this is 18 million years older than the previously known tetrapods, and also older than their nearest fish ancestors, the elpisostegalids.  This has the effect of pushing the fish to tetrapod split (evolution of tetrapods from fish ancestors) from the Late Devonian (based on body fossils) to the Middle Devonian.  Also as the authors note, this period of time is characterised by more typical sarcopterygian fish, rather than those that are currently recognised as the nearest ancestors to tetrapods. These include the very famous Tiktaalik, which has a flattened skull and eyes rotated to the top of the skull. This morphology does not characterise Middle Devonian sarcopterygian fish.

The Polish Trackway

Also important is that the Polish trackway locality is interpreted as an “extremely shallow marine tidal, perhaps lagoonal, environment”, and the authors suggest that some of the track makers were swimming.  So, these earliest tetrapods did not necessarily move onto land.  Other Devonian tetrapods, such as Acanthostega from East Greenland, clearly lived in a river environment while possessing hands and feet.

So, your reader’s question about why tetrapods evolved limbs and moved onto land, is a good one, and perhaps one that we can’t answer at the moment, because limbs seem to have evolved in the water. Sometimes it’s difficult to say exactly why a feature evolved – in this case we could say that the evolution of hands and feet was a preadaptation for life on land.  As to why tetrapods moved onto land, the authors of the Polish study noted that:

“The intertidal environment provides a ready food source of stranded marine animals on a twice-daily basis, in the immediate vicinity of the sea, and would thus have allowed marine ancestors of tetrapods gradually to acquire terrestrial competence while accessing a new and essentially untouched resource.”

Accessing New Food Resources

In the Polish researcher’s scenario, tetrapods were moving from a shallow marine environment onto land to access new food resources, although presumably they lived primarily in the water.  Fully terrestrial Tetrapods don’t appear until the Carboniferous.

Our thanks to Dr Johanson for helping to explain the importance of the new research from Poland.  It does make you think, after all, as we put together this blog, in essence we are nothing more than highly evolved fish.

For models of Palaeozoic creatures, visit the figures section of Everything Dinosaur’s award-winning website: Prehistoric Animal Models.

10 01, 2010

Evidence of Primitive Sauropods and Pterosaurs Unearthed In Argentina

By |2023-01-01T23:09:40+00:00January 10th, 2010|Dinosaur and Prehistoric Animal News Stories, Main Page|0 Comments

Insight into Early Jurassic South American Fauna

A team of scientists have announced the discovery of a number of prehistoric animal fossils from strata dated to approximately 190 million years ago.  It is hoped that these new finds will help provide researchers with more information concerning the development and the diversification of sauropods, as well as providing an insight into the evolution of flying reptiles.

The finds from the fossil rich region of southern Argentina known as Patagonia will help scientists to build up a picture of life in the Early Jurassic.  Little is known about the origins and evolution of a number of dinosaur families, this new location could become one of the most important sites in the world for early Jurassic dinosaur and pterosaur fossils.

Prehistoric Animal Fossils

Commenting on the importance of this discovery, Santiago Bessone, a researcher of the Museum of Egidio Feruglio, an institution based in the city of Trelew stated:

“No discoveries with these characteristics had ever been made in the region.  It is an important discovery because it helps us understand the environmental diversity of the period.”

The expedition team, discovered a fossil rich layer of sediment some 50 miles from the Patagonian town of Gastre, in the province of Chubut some 500 miles of the Argentinian capital Buenos Aires.  They are confident that these fossilised bones represent a new genus of primitive sauropod (long-necked dinosaur).  Initial estimates indicate that one of the specimens may represent an animal up to 20 metres long, although much more work will have to be carried out to provide a complete scientific description.

The expedition, which took place in December, was financed by a number of German scientific institutes, although the majority of the large fossil bones have yet to be removed from their matrix, the scientists are confident that the dig site will yield bones from the limbs, vertebrae and also the hip region.  It is unlikely that any sauropod skull material will be found, skulls of sauropods are exceptionally rare in the fossil record.

Little is known about the evolution of the Sauropodomorpha (long-necked, plant eating dinosaurs with lizard-like feet).  It can be speculated that this new discovery may represent a genus of South America cetiosaur, a primitive, early sauropod group.  Cetiosaurs are known from South America.  In the late 1970s, a bone bed containing the remains of a number of large, cetiosaur-like dinosaurs was found in Chubut province.  From 1977-1983 the site was excavated and the remains of at least 12 individuals was excavated (including five skulls).  This dinosaur was named Patagosaurus (Lizard from Patagonia), these new sauropod fossils may represent an earlier type of cetiosaur that roamed South America.

An Illustration of a Primitive Sauropod (Cetiosaur)

Jurassic dinosaurs.

An illustration of a typical sauropod from the Middle Jurassic (Cetiosaurus).

Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur

The expedition also found fossil evidence of primitive flying reptiles (pterosaurs), although the remains are dis-articulated and fragmentary in nature, some of the bones indicate animals with wingspans in excess of one metre in length.  It is hoped that once all the fossils have been properly prepared in museum laboratories, a number of new species of Early Jurassic prehistoric animal will be announced.

To view models and replicas of Jurassic pterosaurs and dinosaurs: Dinosaur and Prehistoric Animal Models.

9 01, 2010

Make Up “Makeover” for Neanderthals

By |2023-01-01T23:06:00+00:00January 9th, 2010|Dinosaur and Prehistoric Animal News Stories, Main Page|0 Comments

Evidence of Body Painting and Neanderthal Jewellery Unearthed in Spain

The public perception of the Hominid species known as the Neanderthal is that of a thuggish, brute with more simian features than human.  The origin of this impression lies deep in Victorian culture when the fossils of these ancient humans were first closely studied.  The idea of another hominid species having sophisticated behaviour, advanced communication skills and the ability to think in abstract ways was seen as a anathema to Victorian values.  After all, certain races of our own species H. sapiens were thought by Victorian scientists to be distinct and separate from the “white European” hominid.

Neanderthal

When anatomist William King published his work on the human remains found at the Neander valley site (Germany) and named this new species of human, one eminent German scientist refused to believe him and contended that the fossils were those of a Russian Cossack soldier who had been killed in the Napoleonic Wars.  The deeply furrowed brow region of the skull was explained away as being changes in the skull morphology as this poor fellow frowned a great deal.

Given this rather biased scientific view and the fact that later remains of very old, arthritic individuals were studied the Neanderthal in public perception remains a stooped, hairy, ape-like beast.  However, new research published in the scientific journal “The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences” indicates that our near cousins were sophisticated and capable of understanding symbolism.

A Sophisticated, Cultured Neanderthal?

Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur

This new evidence, unearthed by a team of scientists from Bristol University working in association with European colleagues, has been found at dig sites located in Murcia province, southern Spain.  The researchers claim that these new finds will help to bury the outdated view of “Neanderthals as half-wits”.  The team’s interpretation of the artefacts found, seashells that could have been used as pigment containers and other shells fashioned into jewellery, leads them to conclude that Neanderthals were capable of abstract, symbolic thinking.

Professor Joao Zilhao, an archaeologist from Bristol University (United Kingdom),  and lead author of this study stated that he and hist team had examined shells that were used as containers to mix and store pigments.

Black sticks of the pigment manganese, which may have been used as body paint by Neanderthals, have previously been discovered in Africa.  However, as Professor Zilhao commented:

“This is the first secure evidence for their [Neanderthal] use of cosmetics”.   The use of these complex recipes is new.  It’s more than body painting.”

The scientists found lumps of a yellow pigment, that they say was possibly used as a foundation.   In addition, the team also found red powder mixed up with flecks of a reflective brilliant black mineral.   A number of shells found at the two sites studied show signs of being worked, perhaps to create ornate objects that could be worn, just as modern humans wear jewellery.

One of the distinguishing characteristics of our own species from Neanderthals was our ability to use symbolism, to think in abstract terms and to develop strong community bonds via sophisticated rituals.  These new research de-bunks the myth of such practices being the sole domain of H. sapiens.  It had been thought that only modern humans, our own species wore make-up for decoration and symbolic purposes.

A Model of a Neanderthal Man

CollectA Neanderthal man model

Selecting a CollectA Neanderthal man figure for an Everything Dinosaur customer. Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur.

Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur

The CollectA model range including models of Neanderthals can be viewed here: CollectA Prehistoric Life Figures.

Evidence has been uncovered to show Neanderthals using shell jewellery in Late Palaeolithic times, when humans and Neanderthals co-existed.  Scientists had concluded that Neanderthals had copied the art and crafts of the more sophisticated human species, but these discoveries pre-date the co-existence period between the two species by tens of thousands of years.

For Professor Zilhao, this is the “smoking gun” proving that Neanderthals were not the thuggish, ape-like brutes as previously thought.

He went onto add:

“The association of these findings with Neanderthals is rock-solid and people have to draw the associations and bury this view of Neanderthals as half-wits.”

Professor Chris Stringer, a palaeontologist from the Natural History Museum in London, and a world-renowned expert on early human origins said:

“I agree that these findings help to disprove the view that Neanderthals were dim-witted”.

Other evidence supporting the theory of sophisticated Neanderthals has been found in recent years.  For example, in Slovenia a 45,000 year old “flute” has been found in association with Neanderthal remains and relics.

Neanderthals – Changing Perceptions

Commenting on the problem of changing people’s perceptions regarding Neanderthals, Professor Stringer stated:

“It’s very difficult to dislodge the brutish image from popular thinking.  When football fans behave badly, or politicians advocate reactionary views, they are invariably called ‘Neanderthal’, and I can’t see the tabloids changing their headlines any time soon.”

The fossil remains of more than 275 individual Neanderthals are known, from over sixty different sites and locations mostly form Europe.  This may sound a lot, but considering  that the Neanderthals existed for around 300,000 years, much longer than our own species the fossils can be considered extremely rare.  The archaeological record shows that our near relations were excellent tool makers, and capable hunters but evidence for what we term “human” behaviour such as culture, rituals, language and art is less clear.  Perhaps this new site will help to change our view concerning Neanderthals, after all, they were a highly successful species.

8 01, 2010

Name a Dinosaur beginning with “Z”

By |2023-03-03T18:30:18+00:00January 8th, 2010|Dinosaur Fans, Everything Dinosaur News and Updates, Main Page|0 Comments

Dinosaur Alphabet Game – A Dinosaur beginning with “Z”

With the cold weather, our teaching activities came to an abrupt halt, we could not travel to the schools as promised what with the snow, freezing temperatures and difficult driving conditions.  Hopefully, we will be able to rearrange these teaching sessions, aiming to deliver them when the temperature rises above zero Celsius, at least during daytime.

A Dinosaur Alphabet

We continued working on a number of other projects, one of which led to team members discussing the emergence of a number of dinosaur genera that now begin with the letter Z.  In the last twenty years or so the number of dinosaur genera known to science has increased. This is largely due to two factors, firstly the increasing number of new dinosaur fossils being discovered, named and described, secondly to the re-analyis of existing dinosaur fossil material that as been reassigned to new genera after further research.

One of the earliest members of the Dinosauria Order to be given a scientific genus name beginning with “Z” is the obscure North American theropod Zapsalis which was named by the prolific American palaeontologist Edward Drinker Cope in 1876.  Known from just a single, serrated tooth, this name is described as nomen dubium, a name given to a genus whose validity is in doubt (easy to remember, the word “dubious” has the same entomological origins).  It is thanks to the Chinese that we now have a number of dinosaur genera beginning with the letter Z to rival dinosaurs such as Zephyrosaurus, the Ornithopod used to complete the dinosaur alphabet on our yellow alphabet T-shirt.

Everything Dinosaur Dinosaur Alphabet T-shirt

Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur

This bright, yellow, cotton T-shirt helps to reinforce the educational value of dinosaurs by illustrating 26 dinosaurs, one genus for each letter of the alphabet.  It is a great addition to our dinosaur themed children’s clothing range.

To view the extensive range of prehistoric animal and dinosaur themed toys and gifts available from the award-winning Everything Dinosaur website: Visit Everything Dinosaur.

There is Zhongyuansaurus, a genus of ankylosaur known from excellent material discovered in Henan Province, Zhuchengosaurus, a huge ornithopod known from partial remains and Zizhongosaurus, a primitive sauropod from the Jurassic of China.  However, perhaps the best known of all the dinosaur genera beginning with “Z” is Zuniceratops, an early ceratopsian from New Mexico (USA).  This four metre long, browser had two brow horns but no nose horn.  The neck shield was quite large in adults, with two substantial holes, which were probably covered in skin when the animal was alive.  The holes in the neck crest are called fenestra.

Zuniceratops

When team members are asked to provide an example of a dinosaur beginning with the letter “Z” we tend to choose Zuniceratops.  A number of specimens are known and the fossil material available has enabled scientists to build up a detailed picture of this horned dinosaur.  The specific name is Z. christopheri.  This dinosaur was named after the local Indian tribe of New Mexico, the Zuni tribe, the specific name relates to Christopher Wolfe the son of the palaeontologist who co-authored the formal description of this particular basal ceratopsian.

A Scale Drawing of Zuniceratops

Zuniceratops

Zuniceratops drawing. Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur.

Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur

The Beasts of the Mesozoic range includes and articulated replica of Zuniceratops:Beasts of the Mesozoic Models.

7 01, 2010

From the Water and Onto the Land 35 million Years Earlier

By |2023-03-03T22:49:29+00:00January 7th, 2010|Dinosaur and Prehistoric Animal News Stories, Main Page, Palaeontological articles|2 Comments

Polish Quarry Footprints indicate Tetrapods on Land 395 million Years Ago

One of the most important developments in the history of vertebrates, incidentally, our evolutionary history as we humans are vertebrates, was the movement of tetrapods from a water based environment onto the land.  Scientists had believed that this momentous event took place some time around 360 million years ago (Late Devonian).  However, the discovery of several sets of footprints, unearthed in a disused Polish quarry, is forcing scientists to re-think the emergence of vertebrates capable of walking around on land, pushing back the date to 35 million years earlier.

Tetrapod Footprints

The tetrapod group consists of all four-limbed vertebrates.  The fossil record had indicated that this important group evolved sometime in the Late Devonian, but this new discovery means that scientists may have to re-write the geological time-line.  Amphibians, reptiles, birds, mammals and of course human beings are all tetrapods.

The origins of the tetrapod group remain unclear, tetrapods have distinct digits, limbs with wrist and elbow joints and interlocking pegs associated with the backbone.  From fossils of creatures such as Ichthyostega and Acanthostega, two tetrapods whose remains are associated with Devonian river and lake deposits from Greenland it is thought that these adaptations evolved in animals that lived primarily in water, replacing the earlier theory of strong limbs developing in creatures that were crawling around on land.  Although it is not disputed that limbs evolved from fin-like appendages, not all forms of fish fin are suitable to evolve into limbs equipped to walk around on land.

The fish Order panderichthyids had two pairs of narrow fins.  Each fin-like appendage had a single bone that joined the shoulder or hip girdle, it is from these types of fish, with their peculiar fin arrangement that tetrapods are believed to have evolved from.

The depressions in the rock strata, can clearly be seen in the photographs, these are the trackways the scientists are studying.

The Oldest Tetrapod Tracks

Commenting on the paper, due to be published in the scientific journal “Nature” co-author Grzegorz Niedƃwiedzki, a palaeontologist at Warsaw University stated:

“These are the oldest tetrapod tracks and also the oldest evidence of true tetrapods”.

The research paper describes the sets of trackways, that were left in strata representing an inter-tidal zone.  These footprints (known as trace fossils), were made by several individuals, some of the prints are over 25 cm in diameter, indicating animals in excess of 2.5 metres long.  These were sizeable creatures, wandering on the exposed tidal flats.

“We are dealing with creatures that were walking”, commented Marek Narkiewicz, a geologist at the Polish Geological Institute and co-author of the research paper.

Discovered in an abandoned mountain quarry, the tracks suggest that tetrapods were walking planet Earth tens of millions of years earlier than previously thought.

Tracks are Older than the Oldest Known Fossils of Lobe-finned Fish

The tracks are also approximately ten million years older than the oldest known fossils of the lobe-finned fishes believed to be the transitional forms between fish and tetrapods.  Specimens of the panderichthyid; Elpistostege discovered in Devonian strata in Latvia is thought by scientists to be an ancestor of animals like Ichthyostega, however, these footprints of tetrapods moving around on land pre-date Elpistostege.

Commenting on how the Polish trackways will alter scientist’s thinking Per Ahlberg, a palaeontologist at Uppsala University (Sweden) stated:

“These transitional fish [Panderichthyids] continued to exist alongside the tetrapods for quite some period of time.  It is not so strange for one type of animal to live alongside its evolutionary successors, several feathered dinosaurs, for example, continued to exist alongside birds for millions of years”.

Feeding in a Lagoon

The trackways were formed on the exposed mud of a lagoon, this finding contrasts with other Devonian tetrapod discoveries that show animals capable of living on land existing in freshwater habitats.   The researchers suggest in this new paper that locomotion on land evolved so that predatory animals could take advantage of the dead and dying creatures that had been washed up by the tide, or left exposed as the tide went out.  Twice a day, these carnivores would have had access to marine animals stranded as the tide receded.  Scientists have postulated on the theory that access to this food resource was the evolutionary motivation to develop sturdy limbs capable of propelling a creature around on land.

Per Ahlberg added:

“If you’re picking off dead and moribund animals in the strand land—those things left behind by the receding tide—well then you don’t need to be terribly good at moving around.  You just need to be able to haul your way out, eat what you want to eat, and then haul your way back into the water again.”

It is hoped that these newly discovered trace fossils will help scientists to piece together the tetrapod puzzle, just when did our ancestors start walking on land and why did they begin to do so?

Perhaps the Polish quarry will yield more secrets, helping to shed light on this aspect of our own evolution – a bit of a fishy tail.

For models of creatures that lived in the Paleozoic: Prehistoric Animal Models.

6 01, 2010

Van Makes Dinosaur Company a Roaring Success!

By |2023-01-01T22:52:54+00:00January 6th, 2010|Everything Dinosaur News and Updates, Main Page, Press Releases|0 Comments

Van Makes Dinosaur Company a Roaring Success!

For small companies and start up businesses choosing a company van can be fraught with difficulties, especially if the management is not familiar with commercial vehicles.  For team members at Everything Dinosaur, the choice of vehicle was critical, after all, it would have to transport prehistoric animals.

It had always been an ambition of Mike’s to go into business, turning an interest in fossils and palaeontology into a retail company selling prehistoric animal themed products.  As the company, aptly named Everything Dinosaur, expanded and there was increased demand for Mike and his partner Sue Judd to visit schools to provide dinosaur themed lessons, it became increasingly apparent that the business was going to have to acquire a commercial vehicle.  However, neither Mike nor Sue had ever owned a van before and a lack of judgement could have caused Everything Dinosaur to go extinct.

“For us it was a big decision, we wanted a van that would be a reliable and dependable, but also capable of displaying the vehicle graphics required to promote our business, without incurring additional costs from the signage company”, commented Mike.

In the end the choice of transport for the company was straight forward and a Vauxhall Combo CDTI was selected.  Combining economy with a large payload proved a winning combination, the lack of wheel arch intrusion and the helpful low loading height enabling the Combo to cope with some very peculiar cargoes such as models of dinosaur stomachs and a full size replica of a Triceratops jawbone.

Mike and the Everything Dinosaur Vehicle

Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur

“We wanted a commercial vehicle that would help embellish our company image with bodywork that could easily accommodate complex vinyl graphics.  After all, it’s not everyday that a signage company is asked to put a Tyrannosaurus rex on the back of a van”.

The perky 1.7 litre engine has taken trips to remote fossil dig sites as well city centre museums in its stride and the comfortable interior is greatly appreciated especially if staff have been on their feet teaching all day.  Everything Dinosaur may specialise in dinosaurs and these huge creatures may not be known for having big brains, but at least for this unusual company the purchase of a Vauxhall Combo has proved to be a very smart decision.

Extract from Press Release – Commercial Vehicle Magazine (January 2010).

Visit Everything Dinosaur’s award-winning website: Everything Dinosaur.

5 01, 2010

Everything Dinosaur Predictions for 2010

By |2023-03-03T22:46:18+00:00January 5th, 2010|Dinosaur and Prehistoric Animal News Stories, Dinosaur Fans, Everything Dinosaur News and Updates, Main Page, Press Releases|0 Comments

Everything Dinosaur Predictions for 2010

Time again for us at Everything Dinosaur to put our collective heads on the block and to try and second guess some of the news stories and palaeontological discoveries that are likely to take place over the next twelve months.  After quite a bit of debate and discussion amongst our team members, we have come up with a list of predictions as to what we think is going to happen, crystal ball gazing is not really our strong point but we have given it a go and early in 2011 we shall look back with trepidation to see how we did.

Everything Dinosaur

So in no particular order, here we go:

More Dinosaurs and Other Prehistoric Animals to go Under the Hammer

The trend for more specialist auctions of prehistoric artefacts and relics will continue.  In 2009, there were a number of high profile auctions held in Paris, London and Las Vegas with lots as varied as stone age implements, Sabre Tooth Cat skulls and fully mounted dinosaur skeletons.  We suspect that a number of large scale auctions will take place with a number of complete dinosaur fossils up for grabs.  Prices are likely to remain subdued, with the high figures of the late nineties and the noughties a distant memory.

Increased Pressure for Change in UK Museum Funding

With high levels of public debt in the United Kingdom and concerns over how to relieve the level of indebtedness of the UK Government, it is likely that there are going to be some dramatic cuts in public spending.  No prizes for us for stating the obvious; but one area that may come under increased scrutiny is the level of subvention provided to museums.  Many museums in Britain are free to enter, as a result of changes in Government funding in the late 1990s that led to increased subsidies and financial support for such institutions.

With the need to save money on public spending, free to enter museums such as the Natural History Museum in London may see their subvention and support cut and charges may have to be introduced.

“Dakota” to Hit the Headlines Once Again

Over the last three years or so we have covered a number of news stories and articles concerning the on-going research into the beautifully preserved Hadrosaurine dinosaur nicknamed Dakota.  This mummified Edmontosaurus is likely to reveal more secrets concerning Ornithischian anatomy and skin texture.

Criminal Charges for a Palaeontologist in the United States

One of the first changes made by President Obama when he came into office, was to strengthen legislation concerning the theft of ancient artefacts, relics and fossils from public land.  With the high prices that some fossils can fetch on the black market, we predict that there will be at least one reported court case concerning the extraction of fossils from public land and the falsifying of palaeontological records.  Expect more arrests regarding the excavation of dinosaur fossils.

The Everything Dinosaur Trilobite Hunt – At Last

For a number of years, team members at Everything Dinosaur have discussed the possibility of going on a trilobite hunt.  These highly successful, but now extinct arthropods hold a special fascination for us.  Many of the team members have had the opportunity to visit locations where trilobite fossils have been found.  However, we have never organised a company trip to find trilobite fossils.  We know of a number of secret locations where good quality trilobite fossils can be found and 2010 might just be the year when we take up the opportunity to visit one of these sites.

Naturally, if we find some fossils we will take far more photographs of the fossils in situ than take away specimens and of course we will leave plenty behind for other visitors.  May be we should put some pictures up on this web log of our trilobite hunt.

Increasing Emphasis on Science Teaching in UK Primary Schools

For a number of years now there has been slow and steady progress made by Primary and Secondary schools supported by various agencies to increase the amount of science and mathematics based teaching offered.  We expect that the work of Government backed educational organisations will become increasingly effective and more specialist lessons will be offered in support of the National Curriculum at Key Stage 1 to Key Stage 4.  National academic achievement statistics will show a continued improvement in the level of knowledge and understanding of science subjects.

March Marks a Millennium for Everything Dinosaur Web Log

We predict that by the end of March 2010, the Everything Dinosaur web log will have reached the landmark of 1,000 published articles, representing something like 1.2 million published words.  The web log (blog) began on Sunday May 27th 2007, it now takes up a considerable amount of band width and we continue to try add a new article or picture every single day.  We managed to go over the magic 100,000 page views back in August, we continue to attract more than 100,000 page views a month which is fantastic and we are grateful to all our readers and contributors.

As for predicting how many page views we will achieve by the end of 2010, that is a little tricky as we don’t have a great deal of experience in this field – however, we have had a sweep-stake round the office (the winner gets first choice of all the biscuits in the office for a month) and it seems that something close to 135,000 page views by the end of the year might be possible.  Here’s hoping.

New Genus of Pterosaur to be Announced

We would expect 2010 to continue the trend with many new dinosaur discoveries announced, however, we are plumping for a new genus of pterosaur to come to light over the next twelve months.  Pterosaur fossils are extremely rare in the fossil record, the delicate, light, air-filled bones do not fossilise readily and pterosaur discoveries tend to be much rarer than announcements concerning the discovery of new dinosaurs.  Northeastern China or Brazil with its famous Santana Formation are likely locations for such a discovery.

Beware of Smugglers

Despite the depressed market for dinosaur and other prehistoric animal fossils, we predict that there will be more smuggling of fossils and other valuable items onto the black market in 2010.  No doubt there will be some dubious items posted up onto Ebay and other auction websites to catch out the unwary.  We are expecting a major news story over the last year concerning the discovery and exposure of a significant fossil smuggling ring.

Last but not Least a thought for South Africa

In June and July the world’s sporting focus will be on South Africa with the football world cup taking place.  Although, we can’t predict a win for England (it would be lovely and they may make the semi-finals), but with all that Permian and Triassic strata in the country we predict that sometime in 2010 the discovery of new reptilian fossils will be announced in South Africa.  We could have suggested more dinosaur finds from Queensland in Australia, with the amount of excavation work going on down-under as it were, there is  a very good chance of new discoveries being made.  Perhaps a new genus of Dicynodont or something like that will emerge out of southern Africa.

Predictions for the Year Ahead

So there you have it, our just for a bit of fun, predictions for the year ahead.  At the end of this year we will review this article and see how well (or badly) we did.

In the meantime, here is a link to the Everything Dinosaur website: Everything Dinosaur.

4 01, 2010

Everything Dinosaur Predictions for 2009 – How Did we Do?

By |2023-01-01T22:46:51+00:00January 4th, 2010|Dinosaur Fans, Everything Dinosaur News and Updates, Main Page|0 Comments

Everything Dinosaur Predictions for 2009 – How Did we Do?

This is the time when we can reflect on the year just passed and look forward to 2010.  At this time last year, we wrote an article making ten predictions as to what sort of discoveries would take place over the next twelve months or so.  It is always difficult to make predictions especially when it comes to second guessing dinosaur and prehistoric animal discoveries and what articles we might have to put up on the web log.  However, looking back on our predictions, I don’t think we did too badly.

Here is a list summarising our predictions for 2009:

Image credit: Everything Dinosaur

We provided a varied set of predictions, some have come true and others have not.  For example, we were proved accurate in predicting the success of the UK tour of “Walking with Dinosaurs”, however, we did not foresee the very, very expensive merchandise or indeed the theft of one of the stage models during the Mexican leg of the world tour.  We were right about the Everything Dinosaur web log exceeding 100,000 page views per month.  We have managed to achieve in excess of 100,000 page views over the last few months or so, indeed our prediction regarding the number of products we would have in our web shop has also proved to be accurate.

Predicting that Charles Darwin would make a big impact in 2009, was not really difficult, it being the 150th anniversary of the publication of his book “The Origin of Species” and the 200th anniversary of Darwin’s birth.

Our prediction about more large prehistoric animal fossils being found along the Jurassic coast was also spot on.  A number of important discoveries were announced last year, most notably the 2.4-metre-long pliosaur jaws, potentially the largest pliosaur jaws ever found.

To read the article on the giant pliosaur jaws: T. rex a “Kitten” compared to giant Dorset Pliosaur.

We were also correct when it came to predicting the discovery of more feathered dinosaurs from China.  We wrote a number of articles about dinosaur discoveries from China over the course of the last 12 months.  Of particular note, was the article regarding the discovery of feathered theropods that predated the first known bird Archaeopteryx.  A number of stories and articles regarding the evolution of our feathered friends have been published by Everything Dinosaur in 2009.

Visit Everything Dinosaur’s website for prehistoric animal games, models and toys: Everything Dinosaur.

With our other predictions, we were slightly less accurate, there was more data published regarding dinosaurs and arboreal environments but we were not aware of the publication of a new genus of Ceratopsian dinosaur from the Americas.  We could have missed this announcement, but we don’t recall coming across information of this nature.  As for fossilised nests and more information on the evolution of our own species, a number of exciting discoveries were made, but perhaps we need to give our crystal ball a bit of a polish before we make our selections regarding what might happen for 2010.

3 01, 2010

Quick Point on the Diatryma/Gastornis Debate

By |2023-03-03T22:47:03+00:00January 3rd, 2010|Dinosaur and Prehistoric Animal News Stories, Main Page|0 Comments

The Diatryma/Gastornis Debate

An ancient prehistoric bird – the Diatryma/Gastornis debate. There is some confusion over whether Diatryma and Gastornis are separate genera.

With the demise of the dinosaurs at the end of the Cretaceous, the world was suddenly devoid of large vertebrates.  As the Earth’s climate warmed and became more humid extensive rain-forests dominated the flora even into high latitudes such as USA/Canadian border, but vertebrate lifeforms were taking their time in bouncing back from the mass extinction event that signalled the end of the Mesozoic.  It was the birds that took over the mantle of top predators in the Palaeocene.

Although the mammals were rapidly diversifying, nearly all the mammal families that were evolving, were dominated by small species.  One of the reasons for this suggested by scientists is that with dense jungle dominating the mid latitudes any mammals evolving were restricted in size by the lack of space in the tropical rain-forests.

Diatryma/Gastornis Debate

In the northern latitudes, the continents of the Earth had formed one single, large landmass representing what was to become Europe, North America and parts of Asia as sea levels fell.  Large 2-metre-tall flightless birds dominated the food chains.  Animals such as Gastornis from Europe and Diatryma from the United States roamed the primeval forests.  However, there remains some confusion over whether Diatryma and Gastornis are separate genera.

A Model of the “Terror Bird” Diatryma or should that be Gastornis

Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur

The imprint of a single femur of a giant bird from the famous Messel shales plus other material from Geiseltal led to the naming and describing of one genus of predatory, flightless, bird Gastornis.  These fossils were all found in Germany and as a result of these discoveries Gastornis was named and described.  This took place in the mid 1850s.  However, the fossil material associated with this bird remains fragmentary.

A Scale Drawing of Gastornis/Diatryma

Diatryma/Gastornis debate

There is some confusion over whether Diatryma and Gastornis are separate genera.

Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur

The first complete skeleton of the giant Palaeocene bird that was to become known as Diatryma was found in Wyoming in the 1870s.  The fragmentary fossils associated with Gastornis had been incorrectly reconstructed so very few scientists at the time noticed the similarities between Diatryma and the previously named Gastornis.  As more fossils of giant birds have been found and the anatomy of these large birds better understood so scientists have shown that the European Gastornis was almost identical to the North American Diatryma.  Many palaeontologists believe that the two scientific names apply to the same genus.  If this theory is accepted then the first name Gastornis will take precedence and the name Diatryma will be abandoned.

To view the prehistoric animal models available from Everything Dinosaur: Prehistoric Animal Models.

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