2011 | Everything Dinosaur Blog

26 08, 2011

A Video Review of Papo Ankylosaurus

By Mike|2023-01-20T17:51:00+00:00August 26th, 2011|Everything Dinosaur News and Updates, Everything Dinosaur videos, Main Page|2 Comments

New Edition to the Papo “Dinosaures” Model Range – Ankylosaurus

The Everything Dinosaur video review of the new dinosaur model Ankylosaurus introduced by Papo of France. A fine example of a model of an armoured dinosaur. In this video we provide a little more information about the discovery of Ankylosaurus magniventris and compare and contrast the model’s features with the known fossil material of the Late Cretaceous herbivore.

The Papo Ankylosaurus Model Video Review

Everything Dinosaur’s Review of the Papo Ankylosaurus dinosaur model.

Video credit: Everything Dinosaur

Papo Ankylosaurus Model

The Papo “Les Dinosaures” model range has expanded this year with the introduction of three models, of these the Ankylosaurus is the last to be introduced. The entire range, more appropriately called prehistoric animals due to the inclusion of replicas of Smilodon, cavemen, a Woolly Mammoth plus a marine reptile and a pterosaur consists of nineteen models.

We know that the French manufacturer has plans to greatly expand their “Les Dinosaures” range of prehistoric animal figures. We remain committed to supporting Papo and hope to see more models of armoured dinosaurs added to the Papo range in the future.

To view the dinosaur models available from Everything Dinosaur, including the Papo “Les Dinosaures” model range: Papo Models and Prehistoric Animal Figures.

25 08, 2011

We are Amongst an Amazing 8.7 million Species – Give or Take a Million

By Mike|2024-04-22T11:52:07+01:00August 25th, 2011|Animal News Stories, Educational Activities, Main Page|0 Comments

New Estimate for the Number of Species on Planet Earth

It was the Swedish physician and naturalist Carolus Linnaeus (1707 – 1778), who formed the basis for the classification of organisms in his Systema naturae, first published in 1735. He grouped organisms with shared features and characteristics into different sets, creating an interrelated hierarchy of life, sometimes referred to as a “tree of life” as a result of its branching structure. The basic unit in this classification is the species. A species is defined as a group of organisms whose members have the potential to breed together and produce fertile offspring. Species are grouped into genera, genera into sub-families, families and so on.

Number of Species

Families are grouped into orders, for example our species Homo sapiens is classified with apes, monkeys into the primates (order). Orders themselves are grouped into classes, and these in turn are grouped into phyla. Members of different phyla differ in fundamental features such as body organisation and methods of locomotion and respiration. Phyla are finally grouped into the largest commonly used classification a kingdom, such as the kingdom plantae (plants) and animalia (animals).

Scientists have argued ever since the time of Linnaeus as to just how many species there are on our planet. Back in 1975, I recall reading a paper that estimated (conservatively as it turned out) that there were around one million species of insect on the Earth, other estimates have been made over the years using a variety of techniques and the total number of individual species estimated has varied widely, with as many as 100 million species being cited in some literature.

Not knowing how many species inhabit the Earth is one of the most fundamental questions in science. Efforts to sample the world’s biodiversity to date have been limited and thus have precluded direct quantification of global species richness, and because indirect estimates rely on assumptions that have proven highly controversial. However, a group of international scientists have used the basis of the classification system first devised by Linnaeus to propose a new calculation for the number of species. This team calculates that we humans are amongst 8.7 million other species (plus or minus 1.3 million).

In a paper published in the online scientific journal PLoS Biology (Public Library of Science), the team state that the higher taxonomic classification of species (i.e. the assignment of species to phylum, class, order, family, and genus) follows a consistent and predictable pattern from which the total number of species in a taxonomic group can be estimated. Their work was validated against well-known taxa, and when applied to all domains of life, it predicted 8.7 million species in total with a margin for error of +/- 1.3 million eukaryotic species globally (with a nucleus in the cell). Seventy percent of our planet’s surface may be covered by sea water, but according to these new calculations there are only 2.2 million species present in the sea.

The Diversity of Planet Earth

The researchers including scientists from the Department of Biology, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, the Department of Geography, University of Hawaii, Honolulu, Hawaii, and the United Nations Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre, Cambridge, United Kingdom, in conjunction with Microsoft research propose that some 86% of the species on Earth and 91% in the ocean, still await description.

Co-author Boris Worm of Dalhousie University stated that the recently-updated Red List issued by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature assessed 59,508 species, of which 19,625 are classified as threatened. This means the IUCN Red List, the most sophisticated ongoing study of its kind, monitors less than 1% of world species.

Our Planet’s Complex Biodiversity

Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur

It is important that scientists have an understanding of the biodiversity of planet Earth as without this, it would be very difficult to establish the current rate of extinction. Many scientists believe that species are dying out at an alarming rate. In what is known as the sixth mass extinction event, it has been estimated that as many as three species an hour are becoming extinct – many of these organisms are unknown to science.

To read Everything Dinosaur’s recent blog post about discovery of a new eel species: Primitive Eel Discovery “A Fishy Tale”.

As co-author of the study, Boris Worm of Dalhousie University points out:

“If we didn’t know – even by an order of magnitude (1m? 10m? 100m?) – the number of people in a nation, how would we plan for the future? At its most basic, if we don’t know what we’ve got, we can’t protect it, and we can’t even be sure what we’re losing.”

For models and replicas of prehistoric and extinct creatures: Mojo Fun Prehistoric Life Models.

24 08, 2011

Which was the Largest Crocodile of All Time?

By Mike|2023-03-08T13:52:40+00:00August 24th, 2011|Animal News Stories, Everything Dinosaur News and Updates, Main Page, Press Releases|35 Comments

Sarcosuchus, Purussaurus, Deinosuchus or Any Other Candidate?

With a Saltwater crocodile (Crocodylus porosus) at an animal park in Queensland (Australia), being recognised as the largest crocodile kept in captivity, team members at Everything Dinosaur started a debate amongst themselves as to which was the largest crocodilian known from the fossil record.

Largest Crocodile Ever

Crocodiles are certainly an ancient group of reptiles, with their origins predating the dinosaurs. However, which of these animals would be classified as the largest – this might be difficult to say.

A few days ago, we reported that Cassius, an eighteen foot long “Salty” had been declared the largest crocodile in captivity by the Guinness Book of Records.

To read more about Cassius: Record Breaking Monster Crocodile.

However, a number of extinct types of crocodile are known to be much larger. Indeed, having checked with the Guinness Book of Records, the largest prehistoric crocodile (according to them), is Sarcosuchus (Sarcosuchus imperator), a member of the Eusuchia, fossils of this crocodile are known from Cretaceous strata from Niger (Africa). Although, there is a lack of fossil material, estimates of length provide a consensus that this reptile may have been ten to twelve metres long.

It has been suggested that this fearsome predator may have weighed eight tonnes. This would make Sarcosuchus (flesh crocodile) a contender for the largest type of crocodile known.

A Model of the Prehistoric Crocodile Sarcosuchus

2020 Wild Safari Prehistoric World Sarcosuchus.

Wild Safari Prehistoric World Sarcosuchus model.

Then there is the much more recent, South American, giant Purussaurus (Purussaurus brasiliensis). This prehistoric caiman is known from a number of fossil locations in South America (Brazil, Peru and Venezuela). An expedition to the Peruvian Amazon back in 2005 discovered more fossils and from one particular skull, which measures over fifty-five inches in length, it has been estimated that this caiman from the Miocene may have reached lengths of between ten and thirteen metres. We think this member of the crocodile family is also known as Mourasuchus amazoniensis, but this is regarded as a junior synonym.

Deinosuchus

There is also Deinosuchus (Terrible Crocodile) to consider. Deinosuchus (D. hatcheri) lived during the Late Cretaceous. Its fossils have been found in the United States. Once again size estimates are difficult to affirm. When looking at extant species today, the head length can be assessed as being approximately one eighth the size of the entire animal measured from the tip of its snout to its tail.

This is a useful guide when trying to work out the size of a crocodile or alligator when it it swimming and only a portion of the head is above the water. Using measurements taken from a huge, nearly complete skull, found in the Big Bend River formation, Texas, and described by the scientists Colbert and Bird back in the 1950s, Deinosuchus was estimated to be over fifteen metres long and to weigh in excess of eight Tonnes. Since then further analysis of fossil fragments, bones and dermal armour (scutes) has been undertaken and palaeontologists now estimate Deinosuchus to be a little smaller, but it is still a contender for the largest croc of all time.

The jaws are more robust than those of Sarcosuchus, suggesting that Deinosuchus predated upon large animals, perhaps attacking dinosaurs as they came close to water to get a drink.

Which was the Largest Crocodile?

One for the Guinness Book of Records to contemplate.

Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur

Team members at Everything Dinosaur have had a go at producing art materials and drawings to illustrate the likely candidates for the title of largest crocodile known to science.

Recently, a group of scientists published a paper detailing their study of suspected Deinosuchus coprolites (fossilised dung), thus providing a potential insight into this reptile’s diet:

To read more about Deinosuchus and a follow up article: Ancient Crocodile Poop Provides Information on the Diet of Deinosuchus.

Update on Deinosuchus: Update on the Diet of Cretaceous Crocodiles.

The crocodiles are indeed an ancient group of reptiles, they evolved into a myriad of forms, some of these were gigantic but as to which genus was the biggest – it looks like we will be debating this for some time.

For models and replicas of prehistoric animals including many models of extinct animals from the crocodilian line of the Archosauria: Ancient Crocodiles and Prehistoric Animal Models.

23 08, 2011

Cretaceous Mass Extinction – Exterrestrial Object Not Entirely to Blame

By Mike|2023-03-08T12:33:40+00:00August 23rd, 2011|Dinosaur and Prehistoric Animal News Stories, Dinosaur Fans, Main Page, Palaeontological articles|0 Comments

International Team of Scientists Consider a Variety of Factors in Demise of the Dinosauria

It was American father and son, Luis and Walter Alvarez who publicised the discovery of a world-wide layer of clay rich in the rare Earth element iridium in rocks known as the K-T boundary. The K-T boundary marks the border between the Cretaceous and the Tertiary. These American scientists argued that the iridium was deposited after an impact event, a collision between our planet and an exterrestrial object such as a meteorite or asteroid.

This global catastrophe has been proposed as one of the main causes of the mass extinction event that marked the end of the Mesozoic and saw something like seventy percent of all life on land wiped out – including the Dinosauria. Time to reconsider the question: what caused the extinction of the dinosaurs?

Cretaceous Mass Extinction

However, other factors may have played a significant role in the demise of the dinosaurs and a team of international researchers have published papers detailing a ten year study into the strata and fossil record of northeastern Asia. They conclude that rising sea levels, volcanism and climate change were also very significant in the extinction of the mega fauna in this particular part of the world.

These new findings suggest that a prehistoric exterrestrial impact is not solely responsible for wiping out the dinosaur population in northeast Asia sixty-six million years ago. Chinese media is reporting that the scientists claim that the end of the dinosaur’s reign in some regions of northeast Asia can be linked to several other factors, including volcanic eruption, climate change and dramatic drops in sea level.

The Chinese led study, involving thirty scientists from eight different countries has yielded powerful evidence challenging the dominant, impact theory, although scientists remain fairly confident that the Chicxulub crater in the Yucatan peninsula is evidence of a large impact event approximately sixty-six million years ago.

The study was made public during an ongoing seminar of geology and palaeontology in Jiayin, a county in northeastern Heilongjiang Province, where scientists have found fossils of dinosaurs living just before this group of reptiles extinction.

To purchase models and replicas of Late Cretaceous prehistoric animals: Late Cretaceous Prehistoric Animal Models from Schleich.

The scientists, including experts from Russia, the U.S., Germany, Belgium, Britain, Japan and the Republic of Korea, were led by Sun Ge of Jilin University in northeast China. Together, they have spent the past ten years studying the extinction of dinosaurs.

The study showed that in Jiayin the K-T boundary, the geologic boundary between the rocks of the Cretaceous and Tertiary periods, does not contain high-levels of iridium, a radioactive element that linked an asteroid strike to the extinction of dinosaurs. This may be the case as although, the Chicxulub crater indicates a collision with an object at least ten kilometres in length, the fall out from the resulting explosion may not have reached northeastern Asia, leaving no tell-tale traces of iridium.

Among conflicting and controversial hypotheses explaining dinosaur extinction, the asteroid theory is the only one that has been proven by scientific evidence and is universally recognised by scientists, Sun commented.

Scientists believe a giant asteroid/meteorite that hit the earth about sixty-six million years ago sealed the fate of dinosaurs forever with huge pyroclastic clouds, shock-waves, earthquakes and tidal waves as well as extensive fires. Many palaeontologists believe that as dust and smoke filled the atmosphere, the sun was obscured and the planet was plunged into a “nuclear winter”.

Most large land animals and many forms of marine life such as the mosasaurs, ammonites and belemnites became extinct. However, this new study suggests that volcanic activities around that time greatly impacted the environment of the Jiayin area and could be to blame for the mass extinction. Certainly, these dramatic changes in the climate and atmosphere may well have contributed to environmental stress.

Geologic features of and around the K-T boundary in Jiayin are identical to those of and around the same layer in Russian regions of Siberia and the Far East, said Sun Ge.

This is not the first time (or do we at Everything Dinosaur suspect the last time), the asteroid extinction theory has been challenged. To read a recent article on this debate: Impact Extinction Theory Challenged – Was it Global Cooling?

Regions in northeast Asia had similar geographic environments sixty-five million years ago, where volcanic eruption, climate cooling and up to 100-metre drops in sea-level might have been the major factors that wiped out the dinosaurs, said Akhmetiev M, a Russian geologist who participated in the program.

According to Sun, the world’s 105 sections of K-T boundary suggest a mega-wipeout sixty-six million years ago that destroyed over seventy percent of all the Earth’s species, including the dinosaurs.

However in conclusion the scientists state that the extinction of dinosaurs was probably caused by different factors in different regions, and an extraterrestrial impact was probably not the single cause of the Dinosauria extinction.

To read another article on the effect of volcanism on the extinction of the dinosaurs: Blame the Deccan Traps.

22 08, 2011

Evolution of the Biggest Mouths in the Natural World

By Mike|2023-01-20T17:34:31+00:00August 22nd, 2011|Main Page, Palaeontological articles, Press Releases|0 Comments

Tiny Whale Fossil Indicates Evolution of Baleen Whales from Toothed Cetaceans

The Baleen Whales, huge creatures such as the Blue Whale (Balaenoptera musculus) and the Grey Whale (Eschrichtius robustus) feed by gulping in huge amounts of water, and straining out small sea creatures such as krill through their plates of bristle-like baleen that hang from the upper jaws. However, these leviathans may have evolved from huge marine predators that specialised in eating much larger prey.

Museum Victoria palaeontologist Dr Erich Fitzgerald has made ground-breaking discoveries on the evolution of the world’s largest whales, the Baleen Whales, based on 25 million-year-old fossil jaws found near Torquay in Victoria (Australia).

The Evolution of Baleen Whales

Published today in the Royal Society’s journal Biology Letters, this important discovery challenges earlier scientific notions by suggesting that Baleen Whales (e.g. Blue Whales), which feed on small organisms, first evolved their huge mouths for capturing large individual prey animals.

The new fossil evidence comes in the form of the lower jaw bones of Janjucetus, (Janjucetus hunderi) a 3-metre-long early relative of today’s toothless baleen whales.

Dr Fitzgerald commented:

“Janjucetus had tightly connected lower jaws and lacked the elastic lower jaw joint that makes it possible for the mouths of modern Baleen Whales to greatly expand and swallow vast volumes of plankton-rich seawater. What this amounts to is vivid evidence that Janjucetus and the earliest baleen whales could not filter feed.”

Dr Fitzgerald’s research challenges the belief that the earliest Baleen Whales had the same jaw structure as their modern day relatives. The newly uncovered fossils suggest that early Baleen Whales had bizarrely shaped skulls structured for sucking prey into their mouths.

Whale Fossils

Dr Erich Fitzgerald cradles the fossil jaws of the tiny extinct whale (Janjucetus hunderi). With a total body length of only three metres, this Oligocene marine mammal would have been dwarfed by its present day relative, the Blue Whale, a skeleton of which looms in the background.

Dr Fitzgerald added:

“Their skull, mouth and lips may have acted like vacuum cleaners, hoovering up larger animals, like fishes or octopuses.”

Although this fossil discovery shows Janjucetus had a rigid lower jaw joint, their upper jaws were expansive – a key feature of all Baleen Whales.

According to Dr Fitzgerald:

“The characteristic large mouth of today’s Baleen Whales is first seen in the upper jaws of non-filter feeding early species, suggesting that the wide upper jaws originally evolved as a specialisation for suction feeding.”

Although the steps by which Baleen Whales evolved from suction feeders into filter feeders remains unclear, this research demonstrates the first evolutionary step towards what are now the biggest mouths in the history of life on Earth.

Janjucetus hunderi

Images released show Janjucetus hunderi attacking a school of fish in the seas off the coast of south-east of Australia, twenty-five million years ago.

Describing just how big the mouth of a Blue Whale (Balaenoptera musculus) is, Dr Fitzgerald stated:

“When fully expanded, a blue whale’s mouth could park a Kombi van.”

Janjucetus hunderi lived about 25 million years ago in coastal seas off south-east Australia. The fossil jaws of Janjucetus were found near the Victorian township of Torquay in the 1970s by a dedicated amateur palaeontologist. Little had been established about the whale remains until Dr Erich Fitzgerald started his long-term research on the fossils in 2009.

Dr Fitzgerald is a palaeontologist specialising in the evolution of marine mammals. He held a Post-doctoral Fellowship at the Smithsonian Institution and is currently the Harold Mitchell Fellow at Museum Victoria. Erich also holds an honorary appointment at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC. This research is a result of two years of study at Museum Victoria and the Smithsonian Institution.

Museum Victoria houses the largest collection of fossil marine mammals in Australia and hosts the country’s only whale evolution research program. The paper published in the scientific journal “Biology Letters” is entitled “Archaeocete-like jaws in a Baleen Whale.”

Everything Dinosaur is grateful to Melbourne Museum and Museum Victoria for their help in the compilation of this article.

Some Toothed Whales were Giant Apex Predators (Livyatan)

PNSO Requena the Livyatan prehistoric whale model anterior view.

The picture (above), shows the PNSO Requena the Livyatan model. To view the prehistoric animals in the PNSO model range: PNSO Prehistoric Figures and Replicas.

21 08, 2011

Monster Crocodile Recognised as the Largest in Captivity

By Mike|2023-03-08T12:36:40+00:00August 21st, 2011|Animal News Stories, Main Page|1 Comment

Cassius to Enter Guinness Book of Records

An enormous Saltwater crocodile (Crocodylus porosus) which measures a fraction under eighteen feet in length has been officially recognised by the Guinness Book of Records as the largest crocodile in captivity. The fearsome croc, known as Cassius is a resident at Marineland Melanesia on Green Island off the coast of Cairns (northern Queensland, Australia).

The monster crocodile, believed to be over 100 years old has been in captivity since it was brought to the marine park back in 1987, having been captured in the wild near to Darwin a few years earlier. It was captured as it had attacked a number of boats in the Darwin area and it was thought to be too big and dangerous to be left at large.

Monster Crocodile

Saltwater crocodiles are man-eaters and are responsible for a number of fatal attacks on people each year. Despite his great size, Cassius can stay hidden in just eighteen inches of muddy water, ready to explode out of the water to catch his prey. These reptile ambush specialists are extremely dangerous and we at Everything Dinosaur have reported upon a number of Saltwater crocodile attacks in recent months. From the various slide marks and tail drags left in northern territory river banks and mud flats, some tourist guides believe that in the wild there may be one or two “Salties” that are in excess of twenty feet long.

The Difference Between a Crocodile and an Alligator

Crocodile (top) and Alligator (bottom).

The Largest Crocodile Ever

Guinness World Records also recognised the world record for the largest crocodile ever, set by Sarcosuchus imperator, which was a prehistoric species of crocodile which lived around 110 million years ago.

Recent fossilised remains found in the Sahara Desert suggest that this creature took around 50-60 years to grow to its full length of around 11-12 metres (37-40 ft) and its maximum weight of around 8 tonnes. This is likely to prove controversial to palaeontologists as many would suggest that Deinosuchus (Deinosuchus hatcheri), a huge prehistoric crocodile from the Late Cretaceous of the United States, would have been bigger, certainly heavier. Other scientists may argue that the Miocene crocodile Purussaurus (Purussaurus brasiliensis), known from fossils found in Brazil, Peru and Venezuela could be a contender.

To read an article about Sarcosuchus: Introducing Sarcosuchus.

Cassius the Crocodile

Cassius bears the scars from his battles with other crocs during his younger days, and has lost his left arm. But at times, the giant reptile has shown a softer side.

Marineland crocodile keeper Toody Scott stated:

“He has shown a bit of an affectionate side with some of the younger female crocs we’ve introduced to him.”

But as we know from bitter experience, never trust a crocodile, they are always looking for an opportunity to attack.

“He’s a very wise croc, very good at pretending that he is nice and gentle; added Mr Scott.

“He can very much lull you into a false sense of security, which is what crocodiles are very good at doing. I wouldn’t trust him for a second.”

We agree, crocodiles and people do not mix, best to leave them alone or at least only view the likes of Cassius from behind the safety of the bars on his enclosure.

To view models of prehistoric crocodiles, dinosaurs and other prehistoric animals, take a look at the Mojo Fun prehistoric model range: Mojo Fun Prehistoric Animal Models.

20 08, 2011

Walrus Causes Mammoth Confusion

By Mike|2023-01-20T17:05:37+00:00August 20th, 2011|Animal News Stories, Dinosaur and Prehistoric Animal News Stories, Main Page|0 Comments

Fossil Walrus Skull Causes Mammoth Alert

Lennon and McCartney may have written a song called “I am the Walrus” with the opening line “I am he as you are he as you are and we are all together”, but the Beatles could not have imagined that Russian authorities could have mixed up a fossil Walrus skull with a Woolly Mammoth fossil but that is what is being reported in on-line media this morning.

Fossil Walrus Skull

According to a number of news sources there was much excitement in Russian scientific circles when it was reported that a reindeer herder had found a perfectly preserved, fossilised baby Woolly Mammoth. Woolly Mammoth tusks and other isolated fossils are frequently found in the Siberian Summer as ancient remains of these long dead elephants are washed out of melting permafrost. To find a baby, a Woolly Mammoth calf, even a few articulated fossils would be an extremely significant discovery. Back in the Summer of 2007, as reported by the Everything Dinosaur web log, Russian scientists were able to extract the deep-frozen remains of a one month old baby Woolly Mammoth which had been almost perfectly preserved. This Woolly Mammoth, affectionately dubbed Lyuba is now part of a touring Mammoth and Mastodon Exhibition organised by the Chicago Museum. This exhibition is due to arrive in the UK in 2013.

To read more about the discovery of Lyuba: New Baby Woolly Mammoth Found.

It was initially claimed that the find was as well preserved as Lyuba. Believed to have died around 40,000 years ago, Lyuba is the best preserved Woolly Mammoth (Mammuthus primigenius) known to science. Authorities in the Yamalo-Nenets region said yesterday morning they were scrambling a helicopter to the location. With the high Summer melt well underway, any flesh that has thawed will start to rot and therefore the Russian authorities were in a race against time to reach this remote location.

A spokesperson for the scientists, scrambled to reach the carcase stated:

“If what is said about how it is preserved turns out to be true, this will be another sensation of global significance.”

However, the scientists and researchers were to be disappointed, as when examined the fossil turned out to be that of a Walrus. Leader of the Woolly Mammoth rescue mission Ms Fyordorova commented:

“It turned out to be a walrus skull; apparently a fossilised one. It’s still a good present for us. We don’t have any walruses yet.”

It may not be a Mammoth, but the fossilised remains of an ancient Walrus could provide the researchers with valuable information as to how the region has changed over thousands of years.

Better luck next time, as the Beatles sang “I am the Walrus, goo goo g’joob”.

To view a soft toy Woolly Mammoth soft toys and other prehistoric plush: Woolly Mammoth and Ice Age Soft Toys.

19 08, 2011

A Fossil Hunting We Will Go (Free Fossil Hunting Activity)

By Mike|2024-04-22T11:53:44+01:00August 19th, 2011|Dinosaur Fans, Educational Activities, Everything Dinosaur News and Updates, Main Page|0 Comments

Bringing a Jurassic Beach to the Heart of Cheshire

Today, team members at Everything Dinosaur have been invited to Alsager (Cheshire) to provide a “Walking with Dinosaurs” and fossil hunting experience for school children. We are going to be undertaking a number of exercises and experiments with young dinosaur fans and their parents/guardians at the local leisure centre. There is fossil casting, fossil show and tell, dinosaur runaround and we will also be making a mini-Jurassic beach and getting the enthusiastic young palaeontologists to help us find fossils – best of all, if they want to they can take home what they find.

Fossil Hunting

There are not many opportunities to fossil hunting in the county of Cheshire, we have to thank glacial action and the Permian for much of our exposed geology. During the Permian Period, this part of the world resembled the Sahara desert, it was what is termed a “red desert” which meant there was little life. Many of the exposed outcrops of rock are sandstone formed from these dunes and therefore they are largely devoid of fossils.

Everything Dinosaur Leading a Fossil Hunt (Indoors)

Everything Dinosaur organising fossil hunting for children.

Fossil hunting with Everything Dinosaur. Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur.

Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur

The picture shows team members at Everything Dinosaur helping young fossil finds discover fossils at an earlier event that we held.

It is a good job that we have brought plenty of fossils from our various expeditions with us, I’m sure all the boys and girls (plus their parents/guardians) will have a lot fun.

Visit Everything Dinosaur’s child-friendly and award-winning website: Click Here to Visit the Everything Dinosaur Website.

18 08, 2011

Jawbone Suggests Giant Birds May have Lived Alongside the Dinosaurs (According to New Research)

By Mike|2024-04-22T11:52:41+01:00August 18th, 2011|Animal News Stories, Dinosaur and Prehistoric Animal News Stories, Dinosaur Fans, Main Page, Palaeontological articles|0 Comments

New Fossil Discovery Suggests Giant Birds Lived During the Mesozoic

Most scientists now agree that the birds (Aves) are descended from a particular group of dinosaurs – theropods, but the accepted view that birds were small, crow-sized creatures living very much in the shadow of their reptilian cousins has been challenged once again with the discovery of a single jawbone fragment. This fossil suggests that giant prehistoric birds, the size of the largest bird living today (Ostrich), could have roamed amongst the dinosaurs during the Late Cretaceous.

Giant Prehistoric Birds

Ironically, the fossil languished in a museum collection before its significance was recognised, as we at Everything Dinosaur know from experience, sometimes an animal new to science can be found within a museum’s collection. Either the key, holotype fossils have been incorrectly assigned to an already known species or in many cases the importance of the fossil is simply not recognised. Even new dinosaur species can be found lurking inside museum cabinets and collections.

To read an article on discovery dinosaurs inside museums: The Best Place to Find a New Dinosaur Inside a Museum.

Two lengths of bone were uncovered at a dig site in southern Kazakhstan (Kyzylorda district) by a joint Soviet-East German scientific expedition in the 1970s. The fossil fragments were carefully prepared and put together to make a jaw almost thirty centimetres in length but the significance of the fossil was not recognised. It was the property of a German collector for a number of years and then went on display in a Belgian museum.

Scientists Study Fossil

Fossils come from strata associated with the Bostobynskaya Formation (also known as the Bostobe Formation). It has been dated to the Late Cretaceous approximately 85 million years ago. The team of scientists, including Gareth Dyke from University College Dublin, dissolved away the plaster and glue that had been used to prepare the fossil fragments in the 1970s to reveal the true fossil bone.

The research paper co-authored by scientists from University College, Dublin, University of Portsmouth, Museo Geologico e Paleontologico (Bologna) plus contributions from French and Belgium based researchers has been published in the scientific journal “Biology Letters”.

Dr Dyke commented:

“This is one of the largest birds that’s ever been described of any age. We don’t have much of it, but we know the lower jaw is at least as big if not bigger than the Ostrich lower jaw. At the age it is, it’s pretty exciting.”

Although, the toothless jawbone indicates a member of the Aves, some scientists have proposed that the specimen could represent a member of the Dinosauria, after all, toothless dinosaurs with beaks are known from the Late Cretaceous fossil record and a number of different types of dinosaur do have a number of anatomical features that closely resemble those of extant birds – dinosaurs such as members of the Oviraptorosauria, ornithomimids and Alvarezsauria for instance.

Giant Size in the Aves

Images show two possible body plans for S. nessovi, firstly that of a flightless bird such as an extant Emu or Ostrich, secondly, as a bird capable of flight. The human figure (looking remarkably like the statue of David by Michelangelo), provides scale. The small bird in the diagram represents the size of a typical Late Cretaceous flying bird as known from other fossil material found in Asia.

Dr Dyke added:

“We have always assumed that giant size in birds was something that evolved relatively late in the history of the group, so to find a specimen so early is remarkable. This is a giant of a bird with no teeth from the Late Cretaceous.”

The world of fossilised birds has been subject to a number of seismic shocks recently. For example, Chinese scientists have reported that the iconic fossil of Archaeopteryx (A. lithographica) may not actually represent a bird at all. These scientists have postulated that Archaeopteryx may be a feathered, cursorial theropod.

To read more about this issue: Is Archaeopteryx about to be Knocked off Its Perch?

Samrukia nessovi

The fossil has been ascribed to the Aves and it has been formally named Samrukia nessovi. This creature is named after a mythological phoenix-like bird from local legend – the Samruk. The specific name honours Lev Nessov, an eccentric Russian palaeontologist who used to take the bus or train from St Petersburg into Central Asia to embark on long hikes into the desert to hunt for fossils. He committed suicide in 1995 at the age of 48 after the breakup of the Soviet Union restricted his travels.

The researchers are unsure as to whether S. nessovi was flightless or not. Based on measurements from the single fossil jaw, they have estimated that if it had the same body shape as an Ostrich, it would have stood between two and three metres tall. If it resembled an Albatross it would have had a wingspan of over four metres. Unfortunately, with only one fossil specimen to work with it is impossible to say much more about this creature.

Giant Birds of the Cretaceous

The fossil is only the second giant, land-living bird species to be discovered in Cretaceous-aged rocks and the first to be found in Asia. A previously recognised species, Gargantuavis philoinos, was named in 1998 from France but experts have argued over its identification. If Samrukia nessovi is a bird as scientists suggest the new, Kazakh specimen would help confirm the presence of giant prehistoric birds in the Cretaceous period.

Dr Darren Naish, an eminent palaeontologist from the University of Portsmouth, said that the creature provides significant new information on life in Cretaceous times.

He stated:

“Since the 1850s we’ve known that numerous bird species lived during the age of the dinosaurs (known as the Mesozoic Era), but virtually all were crow-sized or smaller. The Ostrich-sized Gargantuavis from France is the one notable exception and now this new Mesozoic bird from Kazakhstan – known only from its toothless lower jaw – shows that gigantic birds also lived in Cretaceous Central Asia.”

Although unsure whether or not this bird was flightless or whether it took to the skies, Dr Naish added:

“We can now be really confident that Mesozoic terrestrial birds weren’t all thrush-sized or crow-sized animals, giant size definitely evolved in these animals and giant forms were living in at least two distinct regions. This fits into a larger, emerging picture that Mesozoic birds were ecologically diverse, with lots of overlap between them and modern groups.”

Dr Naish concluded:

“The fragmentary nature of our Samrukia specimen will always mean that some people have doubts about it, but specialists who have seen the remains agree with our interpretation. The French Gargantuavis has already demonstrated the presence of giant Cretaceous birds and we argue that Samrukia adds a second example and increases the significance of Gargantuavis since it shows that it wasn’t a one off.”

Unfortunately, the absence of other fossil material prevents the scientists from finding out much more about this creature that is new to science. They can only speculate on what it ate for instance. Did S. nessovi hunt small dinosaurs, or was it an omnivore perhaps? Just how big was this giant prehistoric bird?

Dr Naish commented:

“We have only the lower jaw, and this doesn’t provide key information on what the whole bird was like. Hopefully new material will be unearthed to provide us with more information, such as understanding what role it was playing in Cretaceous ecosystems. We do know that the fossil came from a floodplain environment. This would have been a large flattish plain, criss-crossed by big, meandering rivers. Fossil wood shows that forests were present nearby and aquatic animals indicate the continual presence of lakes, pools or big rivers.”

Dr Naish added:

“Samrukia was conceivably in danger from tyrannosaurs, dromaeosaurs and other predatory dinosaurs that occurred in the same region but we can’t say whether Samrukia itself was predatory, herbivorous or omnivorous as the lower jaws don’t reveal any obvious specialisations for, say, dedicated plant-eating or feeding on aquatic prey.”

Giant Prehistoric Birds Alongside the Dinosaurs

Hopefully, new fossil finds will help scientists to piece together (literally), more information about this strange creature from the Late Cretaceous. If more fossil material is found, then scientists may be able to confirm that Samrukia nessovi is a bird to resolve the puzzle of whether or not it could fly and what it ate.

Dr Naish concluded:

“People tend to forget that birds co-existed with their dinosaurian relatives but it now seems that the Cretaceous was not a ‘dinosaurs-only theme park.’ This find confirms that large birds were living alongside dinosaurs and may have been more widespread than previously thought.”

For models and replicas of Late Cretaceous prehistoric animals: Wild Safari Prehistoric Animal Models and Figures.

17 08, 2011

Super Cheetah! – Fossils of Largest Cheetah Known to Science Discovered

By Mike|2023-01-20T16:45:27+00:00August 17th, 2011|Dinosaur and Prehistoric Animal News Stories, Main Page|0 Comments

Super Fast, Super Strong – Super Cheetah

The cheetah is recognised as the fastest land mammal with some of these speedy carnivores having been clocked at more than sixty-five miles an hour. Efficient predators they may be, but the African cheetahs around today would have been no match for a fearsome member of the cat family, whose 1.8-million-year-old fossils have been found in the Republic of Georgia. Cheetah fossils indicate a predator twice as heavy as modern cheetahs.

Although now confined to the continent of Africa, the cheetah along with a number of big cats were much more widely distributed in prehistoric times. Now scientists have uncovered the remains of the largest and most dangerous type of cheetah known from the fossil record, a super strong, super-sized predator most likely feared by those hominids unfortunate to have been around when this cat stalked south-eastern Europe.

A Model of a Cheetah

A model of a cheetah, an extant big cat (PNSO).

Cheetah Fossils

The ancient cheetah fossils were found at a 1.8-million-year-old site in Dmanisi in the Republic of Georgia, one of the oldest known sites for ancient human species out of Africa, where fossils of a sabre-toothed cat and a similar scimitar cat had already been discovered before. What with the discovery of the prehistoric Cheetah fossils, this location is proving to be a rich hunting ground for palaeontologists trying to understand the evolution of the Felidae.

Based on its arm and paw bones, the stoutly built Cheetah (Acinonyx pardinensis) is believed to have weighed about 110 kg, about double the weight of its modern African cousin. The oldest Cheetah fossil known was a skull of Acinonyx kurteni found in China; the animal lived between 2.2 million and 2.5 million years ago, suggesting that these type of cats originated in Asia.

To read an article on the origins of the Cheetah: Cheetahs originated in the “Old World.

Published in a Scientific Journal

The research team that have studied the fossils of this “Big Cat”, write in the scientific journal “Quaternary Science Review”, that this particular predator lived in a savanna type environment with forests near by. It probably hunted on the open plains, running down prey just like its modern cousin. Scientists have discovered the fossilised bones of a number of potential prey animals including a number of different types of antelope.

Given their findings, the researchers conclude that this extinct cheetah likely thrived as a killer, with each cat downing an estimated 7,500 kg of prey a year, more than any other predator within its community. That’s the equivalent of 100 people every year, or two a week. It is likely that this predator did prey on our ancient hominid ancestors.

Commenting on this fossil find, researcher Ralf-Dietrich Kahlke, a palaeontologist at the Senckenberg Research Institute in Weimar (Germany) stated:

“I was really astonished by how much meat it could bring down.”

For models of prehistoric cats and other prehistoric mammals: Prehistoric Felids and Prehistoric Animals (Mojo Fun).