August, 2012 | Everything Dinosaur Blog

11 08, 2012

Three of a Kind from Lake Turkana

By Mike|2023-02-04T10:08:57+00:00August 11th, 2012|Dinosaur and Prehistoric Animal News Stories, Palaeontological articles|0 Comments

At Least Three species of Hominid Co-Existed in Kenya Two Million Years Ago

Palaeoanthropologists have identified fossil hominid material in eastern Africa (Lake Turkana), that indicates that around two million years ago there were at least three types of human-like creature co-existing. In new research published this week in the academic journal “Nature”, the research team have declared that at least three species from the mankind family tree lived in the same part of the world during the Late Pliocene Epoch. One of these species, Homo erectus was probably part of that branch of the hominid family tree that would eventually lead to the evolution of our own species, H. sapiens. The other two species are believed not to be direct ancestors of more modern humans and they may have become extinct, effectively ending their role in hominid evolution and development.

Scientists Explore the Extensive Sediments around Lake Turkana

Tracing human origins.

Picture credit: Mike Hettwer

Homo erectus

H. erectus, known as “upright man” due to his more human posture and gait was the first widespread human species. For many years, palaeontologists thought that this particular species of early hominid evolved in Asia. Scientists such as Eugene Dubois, a Dutch anatomist and anthropologist, believed that our ancestors evolved in Asia not Africa. In 1889 he led an expedition to what is now known as Indonesia to search for fossil evidence to support his theory. He found elements from a skull and some limb bones and named a new species of hominid Pithecanthropus erectus. Scientists now believe that these bones represent Homo erectus and this hominid, with perhaps a brain size about three quarters the size of our own species, evolved in Africa before migrating eastwards across the Straits of Arabia into Asia and eventually into the islands of the Pacific. With tool making skills and a mastery of fire; this human species was incredibly successful and not only have fossils been found in places many thousands of miles apart, the dates of these fossils show that this species has also persisted the longest in the human evolutionary story. Having evolved approximately 2.2 million years ago, H. erectus survived until at least 250,000 years ago and some scientists believe that the last of this type of human actually went extinct in the very Late Pleistocene Epoch, around 50,000 years ago.

Although the fossil record is far from complete, it seems that H. erectus may have given rise to later types of hominid including the direct, common ancestor of both the Neanderthals (H. neanderthalensis) and our own species.

Lake Turkana

The other two species of early hominid found in the same layers of Lake Turkana sediment represent “evolutionary dead ends” according to the scientists. The fossil discoveries may help to solve a forty year mystery concerning skull material found in the same part of Kenya that has caused considerable debate amongst palaeoanthropologists. The fossil beds around Lake Turkana are referred to as the “cradle of mankind” due to the amount of early Homo fossil specimens that have been found.

Three new hominid fossils, bones that make up part of the face, a near complete upper jaw with cheek teeth and fragments from a lower jaw excavated from a dig site to the east of Lake Turkana, appear to confirm that skull material found in the same area forty years earlier is indeed a separate species of early human.

In 1972, parts of a strange, human-like skull with a flat face was unearthed. Calculations made regarding the size of the brain suggested that this creature had a brain size of around 750 cubic centimetres, much larger than Australopithecines and this evidence convinced many scientists that this was definitely an early member of the human family tree. It was assigned to the species Homo habilis. Scientists had no real idea what the skull of H. habilis looked like, as at the time very little skull material had not been discovered, so here was a convenient way of putting a “face” to an early member of the hominid family. The skull material (KNM-ER 1470, referred to as 1470 for short), caused a great deal of debate amongst researchers. Subsequent fossil finds showed that this skull was different from other material assigned to H. habilis and it was proposed that this skull was a male of the species and the other material represented females. If this was the case, then the size difference between males and females of the species H. habilis was the greatest in all the primates including the modern gorilla. Other scientists assigned this fossil to another species of early human – Homo rudolfensis.

Computer Image Showing Skull 1470 and the New Fossil Discoveries Combined

Say hello to H. rudolfensis.

Picture credit: Fred Spoor

A photographic reconstruction shows the KNM-ER 1470 cranium, discovered in 1972, combined with a new lower jaw KNM-ER 60000; both are thought to belong to the same species. The lower jaw is shown as a photographic reconstruction, and the cranium is based on a computed tomography scan. This is the first image of its kind taken of the “third” Lake Turkana hominid – Homo rudolfensis.

Skull 1470

Working out what the skull known as 1470 represented was proving controversial, no flat-faced skull material from the same sediments had been found and the lack of teeth and jaw bones made identification and placement in the human family tree extremely difficult. However, these three new fossils, excavated in the area between 2007 and 2009 confirm the existence of a third, large-brained hominid that lived alongside H. erectus and H. habilis. All these fossils were found within seven miles of each other and have been dated between 1.78 and 1.95 million years.

The Famous Lake Turkana Skull (KNM-ER 1470)

An early human face – skull 1470.

Commenting on the significance of the new fossil finds, Dr Meave Leakey, co-leader of the Koobi Fora Research Project in Kenya stated:

“For the past 40 years we have looked long and hard in the vast expanse of sediments around Lake Turkana for fossils that confirm the unique features of 1470’s face and show us what its teeth and lower jaw would have looked like. At last we have some answers.”

The bones that make up a flat face (KNM-ER 62000) are very similar to those of KNM-ER 1470, proving that the 1972 fossil discovery was not an over-sized example of a male H. habilis. The beautifully preserved upper jaw with most of its cheek teeth still in situ has made it possible for the research team to infer the type of lower jaw that would have fitted the skull known as 1470.

Co-author of the academic paper and leader of the scientific analysis, Professor Fred Spoor, from University College London (United Kingdom), stated: “Combined, the three new fossils give a much clearer picture of what 1470 looked like. As a result, it is now clear that two species of early Homo lived alongside Homo erectus. The new fossils will greatly help in unravelling how our branch of human evolution first emerged and flourished almost two million years ago.”

These fossil finds indicate that the evolution of our own species was not just a straight forward, linear progression. On the plains of eastern Africa around two million years ago, there seems to have been a number of hominid evolutionary experiments going on with a number of different species co-existing and probably competing with each other for food and other resources. Intense competition may well have acted as an “evolutionary accelerator”, providing a kick start to the evolution and development of our own part of the human family tree. At least three species of hominid lived in this part of the world, H. habilis, H. erectus and H. rudolfensis.

For models and replicas of ancient hominids including H. erectus (whilst stocks last): Wild Safari Ancient Figures and Models.

10 08, 2012

Admiring the Remarkable Accipitridae (Eagles, Vultures etc.)

By Mike|2024-04-24T16:31:36+01:00August 10th, 2012|Animal News Stories, Dinosaur Fans|1 Comment

Eagles, Hawks and Vultures

It is not very often that we get the chance to get up close to extant “raptors” but an opportunity was taken recently by Everything Dinosaur team members to take some pictures of birds of prey at a Game Fair. Studying extant (creatures that live today), animals and birds can provide scientists with a better understanding of how extinct creatures might have behaved. Studying a bird such as a Vulture might provide some pointers to those researchers working on a group of pterosaurs known as the Azhdarchidae – the largest flying creatures known to science. Intriguingly, there were two birds that we took particular interest in. Firstly, there was a Old World Vulture within the collection, (we are not sure what the collective noun for a group of assorted birds of prey is), we think this was a young Ruppells Vulture (Gyps rueppellii), although our knowledge of ornithology is a little lacking. This large scavenger had the typical long neck devoid of feathers which for many years scientists had thought had evolved simply to permit the bird to stick its head deep into a carcase in order to feed without its feathers getting clogged with blood.

Admiring the Accipitridae

The Young Vulture – Gyps rueppellii?

Vultures could provide us with clues about azhdarchid pterosaurs.

Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur

Necks Devoid of Feathers

Having a neck devoid of feathers seems to make sense when you stick it inside dead animals in order to feed, but recent research has suggested that a long neck with limited plumage may serve a second, equally important purpose. Thermo-regulation studies have shown that vultures lose a considerable amount of body heat through their heads and necks. One of the characteristics of azhdarchid pterosaurs such as Quetzalcoatlus and Hatzegopteryx is that they had long, cylindrical neck bones. This gave them long, slender, but rather inflexible necks. Some scientists have proposed that since fossils of Quetzalcoatlus and Hatzegopteryx are associated with sediment laid down in non-marine environments (granted H. thambena fossils are associated with an archipelago – Hateg), these pterosaurs were the Late Cretaceous equivalent of vultures. The long necks and large jaws would have enabled these prehistoric animals to reach deep inside the carcase of a dead dinosaur to feed.

A Scale Drawing of the European Azhdarchid Pterosaur – Hatzegopteryx

Long-necked pterosaurs – helping to keep them cool.

Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur

Other theories have proposed that these animals may have hunted like giant storks, stalking prey including small dinosaurs, on the ground and then grabbing the unfortunate victim with their long slender jaws before swallowing it whole. The debate as to what these animals ate, how they hunted and how they behaved goes on. What is known is that a number of large pterosaurs were covered in fine, insulating hair. Perhaps the long neck was particularly sparsely covered with insulating hairs and this part of the body served as a thermo-regulatory device just as it seems to do in modern-day vultures.

The second bird of prey we took a close look at was the American Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus), simply because it looked magnificent. After all, any bird that features on the Presidential Seal of the U. S. President has got to be worth taking a second look at.

The American Bald Eagle

A majestic eagle.

Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur

As for the name – Bald Eagle, we think the name originates from the old English word for white. It certainly is a magnificent creature.

For flying reptile figures and other prehistoric animal models: Models of Pterosaurs and Prehistoric Animals (CollectA Prehistoric Life).

9 08, 2012

Favourite, Fantastic Dinosaur Books (Part 1)

By Mike|2024-01-02T06:58:13+00:00August 9th, 2012|Dinosaur Fans, Everything Dinosaur News and Updates|3 Comments

Children’s Books About Dinosaurs

Books have been written about dinosaurs and other prehistoric animals for more than one hundred and fifty years . As our knowledge regarding these long extinct creatures has grown so has the number of titles dedicated to the Dinosauria. The first publications were scientific papers distributed amongst the academic community describing new fossil finds and discoveries. However, the Victorian popular press in England featured many accounts of these fossil finds and explanations of new theories, spurred on by ground-breaking scientific works such as Sir Charles Darwin’s “Origin of Species” that was first published in 1859. This book was one of the first publications of its kind that set out to explain a theory relating to Earth sciences to the layman, it was not written specifically for the academic fraternity but to permit the general public to perceive and understand a new, scientific concept.

Favourite Dinosaur Books

Children’s books featuring dinosaurs followed much later, but with Natural History museums rapidly expanding to fit the new North American dinosaur discoveries into their exhibitions and with the public’s thirst to learn more about these giant reptiles, books both factual and fictional soon were becoming more plentiful. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the writer of the Sherlock Holmes stories, wrote a book entitled “The Lost World” – a story first published in 1912 about an expedition to a South American plateau where dinosaurs and other prehistoric animals were encountered. This book was first serialised in the popular “Strand” magazine before inspiring a stop-animation film in the late 1920s featuring a number of dinosaur species.

The number of children’s books dedicated to dinosaurs increased dramatically in the 1950s, coinciding with the general rise in popularity of science books and science fiction. A number of once very common publications are exceedingly rare and a good quality, first edition can fetch hundreds of pounds if sold at auction. The rise in the number of dinosaur illustrators allowed dinosaur books to feature a number of colourful illustrations, this work being pioneered by the likes of Charles Knight and the great Czech artist and illustrator Zdeněk Burian. It was in the 1950s that the dinosaurs had their first commercial boom, with a lot of toys, games and models being made. Dinosaur models were even given away in breakfast cereal packets, such as the much sought after plastic prehistoric animals from Nabisco of the United States. Dinosaur books too, in this period had a phenomenal growth with a number of publishing houses producing fact-based books specifically for the children’s market. Flicking through the pages of these books, invoke many childhood memories of reading about and discovering for the first time new dinosaurs and prehistoric animals. It is difficult to decide which ones would be a favourite, although it is hard to ignore the beautifully illustrated “Dinosaurs” – Watson and Zallinger published by Hamlyn or another later Hamlyn publication “Dinosaurs and Other Prehistoric Animals” – Leutscher that came a little later.

Reading Books About Dinosaurs

Reading books about dinosaurs which were published in different countries can provide a fascinating insight into how dinosaurs were viewed from different national perspectives. We are fortunate to have a number of Canadian and American dinosaur books in the collection, it is always a pleasure to read about dinosaurs such as Antrodemus, Brontosaurus and Trachodon – names of prehistoric animals that are no longer valid as taxons in scientific literature.

Recently, a colleague was given an old children’s book about dinosaurs. It is a book that none of us at Everything Dinosaur are familiar with. We suspect that it was first published in the United States, it has been fascinating to read it and to view all the illustrations of the prehistoric animals featured in it.

“Dinosaurs and More Dinosaurs”

Prehistoric animal book from the 1960s?

Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur

Browsing through such books, shows how much our views regarding the Dinosauria have changed. Most of the early children’s books feature the long-necked dinosaurs (sauropods) depicting them as aquatic creatures living in swamps and lakes, where the water could support their great weight. This presumption about the behaviour of sauropods has largely been discounted by the scientific community. sauropods are seen as essentially terrestrial animals. However, recently an English science writer has re-ignited this debate by proposing that the majority of the dinosaurs did indeed live in water. A theory I first read about as a child in a book about dinosaurs has become prominent once again in academic circles.

For lots of educational, dinosaur themed toys, models and games: The Everything Dinosaur Website.

8 08, 2012

New Highly Manoeuvrable Pterosaur Genus Described

By Mike|2024-04-24T16:32:17+01:00August 8th, 2012|Dinosaur and Prehistoric Animal News Stories, Palaeontological articles|0 Comments

Aerial Acrobat of the Jurassic

The lithographic limestone beds of Solnhofen in southern Germany are famous for their Jurassic vertebrate fossils. Scientists have studied these quarries for more than two hundred years and as the limestone is no longer commercially quarried so palaeontologists are usually left to themselves to search amongst the finely grained limestone layers, separately the layers like opening the pages of a book in the hope of finding new fossil material. Every once in a while, one of the fossils found, beautifully preserved in the fine limestone beds, provides scientists with an intriguing mystery. A little fossil of a pterosaur, a flying reptile, once thought to represent a juvenile Rhamphorhynchus has been re-examined and a research team have discovered that this specimen represents an entirely new genus and it might have been a spectacular aerial acrobat as well!

The Solnhofen deposits were laid down in a shallow, still lagoon. They have provided palaeontologists with evidence of over fifty fish species, numerous plant fossils and many different types of invertebrate. The most famous fossils found in these strata are those of the early bird Archaeopteryx (A. lithographica). However, this area has also provided many hundreds of pterosaur specimens. Pterosaurs are not closely related to birds and they are not dinosaurs, although they are members of the reptilian clade known as the Archosauria, something which they do have in common with the dinosaurs.

Two type of pterosaur are known from these Upper Jurassic deposits, short-tailed pterodactyloids and long-tailed rhamphorhynchoids. These fossils of flying reptiles from Germany have formed the foundation as to how palaeontologists classify the Pterosauria. However, very few actual species of flying reptile have been described from the Solnhofen material, despite the hundreds of pterosaur fossils found. It seems that Rhamphorhynchus spp. and the short-tailed Pterodactylus spp. were the dominant types, but a closer examination of what was thought to be a juvenile Rhamphorhynchus has led to scientists identifying a new species.

Manoeuvrable Pterosaur Genus

A fossil specimen, nearly complete and like many of the flying reptiles from these deposits, beautifully preserved, has been identified as a new type of Late Jurassic pterosaur. Although clearly closely related to Rhamphorhynchus and definitely a member of the rhamphorhynchoids, this new species has fewer teeth and a more flexible tail than the long-tailed pterosaur genus known as Rhamphorhynchus. Even more remarkably, the fourth bone of the finger that supports the skin membrane that makes up the wing was curved. The distal wing finger phalanges of both wings curved outwards. This distinguishes this type of pterosaur from all the others previously described, a new genus has been assigned – Bellubrunnus and a formal scientific name for this flying reptile has been established as Bellubrunnus rothgaenger. The genus name translates as Brunn beauty, to honour the German quarry where the fossil was found, the species name acknowledges the amateur fossil collector who first unearthed this specimen.

Aerial Master? An Illustration of Bellubrunnus rothgaenger

A highly manoeuvrable pterosaur.

Picture credit: Matt Van Rooijen

Bellubrunnus rothgaenger

Although the skull is quite badly crushed, the international team of palaeontologists who studied this fossil are convinced that the curved wing finger phalanges are not the result of distortion or compression. Both of the distal wing bones (one in each wing) are curved to the same degree. This means that the aerodynamic properties of the leading edge of the wings of this creature would have been different from all other pterosaurs known to science.

At just fourteen centimetres long, the fossil material looked relatively unimpressive and indistinct from so many other Rhamphorhynchus fossils that had been found in the area before. It was the fossilised remains of a juvenile flying reptile but it has always been assumed it was an example of a Rhamphorhynchus species. However, once the prepared specimen had been viewed under ultra-violet light a lot more detail in the fossil material could be observed.

Right distal wing of the Specimen under UV Light Showing the Pronounced Curvature

Curved wing pterosaur.

Picture credit: PLoS One

The scale bar in the picture represents 2 cm, the key is as follows: wpx refer to the wing phalanx bones, the fourth being clearly curved in this photograph. The initials fb refer to the fibula (leg bone) and cdv indicate caudal vertebrae (tail bones).

The strange wings of this reptile, distinguish it from any other flying vertebrate. The shape of the wings would have made powered flight somewhat more difficult but the shape would have allowed this animal to turn and dart about very quickly. It was perhaps, the pterosaur equivalent of a stunt aeroplane. Being more manoeuvrable may have assisted this flying reptile which probably grew to be the size of a Magpie. It would have helped it to twist and turn in the air and snatch up insects as it flew.

To view models and replicas of flying reptiles and other prehistoric creatures: Flying Reptiles and Other Prehistoric Creatures.

The actual fossil was found in strata that is older than the main Solnhofen deposits, this site is still being explored and the research team are optimistic that more fossils of strange pterosaurs may be discovered.

The scientific paper: “A New Non-Pterodactyloid Pterosaur from the Late Jurassic of Southern Germany” by David W. E. Hone, Helmut Tischlinger, Eberhard Frey and Martin Röper published in PLoS One.

7 08, 2012

Fossil Dealer Files Claim to Get Back Disputed Tarbosaurus

By Mike|2023-03-09T10:53:41+00:00August 7th, 2012|Dinosaur and Prehistoric Animal News Stories|0 Comments

Tale of the Tarbosaurus Takes a Twist Dispute over Tyrannosaur Skeleton

The legal dispute over the ownership of a tyrannosaur skeleton that had been auctioned in May of this year for the sum of $1.052,500 USD has taken another twist with the Florida fossil dealer who had originally put the specimen up for sale making it clear that he wants the skeleton back.

Tyrannosaur Skeleton

Heritage Auctions, based in New York, had conducted the sale of an eight-metre-long, mounted specimen of the Asian tyrannosaur Tarbosaurus bataar. The sale did go ahead despite a petition from palaeontologists and the attempted intervention of the Mongolian Government. The Mongolian President Elbegdorj Tsakhia himself intervened claiming that the fossil material was the property of his country.

Most Tarbosaurus fossil material has been excavated from the Nemegt Formation of Upper Cretaceous strata of Mongolia. It has been illegal to take such fossil material out of the country for at least fifty years. The Mongolian Government attempted to stop the auction, claiming that the material had been obtained illegally, probably as a result of smuggling. The fossils were seized and are now in the custody of United States customs officials.

The Tarbosaurus Skeleton at the Centre of the Dispute

Heading for court.

Picture credit: Heritage Auctions

A team of North American palaeontologists assisted by Mongolian scientists examined the fossils and they declared that in all likelihood the fossil bones had come from Mongolia. The fossil is now the subject of a federal lawsuit which has been filed in order to resolve the ownership issue and to have the specimen returned to Mongolia, where it can join other Tarbosaurus specimens and become part of a study of this particular tyrannosaur genus.

To read the original article about the fossil auction: Tyrannosaurid Up for Auction.

Objecting by Petition

At Everything Dinosaur, when the auction was first announced, our team members petitioned against the sale taking place, at least to delay the auction so that rightful ownership could be established. In a separate development, the fossil dealer responsible for preparing and mounting the specimen has filed his own proceedings in an attempt to fight the authorities and their attempt to have the material shipped to Mongolia. The Florida-based fossil dealer, Eric Prokopi states in his claim that he:

“Purchased components of the tyrannosaur on the international market and then spent a year of his life and considerable expense, identifying, restoring, mounting and preparing it.”

This terminology reflects the work Prokopi put into preparing the mounted dinosaur, Prokopi’s attorney Michael McCullough said in a statement:

“We are just trying to create a factual distinction between a fossil which is imported and a finished piece which is what was being sold at the auction.”

Filing Documentation

The documentation filed to enable the material to enter the United States has also been questioned. A reason for the official seizure of the specimen by the U. S. authorities through the process of submitting a lawsuit was that the import documents did not attest to the true value of what was being brought into the United States. The U. S. authorities have claimed that the relics had been brought into the country with documents that disguised the potentially valuable dinosaur skeleton and misrepresented what was actually being imported.

To read more about the actual seizure of the fossil material: U.S. Authorities Seize Tarbosaurus.

Mr Prokopi has disputed that the dinosaur fossils came from Mongolia, in a statement released earlier he challenged the assumptions made by the palaeontologists who had examined the bones saying that the fossils could have come from elsewhere, he stated:

“Other than from the diggers, there is no way for anyone to know for certain when or where the specimen was collected.”

Refuting Allegations

Strongly refuting the accusations and allegations that he had been involved in fossil smuggling, the Florida fossil dealer went onto add:

“I’m just a guy in Gainesville, Florida, trying to support my family, not some international bone smuggler.”

Had no counter claim been filed, then the U. S. authorities would have taken legal possession of the fossils, but now it looks like this dispute is heading for court. Tarbosaurus is going to have to go on trial. Anyone else with a legal interest in the dinosaur has until August 26th to file a claim.

When the original customs documents are examined it can be seen that the fossils were shipped to America from a Dorset based, professional fossil collector and dealer. Sources state that in the contract with Heritage Auctions, this English fossil dealer would have split the proceeds of the auction with Mr Prokopi. The Dorset fossil dealer has not been named in the federal lawsuit and the Englishman’s lawyer in a statement, took steps to distance his client from the proceedings.

For information and advice about fossil collecting: Contact Everything Dinosaur by Email.

6 08, 2012

Is Usain Bolt the Fastest Man on the Planet of All Time?

By Mike|2023-02-04T07:32:31+00:00August 6th, 2012|Dinosaur and Prehistoric Animal News Stories, Press Releases|10 Comments

Ancient Humans Were Fast Runners Too

Last night in the Olympic stadium (London), Usain Bolt the Jamaican sprinter, retained the Olympic 100 metres title in a winning time of 9.63 seconds. He took just forty-one strides to complete the course, breaking the Olympic record for the distance as he did so. The twenty-five-year-old crossed the finish line at something in excess of 23 mph, his training partner and fellow Jamaican Yohan Blake came in second in a phenomenal 9.75 seconds. Over one million people had applied for tickets to see what is regarded by many as the blue-ribbon event of the entire Games and to witness the great Jamaican sprinters in action. However, one scientist thinks that some ancient humans could give Usain Bolt and company a run for their money.

Ancient Humans

Anthropologist Peter McAllister thinks that a set of preserved footprints of aborigines in Australia suggests that some early settlers on that continent would have been right up there with the likes of Bolt if they were asked to run the 100 metres final. Mr McAllister’s analysis of the footprints suggests that this group of humans were capable of running at up to 23 mph, bare foot and over soft mud in their pursuit of prey. Or perhaps they were being pursued themselves, trying to avoid becoming a meal for one of the many super-predators that they shared their Australian home with.

The prints of six men chasing prey and Mr McAllister’s analysis leads him to believe these men if trained and provided with modern running shoes could beat Usain Bolt in a sprint. Peter claims that these ancient ancestors of ours could theoretically reach sprinting speeds of up to 28 mph. It is not known what speeds the likes of Usain Bolt, Yohan Blake or Tyson Gay could reach if they were being chased and in fear of their lives.

There has been a lot of debate about just how fast this group of humans were running. The tracks are located at Willandra Lakes (south-east Australia), one individual, known as T8, changes he stride length from 1.8 metres to 1.9 metres over a distance of approximately 11 metres. This suggests acceleration, in other words this person began to run faster, however estimates of the speed of these bare-footed people running across soft mud does vary. Some scientists have calculated that this runner was moving at around thirteen miles an hour, a lot slower than an Olympic sprinter. However, Mr McAllister states that with training, on the right track and with running shoes T8 could run perhaps as fast as 28 mph.

To read a more complete article regarding the abilities of ancient hominids: Could Ancient Humans Kick Butt?

We’re not taking anything away from Usain Bolt in terms of his achievements, he is a truly remarkable athlete, but our ancestors were much more used to hard physical work when compared to their modern counterparts. Perhaps given the right training, nutrition and equipment; a New Stone Age Man or Woman could compete with today’s Olympians.

Comments have been made in the Australian media about the relatively poor showing of Australian competitors at these Games, perhaps our chums down under can take comfort in the fact that an anthropologist believes that at least some ancient Australians would have been medal contenders.

For replicas and models of ancient humans and hominids: Prehistoric Animal Models and Ancient Human Replicas (Safari Ltd).

5 08, 2012

Our Favourite and Most Fascinating Fossil Fish – Placoderms

By Mike|2024-01-02T06:58:31+00:00August 5th, 2012|Dinosaur Fans, Everything Dinosaur News and Updates|0 Comments

Fans of Dunkleosteus et al

One of the questions in our inbox yesterday was from an avid dinosaur model collector who wanted to know apart from dinosaurs what were the other animals from the fossil record that we most admired. For example, what was our favourite fish fossil? An unusual question, one that led to much debate in the office but after a lengthy discussion we went for the placoderm Dunkleosteus, a huge predatory fish of the Devonian geological period.

The “Age of Fishes”

Often referred to as the “Age of Fishes” the Devonian featured an abundance of diverse vertebrate life forms in rivers, lakes, estuaries and in the sea. The group of fishes known as the “jawed fishes” evolved into a myriad of forms, ray-finned fish, lobe finned, lungfishes, the first sharks and the placoderms. It is from the jawed fish that the ancestors of the first land animals evolved.

An Illustration of the Huge Placoderm Dunkleosteus

A giant prehistoric fish.

Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur

The Placoderm Dunkleosteus

Placoderms, the correct term is Placodermi, were armoured fish that evolved in the Silurian, rapidly diversified to exploit a number of marine and freshwater environments during the Devonian before rapidly declining and becoming extinct at the end of this geological period. These jawed fishes had articulated armour on their heads and thorax.

Dunkleosteus was one of the largest of the placoderms, and at up to ten metres long, one of the largest fish known from Devonian strata. Although the body was not very streamlined, it was a nektonic (actively swimming), apex predator. Fossils of Dunkleosteus have been found in North America, Europe and North Africa. Some palaeontologists have estimated that larger specimens could have weighed more than four tonnes.

Powerful Jaws

The powerful jaws could be closed together like a pair of self-sharpening shears. This strange fish was formally named and described in 1873 by Dr John Newberry; the genus name is in honour of the famous American palaeontologist Dr David Dunkle of the Cleveland Museum of Natural History.

A number of museums have examples of Dunkleosteus fossils on display. The armoured head and thorax plates, some of which could be five centimetres thick; make a spectacular mounted exhibit in the fish gallery of natural history museums. There are large placoderm fossils on display at the London Natural History Museum as well as at the American Museum of Natural History and the Musee National d’Histoire Naturelle in Paris.

If you look carefully at the armoured plates you can see that on a number of these fossils there are deep scratches and puncture wounds. These are the scars indicating that Dunkleosteus did not always get its own way. The wounds would have been inflicted by prey items as they tried to defend themselves, or perhaps even the largest of these armoured fishes was hunted and predated upon.

Hunting Placoderms

What would hunt a four tonne, ten metre long prehistoric fish? Palaeontologists have speculated that these fishes may have been cannibals or that young fish may have been hunted by sharks.

A Museum Exhibit of the Placoderm Dunkleosteus

A Dunkleosteus cast on display.

Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur

Safari Ltd of the United States created a superb, bronze-coloured Dunkleosteus model as part of the company’s Wild Safari Dinos prehistoric animal model range. It was introduced about five years ago and since it first came on the market it has proved very popular with prehistoric animal model collectors. It is certainly very desirable the Wild Safari Dinos Dunkleosteus model.

To view the extensive range of prehistoric animal models including Dunkleosteus available from Everything Dinosaur, click this link: Wild Safari Prehistoric World Figures.

4 08, 2012

Monster Prehistoric Crocodile from Queensland

By Mike|2023-02-04T06:54:45+00:00August 4th, 2012|Dinosaur and Prehistoric Animal News Stories|2 Comments

Huge “Super-Croc” May be Biggest Crocodile of All Time

Scientists in Queensland (Australia) have uncovered part of a fossilised jawbone that suggests the rivers and lakes of ancient Australia may have been home to a super-sized, monster prehistoric crocodile that would not have looked out of place if it had lived at the time of the dinosaurs. The island of Australia has been isolated from other land masses for millions of years, this has permitted the fauna and flora to evolve without competition from other genera migrating into the country. Marsupial mammals still dominate today and in the past Australia had its own, unique mega-fauna including cow-sized wombats, a giant monitor lizard called megalania and fearsome predators such as marsupial lions. The megafaunal assemblage of Australia survived into the Pleistocene but the arrival of human settlers and climate change led to the extinction of most of these animals.

Monster Prehistoric Crocodile

Scientists were aware that crocodiles had diversified and evolved into a myriad of different species. The discovery of a partial jawbone suggests that at least one type of crocodile evolved into a giant, perhaps a contender for the biggest crocodylian known from the fossil record. Australia is home to the Saltwater crocodile, otherwise known as the Estuarine crocodile (Crocodylus porosus), it is the largest species of reptile on the planet, with males reaching lengths in excess of seven metres and weighing more than a tonne. It is often referred to as “Australia’s own dinosaur”, but like all crocodylians, it is only very distantly related to the Dinosauria. University of New South Wales palaeontologists who found the fragment of crocodile jaw state that this individual was at least eight metres long and there may have been others of its kind that were even larger, perhaps reaching the size of Sarcosuchus, a twelve-metre-long crocodylian that lived during the Late Cretaceous geological period and preyed on dinosaurs.

The fossil was found at a dig site at Floraville Station, on the Liechardt River, between the towns of Normanton and Burketown in the Gulf of Carpentaria (Queensland). This location has provided scientists with a number of Pleistocene and older Pliocene fossils including the remains of giant wombats (diprotodontids).

Australian Scientists Report on Giant Fossil Crocodile

King of the Outback!

Picture credit: Adapted from the Sunday Mail (Queensland)

The fossil was discovered by undergraduate Bok Khoo from the University of New South Wales on July 10th, it is part of the lower jaw (dentary). The fossil bearing strata consists of several layers which represent ancient river deposits. The dig site is close to the current course of the Liechardt River and the sediment is disturbed when the water levels rise and this helps to expose new fossil finds. The river may help reveal fossil material but being close to the river does have its drawbacks. The location is known for its Saltwater and Freshwater crocodiles as well as sharks and sting rays. The field team have to be wary of attacks from extant crocodiles as they search for the fossilised remains of extinct ones.

Gilbert Price, a palaeontologist with Queensland University has commented that the jaw bone represents a substantial individual, one crocodile that was very probably an apex predator in the region. The fossil has yet to be accurately dated, it belongs to either the Pleistocene or the earlier Pliocene Epoch. The Pliocene ended approximately 1.6 million years ago, the Pleistocene Epoch followed and lasted until approximately 10,000 years ago. The climate around the Gulf of Carpentaria today has two distinct seasons, a wet season and a long dry season. For most of the Pliocene and Pleistocene Epochs, this part of Australia was much more humid and wetter. Scientists have speculated that this huge crocodile could have lived as far south as the State of Victoria. The research team hope to subject the specimen to radiocarbon dating, this will give them a better idea as to whether the fossil represents a known species of crocodile or whether it is new to science.

Student Bok Khoo with the Crocodile Fossil

Huge fossil of crocodile jaw found.

Picture credit: Laurie Beirne

The fossil is eroded, a result of the river action and the teeth have been lost but the tooth sockets which measure up to four centimetres in diameter indicate that this predator had very large, conical-shaped teeth. Professor Mike Archer of the University of New South Wales described the fossil as “weird” and he could not rule out that this fossil find could represent a new species.

He jokingly added:

“It it is not a crocodile, it is a bunyip [aboriginal mythical monster], or something equally as weird. Something very, very big that we have never seen before.”

Although the scientists are hopeful that they may be able to find more fossils of this unusually large crocodylian they have postulated that it could represent a member of the crocodile genus known as Pallimnarchus, perhaps being a specimen of Palimnarchus pollens, the largest species in the genus. The Pallimnarchus crocodiles belong to an extinct family of crocodiles known as the Mekosuchinae. These crocodiles evolved in the Palaeogene geological period, following the extinction of the dinosaurs and spread across the south Pacific evolving into a number of diverse forms. Some Mekosuchinae crocodiles were water-based ambush predators just like today’s “Salties”, but other types evolved entirely differently. A number of these types of crocodile became fleet-footed, land based predators, some even adapted to an arboreal existence becoming apex predators in forested habitats.

The Australian scientists are keen to continue their fieldwork in the hope of finding more skull material from this ancient giant.

3 08, 2012

A Surge in Mountain Building Led to Dinosaur Diversification

By Mike|2023-03-08T13:32:17+00:00August 3rd, 2012|Dinosaur and Prehistoric Animal News Stories, Palaeontological articles|0 Comments

Geological Processes Led to the Huge Variety of Horned and Duck-Billed Dinosaurs in North America

Over the last twenty years or so, palaeontologists studying the Late Cretaceous fauna of North America have discovered an amazing variety of ornithischian dinosaurs in strata laid down between 80 million and 70 million years ago. A number of horned dinosaurs such as Vagaceratops, Utahceratops and Kosmoceratops as well as a number of new genera of hadrosaurs (duck-billed dinosaurs) have been described from western North America.

Most palaeontologists have been focused on mapping the faunal distribution and studying the myriad of new plant-eating dinosaur species that have been found, but a number of scientists are now turning to the mystery of why so many different types of dinosaur evolved in this part of the world during the last few million years of the Cretaceous.

Utahceratops – Part of Dinosaur Diversification

Late Cretaceous dinosaur diversification in North America.

Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur

Late Cretaceous Fauna

For one team of researchers based at Ohio University, the explanation as to dinosaur diversity lies in the geology. The rise of the Rocky Mountain range and the appearance and then disappearance of a huge, inland seaway that split North America into a series of islands, may have been the catalysts for an explosion in megafauna diversity. The research team from the University’s Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine have had their paper published in the on line scientific journal PloS One (public library of science). They state that the rapid changing geology led to populations of animals being isolated which may explain the patterns of evolution, migration and rapid dinosaur diversification.

The presence of different dinosaur faunas in different parts of North America is referred to as provinciality by Everything Dinosaur team members.

Terry Gates, the lead author of the paper and a post-doctoral student at the University commented:

“Over the past century, palaeontologists have found a wide variety of dinosaurs in rocks dating to around 75 million years ago, but right before the asteroid hit at the end of the Cretaceous, there appeared to be fewer species in North America. The reason for this discrepancy in dinosaur diversity has never been adequately explained.”

The research team set out to examine the geological record of what was to become the continent of North America, focusing on the United States and Canada. During the Campanian faunal stage of the Cretaceous, a time in the Earth’s history that roughly relates to 83 million years ago to 74 million years ago there was extensive plate tectonic activity that led to mountain ranges being pushed up and the sinking of much of the continental landmass under an inland sea (known as the Western Interior Seaway). At its most extensive, this seaway covered much of North America from Canada to the Gulf of Mexico.

Dinosaur Diversification

In the later Maastrichtian faunal stage, that lasted from 74 million years ago up until the mass extinction event 66 million years ago, there was less extensive plate activity. This coincided with a decline in the number of genera of dinosaur known from the fossil record. Palaeontologists have interpreted this as evidence as a fall in the number of dinosaur species living in North America towards the very end of the Cretaceous – dinosaur genera became less diverse.

Ornithischian Dinosaur Diversity (Horned and Duck-Billed Dinosaurs)

Rapid diversification of ornithischian dinosaurs in the Late Cretaceous.

Diagram credit: Lindsay Zanno/Ohio University

The diagram above illustrates the diversification of the horned and duck-billed dinosaurs during the Late Cretaceous. Scientists postulate that this rapid speciation occurred as a result of high sea levels and mountain formation. The geologic time scale is to the left of the diagram, with horizontal green divisions representing the Campanian (lower) and Maastrichtian (upper) time periods. Silhouettes of North America demonstrating areas covered by ocean water during each of the time periods are to the right along with triangles designating the relative size of both the Western Interior Seaway and the Laramida mountain range.

Finally, the fork within the duck-billed (black) and horned (grey) dinosaur family trees show the coinciding time (yellow bar) of a major split within each group of dinosaurs.

To read a related article on dinosaur diversification in North America: Ethnicity in North American Dinosaurs.

Geologists have calculated that during the Early Cretaceous there was a substantial amount of geological activity in the western United States. A number of processes involving subduction, the movement of ocean crust down into the Earth’s mantle occurred along what was to become the western coast of North America. These immense geological forces caused the western part of the Americas to be lifted up and this led to the formation of an enormous mountain range that extended from Alberta (Canada) in a south-western direction to as far south as the southern United States.

The region to the east of this newly formed mountain range (the Sevier Mountains), flexed downwards and this coincided with a rise in global sea levels, flooding much of the continent and splitting what land remained above sea level into a series of large islands. This sea (Western Interior Seaway), teemed with life and the marine deposits left behind in places as far apart as Alberta and Kansas have provided palaeontologists with an amazing variety of marine reptile fossils to study – Dolichorhynchops, elasmosaurs and huge mosasaurs such as Tylosaurus.

The Ohio based research team have focused on the dinosaur fossils that have been found in association with the islands. At its most extensive, the Western Interior Seaway split the North American land mass into three large islands. These islands each had a substantial and diverse population of ornithischian dinosaurs.

For replicas and models of Late Cretaceous ornithischians and other dinosaurs: Ornithischian and Other Dinosaur Figures.

Geographic and Ecological Barriers

The most western of the islands, known as Laramidia consisted of land that was to form Alberta in the north with the American states of Dakota and Montana in the middle with the land that was to become Utah forming the southern part of the island. Formations laid down in the north of this island, the famous Dinosaur Provincial Park for example, have provided palaeontologists with a huge range of horned and duck-billed, ornithischian dinosaurs. Fossils found in Utah, animals such as the horned dinosaurs Kosmoceratops and Utahceratops from rocks of roughly the same age, indicate that different types of plant-eating dinosaur evolved in the south.

The Ohio University scientists have postulated that mountain building and the rising sea levels caused the available habitat for dinosaurs to shrink on Laramidia. Populations became isolated and this was further compounded by later plate tectonic movements that led to the nascent development of what was to become the North American Rockies.

Prieto-Márquez, a Munich based palaeontologist who collaborated on the scientific paper states:

“At that time [Campanian faunal stage], it appears that geographic, as well as probably also ecological, barriers created by the rise of mountain ranges and the seaway caused isolation of the northern and southern populations of the crested duck-billed and horned plant-eating dinosaurs. We hypothesise that such isolation facilitated rapid speciation and increased diversity in these animals.”

The team postulate that a new species of large, ornithischian dinosaur evolved every few hundred thousand years during the time that the mountain ranges and the Western Interior Seaway isolated populations. These geological processes led to a rapid burst of dinosaur evolution in these cut-off populations, in the same way that the isolated populations of animals in the Galapagos archipelago rapidly diversified into new species.

The Changing Face of North America During the Late Cretaceous

North America 75 million years ago and 66 million years ago.

Picture credit: Dr Ron Blakey of Colorado Plateau Geosystems, Inc

The maps above show North America 75 million years ago, with the Western Interior Seaway cutting the land mass into a series of islands (A). This is compared to the continental land mass approximately 66 million years ago with the seaway having retreated.

However, this extensive speciation of mega-herbivores was brought to an end with the continued rise of the embryonic Rocky Mountains which eventually forced the Western Interior Seaway to contract. This opened up a large, open territory for the ornithischian dinosaurs to exploit. This reduced the turnover in species with new species evolving at a much slower rate. New species taking more than a million years to evolve.

The research team warn that their work on the major, herbivorous dinosaur faunas of North America cannot be used as a template to explain the rise and then the decline in dinosaur diversity on a global scale. However, the rapidly changing geology caused by plate movements would have had an influence over the migration of dinosaurs from the Americas into Asia and into South America.

The rise of the Rocky Mountains for example, would have created a barrier that the dinosaurs could not cross. Only dinosaur species resident north of this barrier could have migrated into Asia and only those species living in the southern part of Laramidia would have had a migration route open to them to South America.

It is also worth noting that a long, thin island such as Laramidia would have had different climates. The most northerly part of the island was at a much higher latitude than the southern parts. This may have encouraged different vegetation to flourish and this too, might help to explain the diversity of herbivorous dinosaurs in the region, with each species adapting to exploit a particular niche in the eco-system.

Everything Dinosaur acknowledges the help of Ohio University in creating this article.

2 08, 2012

New Papo Brachiosaurus Model is Delayed

By Mike|2024-04-23T14:48:29+01:00August 2nd, 2012|Dinosaur Fans, Everything Dinosaur Products, Press Releases|0 Comments

Brachiosaurus Replica from Papo Due in September

Everything Dinosaur team members have been informed that the new Papo Brachiosaurus replica has been further delayed. Sources close to Papo state the model should be available in September. The Brachiosaurus replica, the largest dinosaur model that Papo have attempted to make, was due to be launched in July of this year, but this was put back to this month. Now Papo staff are saying that the production has been delayed and that stock should be ready for shipping in September.

The Papo Brachiosaurus Model

Delayed until September.

Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur/Papo

A spokesperson for Everything Dinosaur commented:

“The Papo range of prehistoric animals has been extended this year and the Brachiosaurus model was always going to be the last model introduced. It measures nearly 32 centimetres high and represents an approximate 1:55 scale model of a Brachiosaurus. Papo will be keen to maintain the high standards they have achieved with their model ranges and will be doing all they can to make the model as good as possible. We are looking forward to finally getting our hands on stocks of this dinosaur model, we have been promised that Everything Dinosaur will be one of the first to receive their allocation”.

To view Everything Dinosaur’s range of Papo models: Papo “Les Dinosaures” Prehistoric Animal Figures.

The award winning Papo range marketed in France as the “Les Dinosaures” range, currently consists of sixteen dinosaur models (counting the green and brown versions of the standing T. rex). The range has one pterosaur (Pteranodon), two marine reptiles as well as a set of Woolly Mammoth models, a Smilodon replica and two figures of cavemen. The company has built up a strong reputation for the quality of their replicas and figures.