All about dinosaurs, fossils and prehistoric animals by Everything Dinosaur team members.
11 02, 2014

Basal Ichthyosaur Fossil Suggests Origins of Live Birth on Land

By |2023-03-09T16:59:42+00:00February 11th, 2014|Dinosaur and Prehistoric Animal News Stories|2 Comments

Primitive Ichthyosaur Chaohusaurus Provides New Data on Origins of Viviparity in Marine Reptiles

Scientists had thought that the ability to give birth to live young (viviparity) evolved in ancient reptiles that had fully adapted to a marine environment.  The ability to give birth to live young rather than to have to scramble ashore to lay eggs in a nest is known in a number of extinct genera of ichthyosaurs.  A series of fossils discovered last year have helped scientists learn more about the origins of the ichthyosaur group and one remarkable specimen has shed light on the origins of live birth.

Ichthyosaurs (Fish Lizards)

Ichthyosaurs (the name means “fish lizards”), or more correctly termed members of the Ichthyopterygia, are perhaps the most highly adapted to a marine habitat of all the types of marine reptile discovered to date.  Originating in the very Early Triassic, these reptiles evolved streamlined bodies, tails with flukes and flippers.  They superficially resemble today’s whales and dolphins.

An Illustration of a Typical Jurassic Ichthyosaur

Palvennia hoybergeti illustrated

An illustration of the ophthalmosaurid ichthyosaur Palvennia hoybergeti.

Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur

Ichthyosaur Genera

Fossils representing at least six different ichthyosaur genera have provided evidence of live birth in this particular group of reptiles, but until now it had been thought that as these reptiles adapted to a life in the sea, they gradually evolved the ability to give birth in the water rather than having to venture out onto land to lay eggs.  However, a group of Chinese and American scientists, in collaboration with an Italian based colleague, have published a paper on a series of Chaohusaurus fossils that indicate that viviparity may have evolved in the terrestrial ancestors of these animals.

The paper detailing the research work has been published in the academic, on line journal PLoS One (public library of science).

Basal Ichthyosaur Fossil

A field expedition to a fossil quarry that had exposed Lower Triassic strata, yielded over eighty different specimens of the primitive ichthyosaur known as Chaohusaurus  from a marine assemblage, representing sediments laid down in a relatively sheltered, shallow tropical sea.  The fossil site is located in south Majiashan,  near the city of Chaohu in Anhui province, approximately 150 miles east of the Chinese city of Shanghai.  The site had been extensively mapped in 2013 and when the U.S./Sino research team explored a slab of rock with preserved remains of the ray-finned fish Saurichthys contained within it, they discovered the fossilised remains of a female Chaohusaurus and her babies.

The position of the fossilised young indicate that the mother and offspring perished during the act of giving birth and the “head-first” orientation of the baby reptiles suggests that viviparity in these animals was inherited from terrestrial ancestors and not an adaptation to living in the sea.

Viviparity Inherited from Terrestrial Ancestors

The scientists which include researchers from the University of California, the Field Museum (Chicago), Peking University and Anhui Geological Museum, have stated how important these fossils are, as very few fossils of primitive, Early Triassic ichthyosaurs are known.  It is hoped that these specimens will help scientists to understand in more detail the transition from terrestrial reptiles to fully adapted marine animals.  The strata has been dated to around 248 million years ago and this indicates that ichthyosaurs were already very well adapted to marine habitats not long after the Permian mass extinction event.

Other fossils of Ichthyosaurs which are believed to show animals that died during the process of giving birth show babies emerging from the mother tail first.  This the usual orientation seen in the majority of air breathing marine vertebrates as being born tail first avoids suffocation.  However, in land-based animals that are viviparous, being born head-first is the norm.

The Slab of Chaohusaurus Ichthyosaur Fossil Material (Mother and Babies)

Chaohusaurus fossil specimen (maternal specimen)

Chaohusaurus fossil specimen (maternal specimen).

Picture credit: PLoS One/Motani et al

The picture on top is the actual fossil slab, with a colour coded interpretation shown underneath.  Elements coloured black are the back bones of the mother.  The bones coloured blue represent a hind flipper and part of the pelvis of the mother, whilst embryos number one and two are coloured yellow and orange.  The bones coloured red indicate other material from new-born ichthyosaurs.  The bones coloured green are the ribs and gastralia of the maternal specimen.   The scale bar provided measures one centimetre.

Live-bearing Marine Reptiles

Commenting on the research Dr Motani (University of California), one of the lead authors of the scientific paper stated:

“We always assumed that live-bearing in marine reptiles evolved after they invaded the sea, partly because of this difference [evidence to suggest tail-first births].  Now the new fossil shows that the most primitive marine reptile gave birth head first.  This strongly suggests that they inherited live-bearing from their land ancestors.”

Perhaps one of the most famous examples of ichthyosaur live birth comes from Germany.

An Image Showing “Tail-First” Live Birth in Ichthyosauria

CollectA Temnodontosaurus platyodon model.

Detailed ichthyosaur figure. Temnodontosaurus platyodon.

Picture credit: CollectA

The picture above shows a Jurassic ichthyosaur model (Temonodontosaurus) in the act of giving birth. The baby is emerging from the mother tail first.

To view the CollectA range of not-to-scale models and figures: CollectA Prehistoric Life Figures.

The scientific paper: “Terrestrial Origin of Viviparity in Mesozoic Marine Reptiles Indicated by Early Triassic Embryonic Fossils” by Ryosuke Motani, Da-yong Jiang, Andrea Tintori, Olivier Rieppel and Guan-bao Chen published in PLoS One.

10 02, 2014

Walking with Dinosaurs – Chicken Run

By |2023-03-09T16:52:51+00:00February 10th, 2014|Dinosaur and Prehistoric Animal News Stories|0 Comments

Scientists Attach Prosthetic Dinosaur Tails to Chickens

Why did the chicken with the prosthetic tail cross the road?  So that scientists can simulate the walking motion of Theropod dinosaurs in a bid to learn more about the way in which dinosaurs moved around.  That’s the rather bizarre summation from a study into non-avian, bipedal dinosaur posture and locomotion carried out by researchers at the University of Chile, working in collaboration with colleagues from the University of Chicago.

Ancestral Traits

Aves (birds) still share a number of ancestral traits of the Dinosauria and as such they can be utilised as experimental subjects to assess certain aspects of dinosaur anatomy and even inferred behaviour.  In this particular study, chickens were fitted with prosthetic tails as they grew so that scientists could assess how Theropod dinosaurs walked in comparison with their very much shorter-tailed descendants.  As birds evolved during the Mesozoic, so a number of forms gradually lost their long, reptilian tails, a tail is prominent in the fossils of Archaeopteryx (A. lithographica).  Indeed, one of the ways to tell birds apart from Maniraptoran dinosaurs in the fossil record is to count the number of likely caudal vertebrae (tail bones).

Prosthetic Dinosaur Tails

As a simple rule of thumb, if more than twenty-five tail bones are associated with the skeletal material, then chances are, you are looking at the fossilised remains of a dinosaur.  Less than twenty-five tail bones and the identification starts to lean more towards the Aves (birds).  Birds lost most of their tail as they evolved into more and more efficient fliers.  The long tail of Archaeopteryx would have made it quite a clumsy aeronaut.  Later birds, more competent fliers than Archaeopteryx for example, lost most of their tail.

Modern birds have a pygostyle, a vestigial tail that is composed of their last five caudal vertebrae fused into a plate of bone, the evolution of birds shows trends towards a lightening of the skeleton such as the loss of teeth and the gradual reduction in tail length.

The Locomotion of Theropod Dinosaurs

This then gives scientists a bit of puzzle when it comes to using birds to mimic the locomotion of theropod dinosaurs, birds don’t have a long tail and the addition of a tail alters the centre of gravity in relation to the rest of the body mass and effects the way a creature can move about.  The solution is simple, add artificial tails to your subject chickens as they grow.  With the tail the birds have to modify their gait and motion and therefore scientists can learn more about the movements of those long-tailed dinosaurs.

Extant birds today, maintain a crouched hind-limb posture and their locomotion is powered by knee flexion.  In non-avian Theropods, by contrast, scientists speculate that these dinosaurs had a more upright posture and limb movement powered by femur (thigh bone) retraction.  To test this theory, young chicks had a series of artificial tails attached to them from two days of age.  As the hatchlings grew, so bigger tails were fitted to mimic the growth of the tail in a young dinosaur.

Calculating Tail Weight

The scientists worked around a tail weight roughly equivalent to 15% of the bird’s total body mass, roughly the proportional weight of a theropod dinosaur’s tail when compared to the weight of the entire dinosaur’s body.  Velcro straps were used to keep the wooden, prosthetic tails in place and the scientists noted that by manipulating the location of the centre of mass within the chickens, the birds began to alter their locomotion and posture to accommodate the tail.

The Addition of a Tail Alters the Way In Which Chickens Walk

Watch the birdie!

Watch the birdie!

Picture credit: PLoS One

Artificial Dinosaur Tails

Artificial tails provide clues to non-avian dinosaur locomotion.  In the diagram (A), above, those birds used as controls have their hind-limbs shaded grey, those chickens with a counter weight added anteriorly (hind-limbs shaded yellow) and those chickens with tails (orange hind-limbs).  Estimations of the centre of mass of the tail rig (tCOM), as well as of a control (cCOM) and of an experimental individual (eCOM), are shown.   With the tail added, the centre of mass is moved towards the rear of the bird.  (B) Diagram showing the segmental angles (f, femur; tt, tibio-tarsus; tm, tarso-metatarsus) and joint angles (k, knee; a, ankle) used in this study.

It was noted that the chickens began to recreate the limb posture and kinetic movements inferred for bipedal dinosaurs.  The more rearward located centre of gravity indicated a more vertical orientation of the thigh during standing and increased femoral displacement during walking.

Commenting on the research, lead author of this rather unusual study, Bruno Gossi (Institute of Ecology and Biodiversity, University of Chile) wrote:

“We attached more realistic artificial tails to chickens shortly after hatching and allowing proper exercise, we expected adult chickens with added tails to show a more vertical femur in standing position and increased femoral excursion during locomotion.”

Changing the Centre of Body Mass

The research team states that this study supports the hypothesis that gradual changes in the position of the centre of body mass (posterior located with tail, to anterior located without a tail), resulted in a more crouched hind-limb posture and a shift form hip-driven limb movements to the knee-driven limb movement seen in extant birds.

Having mastered  the technique of adding artificial tails to chickens thanks to Velcro, the scientists are confident that this type of research can be used to gain further, significant insights into previously unexplored aspects of bipedal theropod locomotion.

Last spring (April 2013), Everything Dinosaur reported on some research into the posture of birds carried out by scientists including a team from the Royal Veterinary College which looked at the relationship between the Aves and the Dinosauria in terms of derived posture.  So in answer to the question how did dinosaurs walk? Get yourself a chicken.

To read more about this article: Birds Have the Dinosaurs to Thank for Their Crouching Gait.

Out thanks to Constantine, for reminding us to post something up about this research.

For replicas of theropod dinosaurs and other prehistoric animals: CollectA Deluxe Prehistoric World Models.

9 02, 2014

Dimetrodon with “Steak-knife” Teeth

By |2023-03-09T16:47:50+00:00February 9th, 2014|Dinosaur and Prehistoric Animal News Stories|0 Comments

Serrated Teeth – The Secret of Dimetrodon’s Success

Long before the first dinosaurs evolved, one of the top terrestrial predators on the planet was Dimetrodon, the famous sail-backed reptile, a pelycosaur and now a new study by University of Toronto scientists suggests how this large carnivore was able to achieve apex predator status.

Dimetrodon

Graduate student Kirstin Brink, in collaboration with Professor Robert Reisz (University of Toronto), have studied the dentition (teeth) of a number of Dimetrodon species and they have discovered that these kinds of mammal-like-reptile were the first land living vertebrates to evolve ziphodont (serrated) teeth.  The pointed, recurved and serrated teeth allowed Dimetrodon to tackle prey animals much larger than itself.  The strong, reinforced skull and these knife-like teeth gave these reptiles a formidable bite, one that was capable of ripping and tearing flesh from their victim’s bodies.

An Illustration of Dimetrodon

Sail-back reptile with ferocious teeth.

Sail-back reptile with ferocious teeth.

Picture credit: Safari Ltd/Everything Dinosaur

To view models and replicas of Palaeozoic animals: Wild Safari Dinos and Prehistoric World Models.

Sail-backed Reptile

Dimetrodon is one of the easiest to recognise of all the prehistoric animals, thanks to its huge “sail” that rose up out of this animal’s back.  This is a feature found in a number of pelycosaurs, although palaeontologists remain uncertain as to its exact role and function.   Models of this Permian predator are often found in “dinosaur model sets” although the Dimetrodon genus was extinct millions of years before the first dinosaurs evolved.  A synapsid reptile, Dimetrodon is actually more closely related to mammals than it is to the Dinosauria.

To read an article that attempts to explain why Dimetrodon is often regarded as a dinosaur: Dimetrodon – Often Mistaken for a Dinosaur.

Ziphodont Teeth

Although, most meat-eating theropod dinosaurs had ziphodont (serrated) teeth, this new study suggests that Dimetrodon spp. evolved dentition that was serrated over thirty-five million years before the first dinosaurs.  The scientists used scanning electron microscopy to examine minute structures in the teeth of a Dimetrodon species, analysing specimens from the collection of the Royal Ontario Museum.

Several different species of Dimetrodon were included in the tooth study, the fossils spanning some twenty-five million years of the Permian geological period.

Dimetrodon Species

The scientists conclude that Dimetrodon spp. had a diversity of previously unknown tooth morphology including cusps (raised points on the crowns of the teeth), the dominant morphology of teeth in modern Mammalia. Intriguingly, the researchers suggest that as Dimetrodon spp. evolved into the likes of the giant Dimetrodon grandis, so serrated teeth evolved too.

Ziphodont tooth structures are absent in earlier species of the Dimetrodon genus.  As the skull morphology remains relatively consistent across all the Dimetrodon species studied, it is the shape of the teeth that change, this indicates a gradual change in feeding habits.

The Teeth of D. grandis Show “Tell-Tale” Serrations

Study maps evolution of serrated teeth in Dimetrodon species.

Study maps evolution of serrated teeth in Dimetrodon species.

Picture credit: University of Toronto

The picture shows a Dimetrodon grandis tooth specimen from the Royal Ontario Museum (Canada) (a), along with various scanning electron microscope images showing the serrations (b-e).

Professor Reisz explained:

“This research is an important step in reconstructing the structure of ancient, complex communities.  Teeth tell us a lot more about the ecology of animals than just looking at the skeleton.”

A spokesperson from Everything Dinosaur commented:

“It is very likely that Dimetrodon species such as D. grandis were highly mobile, apex predators, this new study provides further insights into how these large reptiles came to dominate terrestrial environments of the Late Permian.”

Research into Dentition

The research into the dentition of Dimetrodon and the way in which the teeth evolved but the skull shape and structure remained relatively unchanged suggests a change in feeding style and trophic interactions.  The term trophic, when used in biology, refers to feeding styles and nutrition.  The researchers conclude that ziphodont teeth evolved in the larger species of Dimetrodon independently from the ziphodont teeth that has been recorded from later therapsids.

The likes of Dimetrodon grandis would certainly have been one animal best avoided during the Permian, Professor Reisz stated:

“The steak-knife configuration of these teeth and the architecture of the skull suggest Dimetrodon was able to grab and rip and dismember large prey.  Teeth fossils have attracted a lot of attention in dinosaurs but much less is known about the animals that lived during this first chapter in terrestrial evolution.”

8 02, 2014

Oldest Footprints Outside of Africa Discovered

By |2023-03-09T15:12:34+00:00February 8th, 2014|Dinosaur and Prehistoric Animal News Stories, Palaeontological articles|0 Comments

The “Happisburgh Family” – Potentially Homo antecessor

It’s a common enough pastime, taking a stroll with the family.  It seems that any family taking a walk along the beaches of Norfolk (East Anglia, England), in the spring (presuming we ever get a spring after all the stormy weather), might just be mirroring events that took place between 800,000 and perhaps as long ago as one million years BC.  Scientists have discovered ancient, hominin footprints at Happisburgh on the Norfolk coast.

Oldest Footprints

The footprints left in the Pleistocene mud and preserved thanks to rapid burial, represent as many as five individuals, these might have been made by a family group exploring the banks of an estuary for food.  This discovery is hugely significant for palaeoanthropologists, as these are the oldest footprints found to date outside Africa.

Stone tools have been found in the UK and elsewhere in Europe which have been tentatively dated to around these dates but this is the first trace fossil evidence of hominins being present during the latter stages of the Late Calabrian, (Early to Middle Pleistocene) in what was later to become the British Isles.

Exploring the Preserved Silt Layer

Site of ancient footprints.

Site of ancient footprints.

Picture credit: PLoS One

Sometimes scientific discoveries are made after a great deal of research and painstaking effort, but in this instance it was sheer luck that the impressions were spotted and identified.  Rapid coastal erosion of the surrounding cliffs has exposed large portions of the underlying estuarine muds and silts that form part of a formation known as the Hill House Formation.  These sediments were laid down by large, slow-moving rivers during the Early to Middle Pleistocene.  These exposures have been explored as they reveal important information about the fauna and flora during what was a relatively warm, interglacial period for this part of Europe.

A Pleistocene Ecosystem

In early May 2013, a layer of compacted silt was exposed by tidal action.  A cursory examination of this layer, by one of the researchers studying the Pleistocene ecosystem, revealed a series of hollows and other impressions that resembled human footprints that had been preserved in Holocene-aged horizons.  The area, approximately twelve metres square, was then extensively mapped and photographed.  The surface of the exposure was assessed using multi-image photogrammetry and laser scanning to record the pattern of the impressions in extreme detail.

The team had to work fast as each time the tide came in the site was covered over and the silts exposed to erosion.  Within four weeks, the surface in which the prints had been found had become completely eroded.  All evidence of ancient human activity had been destroyed by tidal action.

Footprints this old are extremely rare in the fossil record.  For such a trace fossil to be preserved a number of factors have to be considered:

  • First of all, an ancient human must walk over a soft substrate of the right consistency to make an imprint.
  • There must be minimal erosion of the imprinted surface as it is exposed, the print must retain its shape and details.
  • Rapid burial must take place to help preservation, but such burial must be carried out without the print itself becoming too misshapen or eroded.  Such rapid burial comes about when material is laid over the print by slowly flowing/rising water or by air fall deposition such as volcanic ash – the 3.6 million year old Australopithecus prints discovered at Laetoli (Tanzania), for example.
  • Last but not least, the preserved impressions then have to be exposed and recorded before being eroded away, in this case it took less than a month for the elements to totally destroy the footprints made as far back as a million years ago.

Dr Nick Ashton (British Museum, London) one of the authors of the scientific paper describing this discovery that has been published in the on line journal PLoS One (Public Library of Science) commented:

“At first we weren’t sure what we were seeing.  But as we removed any remaining beach sand and sponged off the seawater, it was clear that the hollows resembled prints, perhaps human footprints, and that we needed to record the surface as quickly as possible before the sea eroded it away.”

Studying the Footprints

Heel and foot arch ridges have been identified, one print even had the outline of toes preserved.  But actually who made these prints, presents the research team including archaeologists from John Moores University (Liverpool), the University of London and the University of York, with a bit of a challenge.  One candidate is the enigmatic and very poorly known Homo antecessor (Pioneer Man).  H. antecessor is the second oldest hominid species to have been found in Europe.

This species of hominin is known from fossils excavated from sites in Atapuerca (northern Spain).  The fossils have been dated from around 1.2 million years ago to 800,000 years ago, so H. antecessor is known to have been in Europe (albeit one thousand miles away), when these tracks may have been made).

Views of the Happisburgh Site Showing Footprint Surface

Top photograph - view from the north Bottom photograph - view from the south

Top photograph – view from the north
Bottom photograph – view from the south.

Picture credit: PLoS One

Calculating Height

By carefully measuring the length of the footprints, the scientists were able to establish that the individuals who made these impressions measured from around 0.93 metres tall to a height of 1.73 metres.  To calculate the height, the research team used a standard hominin ratio measurement based on the foot length being approximately fifteen percent of the height of the person who made the print.

[Readers can try this for themselves, measure their height in centimetres then multiply this figure by 0.15 and this should give you the size of your own foot.  You can check the accuracy of the calculation by subsequently measuring your own foot length.]

A Close up of a Single Footprint

Camera lens cover provides scale.

Camera lens cover provides scale.

Picture credit: Martin Bates, Department of Archaeology (University of Wales)

A Family Group?

With the variation in heights plotted, the scientists have speculated that this could have been a family group foraging together.  At the time the prints were made, sea levels world-wide were much lower than they are today, the group of hominins whose prints had been found on the Norfolk coast, had actually been walking along the banks of a large, slow-moving estuarine river several kilometres inland.  The river system formed part of the massive Thames drainage basin, a forerunner of today’s course of the River Thames and its tributaries.

The largest print has been ascribed to a male and based on this height evidence the prints do fit within the framework of reference associated with Homo antecessor, so in the published academic paper, the footprints are tentatively assigned to H. antecessor.  However, the authors do note that during the Early to Middle Pleistocene at least two other species of hominin were present in Europe.

Evidence for Homo heidelbergensis is known from Germany and West Sussex, fossil material and other artefacts indicate that H. heidelbergensis was present in Europe from around 600,000 years ago.  In addition, early Neanderthals Homo neanderthalensis remains have been recorded from Sima de los Huesos in Spain, the same vicinity from which Homo antecessor fossils have been excavated and from Swanscombe (Kent, south-east England).

Commenting on this remarkable discovery, Professor Chris Stringer, an expert on early hominins, based at the Natural History Museum (London) stated:

“These people were of a similar height to ourselves and were fully bipedal.”

The professor went on to add:

“They [Homo antecessor]  seem to have become extinct in Europe by 600,000 years ago and were perhaps replaced by the species Homo heidelbergensis.  Neanderthals followed from about 400,000 years ago, and eventually modern humans some 40,000 years ago.”

The Happisburgh footprints are the oldest hominin tracks to be discovered in Europe to date.  Prior to their discovery, the oldest prints known were the “Ciampate del Diavolo”, the “Devil’s footprints”, a series of tracks preserved in volcanic ash discovered in the Roccamonfina region of central, southern Italy, about 35 miles north-west of Naples.  These prints indicate individuals around 1.5 metres in height and it has been speculated that these tracks were left by a group of Neanderthals.  The Italian prints are estimated to be around 345,000 years old (Mid to Late Ionian).

An Overview of the Map of the Happisburgh Site with Footprints Highlighted

Mapping the Location (footprints highlighted)

Mapping the location (footprints highlighted).

Picture credit: PLoS One with additional notes from Everything Dinosaur

Anyone imagining what it would be like to travel back in time the best part of one million years to meet these ancient hominins needs to take heed.  Cut marks on H. antecessor bones from the Spanish site (Atapuerca) indicate that at least one group of these ancient humans were cannibals.

For models and replicas of Pleistocene animals and other long extinct creatures: Mojo Fun Prehistoric and Extinct Animal Figures.

7 02, 2014

Museum Victoria Scientists Discover New Species Thanks to Robotic Submersible

By |2023-03-09T15:02:32+00:00February 7th, 2014|Animal News Stories|0 Comments

Remotely Operated Deep Sea Vehicle Explores the Ocean’s Depths

Three new species of sea cucumber have been discovered by Museum Victoria scientists almost a thousand metres beneath the surface of the ocean.  The sea cucumbers were discovered on a British-led expedition for new life on seamounts and hydrothermal vents 1500 kilometres  (940 miles) south of the island of Madagascar.  The project involved more than twenty international marine engineers and scientists, including Museum Victoria marine biologists Mark O’Loughlin and Melanie Mackenzie.

Sea Cucumbers

Commenting on the deep sea exploration mission, O’Loughlin stated:

“We were able to describe three species of sea cucumber totally new to science.  New technology provided the very rare opportunity to publish colour photos of the new species for fellow scientists.”

The identification of the sea cucumbers was made possible by the expedition’s remotely operated vehicle, or ROV, a remote-controlled robot capable of traversing the ocean floor, collecting samples, and taking video and photographs.  Operators back on the ship control the ROV’s robotic arm, guiding it to collect specimens as they appear on a video screen.  Samples are then sorted and preserved by the scientific team as part of this marine study.

The Echinodermata

Sea cucumbers belong to the phylum called Echinodermata which also includes sea urchins, crinoids and starfish.  Sea cucumbers are a very ancient marine animal, so named as their elongated bodies superficially look-like a cucumber in appearance, although our team members at Everything Dinosaur can find no resemblance themselves.  These animals probably evolved in the Cambrian but their fossil preservation potential is relatively poor and very few fossil specimens have been found when compared to other members of the Echinodermata.

Melanie Mackenzie added:

“Specimens often lose their colour during the preservation process, so by the time they’re back at the lab, they look completely different.  The ROV allows us to not only access new environments and take samples, but also to take video and photographs of animals in their natural environments.”

Small Remote Operated Vehicle

The ROV is about the size of a small, family car  and can work at depths of up to six kilometres (over three and a half miles), opening up a whole new world for scientists.  But while the ROV is useful in exploring new environments, O’Loughlin insists that it is just one of many research tools available to marine scientists.

He stated:

“You still need the scientific expertise to interpret what you find down there, which is what we brought to this collaboration.  We’re proud to belong to a global community of such esteemed institutions.”

The project was led by Professor Alex Rogers (Oxford University) and funded through a grant from the UK-based Natural Environment Research Council.  The three new sea cucumbers will be housed at the British Museum of Natural History (London) for future research.

Australian scientists will soon have greater access to ROV technology, with the Marine National Facility’s new research vessel called “Investigator” due to be launched this year.

Everything Dinosaur acknowledges the support of Museum Victoria in the production of this article.

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

6 02, 2014

Ardingly College Finds Oldest Residents – Dinosaurs

By |2023-03-09T14:57:33+00:00February 6th, 2014|Dinosaur and Prehistoric Animal News Stories|0 Comments

Dinosaur Bones Found in College Grounds

For school pupils at Ardingly College, an independent, fee paying school located in West Sussex, local history lessons just got a little more interesting with the discovery of a large number of fossils dating back to the Early Cretaceous.  The fossils described as a “treasure trove” by some observers include several dinosaur bones, the remains of crocodiles, freshwater turtles, fish scales, plants and a number of invertebrates including bivalves.

Dinosaur Bones

The first discoveries were made back in June as staff and pupils explored rubble and debris excavated as part of building work for a new boarding house.  One of the teachers at the private school took pupils on a “geo-trail” and apparently when studying rocks that had been dug up as part of the construction work, they came face to face with evidence of an Early Cretaceous ecosystem.

For models and replicas of Early Cretaceous dinosaurs and other prehistoric animals: CollectA Deluxe Prehistoric Life Models.

Ardingly College is an independent co-educational boarding and day school for boys and girls aged from under 3 years up to 18 years of age.  It is situated just a few miles away from the West Sussex village of Cuckfield, a location well-known for its Iguanodontid fossil remains.  For dedicated palaeontologists hoping to get a glimpse of these fossils, the College is planning an open day “dig for dinosaurs” event for locals to participate in.

The Ardingly Sandstone Member

This part of West Sussex from a geological perspective, is strongly associated with the Ardingly Sandstone Member which outcrops across the Weald in West Sussex and elsewhere in south-east England.  Fossils deposited in this strata have been dated to the Valanginian faunal stage of the Early Cretaceous (approximately 140 million to around 135 million years ago).  During this part of the Cretaceous the area of land that we now know as the bedrock of West Sussex was formed in a riverine/estuarine environment.

The land was relatively flat and criss-crossed by many slow moving rivers which were making their way down to the shrinking Tethys Ocean, either entering the sea via large bays to the north of West Sussex, land that was to become East Anglia or further to the south, land that is now part of France.

Early Cretaceous Environment

The Ardingly sandstones were deposited across a wide area of these braided river channels and in amongst the sandstones were the remains of animals and vegetation washed downstream.  At the same time, other areas were receiving deposits of much finer grained silts and mudstones, as a result of material being washed into much quieter bays and lagoons.

A team of scientists from the Natural History Museum and Imperial College (London) are currently assessing the fossil material and supervising the mapping of the site.

An Embryonic Atlantic Ocean

A spokesperson from Everything Dinosaur commented:

“During the Early Cretaceous, the embryonic Atlantic Ocean was beginning to divide up the landmasses of Eurasia, Africa and the Americas and the terrestrial fauna was dominated by the Dinosauria.  Due to the amount of urban development in this part of the world today, it is rare for this amount of fossiliferous strata to be exposed and hopefully this location will add to our knowledge regarding the environment and the animals and plants that lived within it during the Early Cretaceous, an important time in Earth’s history in terms of the diversity and radiation of vertebrates such as pterosaurs and dinosaurs.”

This is not the first time fossils have been found in school grounds (nor will it be the last), however back in 2010, team members from Everything Dinosaur reported on the discovery of ichthyosaur fossilised bones (a marine reptile), in a school’s vegetable patch (Richmond State School in western Queensland, Australia).

To read more about this discovery: Marine Reptile Fossils Amongst the Vegetables.

5 02, 2014

Pyroclastic Cloud Explains Liaoning’s Excellent Fossil Preservation

By |2023-03-09T14:50:08+00:00February 5th, 2014|Dinosaur and Prehistoric Animal News Stories|0 Comments

“Prehistoric Pompeii” Led to Preservation of Early Cretaceous Liaoning Ecosystem

The fine grained, siltstones associated with the quarries near Sihetun in the northern Chinese province of Liaoning have become famous over the last twenty years or so, as it is from these quarries that some of the most exquisitely preserved vertebrate fossils that have ever been found have come.  Several kinds of feathered non-avian dinosaurs are known, as are numerous primitive birds, lizards, mammals, evidence of flowering plants, insects, other invertebrates and fish.

Pyroclastic Cloud

It is from these Lower Cretaceous deposits that dinosaurs such as Sinosauropteryx, Sinornithosaurus and a species of Psittacosaurus have been discovered.  Such is the wealth of fossil material preserved that scientists have been able to piece together a huge amount of information about the fauna and flora in this part of China that lived around 133 to 120 million years ago.  The ecosystem is known as the Jehol Biota and represents one of the most complete fossil ecosystems recorded from Mesozoic aged strata.

Many of the fossils reveal dinosaurs with bristle-like, proto-feathers and the numerous bird fossils (such as Confuciusornis spp.) even have their stomach contents preserved.  But how did all these animals and plants come to be fossilised in such wonderful preservation and in such quantities?

Exceptional Fossil Preservation

A team of international scientists, including experts from the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing University (Jiangsu Province, eastern China), in collaboration with colleagues from the American Museum of Natural History (New York) and Los Alamos Laboratory (New Mexico) have proposed that a series of deadly pyroclastic clouds hitting the area may have been responsible for the mass extinction and deposition of the body fossils.

Amazing Early Cretaceous Fossils from Liaoning Province (China)

Yanornis fossil on display.

A genuine fossil of a Cretaceous bird (Yanornis martini).

Preserving Tiny Anatomical Details

Such is the quality of the fossil specimens that even tiny anatomical details have been preserved in the fossil material.  These fossils have helped palaeontologists to piece together important data relating to the phylogenetic relationship of the Dinosauria to Aves (dinosaurs to birds) as well as providing a detailed insight into the evolution of the birds themselves.

To read an article about a recently discovered primitive bird fossil discovered in western Liaoning: Bird Evolution Not as Easy as Eosinopteryx.

Such is the quantity and variety of specimens that scientists have puzzled how such a large assemblage of fossil material, with such excellent preservation, came about.  Previously, it had been thought that the remains of animals, plants and birds and all the other material had been washed into a large, stagnant lake.  The corpses and plant material rapidly sinking to the muddy bottom and becoming quickly buried.

Active Volcanoes

Volcanoes were active in the area during this stage of the Cretaceous and fine ash deposits from volcanic eruptions covered the specimens and aided their preservation.  Now a team of international scientists writing in the academic publication the “Journal of Nature Communications” have proposed that sudden and very localised, periodic  pyroclastic flows from the surrounding volcanoes were responsible for the sweeping of large amounts of organic matter into the lakes and its subsequent exceptional fossil preservation.

Scientists Had Puzzled Over the Exquisite Liaoning Fossil Preservation

An adult Hyphalosaurus and baby turtle died together

An adult Hyphalosaurus and baby turtle died together.

In the picture above a baby turtle has come to rest on top of a Hyphalosaurus (freshwater reptile, whose fossils are common in the Jehol Biota).  Both body fossils are complete and immaculately preserved.  There are many such examples of amazing fossil preservation and the researchers postulate that phreatomagmatic eruptions (volcanic eruptions caused by (most likely) rapid cooling of magma in contact with a body of water) forced pyroclastic flows to rapidly cover the surrounding countryside.

A Pyroclastic Flow

A pyroclastic flow is a cloud of hot gas and ash that tumbles away from a volcanic explosion at huge speed.  The hot gases, sometimes approaching 1,000 degrees Celsius, instantly kills everything in its path.  The Roman city of Pompeii was hit by such a pyroclastic flow.  Scientists have termed the forces responsible for the Liaoning preservation as “prehistoric Pompeiis”.

The research team examined and analysed sediments and residual fossils from several key horizons in the Lower Cretaceous Jiufotang and Yixian formations in a bid to understand more about the nature of the events and the mechanisms behind the exceptional fossil preservation.  The team conclude that the terrestrial material was transported by an sealed within the pyroclastic flows, thus providing palaeontologists with a unique record of the flora and fauna of the forested lowlands of this part of northern China.

Fossils of Both Terrestrial and Freshwater Vertebrates Buried Together

A victim of a pyroclastic flow?

A victim of a pyroclastic flow?

Turtle Fossils

There are many examples of turtle fossils preserved in the Yixian and Jiufotang formations.  These animals have remained little changed for over 130 million years.

Lead researcher and one of the main authors of the scientific paper Baoyu Jiang (Nanjing University), stated:

“All the studied fossils are directly embedded within pyroclastic flows.  And the preserved animals are characterised by entombment poses and showed evidence of charring, similar to those associated with victims at Pompeii.”

The researchers have proposed that the burials were not the result of a single event, but that there were probably several eruptions that occurred, most would have been small, localised but very violent causing localised mass extinctions.

Professor Mike Benton (Bristol University) commented:

“The new observations confirm and clarify what had been suspected.  But the authors go a step further in suggesting that all the Jehol animals were killed, transported and exceptionally preserved by the pyroclastic flows.”  This is quite a challenge to previous views that assumed most of the animals lived in and around the lakes in which they are found, and may have been transported in by regular rivers and other means.”

To view models and replicas of the Jehol Biota and other prehistoric animals: Age of Dinosaur Models from PNSO.

4 02, 2014

New Bullyland Dinosaur Models – Europasaurus and Lambeosaurus

By |2023-03-09T14:43:03+00:00February 4th, 2014|Dinosaur Fans, Everything Dinosaur News and Updates, Everything Dinosaur Products|0 Comments

Europasaurus and Lambeosaurus New Bullyland Dinosaur Models for 2014

Bullyland’s two new additions to their model range entitled “Prehistoric World” have been getting team members at Everything Dinosaur quite excited as production samples arrived at our offices earlier this week.  Both dinosaur models, part of the Bullyland Museum Line dinosaurs range have been produced with the approval of the scientists at the Natural History Museum of Stuttgart and it is interesting to note that both the genus name and the specific name of these prehistoric animals is used in the accompanying hang tag and promotional material – (Europasaurus holgeri and Lambeosaurus lambei respectively).  This is a first for Bullyland as far as we know.

Europasaurus and Lambeosaurus

Unfortunately, in the promotional material supplied, the text does not follow scientific convention when writing the species names (capital letter is used on the species name in both cases), Everything Dinosaur will be in touch with our Bullyland chums to point this out to them shortly.

A Picture of the New for 2014 Bullyland Lambeosaurus Dinosaur Model

New Lambeosaurus from Bullyland

New Lambeosaurus from Bullyland.  Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur.

Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur

Europasaurus holgeri

It is always a pleasure to see a new replica of “hatchet lizard”, especially one with such a colourful head crest.  The Europasaurus (E. holgeri) represents a dwarf member of the Sauropoda, that lived in what was northern Germany during the Late Jurassic (Kimmeridgian faunal stage).  High sea levels led to the formation of an archipelago of islands within the Lower Saxony basin.  Many dinosaurs adapted to living on these isolated islands with their limited resources, by become dwarf versions of their mainland cousins. Dwarfism in island species is a relatively common occurrence in the natural world.  Although, regarded as a “miniaturised version of a basal Macronarian sauropod”, adults still reached around six metres in length and perhaps weighed around 1,000 kilogrammes.

Bullyland Europasaurus Dinosaur Model

Europasaurus holgeri

Europasaurus holgeri. Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur.

Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur

One of the nice things about this Europasaurus dinosaur model is that it represents a German dinosaur, which has been produced as a dinosaur model by a German model manufacturer.  Perhaps, Bullyland will make more models of prehistoric animals whose fossil remains have been found in Germany.  These models will be in stock at Everything Dinosaur shortly.

To view Everything Dinosaur’s current range of Bullyland prehistoric animal models: Bullyland Prehistoric Animal Figures and Models.

3 02, 2014

Seeing Fossils Everywhere

By |2023-03-09T14:44:03+00:00February 3rd, 2014|Everything Dinosaur News and Updates, Photos/Pictures of Fossils|0 Comments

Spotting Objects that Resemble Fossils

One of the drawbacks of working with so much fossil material is that after a while team members at Everything Dinosaur tend to see examples of fossils in everyday objects.  We tend to call these “pseudofossils”.  The term pseudofossil is used to describe an object that resembles a body or trace fossil when it is not.  These misleading structures can be found throughout nature.  For example, Everything Dinosaur staff are often shown photographs of paving blocks which the owner claims show a fossil, but these strange patterns in stone are produced by crystals of manganese oxide coming out of solution as water passes through cracks in the rock.

The crystals align themselves in the direction of water flow and often resemble a plant fossil, such as fern in appearance.

We do our best not to leave the bearer of the photograph too dejected, after all, we do point out that the arrangement of the crystals in the stone is unique and there is not another one like it in the whole of the world.

Whilst visiting a trade show, one of the Everything Dinosaur team spotted a delightful tea-light, the fern like appearance of this wall mounted fitting reminded us of the Late Precambrian marine organism Charnia (Charnia masoni)

Tea-Light that Resembles Precambrian Charnia

Every day objects remind Everything Dinosaur staff of fossils.

Every day objects remind Everything Dinosaur staff of fossils.  Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur.

Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur

Charnia was a deep-sea, organism whose fossils have been found in Late Precambrian strata in Leicestershire, Australia, Canada and Russia. The first fossil of this strange type of primitive animal, perhaps a colonial animal, was identified from a specimen found by a school boy called Roger Mason in Charnwood Forest (Leicestershire).  Scientists remain uncertain as to what type of organism the this animal was.  It was certainly an animal, as it grew at depths of more than two hundred metres deep, well beyond the depth at which sunlight could penetrate so no photosynthesising plants could exist.

Charnia has bilateral symmetry and is composed of a series of branching, feather-like fronds.  It seems to have been benthic (living on the sea floor), held in place by a disc-like, holdfast mechanism. It has been suggested that this animal may have been ancestral to modern sea pens, but the exact phylogenetic relationship between this 550-million-year-old organism and modern phylum remains hotly debated.

One thing that is now known and agreed upon by most palaeontologists, Charnia-like organisms may have been relatively common in the deep-water environments of Late Precambrian seas.

To read an article, related to Sir David Attenborough and the relative abundance of Charnia specimens now being revealed: Spotlight on Fossil Discoveries from Leicestershire (Happy Birthday Sir David).

Seeing the shape and colouration of the tea-light reminded us of the story of Charnia and of how much we have to learn about the origins of life on Earth.

For models and replicas of prehistoric animals: CollectA Age of Dinosaurs Popular Range.

2 02, 2014

Schleich Therizinosaurus Model Tries Origami

By |2023-03-09T14:34:52+00:00February 2nd, 2014|Dinosaur Fans, Everything Dinosaur Products|0 Comments

Schleich Dinosaurs get Creative

A team member at Everything Dinosaur has reproduced an image from Schleich of Germany, that shows a new Schleich dinosaur model (the long-clawed Therizinosaurus), trying its (considerably large), hand at making paper shapes.  We don’t think any dinosaur would have been particularly skilled when it comes to handling scissors and cutting out shapes, or indeed with origami generally, but we liked the sentiments expressed by Schleich in this fun image.

Schleich Therizinosaurus Model

Schleich Dinosaur Models Cutting Out Paper Shapes

Therizinosaurus and T. rex get creative.

Therizinosaurus and T. rex get creative.

Picture credit: Schleich/Everything Dinosaur

The Tyrannosaurus rex in the picture, also a new model from Schleich which is due out later this year, has come along to inspect the work and to help out, although with such small arms and only two digits on each hand we suspect that the “King of the Tyrant Lizards” is not going to be able to provide much assistance.

To view Everything Dinosaur’s extensive range of Schleich dinosaur and prehistoric animal models: Schleich Dinosaur Models.

A spokesperson for Everything Dinosaur commented that these two replicas were part of a total of four new dinosaur model introductions by Schleich for 2014.  These should be available from Everything Dinosaur in May.

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