July, 2014 | Everything Dinosaur Blog

31 07, 2014

A Helping Hand for Teachers and Teaching Assistants

By Mike|2023-03-14T11:50:57+00:00July 31st, 2014|Educational Activities, Teaching|0 Comments

Providing Keys for Teachers and Teaching Assistants

Everything Dinosaur supplies a number of dinosaur and prehistoric themed items to schools, universities and colleges and with the changing curriculum in the UK, our sets of model dinosaur skulls and packs of imitation fossils are proving to be very popular. However, we have received a number of requests from teachers and teaching assistants to help them further by providing a key to each of these items.

Fossil Models

The Set of Dinosaur Model Skulls (Safari Ltd)

The set features 11 different types of dinosaur skull. Everything Dinosaur provides a helpful hand for teachers.

Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur

These detailed models feature carnivores, herbivores and omnivores and they are useful when studying dinosaurs, food chains, variation and other teaching topics. In response to teaching requests, our team members have provided a handy key that identifies the dinosaur skulls.

The Identification Chart for the Dinosaur Skull Set

Finely crafted models of dinosaur skulls.

Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur

Everything Dinosaur

We can supply further information about these eleven different members of the Dinosauria, just email Everything Dinosaur for further assistance: Email Everything Dinosaur.

The set of imitation fossils is also very popular with schools, especially with teachers focusing on Key Stage 2. This set includes examples of different types of creature and how they are fossilised. We have an Ammonite shell, the tooth of a meat-eating dinosaur, fossil crabs, trilobites and so forth.

The Collection of Fossil Models from Everything Dinosaur (Safari Ltd)

Helping teachers at Key Stage 2.

Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur

Fossil Models and Replicas

The ten typical fossils can be used in a number of teaching projects from craft sessions to providing a stimulus for independent research. These robust models can even be used to help create plasticine copies of fossils or even charcoal rubbings. Our helpful guide is already proving very useful, happy to help teachers and learning support providers as they get prepared for the start of the new curriculum.

To view Everything Dinosaur’s range of dinosaur skull sets and ancient fossils including prehistoric animal fossil replicas and dinosaur skull replicas: Safari Ltd. Prehistoric World Models and Figures.

A spokes person for Everything Dinosaur commented:

“We appreciate that a number of teaching teams across the country are working on exciting new ideas to help them develop schemes of work in accordance with the new curriculum. It is great to see rocks, fossils and dinosaurs as part of the national curriculum. Studying the likes of Mary Anning will help encourage girls in particular to consider becoming more involved with science subjects later on in their school career.”

30 07, 2014

Astonishing Giant Sauropod Claw Discovered in France

By Mike|2024-05-02T12:17:54+01:00July 30th, 2014|Dinosaur and Prehistoric Animal News Stories, Main Page|2 Comments

On the Pedals of a Sauropod

An enormous fossilised claw of a giant sauropod has been uncovered by field workers excavating material from a dig site about forty-five miles east of Limoges in the picturesque Poitou-Charente region of France. The site located at Angeac-Charente, has yielded a number of Early Cretaceous dinosaur fossils including vertebrae from a stegosaur and sauropod teeth. The claw which may have been located on the first digit of the front foot, measures an astonishing thirty-four centimetres in length. Heavy rain in this part of France had severely hampered this summer’s field work, but ironically the rainfall had help expose this enormous fossil.

Giant Sauropod Claw

A Photograph of a Sauropod Hind Foot

Sauropod claw fossil (the hind foot of a diplodocid.

A sauropod hind foot. Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur.

Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur

The bone is referred to as an ungual phalanx, it is the very last bone found at the end of the toe/finger (usually) and this is the bone that would have supported the claw. The dig site has over the last six years or so, yielded in the region of 4,000 fossilised bones. Despite the wealth of fossil material it is not possible to determine the species or indeed the genus to which this sauropod belonged. However, based on comparisons with other sauropod claws, palaeontologists estimate that the individual dinosaur whose bone this is, might have reached a length in excess of forty metres.

Huge Sauropod Femur Found

The site has attracted the attention of a number of France’s leading vertebrate palaeontologists including Ronan Allain, (Museum of Natural History in Paris) and Jean-François Tournepiche, curator at the Museum of Angoulême. One of the biggest sauropod femurs ever found in the Northern Hemisphere was discovered at the same site four years ago. It is not known whether this thigh bone and the new claw fossil discovery come from the same dinosaur. At least seven different types of dinosaur roamed this part of France around 130 million years ago (Barremian faunal stage of the Early Cretaceous).

Sue of Everything Dinosaur and a Sauropod Limb

Sauropod limb on display. Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur.

Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur

To read about the discovery of giant sauropod tracks not far from the Swiss border: Giant Sauropod Fossilised Footprints Found in France.

Sediment analysis in conjunction with fossilised plant remains suggest that this region was a large, low-lying swamp. Sauropod dinosaurs had three prominent claws on their hind feet and a bigger single claw on the first digit of their front feet. Scientists have speculated that this claw might have been used for defence or in combat between rivals.

We at Everything Dinosaur, don’t favour this hypothesis, preferring instead to consider this huge front digit claw as like a sort of “crampon”. The claw would have helped these enormous dinosaurs to keep their balance and to stop them sliding in soft mud. Bones in the feet are referred to as “pedals”, hence our caption “on the pedals of a sauropod”.

To view models and replicas of sauropods: Mojo Fun Prehistoric and Extinct Models and Figures.

29 07, 2014

Fossil Insects – A New Book Review

By Mike|2024-04-19T06:21:08+01:00July 29th, 2014|Book Reviews, Dinosaur Fans|0 Comments

The Bugs that Plagued the Dinosaurs

Palaeoentomology, this term may not trip off the tongue but bear with us, for thanks to an amazing new book published at the end of this month, a window into an as yet little explored prehistoric world has just been opened.

Fossil Insects – Exploring Ancient Prehistoric Arthropods

Small is beautiful. A book all about fossil insects.

Picture credit: Manchester University Press Office

Palaeoentomology

Palaeoentomology, is really two words combined into one, firstly, there is “palaeo” from the Greek meaning ancient and then we have “entomology”, which relates to the study insects. Put it together and you have the study of ancient insects and this new publication “Fossil Insects, An Introduction to Palaeoentomology”, combines two essential elements of science into one excellent volume. Firstly, there is the scientific study and analysis, in this case provided by authors Dr David Penney and James E. Jepson and secondly, there is the ability to illustrate long extinct creatures and to resurrect them so that the reader can gain an appreciation of the living animal.

The artwork for this book has been provided by Richard Bizley, a British-based artist and scientific illustrator and what a visual treat Richard provides.

Mayflies Mixing with Dinosaurs

A mayfly rests on a primitive flowering plant – a Cretaceous scene.

Picture credit: Richard Bizley Bizley Art.

Fossil Insects

Over the last three decades or so, scientists have begun to learn so much more about ancient insect life. These small (and not so small), terrestrial arthropods that scuttled, climbed, burrowed and flew formed an integral component of some of the first complex ecosystems to evolve on land. New research methods and techniques have been applied, revealing details of the lives and behaviours of insects, assisting palaeontologists as they reconstruct the habitats and climates of pre-history.

It might be surprising to some, especially when how delicate insects seem to be, but insect fossils are relatively common and yet there is so much to learn and discover. Dr David Penney from the University of Manchester has drawn on his knowledge of both entomology and palaeontology to provide a guide to the fossil record and this book both informs and educates.

“Fossil Insects” Provides Plenty of Colour Photographs of Stunning Fossils

The first animals to take to the air.

Picture credit: Manchester University Press Release

From a vertebrate palaeontology perspective, insects have a huge advantage when it comes to the fossil record. As Dr Penney points out, the Insecta is the most diverse Class in the Kingdom Animalia but more importantly, fossils preserve insect behaviour and activity as well as the insects themselves. Fossils showing feeding damage on leaves and wood, faecal pellets, parasitic relationships, even evidence of nests have all been preserved, providing palaeoentomologists with a rich catalogue of fossil material to explore. Dinosaur trace fossils are rather limited in comparison.

Dr David Penney (Manchester University)

Exploring fossilised insects.

Picture credit: Manchester University Press Office

Dr Penney explains:

“Insects are the most diverse group of creatures on the planet today. Many of them were around even before the time of the dinosaurs. Bringing together entomology and palaeontology through the study of insect fossils has great potential for revolutionising what we know about both subjects.”

Many insect fossils can be found as inclusions in amber, often as virtually perfect three-dimensional forms. Amber is fossil tree resin. Insects and other organisms can become entombed in the sticky resin and fossilised when it hardens into amber. This book features plenty of stunning photographs that illustrate these miniature time capsules.

Mosquito Preserved in Dominican Amber

A window into an ancient world.

Picture credit: Manchester University Press Release

These amazing prehistoric insects have been brought to life in the book through the exquisite illustrations of Richard Bizley. He depicts long vanished arthropods in a unique collaboration with the authors. Team members at Everything Dinosaur had the very great pleasure of meeting up with Richard in his Dorset studio and viewing some of the artwork that was being prepared for inclusion in this book. Richard’s astonishing eye for detail and scientific accuracy has enabled him to reconstruct prehistoric scenes from seven of the major geological periods, starting with the rise of the insects during the Devonian and continuing through until the Tertiary.

Carboniferous Creepy-Crawlies

By the Carboniferous the insects were already highly diversified.

Picture credit: Richard Bizley Bizley Art.

To make the animals in his beautiful paintings look realistic, Richard created models using scientific drawings and pictures of fossil material. He then carefully photographed them to see how light behaved on his subjects.

Commenting on his role in helping to bring to life prehistoric environments, the artist stated:

“When reconstructing fossil insect species, special attention needs to be paid to important diagnostic features, such as the wing venation patterns and the relative lengths of appendage segments. The fact that many fossil insect species are known only from isolated wings posed additional problems. This is where collaboration with experts became very useful and I worked closely with Dr Penney to produce an accurate reconstruction based on the comparative study of both fossil and living insects.”

This book is recommended for the general reader, those interested in palaeontology as well as entomology. The term palaeoentomology (pay-lee-oh-en-toe-mol-oh-gee) may not trip of the tongue but “Insect Fossils, An Introduction to Palaeoentomology” does give the general reader a “taste” for this exciting area of scientific research.

“Fossil Insects, An Introduction to Palaeoentomology” by Dr David Penney and James E. Jepson is published on July 31st 2014 by Siri Scientific Press.

Everything Dinosaur acknowledges the help of the University of Manchester Press Office in the compilation of this article.

28 07, 2014

Dinosaur Extinction – A Perfect Storm

By Mike|2023-03-14T11:07:49+00:00July 28th, 2014|Dinosaur and Prehistoric Animal News Stories, Dinosaur Fans, Educational Activities, Teaching|2 Comments

Bad Luck and Bad Timing for the Dinosaurs

A new collaborative study looking at the dinosaur fossil record from the Upper Cretaceous of North America suggests that if the extraterrestrial impact event had occurred a few million years before or after it actually hit, life on Earth could be very different today. Dinosaurs could well be still roaming around. If the Dinosauria (with the exception of the birds), had not gone extinct, then it could be argued that many of the families of mammals so familiar to us today may not have evolved. The evolution of the primates, and indeed, our own species, might not ever have happened.

Unlucky Dinosaurs Sixty-six Million Years Ago?

Cataclysmic impact event.

Picture credit: Don Davis (commissioned by NASA)

Dinosaur Extinction

Similar studies into the extinction event that took place approximately 66 million years ago have been carried out before, however, this new research, published in the latest edition of the academic journal “Biological Reviews” and led by the University of Edinburgh, focused on examining an updated catalogue of North American dinosaur fossils, in a bid to understand how well the Order Dinosauria was doing in terms of species diversity at around the time of the impact event.

Previous studies, examining the number of different dinosaur species and genera preserved in Upper Cretaceous strata such as the Hell Creek Formation of the western United States, have showed that the number of different types of dinosaur fossils found declines in rocks that mark the time period towards the end of the Cretaceous. A lack of diversity in an ecosystem, or the dominance of one particular type of creature, can make such ecosystems vulnerable to sudden and dramatic changes that ultimately lead to an extinction.

An International Research Team

The research team, drawn from a number of universities and museums, conclude that prior to the impact event, our planet was experiencing dramatic environmental upheaval. Changing sea levels, fluctuating global temperatures and enormous amounts of volcanic activity were all happening. Many groups of animals and plants were under stress and the devastating impact from a six-mile-wide space rock provided the final “coup de grâce” that finished off the dinosaurs.

Soon to Become Extinct

CollectA Triceratops horridus 1:40 scale dinosaur model.

The CollectA Triceratops in right lateral view. Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur.

Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur

The picture (above) shows a CollectA Deluxe Triceratops. To view the CollectA scale model series: CollectA Deluxe Prehistoric Life Scale Models.

The research team which includes scientists from Edinburgh University, Birmingham University, Imperial College (London), Oxford University, University College (London) and Baylor University (Waco, Texas) suggest that the dinosaurs’ food chain was threatened by a lack of diversity amongst large herbivorous dinosaurs. The lack of diversity, much of North America was dominated by a handful of plant-eating types of ornithischian dinosaur, created a “perfect storm” and the vulnerable Dinosauria was unable to recover from the extraterrestrial strike and its aftermath.

Everything Dinosaur team members have provided a number of teaching resources to schools that help to explain extinction events. To read an article specially prepared for use in schools at Key Stage 2 and 3 about the Cretaceous mass extinction event: Dinosaur Extinction Event – Providing Teaching Resources for Schools.

A Stimulus to Evolution

Environmental change, even dramatic global events such as an asteroid impact can in fact provide a stimulus to evolution. Earlier extra-terrestrial impacts which at first caused devastation may actually have acted as catalysts helping certain types of life to flourish.

It can be argued that once the dinosaurs became extinct, the Mammalia were able to rapidly diversify and exploit the niches left vacant by the demise of the Dinosauria, back in 2010, Everything Dinosaur reported on a scientific paper that suggested that earlier cataclysmic events and significantly benefited life on Earth.

To read this article: Extra-terrestrial Impact Led to Palaeozoic Explosion of Life.

Dr Steve Brusatte (School of GeoSciences at Edinburgh University) commented:

“Five million years earlier dinosaur ecosystems were much stronger, they were more diverse, the base of the food chain was more robust and it was harder to knock out a lot of species. If they had a few million years more to recover their diversity they would have had a better chance of surviving the asteroid impact. Dinosaurs had been around for 160 million years, they had plenty of dips and troughs in their diversity but they always recovered.”

A number of mass extinction events have been identified in the fossil record. Such mass extinctions ultimately led to a change in direction for life on Earth, permitting new types of organism to evolve.

A Table Showing the Major Extinction Events of the Phanerozoic Eon

Table credit: Everything Dinosaur

The research team hope to extend their study by taking into account vertebrate fossil data from Upper Cretaceous sediments that have been examined in China and Spain. This will help the scientists to formulate a global picture. Naturally, with such academic papers, there is always speculation as to whether or not the dinosaurs would have survived until the present day. Some speculators go further and ask the question would the dinosaurs have evolved greater intelligence, perhaps evolving into the reptilian equivalents of primates and eventually into a form of humanoid dinosaur – a dinosauroid?

Could the Earth Have Been Dominated by “Intelligent Dinosaurs”?

What intelligent life on Earth might have looked like if the dinosaurs had not become extinct.

Picture credit: Boxtree

Dr Brusatte speculates that the Dinosauria could well have survived and that non-avian dinosaurs could make up a significant proportion of the fauna today, whilst other scientists, including a number who worked on this study remain less sure.

For example, Dr Richard Butler (Birmingham University) stated:

“We can’t re-run the tape of life and see whether an impact at a different time would have led to total extinction. But it [extra-terrestrial impact event] did come at a particularly bad time.”

28 07, 2014

Helpful Information About the Dinosaur Extinction – Unlucky Dinosaurs

By Mike|2024-05-02T12:18:30+01:00July 28th, 2014|Key Stage 3/4|Comments Off on Helpful Information About the Dinosaur Extinction – Unlucky Dinosaurs

Cretaceous/Palaeogene Extinction Event – Unlucky Dinosaurs

A new research paper, published this week suggests that the mass extinction event at the end of the Cretaceous could have turned out very differently. Analysis of vertebrate fossils from Upper Cretaceous sediments in North America suggests that if the comet/asteroid impact had occurred a few million years before or after it actually happened, our planet could look very different today.

The largely Anglo-American research team propose that dinosaurs could have survived into the Cenozoic, perhaps to the present day. If these reptiles had survived the Cretaceous mass extinction event it would have had significant implications for the evolution of mammals including the primates and ultimately our own species – Homo sapiens.

New Study Suggests Unlucky Dinosaurs

Mammals benefited from the extinction of the non-avian dinosaurs.

The extinction of the non-avian dinosaurs permitted the Mammalia to diversify and become the dominate terrestrial fauna. Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur.

Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur

Dinosaur Extinction

A large number of studies have been carried out before, but this new paper published in the academic journal “Biological Reviews” examined the number of dinosaur genera recorded as fossils in Upper Cretaceous strata. The researchers wanted to estimate how well the Order Dinosauria was doing in terms of species diversity at the time of the impact event. A lack of diversity within an ecosystem, or the dominance of one particular animal group can make such ecosystems vulnerable to extinction if the environment changes suddenly.

The research team, drawn from a number of American and British universities, concluded that prior to the extra-terrestrial impact, planet Earth was going through a period of dramatic climate change. Sea levels were changing, global temperatures altering and there was enormous amounts of volcanic activity. The space rock collision provided the final “coup de grâce” that led to the demise of the dinosaurs, pterosaurs and marine reptiles.

A Perfect Storm?

To read a more detailed article about this new research: Dinosaur Extinction – A Perfect Storm.

Extension Ideas and Activities

Look up recent reports and new stories about impact events or potential near misses, can the class identify where these objects are coming from? Why are there such objects within our solar system?
Examine the moon and compare/contrast this to craters found on the Earth today, are there similarities? Why do those craters on the moon persist? What about other planets, have they suffered from extra-terrestrial impact events? What evidence is there for such events?
More capable learners can be challenged to find out about the Chicxulub impact and the evidence for the impact theory in regards to dinosaur extinction
If the Earth is vulnerable to such impacts, what steps could be taken? What are the moral dimensions?
Consider what life on Earth might have been like if the dinosaurs had not become extinct – what implications for our own species? Intelligent dinosaurs?

To view the wide range of prehistoric animal and dinosaur themed toys and games available from Everything Dinosaur: Dinosaur Toys and Games.

27 07, 2014

New Prehistoric Times Issue 110 Reviewed

By Mike|2024-05-02T12:12:21+01:00July 27th, 2014|Dinosaur Fans, Magazine Reviews|0 Comments

A Review of the Summer 2014 Edition of Prehistoric Times Magazine

Featured on the front cover of issue 110 is a fantastic sculpture of an Giganotosaurus by the highly talented prehistoric animal sculptor Galileo Hernandez Nunez and inside the magazine, editor Mike Fredericks conducts an in depth interview with the Mexican artist and some of his amazing work is showcased. Nice to hear that señor Hernandez loves the English language, his English is obviously much better than our Spanish.

Prehistoric Times

During the interview, what inspires him is discussed as well as his influences and he makes some very interesting points about the future of palaeo-sculpture with the advent of affordable three-dimensional printers. The theme of 3-D printing is taken up by Mike Eischen in a special feature on digital dinosaurs.

The Front Cover of Prehistoric Times Magazine (110)

Giganotosaurus on the front cover.

Picture credit: Mike Fredericks

Fans of prehistoric snakes will be delighted to hear that Titanoboa (T. cerrejonensis) and other massive serpents are featured in the magazine.

Titanoboa

The description of this enormous snake certainly captured imaginations when it was first described over five years ago now. Phil Hore does a splendid job writing about the multitude of “twenty footers plus” that have left traces of their existence preserved in the fossil record.

Titanoboa Museum Quality Maquette

The assembled Rebor Titanoboa Museum Class Maquette Brian Diccus prehistoric animal model. Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur.

Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur

To view the Rebor range of figures and replicas: Rebor Models and Figures.

Our article on the discovery of Titanoboa remains one of the most popular news stories that we have covered on this blog site.

To read an article on the discovery of Titanoboa: Huge Prehistoric Snake from Columbia.

Phil is also responsible for producing the article on the early representative of the centrosaurine horned dinosaurs “Devil Horned Face” – Diabloceratops and once again the article is very informative and accompanied with lots of reader submitted artwork. Reports on visits to a number of dinosaur exhibits, museums and attractions are provided including an article about the Der Sauiermuseum in Switzerland, an establishment that we at Everything Dinosaur know very well.

The magazine is also packed full of information for model makers, book reviews and news stories, we especially like the feature by Robert Telleria on dinosaur calendars and the hints and tips on prehistoric dioramas written by Fred M. Snyder.

Once again a very well written and produced magazine for the dinosaur enthusiast.

To learn more about Prehistoric Times and to subscribe: Prehistoric Times Magazine.

To conclude this brief review, we ought to give a special mention to Tracy Lee Ford, who tackles the eye-opening topic of palpebral bones in ornithischian dinosaurs. The palpebral is a small bone found in the region of the eye socket in certain groups of animals such as monitor lizards and eagles (Everything Dinosaur team members think crocodilians have them too).

It is also found in the fossil record in marine reptiles and ornithischian dinosaurs but not as far as we are aware in the Saurischia. The function of this bone remains a bit of a mystery. It can be pointed, prong-like or curved and Tracy Lee Ford covers how this anatomical feature would alter the appearance of a dinosaur such as an iguanodontid. Dinosaurs with scowls and fierce looking expressions indeed.

26 07, 2014

A Video Review of the CollectA Arsinoitherium Model

By Mike|2023-03-14T10:22:20+00:00July 26th, 2014|Dinosaur Fans, Everything Dinosaur Products, Everything Dinosaur videos, Product Reviews|0 Comments

CollectA 1:20 Scale Deluxe Arsinoitherium Reviewed

Another day and another video review to post up onto the Everything Dinosaur blog, this time a video review of the CollectA Deluxe 1:20 scale model of Arsinoitherium. One of the most bizarre-looking mammals that ever existed, if team members at Everything Dinosaur were asked to sum up this huge, plant-eater in one sentence, something like “here was a distant relative of elephants, that looked a bit like a rhinoceros and probably lived a bit like a hippopotamus”, would probably be appropriate.

Arsinoitherium Model

Everything Dinosaur stocks a huge range of prehistoric mammal models including the CollectA Deluxe 1:20 scale Arsinoitherium model. Take a look at the prehistoric mammal replicas available from Everything Dinosaur: Prehistoric Mammal Models.

The CollectA Arsinoitherium Model Reviewed

Video credit: Everything Dinosaur

The video runs for seven minutes and in the video we review this model, assign a species name to it and discuss what the fossil record tells us about these ancient creatures that roamed what was to become Egypt around thirty million years ago. We even suggest some uses for those enormous horns that grew out of the skull. The Arsinoitheres died out during the Middle Oligocene epoch and there is not a single species of animal alive today that is directly descended from this group, which is a shame.

A spokesperson from Everything Dinosaur confirmed that the CollectA Deluxe 1:20 Arsinoitherium model was extremely popular amongst model collectors.

To view Everything Dinosaur’s range of CollectA Deluxe models, including Arsinoitherium: CollectA Deluxe Prehistoric Animal Models.

25 07, 2014

Did All Dinosaurs Have Feathers? That is an Excellent Question!

By Mike|2024-05-02T12:19:05+01:00July 25th, 2014|Dinosaur and Prehistoric Animal News Stories, Dinosaur Fans, Educational Activities, Palaeontological articles|0 Comments

Kulindadromeus Discovery Gets Palaeontologists into a Flap

The embargo has been lifted and we can now talk about the amazing new fossil discovery from Siberia, details of which has just been published in the academic journal “Science”. News of the discovery of the first ever plant-eating dinosaur with feathers as well as scales has been announced. So what does this mean? Feathered dinosaurs have been discovered before right? True, but and it is a big “but“, feathers have only been associated with one group of dinosaurs up until now, the theropods, the group of dinosaurs most closely related to birds.

Kulindadromeus

The dinosaur has been named Kulindadromeus zabaikalicus and at just over a metre in length, it is not going to be breaking any size records when it comes to extinct prehistoric animals. Indeed, if we had the technology to travel back 175 million years or so, to the area surrounding what was to become the Siberian city of Chita, this little dinosaur would have probably gone almost unnoticed. However, the publication of this long-awaited scientific paper is very important and over the next few paragraphs we will try to put this fossil discovery into perspective.

The Order Dinosauria (the dinosaurs) can be split into two distinct groups based on the structure and position of their hip bones. These two sub-divisions are the Ornithischia (bird-hipped dinosaurs) and the Saurischia (lizard-hipped dinosaurs). Those theropods many of whom were feathered, belong to the saurischians. The Siberian fossils show that a member of the ornithischian group also had feathers.

Feathers Amongst the Dinosauria

Ornithischians had feathers too.

Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur

The Dinosaur Family Tree

The picture above shows the dinosaurs split into two groups, on one side of the dinosaur family tree are the lizard-hipped dinosaurs, the long-necked sauropods and the theropods, those mainly meat-eating dinosaurs who are the closest related to birds (Aves). The other part of the Dinosauria consists of the bird-hipped ornithischians, an almost entirely vegetarian group consisting of the horned dinosaurs, duck-bills, armoured dinosaurs and such like. Kulindadromeus, described as a neoornithischian dinosaur and definitely amongst the bird-hipped dinosaurs, shows that other types of dinosaurs, not just the theropods had feathers too.

Kulindadromeus zabaikalicus

The terms “bird-hipped” and “lizard-hipped” can be a little confusing, especially when we are trying to identify the ancestors of birds. These terms were first coined by Henry Govier Seeley in 1887. He divided the dinosaurs into two groups, based on the fact that all the dinosaurs known at the time (and the majority of dinosaurs discovered to date for that matter), had a pelvis that followed one of two distinctive shapes.

There was a bird-like pelvis, where the pubis bone points backwards and the lizard-hipped configuration where the pubis bone points forward. It is the lizard-hipped dinosaurs,the theropoda, that are most closely related to the Aves and indeed one group of theropods, the maniraptorans that are the direct ancestors of today’s birds.

Classifying the Dinosauria

Classifying dinosaurs by the shape of their hip bones.

Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur

Back in 2010, a scientific team led by Sofia Sinitsa, a geologist at the Institute of Natural Resources, Ecology and Cryology from the Siberian city of Chita, explored some highly fossiliferous strata located in the nearby Kulinda valley. The site represented a low energy depositional environment with freshwater crustaceans, insect larvae and plant fossils. The strata was laid down by the edge of a large lake, evidence of ash in the layers of rock indicated that there were volcanoes in the neighbourhood too.

Fragmentary fossils indicating the presence of small dinosaurs were also discovered but their poor state of preservation led the scientists to focus on other fossil material. Expeditions to the same locality found more fossils of dinosaurs over the next two summers and as a result, Pascal Godefroit, a palaeontologist at the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences (Brussels) was contacted along with other scientists as the implications of the discovery began to dawn on the Russian team.

Dr Godefroit commented:

“We were completely shocked by the discoveries.”

Pictures from the Dig Site and Some of the Fossil Material Collected

A vast amount of fossil material was collected.

Picture credit: Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences

Bristle-like and brush-like structures had been identified in a number of Cretaceous species of ornithischian dinosaur, most notably in dinosaurs such as Psittacosaurus and Tianyulong, but these quills, brushes and bristles have been described by researchers as representing the very earliest development stage of feathers, what scientists call proto-feathers.

To read an article by Everything Dinosaur on the evidence of quills and bristles in later ornithischian dinosaurs:

Evidence of feathers in psittacosaurids: Upsetting the Apple Cart.

The scientists claim that these new fossils differ from the the bristle-like structures found in much later ornithischian dinosaurs as they have complex, multi-filamented structures typical of the feathers associated with the Theropoda.

Kulindadromeus zabaikalicus (pronounced Cul-lin-dah-dro-me-us zah-bay-cal-lik-us) had been named after the Kulinda valley locality and from the Greek “dromeus”, which means runner. The trivial name honours the Zabaikal krai region of Siberia in which the Kulinda valley can be found.

An Illustration of Kulindadromeus zabaikalicus

Feathered dinosaur down amongst the horsetails.

Picture credit: Andrey Atuchin

Dated to around 175 to 160 million years ago (Aalenian to Early Callovian of the Mid Jurassic), this one- metre-long plant-eater had filamentous structures covering most of its body, including its head, neck and chest. The more complex feather-like structures are confined to the upper arms and upper legs, an arrangement found in a number of fossils of small theropod dinosaurs excavated from Cretaceous strata in the famous Lioaning Province of north-eastern China.

Explaining the significance of this discovery, Dr Godefroit stated:

“For the first time we found more complex, compound structures together with simpler hair-like structures in a plant-eating dinosaur that really resemble the proto-feathers in advanced meat-eaters”.

Multiple Filamentous Structures Associated with the Femur (Thigh Bone)

Complex feather-like structures on the thigh.

Picture credit: Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences/ Dr. Pascal Godefroit

Fossil Feathers

The scientists are confident that these little, fast-running creatures could not fly, so why evolve feathers then? The answer is quite simple, feathers first evolved for other purposes and they only became adapted for flight much later. These feathers probably helped to keep these small animals insulated and warm. This suggests that contrary to popular opinion, most dinosaurs were endothermic (warm-blooded like mammals and birds) and not cold-blooded like today’s reptiles.

The longer, more complex feather structures may have had some role in display and visual communication. In total, at least six fossil skulls have been found along with a large number of fossilised bones from many individuals and lots of different growth stages have been recognised. The abundance of fossil material will give the palaeontologists the chance to study how feathers changed as animals grew and matured.

If this neoornithischian had complex feathers then this also throws up an intriguing set of possibilities. The common ancestor of both the ornithischian and saurischian dinosaurs could have been feathered, or perhaps, feathers evolved in different types of dinosaur, an example of convergent evolution.

Chinese palaeontologist Xing Xu of the Institute of Vertebrate Palaeontology and Palaeoanthropology (Beijing), someone who has intensively studied the Lioaning feathered dinosaurs commented:

“The finds are a fantastic discovery”.

However, he warns against getting too carried away, stating that the fossils are too fragmentary to be certain that the more complex feathery structures actually correspond to those found later in birds. We suspect that further research is going to be carried out into the nature of these branched integumentary structures, before palaeontologists will agree that feather-like structures were widespread amongst the Dinosauria.

One of the co-authors of the scientific paper, Professor Danielle Dhouailly from the Université Joseph Fourier in La Tronche (France ), has been examining these ancient structures and comparing them to the down and feathers found in modern birds. The lake sediments also preserved scales, so scientists now have evidence that both scales and feathers could be found on individual dinosaurs. In addition, scientists now know that the leg scales found in modern birds are essentially aborted feathers.

The Ancient Lake Sediments Preserved Evidence of Scales

Fossilised bone (sandy colour) surrounded by evidence of small scales on the foot.

Picture credit: Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences/ Dr. Pascal Godefroit

Professor Dhouailly added:

“Developmental experiments in modern chickens suggest that avian scales are aborted feathers, an idea that explains why birds have scaly legs. The astonishing discovery is that the molecular mechanisms needed for this switch might have been so clearly related to the appearance of the first feathers in the earliest dinosaurs”.

There is more research to be done, but this discovery has potentially huge implications for our view of the Dinosauria. Ironically, back in the beginning of 2014, Everything Dinosaur team members were asked to predict what news stories might occur over the year and they did predict that a discovery regarding feathered ornithischian dinosaurs would be announced.

To read Everything Dinosaur’s full list of 2014 predictions: 2014 Palaeontology Predictions.

Team members congratulate all those involved in this exciting fossil discovery and the subsequent research.

To view models and replicas of feathered dinosaurs and other prehistoric creatures: Safari Ltd Prehistoric World Figures.

25 07, 2014

Were all the Dinosaurs Feathered? A Great Question!

By Mike|2024-05-02T12:19:33+01:00July 25th, 2014|General Teaching, Key Stage 3/4|Comments Off on Were all the Dinosaurs Feathered? A Great Question!

Fossil Discovery in Siberia Challenges Palaeontologists

Scientists have announced the discovery of a new species of dinosaur in Siberia, a one-metre long Jurassic dinosaur that had feathers as well as scales. The dinosaur has been named Kulindadromeus (K. zabaikalicus), the genus name is pronounced, Cul-lin-dah-dro-me us, the species or trivial name is pronounced zah-bay-cal-lik-us. This little dinosaur, most probably a biped, has been named after the Kulinda valley in Siberia and the Greek word “dromeus”, which means runner. The trivial (species) name honours the Zabaikal krai region of Siberia in which the Kulinda valley is located.

Kulindadromeus Dinosaur

An Illustration of the New Feathered Dinosaur

Feathered dinosaur down amongst the horsetails.

Picture credit: Andrey Atuchin

Feathered Dinosaurs

Feathered dinosaurs have been discovered before, but until now most of the feathered dinosaur discoveries related to a specific group of saurischian dinosaurs, (lizard-hipped), known as the theropods. Kulindadromeus is relatively basal to a group of bird-hipped dinosaurs known as the ornithischians. This discovery suggests that feathers in dinosaurs evolved relatively early in their history and that many different members of the Dinosauria were probably covered in feathers.

To read more about this fossil discovery: Did all the Dinosaurs have Feathers?

Extension Ideas and Activities

Key Stage 2

Look up articles on feathered dinosaurs, from which parts of the world have these fossil discoveries come from?
What evidence have scientists found in fossils to suggest that some dinosaurs were feathered?
What reasons can the class come up with for the evolution of feathers in dinosaurs?

Key Stage 3/4

Just two years after Darwin’s “Origin of Species” was published a virtually complete fossil of the “First Bird” Archaeopteryx was found in Germany. How did this fossil discovery support Darwin’s theory of natural selection?
Look up pictures of Archaeopteryx and fossils of this Late Jurassic creature, what similarities to modern birds can be seen, what are the differences?
Why might this fossil be described as “transitional”?
Why are there few examples of transitional fossils preserved in the fossil record? Can the theory of natural selection explain this?

For models of feathered dinosaurs, mostly theropod dinosaurs take a look at the huge selection of models and figures available at Everything Dinosaur: Everything Dinosaur Models and Figures.

24 07, 2014

Young Palaeontologists Design Unique Dinosaur T-shirts

By Mike|2024-05-02T12:08:33+01:00July 24th, 2014|Dinosaur Fans, Everything Dinosaur News and Updates, Everything Dinosaur Products, Press Releases|0 Comments

Competition Winners Receive Their Dinosaur T-Shirts

A very big thank you to the many clever, creative fans of all things Cretaceous who entered Everything Dinosaur’s design your own dinosaur themed T-shirt competition. We had no idea how powerful social media could be and thanks to all our friends on Facebook, Twitter followers and such like we were inundated with entries.

Our idea was simple, if Everything Dinosaur team members having put down their geological hammers and magnifying glasses, were working on some ideas for a range of children’s tees with a prehistoric animal theme, why not, just for a bit of fun, give budding young palaeontologists a go too. So we posted up on our Facebook page, Blog, Twitter etc. information about the competition and offered as a prize the winning design being made up into a T-shirt – a sort of “dinosaur designer label” that would be unique to our contest winner.

Young Palaeontologists

We had freakish flying reptiles, cute baby dinosaurs, marauding marine monsters, Triassic terrors – all sorts of amazing drawings and pictures sent into us from all over the world. Fortunately, those clever primates from Shirt Monkey, the direct to garment T-shirt design specialists with whom Everything Dinosaur has been working with on this project, were able to help out and after much deliberation a winning design was chosen.

One of the Many Dinosaur Themed T-Shirt Designs Received

Great volcano design – thanks Mairead (age 10).

Picture credit: Mairead (thanks Carol [mum])

The competition was won by 12 year-old Holly who lives in France. The winning design showed a huge dinosaur foot crushing a tea cup with the caption “T (tea) Wrecks”. Holly’s mum contacted Everything Dinosaur and asked whether two “unique” tees could be made up as Harri, Holly’s younger sister, wanted one as well.

Holly and Harri Show Off their Winning T-Shirts

“Tea wrecks T-shirts”.

Sue Judd from Everything Dinosaur commented:

“This is the first time that we have involved our social media following in a new product range launch such as this. We had competition entries from all over the world and in addition, we got some amazing feedback as we posted up some of our own T-shirt designs and ideas. It’s been a real consultation process and we are grateful for all the advice and feedback received.”

Holly’s Winning T-Shirt Design Coming off the Production Line

The winning design comes off the production line.

Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur/Shirt Monkey

Holly wants to be a palaeontologist when she is older, with a new dinosaur species being named every 20-30 days or so there are going to be a lot of new dinosaurs for Holly to study.

The Completed T-Shirt “Tea Wrecks” Ready for Shipping

A giant T. rex foot about to wreck an enormous tea cup.

Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur/Shirt Monkey

The first three dinosaur themed T-shirts from Everything Dinosaur are going into production next week, and should be up on line at Dinosaur Clothing, Dinosaur T-shirts very shortly.

A Trio of Dinosaur Themed Tees

The first of the dinosaur themed T-shirts from Everything Dinosaur.

Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur/Shirt Monkey

The 100% cotton T-shirts will be available in size ranges from 3-4 years up to age 9 to 11 and at each stage of the design process Everything Dinosaur consulted with its Facebook fans and social media followers to seek advice and approval for the work being done. The use of social media has provided the company with yet more channels to build up two-way communication with its customers and fans.

To visit those clever T-shirt competition organisers, Everything Dinosaur: Visit Everything Dinosaur.