All about dinosaurs, fossils and prehistoric animals by Everything Dinosaur team members.
14 10, 2014

Writing Notes on the Most Famous Dinosaur of All

By |2023-03-17T08:06:07+00:00October 14th, 2014|Dinosaur Fans, Everything Dinosaur News and Updates|0 Comments

Notes About Tyrannosaurus rex

Everything Dinosaur team members have been sent some notes from a model manufacturer all about that most famous dinosaur of all T. rex.  Our dinosaur experts have been asked to proof read this information and to suggest any ways in which this data can be improved upon as it is to be used in a product information sheet to be supplied with the dinosaur model.

Here is the information that we have been asked to look at:

Tyrannosaurus rex:

[Tyrannosaurus (meaning “tyrant lizard”) is a genus of coelurosaurian theropod dinosaur, the most well-known species Tyrannosaurus rex , also commonly abbreviated to T. rex (rex means “king”in Latin), lived during the the upper Cretaceous Period, 67 to 66 million years ago in what is now western North America. Tyrannosaurus rex is not only one of the largest land carnivores, but also one of the largest known land predators of all time.

The most complete specimen measures up to 12.3 metres in length, 4 metres tall at the hips, the estimated weight is around 7 tons.  It is suggested that the bite force of Tyrannosaurus rex could have been the strongest of any terrestrial animal that has ever lived.]

Tyrannosaurus rex

Our team members will address this matter shortly, but first thing we have done is to put the species name into italics.

Preparing Notes on Tyrannosaurus rex for a Model Manufacturer

The Mojo Fun Tyrannosaurus rex deluxe figure has an articulated jaw.

A close view of the head and articulated jaw of the Mojo T. rex dinosaur model.

Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur

Most of the information that we have been sent is right, more or less, we just have to polish the phrasing a little and perhaps change the order of the sentences.  It should not take us too long, after all, we do supply a lot of dinosaur toys and dinosaur models, all with our own prehistoric animal fact sheets included.

To view the huge range of models and figures in stock at Everything Dinosaur including Mojo Fun prehistoric animals: Mojo Fun Prehistoric and Extinct Animal Models.

13 10, 2014

Writing Notes for a Model Manufacturer

By |2023-03-17T08:03:41+00:00October 13th, 2014|Dinosaur Fans, Everything Dinosaur News and Updates|0 Comments

Helping a Manufacturer Get to Grips with Yutyrannus

Everything Dinosaur

Everything Dinosaur’s team members get asked to do a lot of work for various companies, we undertake such work usually free of charge as our objective is to try and help the organisation with educational matters, such as getting information correct about a particular dinosaur, perhaps information for a museum exhibition, a product leaflet or even literature aimed at the school’s market.  One example of such work undertaken is our current research into the basal tyrannosauroid from north-eastern China Yutyrannus huali.

We have our own fact sheet and scale drawings of this particular member of the tyrannosaur family.  This information has proved to be very useful as we prepare notes to assist with a data card all about this theropod dinosaur.

Yutyrannus huali

Yutyrannus huali meaning “beautiful feathered tyrant” and sometimes referred to as being a relative of the more famous carnivorous dinosaurs of Late Cretaceous North America, as this dinosaur has been classified as belonging to the same superfamily of theropod dinosaurs as the iconic T. rex, was scientifically described in 2012.   It roamed north-eastern China during the Early Cretaceous.

The scientific description was based on three, nearly complete fossil specimens excavated from strata associated with Liaoning Province.  The holotype fossils, representing the largest of three individuals indicate that adult animals may have reached a length of around 9 metres and weighed approximately 1,400 kg.

Everything Dinosaur’s Drawing of Yutyrannus (Y.  huali)

Dinosaur drawing (Yutyrannus)

Dinosaur drawing (Yutyrannus).

Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur

Evidence of plumage (feathers) is preserved on parts of all three known specimens.  Whilst there is a lot of evidence to indicate that many small theropod dinosaurs had feathers, Yutyrannus huali  fossils suggest that some giant carnivorous dinosaurs may also have been feathered.

It has been speculated that feathers may have helped insulate and keep these dinosaurs warm as this part of China during the Early Cretaceous had a decidedly chilly climate, with average annual temperatures roughly equivalent to what they are today in north-eastern China.

Isotope Studies

Isotope studies using the wonderfully well-preserved teeth of this dinosaur indicate that the average annual temperature in north-eastern China during the time when Yutyrannus roamed was about 10 degrees Celsius.  To put this in perspective, this is approximately the same annual average temperature of Manchester in England or Washington D.C. in the United States.  If Yutyrannus was alive to day it would have been perfectly at home in northern England or indeed on the eastern seaboard of the United States.

It’s all part of Everything Dinosaur’s customer service.

To view the huge range of prehistoric animal figures stocked by Everything Dinosaur: Dinosaur and Prehistoric Animal Figures.

12 10, 2014

Two New Model Additions to Everything Dinosaur’s Range

By |2023-03-17T08:01:33+00:00October 12th, 2014|Dinosaur Fans, Everything Dinosaur News and Updates, Everything Dinosaur Products, Press Releases|0 Comments

Wild Safari Dinos Triceratops and Wild Safari Dinos Smilodon Added

The Wild Safari Dinos model series made by Safari Ltd has been highly praised by model collectors and dinosaur fans alike.  Everything Dinosaur team members are already looking forward to receiving stock of the new for 2015 Wild Safari Dinos models (Gastonia, Yutyrannus, Nasutoceratops and a replica of Archaeopteryx, but in the meantime, the company keeps adding more Safari Ltd models to its inventory.

Wild Safari Dinos

For example, the Wild Safari Dinos Triceratops and Smilodon models were added this week.

The Wild Safari Dinos Triceratops Model

An excellent replica of a Triceratops.

An excellent replica of a Triceratops.

Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur/Safari Ltd

Everything Dinosaur

A spokesperson for the UK based dinosaur model retailer stated:

“This Triceratops figure has been in a lot of our personal collections, we really like the quality of the finish on this particular replica, especially the scaly texture and the folds of skin.  Safari Ltd have really worked hard to provide a top quality Triceratops.”

The Triceratops Model at Everything Dinosaur

One of our favourite Triceratops dinosaur models.

One of our favourite Triceratops dinosaur models.

Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur

This horned dinosaur replica certainly has plenty of detail and it is bound to prove very popular amongst our discerning customers.

Joining the Triceratops is the Wild Safari Dinos Smilodon model, a replica of a Sabre-toothed cat.  Many of our team members have had the opportunity to visit California to see the excellent Smilodon fossil specimens on display in a number of museums.  We have even got our hands dirty at the famous tar pits of Los Angeles (La Brea), we were delighted to be able to add this model to our range.

The Wild Safari Dinos Smilodon Model

Smilodon fatalis?

Smilodon fatalis?

Picture credit: Safari Ltd

The Smilodon joins the Wild Safari Dinos Mammoth replica and the larger scale model of a Woolly Mammoth (Carnegie Collectibles range) that Everything Dinosaur also stocks.  Perhaps Safari Ltd will add other mammal species to its model portfolio, a Dire Wolf (Canis dirus) or maybe even a prehistoric camel (Camelops hesternus) fossils of both these animals are associated with the Los Angeles fossil site.

To view the range of Safari Ltd models available: Safari Ltd Dinosaur and Prehistoric Animal Models.

To read an article and to see pictures of the new for 2015 models being introduced by Safari Ltd: New for 2015 Models.

11 10, 2014

How Did Huge Sauropods Manage to Get Along Together?

By |2023-03-16T22:13:58+00:00October 11th, 2014|Dinosaur and Prehistoric Animal News Stories, Dinosaur Fans, Palaeontological articles|0 Comments

Dietary Niche Partitioning Amongst the Sauropoda

A team of British scientists have been tackling one of the biggest puzzles in palaeontology and a sophisticated analysis of dinosaur skull bones might just have helped them solve a mystery of gigantic proportions.  Sauropods, that group of long-necked dinosaurs that include such famous creatures as Diplodocus, Brachiosaurus and Apatosaurus (formerly known as Brontosaurus), ate vast quantities of plant material.

Huge Sauropods

These huge animals with many individuals exceeding twenty metres in length and weighing many times more than a bull African elephant, would have been capable of stripping an area of vegetation, but the fossil record shows that in many parts of the world, lots of different species of sauropod seem to have co-existed.

The scientists, a joint research team from Bristol University and the Natural History Museum (London), propose that Late Jurassic sauropod skulls became specially adapted to help them feed on different types of plant material.  In this way, the skull morphology helped the long-necked dinosaurs divide up the available food resources between them, therefore limiting the amount of direct competition.

Sauropods in the Ecosystem

Previous studies had shown that in areas where lots of different species of sauropods co-existed their body shapes and ability to angle their necks may have allowed the development of different feeding strategies with each species preferring to feed on a particular part of the flora that was available.

Proposed sauropod Feeding Strategies

Long necks for different feeding envelopes.

Long necks for different feeding envelopes.

Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur

Niche Partitioning

In the picture above, models made by Safari Ltd help to illustrate current thinking about the feeding adaptations of members of the Sauropoda.  Diplodocids such as Diplodocus and Apatosaurus with their very long necks and relatively horizontal feeding platforms probably specialised in feeding on ferns, cycads and plants that made up the vegetative understorey.  Whilst in the middle, dinosaurs such as camarasaurids a member of a different family of sauropods called the Macronaria could feed on a wider range of plant material, cycads and seed ferns as well as being able to strip leaves off small trees.

The dinosaur in the bottom of the picture is a member of the Brachiosauridae (Brachiosaurus).  These dinosaurs had much longer forelimbs than hindlimbs and as a result, their heads were held much higher.

These dinosaurs probably specialised in feeding from the very tops of the tallest trees, parts of the vegetative canopy not available to other plant-eating dinosaurs (unless they knocked the trees down).  The tree in the picture is an Agathis conifer, a model also made by Safari Ltd.

To view Everything Dinosaur’s range of prehistoric plant models and dinosaurs (Safari Ltd): Safari Ltd Prehistoric World Figures.

A Detailed Model of a Camarasaurus

Wild Safari Prehistoric World Camarasaurus dinosaur model.

The award-winning Wild Safari Prehistoric World Camarasaurus dinosaur model.

Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur

A spokesperson from Everything Dinosaur commented:

“Based on counts of the fossilised bones, Camarasaurus seems to have been the most common of all the different types of sauropod known from the Morrison Formation.  Perhaps this dinosaur was more of a “generalist” when it came to diet.  A half-way house between the long-necked diplodocids and the giraffe-like brachiosaurids.  An ability to feed on a wide variety of plants, including the tougher plants not available to the likes of Diplodocus and Apatosaurus, could have led to this particular genus of long-necked dinosaur being one of the most successful in the Late Jurassic of the western North America, to the south of the Sundance Sea.”

Analysis of Sauropoda Fauna

Building on previous studies, the British team looked specifically at the sauropod fauna associated with the Upper Jurassic Morrison Formation of the western United States.  At least ten different species of sauropod are known from this formation, one of the most intensely studied fossiliferous formations in the Americas.  Although the Morrison Formation deposits represent a number of habitats, some of the most famous fossil beds such as those making up the Salt Wash Member indicate that some parts of the Morrison Formation represent deposits laid down in harsh, semi-arid environments, not the sort of place where one might expect vast numbers of different types of sauropod.

Despite the harsh conditions, the fossil record shows that lots of different sauropods co-existed.  When the diverse faunas of modern day Africa are considered, these habitats only support one truly huge, extant species – the elephant.  So how did the sauropods get along with each other?

Bristol University’s PhD student David Button worked in collaboration with the Natural History Museum to examine how the skulls of different long-necked dinosaurs may have been adapted to help them feed on different types of plant.  Digital reconstructions were made of the skulls of Camarasaurus and Diplodocus using data compiled from Computerised tomography (CT scans).  From this data, a biomechanical model of the Camarasaurus skull was created and then this skull was compared to an existing digital model of the Diplodocus.

Finite Element Analysis (FEA)

Finite Element Analysis (FEA), was used to assess the stresses that each skull could take.  FEA analysis is used in engineering to calculate loads and stress bearings in complex shapes, this research showed that the box-like skull of Camarasaurus gave this dinosaur a stronger bite.  Camarasaurus could have coped with tougher vegetation than Diplodocus.  The weaker bite and more delicate skull of Diplodocus would have restricted this animal to softer plant material such as ferns.  Diplodocus could have compensated for this to some extent by using its strong neck muscles to help detach plant material through movements of the head.

David Button concluded:

“Our results show that although neither could chew, the skulls of both dinosaurs were sophisticated cropping tools.  This study indicates that differences in diet between these two dinosaurs would have allowed them to co-exist.”

The research team used a number of biomechanical measurements from other Morrison Formation sauropods to calculate the different types of feeding adaptations, providing evidence for different diets and overall a conclusion that dietary niche partitioning did occur in the Sauropoda.

Comparing the Skulls of a Typical Camarasaurid and Diplodocid

Analysis of fossil bone helped the researchers determine the size and location of jaw muscles.

Analysis of fossil bone helped the researchers determine the size and location of jaw muscles.

Picture credit: David Button

In the picture above, the box-like skull of Camarasaurus is shown left (a) with a typical skull of a Diplodocus (b).

Co-author of the scientific paper, which has been published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society Biology, Professor Emily Rayfield (Bristol University) stated:

“In modern animal communities differences in diet such as this, termed dietary niche partitioning, allow multiple species to co-exist by reducing competition for food.  Although, dietary niche partitioning has been suspected between Morrison Formation sauropods based on their structural features and patterns of tooth-wear, this is the first study to provide strong, numerical, biomechanical evidence for its presence in a fossil community.”

This new research may help palaeontologists to understand more about how the Sauropoda evolved.  Sauropods from the Dashanpu Quarry region of China dating from the Middle Jurassic may also show similar adaptations over skull morphology and bite strength as reflected in the research done on the slightly later sauropods from the Morrison Formation.

In addition, this analysis may help scientists to unravel the mechanisms responsible for supporting the high diversities of mega-herbivores found in other Mesozoic and Cenozoic animal populations, particularly those in resource limited environments.

For related articles on sauropod feeding strategies:

Ostrich Necks Provide Clues to Sauropod Neck Flexibility.

Diplodocus Feeding – a biter or a comber?

Evidence for Seasonal Migrations Amongst Camarasaurids.

10 10, 2014

A Review of the CollectA Bistahieversor Model

By |2023-03-16T18:47:52+00:00October 10th, 2014|Dinosaur Fans, Everything Dinosaur Products, Product Reviews|0 Comments

The CollectA Bistahieversor Model Reviewed

New for 2014 from CollectA in their not-to-scale prehistoric animal model series is this replica of Bistahieversor (pronounced Bis-tar-hee-eh-ver-sore), a member of the tyrannosaur family from New Mexico and distantly related to the much more famous T. rex  this is Everything Dinosaur’s review of this dinosaur replica.

The CollectA Bistahieversor Dinosaur Model

New for Summer 2014

New for Summer 2014.

Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur

Bistahieversor sealeyi

During the Late Cretaceous much of North America was covered by a huge sea.  This was called the Western Interior Seaway and it stretched from what is now the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Gulf of Mexico in the south.  The landmasses that bordered this inland sea were dominated by dinosaurs and what scientists are now recognising is that despite the mix of dinosaurs in the north and the south being very similar – ceratopsians, Lambeosaurines, ankylosaurids, tyrannosaurids and so forth, the genera and species making up those faunas differed markedly across North America.

What you have is distinct regional ecosystems.  What we term “provinciality” and you can explore lots of articles about this on the Everything Dinosaur web log.

To read an article about the regional diversity of horned dinosaurs in North America: A Surge in Mountain Building May Have Led to Dinosaur Diversification.

Bistahieversor fossils come from the oldest part of the Kirtland Formation, exposed in New Mexico, strata dating to around 74.5 million years ago.  Isolated teeth very typical of a large tyrannosaur had been found for many years and these were thought to represent types of tyrannosaur known from fossilised bones found in Montana and Alberta (Canada) in the north.

Dinosaur Skull

A partial skull found in 1990 was associated with tyrannosaur fossil material from Montana, (potentially Daspletosaurus), but gradually as more body fossils were discovered in this part of the San Juan Basin, it was realised that these fossils represented the remains of a distinct southern genus of tyrannosaurid.  Following a review in 2010, the genus Bistahieversor (B. sealeyi) was established.

The name means “Bistahi Destroyer”, the genus honours the local Navajo indian population, the word “Bisti” means “place of the adobe formations” in the local dialect.  The trivial name honours museum volunteer Paul Sealey, who found the fossils of an adult animal in 1997.

CollectA Bistahieversor Dinosaur Model

The CollectA model stands on a base, it is the second , large tyrannosaur model in the not-to-scale series to be placed on a base, the first being the modified T. rex with prey replica.  It is a very striking pose, the skin texture has been finished to give the impression of a shaggy, feathery coat.  Here is a model of a feathered tyrannosaur reflecting the very latest in theropd interpretation and part of a trend for more feathered dinosaur models, which we know is going to continue into 2015 and beyond.

The body proportions are based on what is known from the fossil material, particularly the adult specimen discovered in 1997, by Paul Sealey.  The skull sports a distinctive cranial crest and this has been further augmented by the model makers with the addition of a tuft of shaggy, black and white proto-feathers.  The crest on the skull may have been synonymous with a mature adult animal as no evidence for a crest was found on the fossilised skull of a juvenile which was discovered two years earlier (1995).

Like all the CollectA replicas, this is a beautiful model with a well-crafted paint regime consisting of tawny, black and white stripes which contrast nicely with the cream coloured belly.  Even the base has lots of detail, the feet seem to sink into the base to give the impression of a heavy animal walking across soft sand.

A Model of a Tyrannosaur Named in 2010

One of our field rulers provides scale.

One of our field rulers provides scale.

Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur

This model measures around 13 cm in length.  Based on an adult animal being around 8.5 metres we estimate that this replica is in approximately 1:65 scale.  The powerful animal with its strong tail and robust skull probably weighed around 2.5 tonnes and it was very likely the apex predator in the coastal plain habitat found to the south of the Western Interior Seaway.

This is a beautifully crafted, hand-painted replica of Bistahieversor, a dinosaur that was only named and scientifically described back in 2010.  It is an exciting addition to the CollectA range of prehistoric animal models and it is great to see more tyrannosaurids represented, especially feathered ones.

To view Everything Dinosaur’s range of CollectA prehistoric animal models: CollectA Prehistoric Life Dinosaur Models.

9 10, 2014

Indonesian Cave Paintings Change Ideas About the Origin of Art

By |2023-03-16T18:44:12+00:00October 9th, 2014|Dinosaur and Prehistoric Animal News Stories, Main Page|0 Comments

Oldest Prehistoric Cave Art in the World Perhaps – An Indonesian Cave Art Exhibition

The human ability to think in abstract terms is often cited as one of the key differences between our species and those in the rest of the animal kingdom.  Our love of art and visual depiction can be traced back to the Late Palaeolithic but the thought that since cave paintings are confined to France and Spain, therefore art began in Europe, has been challenged thanks to an amazing discovery on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi.

A joint Australian and Indonesian team of anthropologists have uncovered a series of ancient human hand stencils and paintings of animals in seven cave sites in the southern portion of Sulawesi island.  Although a rural location, these caves (Karst Maros) had been visited by a number of tourists and backpackers, but until now nobody knew just how old some of the paintings were.

Cave Paintings

Archaeologists and palaeoanthropologists had long been puzzled by the appearance in southern Europe around 40-35 thousand years ago of a rich and varied range of artwork, including rock paintings and carved figures, but the absence or scarcity of similar art found elsewhere in the world.  Homo sapiens migrated into southern Asia and the Far East but little evidence of any form of culture in terms of works of art has been left behind on these migration routes.

Using a dating method that is based on the radioactive decay of uranium to thorium in small mineral growths that had formed on the paintings, the scientists were able to determine the minimum age of the paintings.  One hand stencil has been dated to circa 39,900 years ago, making it the oldest human hand print known to science.  A painting of a wild pig, an animal probably hunted by these ancient humans, has been dated to at least 35,400 years ago.  The artwork and images had been created by using red ochre, the materials and painting techniques used seem to be very similar to those found in caves of a similar age in western Europe.

Symbolic Explosion

Commenting on the significance of this study, Maxine Aubert of Griffith University (Queensland), one of the researchers stated:

“It was previously thought that Western Europe was the centre piece of a symbolic explosion in early human artistic activity such as cave painting and other forms of image making, including figurative art, around 40,000 years ago.”

This new research suggests that the rock art traditions seen on Sulawesi are at least as old as the oldest known European art.   One of the implications of this new study is that it has now been demonstrated that humans were producing very similar types of rock art by 40,000 years ago but at opposite ends of the Pleistocene Eurasian world.

Faded Artwork

The artwork is very faded in the photographs, so we have circled in green the rock art in the images that was studied.  It is feared, that just like the cave art in some European caves, modern pollution could damage these ancient Indonesian drawings.

To read an article about the damage being done to cave paintings in Europe due to rising levels of fungi: Cave Paintings Might Be Lost Forever.

The scientists hope to use this radioactive dating technique to accurately date other rock art sites in Asia and Australia.  By doing this they hope to better understand human migration and the movement of abstract ideas through the ancient population as it migrated eastwards.

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

8 10, 2014

Venezuela’s Second Dinosaur – Tachiraptor

By |2023-03-16T18:39:51+00:00October 8th, 2014|Dinosaur and Prehistoric Animal News Stories, Dinosaur Fans|0 Comments

Tachiraptor admirabilis – Tracing the Origins of the Big Theropods

Venezuelan dinosaurs must be a bit like buses, you wait for years for one to come along and then two arrive almost simultaneously.  Back in August of this year, we reported on the discovery of Venezuela’s first ever dinosaur, a small, plant-eater from the very Early Jurassic.  This dinosaur was named Laquintasaura venezuelae and it was the first dinosaur named from the north of South America.  Two months later and a second paper about a new Venezuelan dinosaur, this time a meat-eater, is about to be published.  Say hello to Tachiraptor, a bipedal, fast-running carnivore that may very well have been a predator Laquintasaura.

An Artists Impression of Tachiraptor Attacking Laquintasaura

A carnivorous Tachiraptor attacks a flock of Laquintasaura dinosaurs.

A carnivorous Tachiraptor attacks a flock of Laquintasaura dinosaurs.

Picture credit: Maurílio Oliveira

The illustration above shows the fearsome, newly described theropod Tachiraptor attacking a small flock of primitive, ornithopod dinosaurs (Laquintasaura), whilst a couple of alarmed rhamphorhynchid pterosaurs take flight.

To read more about Laquintasaura: Laquintasaura – What Does it All Mean?

Tachiraptor admirabilis

The artist has chosen to illustrate both the dinosaurs in the picture as feathered creatures.  During the Early Jurassic, around 200 million years ago, approximately the time that both Tachiraptor and Laquintasaura lived, Venezuela was close to the equator.  The sandstone deposits in which the fossils were found indicate a flood plain environment.  This flood plain was surrounded by harsh, inhospitable deserts that probably did not support much vertebrate life.  Day temperatures would have been high, but just like many desert areas close to the equator today, at night, temperatures would have plummeted.  Relatively small animals like Tachiraptor and the even smaller Laquintasaura may have sported a coat of insulating feathers to help keep them warm.

A recent dinosaur discovery from Siberia (Kulindadromeus), suggests that many early types of dinosaur may have been feathered, although no fossil evidence for feathers in both Laquintasaura and Tachiraptor has been found (as far as we at Everything Dinosaur know), it seems reasonable at this point to depict these Early Jurassic members of the Dinosauria as feathered.

To read more about the discovery of Kulindadromeus: Information on Early Feathered Dinosaurs.

The Dinosaur Biota of Venezuela

If Laquintasaura has been described as being about the size of a red fox (Vulpes vulpes), then to keep the canine motif, the predatory Tachiraptor may have been around the size of a grey wolf (Canis lupis), with a total length of 1.5 metres.  The size estimate is based on the two fossil bones ascribed to this genus discovered so far.  The fossils represent lower leg bones from two individuals, the research team responsible for the excavation and study of this new theropod (Universidade de São Paulo), Brazil found the bones back in 2013 in the same cutting between the towns of La Grita and Seboruco where the fossils of Laquintasaura had been found.

Tachiraptor admirabilis honours the Venezuelan state of Táchira, the species name is in commemoration of the 1813 campaign led by Simón Bolívar to form a republic (known in Spanish as the Campaña Admirable – admirable campaign).

Tachiraptor – The Name Means “Robber of Táchira”

An agile, lithe predatory dinosaur.

An agile, lithe predatory dinosaur.

Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur

Limb Bone Fossils

Dr Max Cardoso Langer, of the palaeontology department of São Paulo University, one of the scientists involved with this study, explained that the fossil material consisted of a tibia and a second lower leg bone that was fragmented.  However, the locality and morphology of these scrappy fossils gave the research team the confidence to assign a new genus.  Although the exact taxonomic affinity within the Theropoda could not be established as the fossils date from the Hettangian faunal stage, it was most likely a basal theropod.

A spokesperson from Everything Dinosaur stated:

“Very little is known about the dinosaurs that lived in the very Early Jurassic.  When Tachiraptor and Laquintasaura roamed Venezuela some 200 million years ago, the world was recovering from a mass extinction event.  The fossils of these two dinosaurs will help palaeontologists to understand better the implications for the Dinosauria after the Triassic/Jurassic mass extinction.”

7 10, 2014

When was Deinonychus Named?

By |2023-03-16T18:37:45+00:00October 7th, 2014|Dinosaur Fans, Educational Activities, Everything Dinosaur News and Updates|0 Comments

Providing Information on Deinonychus

Yesterday we were emailed by one young dinosaur fan who asked when was the fearsome dinosaur called Deinonychus named?  Our team members are always happy to help out and we emailed over the information, some Dromaeosauridae themed drawing materials and a fact sheet to assist this budding palaeontologist.

Deinonychus

Barnum Brown, the great American fossil hunter discovered the bones of a fast, agile predatory dinosaur in Wyoming back in 1931.  He named this animal Daptosaurus (D. agilis), the name means “active lizard”.  This was an informal name for the dinosaur, the fossilised bones were never officially described.  It was not until the 1960s when another great American scientist and explorer, John Ostrom, found more bones of this lithe but powerful dinosaur that the story of Deinonychus really begins.  Deinonychus (D. antirrhopus), the name means “terrible claw” due to that sharp, sickle-shaped second toe claw, was formally named in 1969.

An Image of Deinonychus

Fast-running, active, warm-blooded dinosaurs

Fast-running, active, warm-blooded dinosaurs

Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur

An Active Animal

Ostrom speculated that Deinonychus was a very active animal, capable of the sort of movements more akin to a mammal or a bird than to a reptile.  He argued that dinosaurs such as Deinonychus were probably endothermic (warm-blooded). He depicted them as very active creatures, challenging the widely held view at the time of the Dinosauria being slow, cumbersome creatures.  John Ostrom was ahead of his time in this respect.

It is John Ostrom and his assistant Bob Bakker who are widely credited with changing the academic world’s perception of the Dinosauria.  Changing views about the dinosaurs in the 1960s and 1970s were known as the “Dinosaur Renaissance”.

To read a blog post about the “Dinosaur Renaissance”: The Dinosaur Renaissance.

Beasts of the Mesozoic “Raptors”

“Raptor” figures and models have proved to be extremely popular with dinosaur model collectors.  Their popularity is epitomised by the Beasts of the Mesozoic articulated dinosaur model range: Beasts of the Mesozoic Models and Figures.

6 10, 2014

Everything Dinosaur Video Review – CollectA Bistahieversor

By |2023-03-16T18:35:13+00:00October 6th, 2014|Dinosaur Fans, Everything Dinosaur Products, Everything Dinosaur videos|0 Comments

A Video Review of the CollectA Bistahieversor Dinosaur Model

Team members have been so busy preparing for new models as 2015 approaches that we have still got a couple of reviews of the 2014 releases to complete.  This is going to be rectified this month and the first of our last video reviews of new 2014 releases is a short video which features the rather wonderful CollectA Bistahieversor dinosaur model.

CollectA Bistahieversor Model (Video Review)

In the video (six minutes, forty-one seconds long), we discuss the significance of this New Mexico tyrannosaurid in terms of the provinciality of North American dinosaurs.  We look at the model and reflect on how this replica is based on the known fossil material.  We think this is our first feathered tyrannosaur model video review, however, we suspect that it is not going to be our last.  Expect more feathered tyrannosaurids next year.

Everything Dinosaur Reviews the CollectA Bistahieversor Model

Video credit: Everything Dinosaur

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CollectA Bistahieversor Dinosaur Model

A spokesperson from Everything Dinosaur confirmed that the CollectA Prehistoric Life Bistahieversor dinosaur model had proved to be extremely popular with dinosaur fans and model collectors.

To view the range of CollectA prehistoric life models in stock at Everything Dinosaur: CollectA Prehistoric Life Models and Figures.

5 10, 2014

Dinosaur Tracks in Danger of Becoming Extinct

By |2023-03-16T18:33:26+00:00October 5th, 2014|Dinosaur and Prehistoric Animal News Stories, Dinosaur Fans, Palaeontological articles|0 Comments

Cal Orck’o Dinosaur Tracks Threatened

To the north-east of the city of Sucre in central Bolivia lies one of the most remarkable fossil sites anywhere in the world. The Huellas de Dinosaurio de Cal Orck´o which translates as the “dinosaur footprints on the lime hill”.  For here, preserved on a sheer slope, are the fossilised tracks of dinosaurs, more than 5,000 individual prints, in excess of 350 trackways providing a spectacular trace fossil record of life in the Late Cretaceous some 68 million years ago.  However, extraction of material to support the local cement works could be endangering the entire site according to local conservationists.

Dinosaur Tracks

Although less famous than the Lark Quarry site (Australia) and the Sauropoda tracks found in Gansu Province (China), the Bolivian site represents one of the biggest, if not the biggest collection of dinosaur footprints discovered to date.   At least eight types of dinosaur trackways have been identified.  There are the huge footprints of gigantic titanosaurs, tracks made by some of the largest land animals that ever existed.  Many of the individual prints measure more than 100 centimetres in diameter and indicate dinosaurs around twenty metres or more in length.

Ornithopods and Ankylosaurids

There are also tracks of ornithopods and ankylosaurids.  Meat-eaters are represented too, the largest three-toed tracks identified as having been made by theropod dinosaurs most probably represent tracks made by abelisaurids, the nearby Parque Cretácico (Cretaceous Park) contains a number of life-size, colourful replicas of the dinosaurs that once roamed this part of Gondwanaland.

Photograph of a Typical Late Cretaceous Abelisaurid (Carnotaurus)

The PNSO Domingo the Carnotaurus model (lateral view)

The PNSO Carnotaurus model stands perfectly stable without the use of the transparent stand which is supplied with the figure. However, Everything Dinosaur recommends that the support stand is used when the model is put on display.

Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur

For dinosaur models and figures: PNSO Museum Quality Age of Dinosaurs Figures.

The park and viewing platforms were opened in 2006, a collaboration between a number of scientific institutions including the Natural History Museum of Basel (Switzerland) whose research teams did much to document and map the tracks between 1998 and 2003, with the support of the Bolivian Government.  Fossilised tracks had been found by cement industry workers and quarry men for many years before the discovery in 1994 of the extensive trackways.  The cliff site and the nearby Cretaceous Park attract in the region of 120,000 tourists each year.

Cement Factory Nearby

However, the nearby cement factory could be endangering the fossilised footprints as the quarrying of limestone takes place nearby.  The quarry work and frequent dynamiting of rock faces to expose new material could be undermining the entire site and making the sixty-eight-million-year-old fossils in danger of collapse.

Elizabeth Baldivieso, the administrator of Parque Cretácico stated:

“The cliff has been quite affected by the many years of extraction of raw material.”

The regional Tourism and Cultural Secretary, Juan Jose Padilla disagrees, referring to Elizabeth Baldivieso’s description as “somewhat alarmist”.  The cement company, Fancesa jointly owned by a local university, the city and regional administrators has vowed to protect the site.

The dinosaur tracks appear to indicate that these ancient creatures were climbing an almost sheer vertical cliff face.  However, back some 68 million years ago, the landscape was flat and muddy.  Over time plate movements pushed up the floodplain creating the near vertical trackways which stretch for around fifteen hundred metres or so.

Proposed UNESCO World Heritage Site

This location was proposed as a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2009, but the cement company opposed the application and it was eventually turned down.  Campaigners are hoping to re-apply for UNESCO World Heritage status in 2015.  This would provide much greater protection to the fossil trackways and we at Everything Dinosaur wish the Bolivian Government and conservationists every success with the re-submission.

To read an article written by Everything Dinosaur about the discovery of some Early Cretaceous dinosaur footprints in Bolivia: Farmer Describes Dinosaur Tracks to Scientists.

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