All about dinosaurs, fossils and prehistoric animals by Everything Dinosaur team members.
13 04, 2016

Polish Scientists Identify Potential Organic Remains in Triassic Fossils

By |2023-04-17T10:38:05+01:00April 13th, 2016|General Teaching, Key Stage 3/4|Comments Off on Polish Scientists Identify Potential Organic Remains in Triassic Fossils

Proteins Identified in Blood Vessels

A team of Polish scientists including researchers from the Polish Academy of Sciences have published a paper detailing the potential discovery of organic materials including collagen inside the fossilised bones of ancient reptiles that once roamed the coastline of the Tethys Ocean.

Triassic Fossils Studied

Writing in the on-line, open access journal “PLOS One”, the researchers used a variety of highly sophisticated analytical methods to identify the minute quantities of organic material inside the preserved blood vessels within limb bones of Nothosaurs and preserved within the back bone (centrum) of a bizarre, long-necked reptile (Protanystropheus).

Mineralised Blood Vessels (High Magnification) but Tubular Structure is Maintained

Preserved organic material in Triassic fossils.

Organic matter potentially identified in Triassic vertebrae fossils.

Picture credit: PLOS One

X-ray Photo-electron Spectroscopy (XPS)

The research methods used included X-ray photo-electron spectroscopy (XPS), an environmental scanning electron microscope (ESEM) and fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR).  Some of the blood vessels even retained their tubular appearance under extreme magnification, quite remarkable when the fossils have been dated to around 247 million years ago (Early Triassic).  This discovery provides the oldest evidence to date of the preservation of complex organic molecules within vertebrate fossils excavated from marine sediments.

For models and replicas of Triassic prehistoric animals and other extinct creatures: CollectA Age of Dinosaurs Popular Figures and Replicas.

Explaining the significance of the team’s findings, one of the authors of the scientific report,  Dr Andrzej Boczarowski (Faculty of Earth Science, University of Silesia) said:

“Among other proteins, we managed to find collagen, one of the most important proteins in the bodies of animals in general and vertebrates in particular.”

Members of this research team, had some years earlier, identified potential organic material in the fossilised bones of dinosaurs excavated from sites in the Gobi Desert.

Increasing Evidence from Triassic Fossils

Despite many similar results having been dismissed due to contamination during sampling or due to the presence of bacteria skewing the results, there is a growing body of evidence to suggest that some organic traces of long extinct creatures can persist in the fossil record, especially if the fossilisation process occurs rapidly.

13 04, 2016

JurassicCollectables Wild Safari Models Unboxing

By |2023-04-17T10:31:58+01:00April 13th, 2016|Dinosaur Fans, Everything Dinosaur videos, Main Page, Photos of Everything Dinosaur Products|0 Comments

Wild Safari Carcharodontosaurus, Masiakasaurus, Iguanodon and Shunosaurus Unboxing

The latest video from JurassicCollectables features a number of Wild Safari Prehistoric World animal models, mainly dinosaurs but the excellent Doedicurus replica, a re-issue of the glyptodont model that was retired by Safari Ltd a few years ago now, does make a brief appearance.  Team members at Everything Dinosaur carefully packed up the new for 2016 models and this video is an “unboxing video” with the narrator giving the viewer the opportunity to see the models as they come out of the packaging.

An Unboxing Video

The Safari Ltd Models Unboxing Video by JurassicCollectables

Video Credit: JurassicCollectables

The video is around seven and a half minutes in duration and it does provide a wonderful opportunity to view Safari Ltd models close up.  There is also a fleeting appearance of the 1:40 CollectA feathered Tyrannosaurus rex model that we sent JurassicCollectables.  This particular Theropod replica was reviewed a few weeks ago, if you haven’t had chance to see this video, we do recommend it and you can catch it here: CollectA 1:40 Scale T. rex Dinosaur Models and a JurassicCollectables Video Review.

New for 2016 Wild Safari Prehistoric World Models Examined

The video provides a detailed view of each of the new for 2016 dinosaur models, the eagerly anticipated Carcharodontosaurus,  the snaggle-toothed Masiakasaurus, a stunning Iguanodon and Shunosaurus, one of the most remarkable members of the Early Jurassic Sauropoda.  Safari Ltd are to be congratulated for adding such a diverse set of models to their award winning model range.  The excellent lighting and clear narration provides the viewer with a comprehensive overview of each model.

To see the complete Wild Safari Prehistoric World range available from Everything Dinosaur: Wild Safari Prehistoric World Models.

With the retirement of the “Carnegie Dinosaurs”, a range or prehistoric animal models that were approved by the Carnegie Museum of Natural History, Safari Ltd have been able to concentrate on extending their not to scale collection and we can expect a number of new additions to this diverse model range over the next few years.  We at Everything Dinosaur, predict exciting times ahead for the Florida based manufacturer.

Some of the Dinosaur Models Featured in the Unboxing Video

New dinosaur models for 2016.

New dinosaur models for 2016.

Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur

The JurassicCollectables YouTube channel is packed with lots of well made and very informative dinosaur and prehistoric animal videos, if you have not already checked out this most impressive YouTube site we urge you to take a look and to subscribe.  Take a look at Everything Dinosaur’s  YouTube channel: Everything Dinosaur on YouTube.

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