All about dinosaurs, fossils and prehistoric animals by Everything Dinosaur team members.
5 04, 2018

180-Million-year-old Pregnant Ichthyosaur Described by New Research

By |2024-05-10T18:35:37+01:00April 5th, 2018|Dinosaur and Prehistoric Animal News Stories, Dinosaur Fans, Main Page|0 Comments

Yorkshire and Pregnant Ichthyosaurs

Yorkshire might be famous for its beautiful countryside, its puddings and of course, its cricket team, but this part of England also has some remarkable geology.  Through the Vale of Pickering to the North Sea, there are magnificent exposures of Mesozoic-age rocks.  Parts of the Yorkshire coast are a haven for fossil hunters and much of the coastal area of “God’s own country”, as many Yorkshire residents call their county, provides the geological standard for comparing less well exposed areas inland and also for the geology of the North Sea basin.

Yorkshire Museum has recently opened permanent galleries that tell the amazing story of Yorkshire’s prehistoric past and a star exhibit is a fossil block that contains the remains of several ichthyosaur embryos.

An Illustration of the Pregnant Ichthyosaur

Pregnant Ichthyosaur.
A pregnant pause in deep time. Fossilised ichthyosaur embryos have been found in Yorkshire.

Picture credit: Nobumichi Tamura (Manchester University)

Ichthyosaurs – Superbly Adapted Marine Reptiles

Ichthyosaurs were marine reptiles that superficially resembled dolphins.  They evolved during the Triassic and numerous different genera have been named.  Fossils of ichthyosaurs have been found in many parts of the world, the first marine reptile to be scientifically described was an ichthyosaur.  The fossilised remains were discovered at Lyme Regis on the Dorset coast and this animal was later identified as a specimen of a giant “fish lizard” known as Temnodontosaurus platyodon.  Superbly adapted to a marine existence, ichthyosaurs had streamlined bodies, steered with their front flippers and propelled themselves through the water with their powerful tails.

These reptiles gave birth to live young (viviparous), rather than returning to land to lay eggs.

A Model of an Ichthyosaur

An Ichthyosaurus model
The Ichthyosaurus model (Wild Safari Prehistoric World) ready to take its turn on the Everything Dinosaur turntable. Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur.

Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur

The image (above) shows an Ichthyosaurus model from the Wild Safari Prehistoric World range.

To view this range: Wild Safari Prehistoric World Models.

An Important Ichthyosaur Specimen

The Yorkshire Museum ichthyosaur specimen, complete with the remains of between six and eight tiny embryos between its ribs, was collected from the Whitby area of North Yorkshire back in 2010.  We at Everything Dinosaur, suspect that the fossil was found in sediments that make up the Whitby Mudstone Formation.  The fossil was in the possession of a local collector, Martin Rigby, he thought the block could contain the remains of unborn ichthyosaurs and this was confirmed when the specimen was examined by palaeontologists from the University of Manchester.

The specimen consists of a polished block which exposes several large ribs of the mother and numerous strings of tiny vertebrae and small bones that constitute the remains of the unborn “fish lizards”.  The fossil has been acquired by the Yorkshire Museum and forms an integral part of the Museum’s new permanent exhibition “Yorkshire’s Jurassic World”.

Rare British Fossil Revealing Embryos

Only five ichthyosaur specimens from the British Isles have ever been discovered with embryos preserved and never before has a British ichthyosaur fossil been found with so many.  All five known specimens were collected from Jurassic-aged rocks in the south-west of England, they are aged between 200 to 190 million years old.  However, the Yorkshire specimen, heralds from younger Jurassic sediments dating from the Toarcian faunal stage of the Early Jurassic.   It is around 180 million years old.

Commenting on the significance of the discovery Manchester University palaeontologist Mike Boyd, who along with colleague Dean Lomax, studied the specimen, stated:

“We also considered the possibility that the tiny remains could be stomach contents, although it seemed highly unlikely that an ichthyosaur would swallow six to eight aborted embryos or new-born ichthyosaurs at one time.  This does not seem to have been the case, because the embryos display no erosion from stomach acids.  Moreover, the embryos are not associated with any stomach contents commonly seem in Early Jurassic ichthyosaurs, such as the remains of squid-like belemnites”.

Visit the website of Dr Dean Lomax: Dr Dean Lomax.

Eight different species of ichthyosaur have been documented with embryos.  By far, the most commonly found ichthyosaur genus with embryos is Stenopterygius.  Over a hundred specimens of Stenopterygius from the Holzmaden area of southern Germany have been found with embryos, ranging from one to eleven in number.

Co-author of the scientific paper and visiting scientist at the University of Manchester, Dean Lomax added:

“The German sites are approximately the same age as the new specimen from Whitby and it is possible that the new specimen is also Stenopterygius, but no identifiable features are preserved in the adult or embryos.  Nonetheless, this is an important find.”

A Cast of a Stenopterygius Specimen with an Embryo Expelled (Possibly Post Mortem)

Stenopterygius fossil.
Stenopterygius ichthyosaur fossil originally from Germany.  Expelled embryo is indicated by the white arrow.

Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur

Supplying Ichthyosaur and Prehistoric Animal Models

Everything Dinosaur has been selected by the Yorkshire Museum to help supply prehistoric animal themed craft materials in support of the Museum’s outreach activities.  In addition, the UK-based company has supplied dinosaur and marine reptile themed merchandise to the Yorkshire Museum’s retail outlet.

Commenting on the permanent exhibition and the significance of the Manchester University research, a spokesperson from Everything Dinosaur stated:

“It is fantastic to see a museum celebrating the fossil heritage of Yorkshire and the research undertaken by the dedicated scientists at Manchester University has helped to give the opening of the permanent galleries even greater significance.”

The scientific paper: “The Youngest Occurrence of Ichthyosaur Embryos in the UK: A New Specimen from the Early Jurassic (Toarcian) of Yorkshire” by Boyd, M. J. and Lomax, D. R. (2018) published in the Proceedings of the Yorkshire Geological Society.

The Everything Dinosaur website: Everything Dinosaur.

4 04, 2018

Our Favourite Comments About Arsinoitherium

By |2024-01-02T06:55:53+00:00April 4th, 2018|Dinosaur and Prehistoric Animal Drawings, Main Page|0 Comments

Arsinoitherium Distantly Related to Elephants and Sea Cows

Arsinoitherium is one of the most strangest mammals known to science.  Although extensive fossil material has been found, largely from the fossil-rich Fayum Beds of Egypt, scientists remained uncertain for decades as to where this large animal should be placed on the placental mammal family tree.  Some eighty years or so, since Arsinoitherium was officially described, an analysis of the skull, inner ear and brain casts led scientists to conclude that this heavy-set, herbivore was distantly related to proboscideans (elephants et al) and sirenians (sea cows such as manatees and dugongs).  Together with the Proboscidea, Sirenia, the Order to which Arsinoitheres have been classified – the Order Embrithopoda and one other extinct group, the Desmostylia, these are all combined into the clade Tethytheria.

Commenting About Arsinoitherium

The name Tethytheria is derived from the thinking that all these types of mammals evolved in and around the shores of an ancient sea called the Tethys.

A Scale Drawing of the Bizarre Arsinoitherium

Arsinoitherium scale drawing.
A scale drawing of the bizarre placental mammal Arsinoitherium.  Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur.

Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur

For a model of Arsinoitherium and other prehistoric mammals: CollectA Deluxe Prehistoric Animal Models.

Our Favourite Comments About Arsinoitherium

This strange mammal has been the subject of several fact sheets and drawings sent in to Everything Dinosaur by fans of prehistoric animals.  Some of our favourite assertions include:

  • Arsinoitherium had a very distinctive skull.  It had two, large conical horns that pointed forward and were so big they might have obscured the animal’s vision.  The horns were hollow and may have been used as resonating chambers to produce loud calls.
  • Arsinoitherium was a very picky eater.  It liked to eat leaves and fruit and its size meant that it had to eat all the time.
  • Arsinoitherium lived in small family groups and probably spent a lot of time in water.  It could not straighten its legs, so it was happy to spend its time swimming and wading in water.  The water also helped to keep Arsinoitherium cool.

We are grateful for all the data sheets, drawings and fact sheets on prehistoric animals that have been compiled by young fans of prehistoric animals.  We are happy to encourage the creation of what teachers call non-chronological reports, although far be it from us to comment on the assertions relating to Arsinoitheres that have been sent in to us.

Visit the Everything Dinosaur website: Everything Dinosaur.

3 04, 2018

Isle of Skye Steps into the Jurassic Spotlight

By |2023-10-09T07:23:38+01:00April 3rd, 2018|Dinosaur and Prehistoric Animal News Stories, Dinosaur Fans, Main Page, Photos/Pictures of Fossils|0 Comments

Middle Jurassic Dinosaur Tracks Put Skye Firmly on the Map

More evidence of Middle Jurassic dinosaurs on the Isle of Skye has emerged.  In a paper published in the Scottish Journal of Geology, a team of international scientists including researchers from the University of Edinburgh and the Chinese Academy of Sciences, report on a series of dinosaur prints and tracks from the Lealt Shale Formation (Bathonian faunal stage) of the Great Estuarine Group at Rubha nam Brathairean (Brothers’ Point), on the Trotternish peninsula (Isle of Skye).

Middle Jurassic Dinosaurs

Evidence of Middle Jurassic dinosaurs is globally rare, there are just a few fossil sites that provide information about terrestrial fauna that existed around 168 million years ago.  Trace fossils from the Isle of Skye are playing an increasingly significant role as palaeontologists seek to better understand the evolution and distribution of different types of dinosaur.

One of the Sauropod Prints at Rubha nam Brathairean

Sauropod track on the foreshore (Isle of Skye).
Sauropod track from the Isle of Skye.

Picture credit: Jon Hoad

In 2015, Everything Dinosaur published an article featuring the discovery of a series of sauropod prints and tracks found on northern Skye, at a locality close to Duntulm Castle (Duntulm Formation).

To read this article: Isle of Skye Sauropods and their Water World.

Although, the Duntulm Castle site is just a few miles from the newly described trace fossils at Brothers’ Point and the strata in which the footprints and tracks were found are part of the Great Estuarine Group sequence of Middle Jurassic rocks, the two fossil sites represent different sub-units of strata.  The Lealt Shale Formation is geologically older than the fossiliferous rocks found at the Duntulm Castle site (Duntulm Formation).

Brackish, Lagoonal Environments Occupied by Middle Jurassic Dinosaurs

Both locations represent a sequence of deposits made in brackish, lagoonal environments.  The fact that a second series of sauropod tracks and prints have been found preserved in rocks laid down in a lagoon, strengthens the idea that Middle Jurassic sauropods habitually spent time in these environments.  Could this indicate that at least some Middle Jurassic sauropods were semi aquatic?

Did Middle Jurassic Sauropods Habitually Hang Out in Lagoons?

Isle of Skye Sauropods.
The Isle of Skye (Bathonian faunal stage).

Picture credit: Jon Hoad

Around Fifty Footprints Measured and Studied

The researchers measured, photographed and analysed around fifty footprints in a tidal area.  Working conditions on the rugged headland were difficult, due to the tidal environment and the often, inclement weather for which, the Trotternish peninsula is famed.  Despite the harsh conditions, the scientists were able to identify two trackways and many examples of isolated prints.

The location preserves numerous small sauropod manus (hand) and pes (foot) prints along with several isolated and broken medium-to-large tridactyl prints.  The three-toed (tridactyl) prints indicate the presence of theropods (most probably carnivorous dinosaurs).  Measurements of the sauropod tracks and stride lengths indicate that these trace fossils were made by relatively small members of the Sauropoda, the tracks indicate individuals around two metres high at the shoulders.

The sauropod tracks, with their characteristic narrow gauge and toe morphology, have been tentatively assigned to the ichnotaxon Breviparopus.  The theropod trackmaker remains equally enigmatic, however, some of the three-toed prints are reminiscent of the tracks associated with the ichnotaxon Eubrontes.

One of the Sauropod prints from the Lealt Shale Formation

Isle of Skye Sauropod footprint.
Sauropod footprint from the Isle of Skye.  The geological hammer and the pen provide scale (as do the copious gastropods).

Picture credit: Paige dePolo (University of Edinburgh)

Commenting on the Discovery

Commenting on the significance of this discovery, one of the authors of the scientific paper, Paige E. dePolo (University of Edinburgh) stated:

“This tracksite is the second discovery of sauropod footprints on Skye.  It was found in rocks that were slightly older than those previously found at Duntulm on the island and demonstrates the presence of sauropods in this part of the world through a longer timescale than previously known.  This site is a useful building block for us to continue fleshing out a picture of what dinosaurs were like on Skye in the Middle Jurassic.”

Co-author Dr Stephen Brusatte (University of Edinburgh), added:

“The more we look on the Isle of Skye, the more dinosaur footprints we find.  This new site records two different types of dinosaurs — long-necked cousins of Brontosaurus and sharp-toothed cousins of T. rex — hanging around a shallow lagoon, back when Scotland was much warmer and dinosaurs were beginning their march to global dominance.”

A Fossil Bias?

Although the discovery of a second site, demonstrating sauropod tracks in a lagoonal depositional environment, raises the intriguing idea that these large, long-necked herbivores spent time in such environments, palaeontologists have to be careful what they infer from such data.  Sauropods may have spent much of their time in different habitats, such as forests, or perhaps, in more open environments such as fern prairies, however, in such environments the fossil preservation potential for things like tracks and footprints are that much lower.  Hence, the evidence for such behaviour may not exist, there could be a preservational bias in favour of recording sauropod activity in brackish lagoons.

Thanks to this dedicated research team, more information has been obtained with regards to the Middle Jurassic palaeofauna of Scotland.  We look forward to future discoveries and fossil finds that will continue to inform the debate.

For models and replicas of sauropods and other dinosaurs: Wild Safari Ltd Prehistoric World Dinosaurs.

The scientific paper: “A Sauropod-dominated Tracksite from Rubha nam Brathairean (Brothers’ Point), Isle of Skye, Scotland” by Paige E. dePolo, Stephen L. Brusatte, Thomas J. Challands, Davide Foffa, Dugald A. Ross, Mark Wilkinson and Hong-yu Yi published in the Scottish Journal of Geology

“The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs” by Dr Steve Brusatte

One of the authors of this scientific paper (indeed one of the authors of the 2015, Duntulm Formation tracks research), Dr Steve Brusatte (School of Geosciences at Edinburgh University), has a new dinosaur book out next month.  Look out for the excellent “The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs” coming into shops in May.

New Dinosaur Book Out Very Soon

"The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs"
“The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs” by Steve Brusatte.

Picture credit: Pan Macmillan

To read Everything Dinosaur’s recent book review: A Review of “The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs”.

Visit the Everything Dinosaur website: Everything Dinosaur.

2 04, 2018

An Astonishing Edmontosaurus Exhibit

By |2024-05-10T07:35:25+01:00April 2nd, 2018|Dinosaur Fans, Main Page, Photos/Pictures of Fossils|0 Comments

Edmontosaurus Exhibit (Senckenberg Naturmuseum, Frankfurt)

The Natural History Museum of Frankfurt (Senckenberg Naturmuseum), houses one of the largest vertebrate fossil collections in the whole of Germany.  It may be undergoing extensive refurbishment at the moment, but team members at Everything Dinosaur were still able to tour the museum galleries and look at the amazing fossil displays.

The Senckenberg Naturmuseum

This museum documents the biodiversity of life and has an extensive display of stuffed animals including several Australian marsupials, with amongst them a Thylacine.  Naturally, most of our time was spent exploring the large number of exhibits that demonstrate the evolution of life on Earth, one of favourite parts of the museum had a display featuring a partial skeleton of an Edmontosaurus.

The Mummified Edmontosaurus Exhibit on Display at the Senckenberg Naturmuseum, Frankfurt

Edmontosaurus fossil exhibit.
The Edmontosaurus exhibit at the Frankfurt Natural History Museum. Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur.

Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur

The fossil specimen, which includes a complete skull also has sections of preserved skin.

For dinosaur models, including replicas of hadrosaurs including Edmontosaurus: Prehistoric Animal Models and Figures.

Marsupials on Display

The Thylacine Exhibit at the Frankfurt Natural History Museum

A Tasmanian tiger exhibit.
Stuffed Thylacine (Tasmanian tiger). Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur.

Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur

Visit the award-winning Everything Dinosaur website: Everything Dinosaur.

1 04, 2018

Updating Arkansaurus after New Research is Published

By |2024-05-10T18:30:54+01:00April 1st, 2018|Dinosaur and Prehistoric Animal News Stories, Dinosaur Fans, Main Page, Photos/Pictures of Fossils|0 Comments

Updating Arkansaurus fridayi

A few days ago, Everything Dinosaur published an article about the newly described basal ornithomimosaur called Arkansaurus fridayi.  Although the fossil bones were found nearly fifty years ago, the scientific paper describing the fossils and officially naming this dinosaur has only just been published (Journal of Vertebrate Palaeontology).  Lead author of the paper, ReBecca Hunt-Foster of the Bureau of Land Management, emailed us so that we could post up more images of this significant fossil discovery.

A Life Restoration of the Basal Ornithomimosaur Arkansaurus fridayi

A life restoration of Arkansaurus.
Arkansaurus fridayi life restoration.

Picture credit: Brian Engh

To read Everything Dinosaur’s earlier article on the formal description of Arkansaurus: “Arkansas Reptile” – A Rare Insight into Appalachian Dinosaurs.

More Primitive Than Asian Ornithomimosaurs That Lived at the Same Time

Ornithomimosaurs (the ostrich-mimic dinosaurs) are quite well known from the Early Cretaceous of Asia, however, very little is known about North American ornithomimosaurs from this time in Earth’s history, hence the importance of the Arkansaurus fossils.  The dinosaur has been named from a single, partial right foot, recovered from the Lower Cretaceous (Albian to Aptian faunal stages) of the Trinity Group of Arkansas.

A Cast of the Fossil Foot Bones (Anterior View)

Foot bones (Arkansaurus fridayi).
Arkansaurus fridayi foot bones (cast).

Picture credit: R. Hunt-Foster

Studying Arkansaurus fridayi

Contemporaneous with the likes of Beishanlong (B. grandis) from Gansu Province (north-west China), living around 113 million years ago, Arkansaurus fridayi can be distinguished from other ornithomimosaurs based on differences in the toe claws (pedal unguals) and the presence of a laterally compressed third metatarsal (toe bone) that is ovoid in shape when looked at in proximal view.  Other anatomical differences are cited by the researchers including a distal ungual with a very weak flexor tubercle, lacking spurs.

Two Views of the Metatarsal Bones of Arkansaurus

Fossil foot bones of Arkansaurus.
Views of the metatarsals of Arkansaurus.

Picture credit: R. Hunt-Foster

The picture above shows two views of the toe bones (metatarsals)  of Arkansaurus (a) in proximal view, that is viewed from the top of the bone closest to the ankle looking down onto the bones and (b) anterior view, viewed from the front.  The third metatarsal is actually the bone in the middle.  The scientists conclude that the condition of the third toe bone suggests that Arkansaurus fridayi is more basal than Asian ornithomimosaurs of similar age, but consistent with older North American forms.

A Cast of the Fossil Toe and Claw Bones

Arkansaurus fridayi foot bones (a cast).
A view of a cast of the foot bones of Arkansaurus fridayi.

Picture credit: R. Hunt-Foster

The Radiation of the Ornithomimosaurs

This specimen provides knowledge of a poorly understood radiation of ornithomimosaurs in the Cretaceous landmass known as Appalachia and is the only known saurischian dinosaur fossil found to date in the state of Arkansas.

ReBecca Hunt-Foster Has Worked on These Fossils for Several Years

ReBecca Hunt Foster studying fossil bones
ReBecca Hunt-Foster examining limb bones (2003).

Picture credit: R. Hunt-Foster

Our thanks to Rebecca Hunt-Foster for her assistance with this article.

Visit the Everything Dinosaur website: Everything Dinosaur.

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