Spanish Palaeontologists unearth potential New Species of Brachiosaur

A team of Spanish palaeontologists digging at a site near the remote village of Morella in eastern Spain, have uncovered the remains of what might turn out to a newly discovered dinosaur.

Fossils unearthed to date, indicate a long-necked dinosaur, known as a sauropod.  It is not clear which type of sauropod the animal may be, but from the remains found it is probably a representative of the Brachiosauridae, a member of the Macronaria (long-necked dinosaurs with large nostrils, bigger than the orbit of their eyes).  The scientists hope they will eventually recover most of the giant animal’s bones, as confirmed in an interview with a palaeontologist leading the excavation.

“It’s a very exciting find, because you rarely come across the bones in their original skeletal shape,” Jose Miguel Gasulla, one of four leaders of the dig in the Valencia region, commented.   Indeed, finding a brachiosaur fossil with any of the bones in an articulated or associated position is an extremely rare event.

“We have found vertebrae, ribs and a thigh bone of a very big adult dinosaur from the Early Cretaceous period,” Mr Gasulla added, the dimensions of some of the bones indicate a very large creature.  The femur (thigh bone) for example, is 1.80 metres long (as tall as a man) and some of the ribs are 2.40 metres long (higher than a doorway in an average house).

A Typical Brachiosaurus Dinosaur Model

The replica of a brachiosaurid dinosaur.

Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur

The picture (above) shows a Mojo Fun brachiosaurus dinosaur model, to view the range of Mojo Fun dinosaurs: Mojo Fun Dinosaurs and Prehsitoric Animal Models.

Spanish Dinosaur

The remains date from the Cretaceous period, approximately 120 million years ago (Aptian faunal stage). Most Brachiosaurus remains are associated with the earlier Jurassic and Cretaceous fossils such as these from Spain may help scientists piece together how the brachiosaurs evolved and changed over time, helping to advance our knowledge about this particular group of dinosaurs.

The 14-strong excavation team have many months of work ahead of them but they are optimistic that these finds could represent a new species of brachiosaur.

Discussing the problems on the dig site, the team have commented that although the fossil bones are large, they are extremely delicate.

Mr Gasulla added: “the vertebrae are big, but fragile, filled with air cavities to make them lighter. If you have a neck six to eight metres long, how do you lift that huge weight?  So the bone content was reduced by air holes.”

The region, known as the Maestrazgo, is rich in dinosaur remains, and the site between the towns of Morella and Cinctorres was spotted as promising in 2002. But excavation began only in 2005, when the project obtained funds, initially from a wind energy company, then with the support of Valencia’s regional government.

A New Species?

The naming of a new species of brachiosaur may be more difficult than the team anticipate as a debate is currently raging in palaeontological circles with regards to a number of specimens classified as brachiosaurs dated from the Jurassic.  Fossils found in the Morrison Formation when compared to those found in East Africa may indicate different genera.  Some palaeontologists have re-classified the African fossils as a new genus of dinosaur called (appropriately enough), Giraffatitan “titan Giraffe”.

To read more about this issue: The debate between Brachiosaurus and Giraffatitan.

Brachiosaurs remain one of the most popular and distinctive of all the dinosaurs, with their long forelimbs and Giraffe-like posture.  Brachiosaurus features in our regular dinosaur surveys and is a fixture in the top twenty most popular dinosaurs.

To view a model of a Brachiosaurus and other long-necked dinosaurs: Dinosaur Models and Toys.

Anglo American Research indicates Neanderthal Technology on a par with H. Sapiens

The popular myth of the slow, sluggish, ape-like Neanderthal being driven to extinction by the superior Homo sapiens is being further challenged by a new study into Neanderthal technology by a team of British and American researchers.

Neanderthal

It is important to note that the Neanderthals were a highly successful human species, physically better adapted to the harsh, cold climate of Europe during the Pleistocene than modern humans.  They were probably capable of complex speech and our view of the culture has been revised with recent fossil finds.

Neanderthals have had a bad press, this is partly due to the inaccurate and flawed interpretation of a nearly complete skeleton found at La Chapelle-aux-Saints, France in 1908.  The skeleton was discovered by monks building a new Abbey and examined by the renowned French scientist M. Boule.  A number of leading academics, including Boule believed that Neanderthals were not closely related to modern humans, the absence of any knowledge about DNA or the true nature of genetics at the time did not help with a resolution to this matter.

This specimen was used to demonstrate the differences between the two species, the Neanderthal, was a stooping, ape-like animal, the stance and posture gave illustrators license to represent Neanderthals as hairy and brutish looking.  The skeleton found at La Chapelle-aux-Saints was of an elderly male with chronic arthritis.  This condition had deformed the bones and this led to the depiction of a slow, clumsy, dim witted Neanderthal.

New Research

Now research by UK and American scientists has struck another blow to the theory that Neanderthals (Homo neanderthalensis) became extinct because they were less intelligent than our ancestors (Homo sapiens), Neanderthals were very capable and efficient tool makers, at least as good as our own species. The research team has shown that early stone tool technologies developed by us – Homo sapiens, were no more efficient than those used by Neanderthals.

Published in the Journal of Human Evolution, their discovery helps to refute a textbook belief held by archaeologists and anthropologists for more than 60 years.

The team from the University of Exeter, Southern Methodist University, Texas State University, and the Think Computer Corporation, spent three years flintknapping (making stone tools). They knapped stone tools known as ‘flakes,’ which were wider tools originally used by both Neanderthals and by the first modern people, and ‘blades,’ a narrower stone tool later adopted by Homo sapiens. Archaeologists often use the development of stone blades and their assumed efficiency as proof of our superior intelligence. To examine this hypothesis, the scientists analysed a number of tools that were produced, studying how much cutting-edge was created, the efficiency in consuming raw material and how long tools lasted.

Selecting a CollectA Neanderthal man figure for an Everything Dinosaur customer. Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur.

Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur

The model shown above is the CollectA Neanderthal man figure, to view the range of CollectA models: CollectA Prehistoric Animal Models.

It is known that Neanderthals did use stone tools in slightly different was to our own species, for example their grip was much stronger and they were more capable of making powerful scraping strokes on animal hide.  They also may have held animal skins in their teeth (wear marks on enamel my indicate this) and manipulated them this way whilst scraping of the flesh to make hides and to access all the meat on a carcase.

Stone Blades

Stone blades were first produced by Homo sapiens during their colonisation of Europe from Africa approximately 40,000 years ago. This has traditionally been thought to be a dramatic technological advance, helping modern humans out-compete, and eventually oust the Neanderthals.  Yet when the research team analysed their data there was no statistical difference between the efficiency of the two technologies. In fact, their findings showed that in some respects the flakes favoured by Neanderthals were more efficient than the blades adopted by our own species.

Challenging Beliefs

Many long-held beliefs suggesting why the Neanderthals went extinct have been debunked in recent years. Research has already shown that Neanderthals were as good at hunting as Homo sapiens and had no clear disadvantage in their ability to communicate.  Although, they probably did have different hunting strategies and techniques.  Evidence from fossil Neanderthal bones reveal many injuries, the sort of damage that would have occurred if the Neanderthal got up close and personal with his or her quarry.  Their spears were better designed for thrusting rather than throwing so this too indicates that they brought down prey at close quarters.  Now, these latest findings add to the growing evidence that Neanderthals were no less intelligent than our ancestors.

Metin Eren, an MA Experimental Archaeology student at the University of Exeter and lead author on the paper comments:

“our research disputes a major pillar holding up the long-held assumption that Homo sapiens were more advanced than Neanderthals.  It is time for archaeologists to start searching for other reasons why Neanderthals became extinct while our ancestors survived. Technologically speaking, there is no clear advantage of one tool over the other. When we think of Neanderthals, we need to stop thinking in terms of ‘stupid’ or ‘less advanced’ and more in terms of ‘different.'”

Now that it is established that there is no technical advantage to blades, why did Homo sapiens adopt this technology during their colonisation of Europe? The researchers suggest that the reason for this shift may be more cultural or symbolic. Eren states:

“Colonising a continent isn’t easy. Colonising a continent during the Ice Age is even harder. So, for early Homo sapiens colonising Ice Age Europe, a new shared and flashy-looking technology might serve as one form of social glue by which larger social networks were bonded. Thus, during hard times and resource droughts these larger social networks might act like a type of ‘life insurance,’ ensuring exchange and trade among members on the same ‘team.'”

South American Tar Pits may Yield Fossil Treasure Trove

Tar pits are wonderful places to find fossils.  They form when natural asphalt seeps upwards from fissures in the overlying sediment above oil bearing rocks.  This asphalt collects in pools on the surface and rainwater collects on top, forming a thin watery film over the sticky tar.

The water reflects the sky and helps conceal the dangerous tar just below the surface, when thirsty animals come to drink at these “pseudo waterholes” they become stuck fast and mired and if the tar pit does not engulf them straight away the poor, unfortunate animals will starve to death.  Their cries will attract predators and scavengers on the look out for an easy meal and they too will become stuck in the heavy tar.

La Brea Tar Pits

Perhaps the most famous tar pit site in the world is at La Brea, in downtown Los Angeles, California.  The word “Brea” is Spanish for tar.  La Brea has trapped an extraordinary number of Late Pleistocene animals, a surprising number of the area’s victims are carnivores.  Hundreds of Dire Wolves (Canis dirus) and many Sabre-tooth cats (Smilodon sp.) have been trapped and preserved along with numerous smaller predators such as foxes, coyotes, skunks, weasels and even badgers.

When cataloguing the huge number of fossils of meat-eaters it has been noticed by American scientists that many of the carnivores were very young, very old or suffering from injuries.  Among the Sabre-tooth cats for example, a large proportion of the specimens recovered from La Brea show signs of back trouble, with vertebrae of the lower back often fused together.  Whether this is an inherent weakness in the backs of these animals or the result of an injury sustained is unclear.  Perhaps the easy pickings of the tar pits encouraged diseased, injured, elderly or the inexperienced members of an animal population to gather round La Brea.

Perhaps South America will soon have its equivalent of La Brea.  Ancient tar pits have been discovered in Venezuela as the state oil company excavated an oil pipeline in the eastern state of Monagas.  Researchers have claimed that this is the most significant fossil find for 60 years.

Late Pliocene Pits

The prehistoric tar pits have yet to be fully mapped and explored but it is believed that they cover approximately 3 acres in size and date from the Late Pliocene, a time shortly after the continents of North and South America became connected by a land bridge.

The palaeontologists studying the site hope that fossils preserved in the tar pits will give them a better understanding of the interaction between migrating large mammal populations as once isolated ecosystems in North and South America converged and mingled together.

If this new site yields a number of Sabre-tooth specimens this may help the scientists to learn more about the development of the Smilodon genus.

An Illustration of a Sabre-Toothed Cat

Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur

To see a model of a Sabre-Tooth Cat and other prehistoric animals: Prehistoric Animal Models.

Before the land bridge was formed, occasional falls in the Atlantic and Pacific ocean levels may have turned some present-day seabeds into land, allowing animals to migrate across chains of islands in the West Indies and what is now the countries of Panama and Costa Rica.

German Scientists Declare “Sensational” Dinosaur Discovery

The town of Bernburg in the Saxony-Anhalt province of central Germany may be best known for its imposing castle overlooking the river Saale upon which the town is situated but all that may change very soon.  A team of scientists working at a dig site in a quarry near the town have discovered fossilised bones that may prove to be the oldest record of dinosaur life yet found.

Fossil Bones

The fossil bones, a series of fragments have been found in strata dating from the very beginning of the Age of Reptiles, the very start of the Triassic age.  The fossils have been dated to approximately 250 million years ago (Induan faunal stage).  Finding vertebrate fossils in lower Triassic strata is a rare event in itself as the world was just beginning to recover from the mass extinction that marked the end of the Permian period and the start of the Mesozoic era.

Germany was part of eastern Laurentia that itself formed the northern part of the super-continent Pangea.  Much of the landmass was devoid of life and covered with harsh deserts but in areas where rivers drained from inland mountains lush ribbons of life thrived along these natural drainage systems.

Origin of Dinosaurs

If the fossils found at Bernburg are proved to be the ancestors of Dinosauria, something akin to an Archosaur then this puts the evolution of dinosaurs back 15 million years earlier than previously thought.  The exact origins of the dinosaur taxon are unclear, the paucity of the fossil record prevents a complete understanding of the evolution of dinosaurs from “proto-dinosaurs”.  Up until now the oldest dinosaur fossils have been found in Argentina with small, bipedal animals such as Eoraptor lunensis (means “Dawn Thief”) or Staurikosaurus pricei (means “Southern Cross Lizard”) vying for the title of oldest dinosaur known.  These animals date from approximately 230 million  years ago (Ladinian faunal stage) or Mid Triassic.

New Discoveries

But the new discoveries could radically change palaeontology’s understanding of the dawn of the Triassic age, and the evolution of  Dinosauria.

“This is a spectacular, unique achievement,” said regional archaeology chief Harald Meller, announcing the discovery.

He said that the crucial remnants ­had been secured and were being prepared for further research, but the German authorities called on amateur enthusiasts and fossil hunters to stay away from the site, for fear of damaging potential further finds.

It was certainly in the Triassic that the dinosaurs began to emerge as the dominant reptiles on Earth, diversifying rapidly towards the end of this period to form the numerous families that were to dominate life on Earth up until 65 million years ago.  The Triassic period was named by a German geologist, Dr Friedrich August von Alberti in 1834, seven years before the term Dinosauria was coined by Sir Richard Owen.  Dr Alberti studied the different types of fossils to be found in three distinct types of sediments that had been laid down over much of Germany and northern Europe.

This type of formation is called a Trias and Alberti noted that they all formed a sequence of deposition, what is termed today as a system.  It is from this sequence of three types of strata laid down that the Triassic got its name.

To view models of Triassic dinosaurs and other prehistoric creatures: CollectA Prehistoric Life Models and Figures.

Insight into the Late Cretaceous Arctic – Not the place for a Swim

A joint Canadian, Polish and US team of scientists have braved Arctic conditions to research and report upon a 70 million-year-old ecosystem uncovered in the Arctic Circle.  Freshly excavated and mapped fossil bearing sediments in the Canadian province of Nunavut in the far north of Canada have provided an unique insight into the fauna of a Late Cretaceous sea.  A number of new animals have been discovered plus a large amount of plesiosaur material, ancient shark teeth, fossil sponges and even some prehistoric poo (coprolite).

First discovered by geologists surveying the northern tip of Devon island in the 1980s the sediments remained unexplored until the joint Polish, Canadian and American team set out to study this area in more detail.  Their research has revealed that during the Late Cretaceous this area was much warmer than today and supported a rich ecosystem of marine life.

The paper detailing the team’s research has just been published in the Proceedings of the British-based Royal Society.  Approximately 73 million years ago (Campanian faunal stage), this area was covered with a shallow, semi-tropical sea that supported a variety of strange and exotic creatures, including the long-necked, fish eating plesiosaurs.  On the shore there were large conifer forests which would have thrived in the short Arctic summers, with perhaps migrating herds of duck-billed dinosaurs visiting the region to take advantage of the long daylight hours in the spring and summer months.

The Late Cretaceous Arctic

The prehistoric world uncovered by the palaeontologists contrasts with the bleak conditions to be found on Devon Island today.  It is uninhabited (in fact it is probably the largest area of land on Earth not to be permanently inhabited by people).  A few birds are indigenous to the area, and some hardy musk ox scrape out a meagre living grazing on the lower slopes of the island’s uplands.

One of the more exciting finds are the thick bones and armour-like scales of an unidentified type of fish, estimated to have grown to approximately 2 metres in length and a new species of sponge, preserved in three-dimensional perfection. The sponge, Nunavutospongia irregulara, is named for the Canadian territory where it was found and was the subject of a separate paper published earlier in the Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences.

All of the specimens are being held on behalf of the Nunavut government by the Canadian Museum of Nature in Ottawa, where palaeontologist Stephen Cumbaa, a co-author of the study along with other scientists is continuing the research.

Cumbaa said the “mystery fish,” which isn’t likely to have been a major predator, “doesn’t look like anything else that’s been described. We’re still trying to piece it together enough to decide what we’ve got.”

The largest animals living in the area at the time seem to have been the Elasmosauridae (long-necked plesiosaurs).  These fish-eating marine reptiles reached lengths in excess of 15 metres.  As a group they went extinct at the end of the Cretaceous.

An Illustration of a Typical Elasmosaur

Picture credit: Mike Fredericks

To see a model of plesiosaur and other marine reptiles: Marine Reptiles and Prehistoric Animal Models.

Devon Island is also important to geologists and palaeontologists for a number of reasons.  Firstly, it contains a number of important mineral resources and secondly, as it is the site of a remarkably well preserved meteorite impact crater (called the Haughton impact crater).  A large extraterrestrial body crashed into the island approximately 39 million years ago.  During this period the area was still relatively warm compared with today and there were forests covering the island.  However, the cold climate of this region today has helped preserved the impact crater in pristine condition, permitting scientists to study the effect of such impacts in great detail.

The knowledge gained about meteorite impacts in the cold conditions of Devon Island have helped NASA scientists predict the likely conditions to be encountered when probes visit the planet Mars.

Trackway that shows Footprints of Three Types of Dinosaur Discovered

The town of Sparwood lies in the Elk Valley, one of the most rugged and beautiful areas of British Columbia.  It is famous for wildlife and its natural beauty, now some ancient residents of this particular area of Canada are grabbing the headlines.

Dinosaur Footprints

Local coal miners exposed a near vertical slab of rock that contains the trackways of at least three different types of dinosaur.  News of this find reached local palaeontologist, Rich McCrea, the curator of the Peace Region Palaeontology Centre at nearby Tumbler Ridge, who was despatched to investigate.  The strata in which the footprints were found have been dated to approximately 135 million years ago (Hauterivian faunal stage).  Fossils of dinosaurs in Lower Cretaceous strata in North America are relatively rare, compared to Upper Cretaceous finds.

The footprints are of a big theropod (meat-eating dinosaur), most likely to be a member of the Allosauridae.  Some of these large three-toed prints are a metre long, indicating an animal the size of an Allosaurus fragilis, perhaps 12 metres long or more.  The second set of prints are the typical more rounded prints of a large sauropod (long-necked dinosaur).  These prints are quite size-able and indicate and animal that could have weighed as much as 40 tonnes.  The third set of smaller dinosaur prints have yet to be identified.

Jurassic Highway

Commenting on the importance of this discovery, McCrea said: “we’ve been waiting for this kind of find,” . “It was a long time coming.”

Footprints and trackways are known as trace fossils.  They preserve evidence of the activity of animals.  They have a major advantage over other types of fossils such as bones and teeth (body fossils).  Unlike body fossils, in which the body may be transported a long way after death, far away from the area where the animal or plant actually lived, most trace fossils are direct, in situ evidence of the environment, time and place where the animal lived.

A Large Theropod Footprint (Hell Creek Formation USA)

Potential tyrannosaurid Print.

Picture credit: Dr Phil Manning (Manchester University)

The picture above shows the discovery of a single theropod footprint in Upper Cretaceous sediment.  The dinosaur that made the print has yet to be formerly identified but this could be the footprint of a Tyrannosaurus.

To read more about the finding of a possible tyrannosaur footprint: Possible T. rex Footprint Found.

Trackways of a large theropod in situ with a sauropod such as these uncovered in B.C. have never before been found in Canada, although McCrea has found sauropod tracks in the same region in 2000.  Evidence of big carnivore such as an Allosaurus has been found in the province as well as in neighbouring Alberta, but this trackway discovery is still very significant for palaeontologists.

Trackways can tell researchers much more about a dinosaur than the finding of a single, isolated bone.  “When you compare it to finding a single bone … finding a trackway is like finding a whole skeleton,” McCrea added.

“You get far more information from it.  You can learn about herding behaviour, predator-prey interactions. We get to do a little more on the biological end of things like bio-mechanics … how they walked around.”

McCrea and his assistant plan to spend a fortnight at the site, and will make a latex mould of the footprints to take back to Tumbler Ridge. They will also take three-dimensional photos of the footprints and map the trackways, but they will not actually be removing them, as to remove them may damage these valuable items, evidence that dinosaurs walked around British Columbia 135 million years ago.

For dinosaur models and figures including tyrannosaurs: PNSO Age of Dinosaurs Figures and Models.