Australian Museum Provides sneak Preview of new Dinosaur Exhibit

Preparations for the new permanent dinosaur exhibit at the Australian Museum in Sydney, New South Wales, are well advanced and the star exhibit, a life-sized model skeleton of a huge dinosaur has just been installed in the new exhibition hall.

Dinosaur Models

The model of the fossilised remains of a Cretaceous sauropod named Jobaria tiguidensis stands over 10 metres tall and its 22 metres just about fits into the newly erected exhibition hall of the museum.  At the moment the model is still covered in protective wrapping and the scaffolding surrounding it indicates that the project team have one or two finishing touches to add, but when the new hall opens in March this exhibit will make an impressive centrepiece.

An Illustration of a Typical Sauropod

An illustration of a typical sauropod.

Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur

Producing Large Model Dinosaurs

The plastic model was cast from the real fossilised bones of this dinosaur, by a Chicago based organisation called Project Exploration which specialises in providing educational exhibits and materials.  Light weight plaster casts have replaced the real fossil bones erected in museums, as being lighter they do not need the ugly looking steel girders to support them and to permit palaeontologists to depict animals in more life-like poses.

Besides, the fossils themselves are very valuable and are more likely to preserved in the storage rooms away from public display.

Purchasing casts like this for museums is very common, although it is quite unusual to have such a large model kit to be put together  by the museum staff.  Casts cost hundreds of thousands of dollars, whereas to purchase the actual fossilised bones would cost millions of dollars – a sum that even the Australian museum with its AUD $41 million budget would find hard to justify.

The bones of this long-necked dinosaur, a relative of Brachiosaurus as classified by Paul Sereno who placed Jobaria in the Macronaria clade of sauropods, lived in the Niger Republic area about 135 million years ago.  Sauropods that belong to the Macronaria clade are distinguished from other long-necked dinosaurs as they have large nostrils high on their skulls.  These may have been covered in fleshy, folds of skin to provide an enhanced sense of smell or to act as call resonating chambers.

For models of sauropods and other dinosaurs: Dinosaur and Prehistoric Animal Models.

Quite a lot is known about this giant plant-eater as an almost complete skeleton of Jobaria was unearthed by a team of palaeontologist led by Paul Sereno about ten years ago.  To find a complete skeleton is exceptionally rare, even the huge bones of these dinosaurs are rarely found together.  It was from this skeleton that the model bones were cast.

Jobaria and Other Sauropods

Jobaria lived in a lush, swampy area in what is now the Sahara desert.  The name Jobaria comes from local Tuareg mythology – Jobar in the local dialect refers to a mysterious animal.  Jobaria is one of the best understood genera of sauropods as fossil bones from adults and juveniles have been found.  For a Cretaceous sauropod it was quite primitive with a disproportionately short neck compared to the length of its body and more primitive, chisel like teeth.

A Replica of a Sauropod Dinosaur (Brachiosaurus)

Dinosaur model gets reviewed.  A replica of a brachiosaurid sauropod dinosaur.  Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur.

Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur

The Jobaria model arrived in ten large crates and the museum team then set to putting the display together.  It is not known how long the process took to erect the huge beast but the work was certainly worth it as this exhibit will form the main attraction on an new exhibition based on evolution when the new hall opens in March 2008.

“Mummified Dinosaur – the Holy Grail of Palaeontology”

Dinosaur bones are rare, well preserved ones are exceptionally rare and for some palaeontologists the discovery of fossilised bones in association with each other or bones in articulation are the find of a life-time.  However, for one young, American scientist, Tyler Lyson, his discovery of a remarkably well-preserved duck-billed dinosaur, complete with fossilised skin, ligaments and tendons is a discovery to beat most other discoveries.

Tyler, who is currently completing his Doctorate in Palaeontology at Yale University, found the amazing fossil whilst on a fossil hunting expedition in a remote part of North Dakota.  The animal, a hadrosaur, when it died was buried very quickly by fine sediment and this has preserved parts of the soft body tissue, the dinosaur’s skin scales have even been preserved on parts of the skeleton.

This animal had no flamboyant head crest so it was probably a member of the hadrosaurine group, placing it in the same clade of dinosaurs as animals such as Edmontosaurus and Kritosaurus and dates from 67 million years ago, the Late Cretaceous (Maastrichtian faunal stage).

A Dinosaur Mummy

This find has been called a “Mummy” as like the Egyptian mummies soft tissue has been preserved, allowing scientists to shed new light on how these animals looked.  Dr Phil Manning (Manchester University), the chief researcher on this specimen has supervised a CAT scan of this amazing fossil.  CAT scans enable scientists to see inside fossils without intrusive and damaging extra preparatory work.  The CAT scan was only possible due to the fact that the animal was able to be extracted from the site in one complete block of stone.  Only a small part of the tail, was contained in a second block.

The CAT scan and other assessments have provided the researchers with a wealth of new material.  For example, the vertebrae seem to be further apart in this specimen than previously thought.  This may mean that scientists are going to have to amend their estimated sizes for this type of hadrosaur.  They may actually have been bigger than we think.  Animals such as Edmontosaurus have been estimated at lengths in excess of 13 metres, now this new find may lead to scientists having to revise these estimates.

A Typical Model of an Edmontosaurus

The new for 2022 CollectA Deluxe 1:40 scale Edmontosaurus dinosaur model. CollectA had wanted to introduce a replica of this iconic Late Cretaceous hadrosaur for some time.

The picture (above) shows a CollectA Deluxe 1:40 scale Edmontosaurus figure, to view this range of prehistoric animal models and figures: CollectA Deluxe Prehistoric Life.

CAT Scans

The CAT scan has also revealed that this hadrosaur had larger hind quarters than previously thought.  The powerful back legs would have helped this animal take up a bipedal posture and run quicker than earlier studies had shown, perhaps helping to escape from predators such as Tyrannosaurus rex which were around in this part of Dakota 67 million years ago.

The picture shows some of the fossilised skin, the degree of preservation is remarkable.

Dark Stripes Along the Tail

According to Dr Manning, patterns identified in the skin scales indicate that this animal had stripes along its tail.  It has been speculated that the strips were a form of camouflage to help this plant-eater blend into its surroundings.  Stripes may have also served another purpose.  In herd animals such as zebras, the strip pattern helps the animals merge into each other, preventing predators from singling out an individual.  Palaeontologists believe that hadrosaurs lived in large herds, so perhaps the stripped pattern was designed to confuse potential attackers.

As with many special finds, this specimen has been given a nick-name by the research team, the dinosaur has been named “Dakota”, named after the US state where the fossil was found.

Other “mummified” dinosaur remains have been found, notably in the USA, Canada, Italy and China.  What makes this specimen so rare is that the soft tissue has actually been preserved, other mummified fossils such as the beautifully preserved hadrosaur unearthed by Charles Sternberg in 1908 have the impression of soft tissue such as skin preserved as an impression in the surrounding rock matrix.

Why not Purchase your very own Marine Reptile for Christmas!

Hammers have long been associated with fossils as palaeontologists carefully chip away at rocks with their geological hammers to reveal the remains of prehistoric animals.  Today, Sunday 2nd December, one particular fossil is being associated with a very different type of hammer – the auctioneers gavel as a virtually complete fossil mosasaur goes up for auction.

Mosasaurus Fossil

Bonhams the world famous auction house is selling the 30-foot mounted skeleton at a special sale a their Los Angeles sale rooms.  This unusual collectors item is expected to fetch $400,000 dollars (£200,000).  However, the purchaser will also have to pay for the removal and transportation of this delicate exhibit and the costs for getting this 10-metre-long fossilised specimen which includes skull, flippers, ribs and 126 vertebrae back home could be considerable.

“Ron” the PNSO Mosasaurus replica. A typical reconstruction of a Mosasaurus bases on Mosasaurus fossil material.

The picture (above) shows the Mosasaurus model from the PNSO Age of Dinosaurs model collection: PNSO Age of Dinosaurs Models.

Fossil Auction

Fossils being auctioned is not a new phenomenon, many wealthy people including celebrities and film stars have purchased rare finds and curios over the last few years and this has pushed up the price of many fossils, especially those from the age of reptiles (Mesozoic).

Bonhams sale catalogue describes this lot as a Mosasaurus baugei, a graceful predator of the late Cretaceous; dining on fish, squid and other marine reptiles.  Mosasaurs were not dinosaurs but marine reptiles related to modern snakes and lizards (order Squamata).  They were named after the Latin name for the river Meuse “Mosa” in the Netherlands, as it was in a limestone mine at Maastricht close to this river that the first remains of Mosasaurs were discovered back in 1780. The naming of mosasaurs pre-dates the founding of  Bonhams by just 13 years as this now famous auction house with venues in London, San Francisco and Los Angeles was established in 1793.

Mosasaurs – Marine Reptiles

Mosasaurs were a very successful group of marine reptiles, appearing in the Late Cretaceous, these animals were to establish themselves as the most diverse group of large marine reptiles by the end of the Mesozoic with some of them such as the Russellosaurines evolving into giant, long-skulled predators that terrorised the other creatures of the deep.

This particular mosasaur fossil was found in Africa, it is a very complete and well preserved specimen, the picture above shows the large eyes and the and the ring of bones that surrounded the eye ball.  This is called the sclerotic ring, it helped support the large aqueous mass of the eyeball and may have assisted with focusing of the eye, improving the animal’s vision under water.

Amazing Concentration of Prehistoric Animal Tracks Discovered In Utah

The use of all terrain vehicles (ATVs) in the countryside can be a thorny issue.  There are the drivers and enthusiasts who love the thrill of pitching themselves and their machines against what Mother Nature has to offer, whilst on the other side there are those folk who consider them to be noisy, intrusive beasts; leaving a trail of destruction wherever they go.  Certainly, in parts of Southern England, such as the historic, ancient Ridgeway track on the South Downs; such vehicles have damaged the countryside, but in America, a popular off-roading area has provided scientists with a fascinating glimpse of life from the Early Jurassic.

Dinosaur Tracks

In Kane County, a part of Utah not far from the Arizona state line, scientists are busy studying a serious of fossilised trackways and individual footprints preserved in the sandstone sediments in an area popular with off-road riders.  The site, which is south of the town of Mount Carmel, has revealed a large concentration of fossilised footprints, including prints from at least five different dinosaur species and three-toed crocodiles.

The prints are beautifully preserved and date back 190 million years to the lower Jurassic (Sinemurian faunal stage), a time when the dinosaurs were really beginning to diversify and dominate life on land.  Amongst the finds discovered so far, are a series of huge footprints made by a giant plant-eating dinosaur (believed to be a prosauropod).  Using estimates taken from the footprints themselves, as well as stride length, local palaeontologists believe the tracks were made by a dinosaur at least 12 metres long.

Attempts to Prevent Further Damage

The site was reported to Bureau of Land Management workers in early November, and realising the significance of the site, the football field sized area was quickly fenced off to prevent further damage to the trackways from ATVs.

A team of scientists from the University of Colorado have been drafted in to map the area and to study the ecosystem that this concentration of fossil footprints reveal.  After consulting with local ATV clubs the site has been closed in order to prevent any further damage to the fossils.

This particular location is very special as the sandstone has been deposited in fine layers and erosion has enabled some of the layers to be studied in depositional sequence, revealing the history of the ecosystem, like, as one palaeontologist put it “looking through a window in time”.

Although, during the Jurassic the super continent of Pangaea had started to break up, this part of Western North America was inland and in the process of being formed into part of the great, dry Laurasian Plains.  The area was very arid and desert-like, with occasional rainy periods and flash floods that formed oasis.  The footprints seemed to have been made over a considerable period of time as the rare rains provided the right muddy and sticky conditions for animal’s footprints to be preserved.  The presence of large herbivores indicates that some time in the history of this area, there must have been a lot of rain that permitted large amounts of vegetation to establish and it was the plants that attracted these big herbivores into the area, whilst the newly formed lakes became home to crocodile-like animals.

The Dinosaur Dominated Jurassic Environment

Dinosaur tracks have been discovered in Utah.  The picture above depicts a typical Late Jurassic scene from North America (Utah).

Lower Jurassic sediments are not nearly as well researched and understood as geological formations from the Late Jurassic, there are very few sites in the world that provide information about the ecosystems at this time in the Earth’s history and it is hoped that these trackways will help scientists understand more about the fauna around during the Early Jurassic.

Papo has produced a range of Jurassic dinosaur models, such as Allosaurus, Stegosaurus and Apatosaurus: Papo Dinosaur Models.