Scientists Report on Evidence of the Smallest Mammoth Species Discovered to Date

When Woolly Mammoths are depicted in films, television documentaries and books they are usually shown as large, shaggy-coated beasts roaming a snow covered landscape.  This may be the popular perception of the Mammoths but the subfamily to which Mammoths belong, the Elephantidae and even the Mammoth genus (Mammuthus) contains a very wide variety of creatures.

For instance, a team of scientists have just published a paper in the journal “Proceedings of the Royal Society Biology” detailing the fossil evidence that supports the theory that tiny elephants once lived on the Greek island of Crete.  In fact, based on the study of a recently excavated front leg bone (humerus), it has been suggested that these fossils may represent the smallest type of Mammoth discovered to date.  Standing around 1.1 metres tall at the shoulder, these miniature Mammoths inhabited Crete around 3.5 million years ago (Pliocene epoch – Placenzian faunal stage).

These animals would have grown to be about the size of a baby African elephant (Loxodonta africana), but would have weighed around three hundred kilogrammes, roughly the same as a Guernsey dairy cow.

Dwarf Mammoths

The species which has been named Mammuthus creticus (Crete’s Mammoth) has been described as being “probably quite cute” by a spokesperson for the research team, however, it is very likely that this animal had tusks and was quite capable of looking after itself should it have been threatened.

Evidence of Insular Dwarfism on Crete

Miniature mammoths.

Picture credit: Journal of Proceedings of the Royal Society

The picture above shows the location of the main fossil discoveries, on the coast on the western side of the island (a) at Cape Malekas.  The picture also shows a tooth (the lectotype from which the species was named), (b), with a smaller photograph showing another fossilised tooth element preserved in the rock (in situ), (c).

Mammuthus creticus

Victoria Herridge, one of the authors of the paper, along with her Natural History Museum (London) colleague Adrian Lister; commented that:

“If you were to reconstruct it, I would say OK, make it look a bit like a baby elephant but probably chunkier…with sort of thicker limbs, stockier, as an adult it would have had curly tusks.”

She went onto add:

“The nearest image you’re going to get is a baby Asian elephant, but with tusks.”

Dwarfism in some species is not unknown, especially in habitats were resources such as food are scarce.  Small islands have limited resources and many instances are known whereby larger, mainland animals on reaching an island chain or archipelago have evolved into miniaturised versions.  In biology this is termed insular dwarfism and can be seen in animals as distinct as cormorants, seals and even dinosaurs (Hateg Island – Late Cretaceous).

A number of Mediterranean islands had a variety or elephants living on them during the Pliocene and the more recent Pleistocene epochs, some scientists believe the the legend of the giant, one-eyed man – the cyclops arose when the skulls of such creatures were found.

The Origins of the Cyclops Legend?

When viewed from the front the idea of a one-eyed man (cyclops) can be postulated. Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur.

Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur.

To read more about recent elephant fossil discoveries from Greece, including an article on giant elephant fossil remains: Greek Giant Elephant Fossils Discovered.

The researchers are not sure from which mainland Mammoth the island species is descended from.  Two candidates have been suggested Mammuthus meridionalis known from the Early Pleistocene epoch or from the older (Late Pliocene) or Mammuthus rumanus, the two earliest European mammoths, Herridge said.  Although the exact palaeo-climatic conditions on Crete are difficult to determine, it is likely that this elephant lacked a shaggy, long coat as the weather was much warmer than at higher latitudes.

Determining the Taxonomic Relationship

The lack of fossil evidence has made it difficult for scientists to determine the taxonomic relationship between the various types of known Mediterranean elephant.  It had been suggested that a number of forms were descended from a non-Mammoth ancestor, a straight-tusked elephant, however, the evidence presented in this paper suggests that Elephantidae from the Mammoth lineage also evolved into dwarf forms.  These findings confirm earlier scientific work that stated that the prehistoric elephant known as Palaeoloxodon creticus, which also lived on the island of Crete, was a member of the Mammoth family.

The scientific paper: “Extreme insular dwarfism evolved in a mammoth” by Victoria L. Herridge and Adrian M. Lister published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B.

For models and replicas of prehistoric mammals including ancient elephants: Eofauna Scientific Research Prehistoric Animal Figures.

Evidence of Ceratosauria – Ankle bone suggests that Ceratosaurs lived in Australia Too

A team of scientists led by researchers from the Museums Victoria (Melbourne, Australia) have announced the discovery of an ankle bone (tarsus) that suggests that a group of meat-eating dinosaurs not thought to have existed on the continent, may have been present after all.  The ankle bone represents the first evidence in Australia of a group of  theropods known as the ceratosaurs – it suggests that during the Early Cretaceous, Australia was a “melting pot” of Dinosauria diversity.  The fossil bone, which measures just six centimetres wide was discovered near to the seaside town of San Remo, south-east of Melbourne back in 2006.

Dr Fitzgerald Examines the Ankle Bone

Dr Fitzgerald examines the fossil bone – “ankle bone connected to the toe bones”.

Picture credit: Museum Photographer Ben Healley

Dr Erich Fitzgerald, a palaeontologist at Museum Victoria, lead author on the scientific paper published in the journal “Naturwissenschaften” commented:

“Until now, this group of dinosaurs has been strangely absent from Australia, but now at last we know they were here – confirming their global distribution.”

Ceratosaurs

Ceratosaurs are a group of predatory theropods, mostly known from Jurassic aged strata from North and South America, Europe and Africa.   As a group, the majority of genera are poorly known with only a few fragmentary fossil specimens representing  a number of specimens.  They shared the status of apex predators in many ecosystems with the much more common, and in most cases larger allosaurids.  The taxonomic relationship between this group and other types of theropod is uncertain, it is likely that these creatures survived into the Late Cretaceous but this new Australian fossil find confirms that these creatures were present in Australia to at least around 125 million years ago.

An Artist’s Impression of the Ceratosaur

Fearsome, agile predator from Australia.

Picture credit: Brian Choo

Dr Fitzgerald stated:

“This discovery joins other widespread carnivorous dinosaurs now known to have lived in Australia – tyrannosaurs, spinosaurids and allosaurs.”

Dinosaur Ankle Bone

The discovery of an ankle bone, ascribed to the Ceratosauria improves the understanding of the distribution and evolution of dinosaurs in the eastern part of the super-continent known as Gondwanaland.

Dr Fitzgerald explained:

“It had been thought that isolation played a lead role in the formation of Australia’s dinosaur fauna.  But the ceratosaur and other new discoveries show that several dinosaur groups were here.  These dinosaur lineages date back to the Jurassic, 170 million years ago, when dinosaurs could walk between any two continents.”

This is not the first time an ankle bone has led scientists to re-think the predatory dinosaur population of Australia.  A controversial interpretation of a fossil bone found in the Otway Range, near Melbourne Australia led some scientists to suggest that a type of allosaur had survived in Australia and was present hunting other polar dinosaurs around 106 million years ago.  At just over five metres in length, this Allosaur was much smaller than its better known North American cousins who hunted the plains of the western United States in the Late Jurassic.  This dinosaur, regarded as a “dwarf allosaurid” was scientifically named and described Allosaurus astragalus.  This carnivore appeared in the “Walking with Dinosaurs” television series, it was featured in episode five – “Spirits of the Silent Forest”, that explored the fauna and flora of the polar forests of the Cretaceous.

A Close up of the Dinosaur Fossil Bone

The 10-cm-long dinosaur bone provides evidence of Ceratosauria.

Picture credit: Museum Photographer Ben Healley

With a focus on how the new ankle bone discovery helps shape current thinking on dinosaur geographical distribution, Dr Fitzgerald stated:

“So perhaps Australia’s dinosaurs represent those groups that achieved global distributions early in their history, before the continents split up.  It’s the old age of their lineages – not continental isolation – which explains these dinosaurs’ presence in Australia.  Apart from Antarctica, Australia has the world’s most poorly known dinosaur record – one of the last frontiers for dinosaur hunters.  Although discovery rates are accelerating, we’re still in the early days of exploring which dinosaurs actually lived here.  Each discovery has the potential to change what we know.”

Thanks to Karen Meehan of Museums Victoria for her assistance in helping to compile this article.

For models and replicas of ceratosaurs and other theropod dinosaurs: CollectA Age of Dinosaurs Popular Replicas and Figures.

Gardener Digs up Dinosaur Surprise

Keen gardener Bruno Lebie  got more than he bargained for when he was digging in his garden.  He unearthed a ten centimetre bone from a dinosaur’s foot.  The discovery was made on his property, located in Louplande, Pays de la Loire (north-western France), an area that has provided four other similar discoveries in the last two hundred years or so.  Residents in the area need to take care when digging over their flower beds, they might find a dinosaur bone.

Speaking about his fossil find to a local newspaper, Monsieur Lebie stated:

“The bone could have stayed in there, [the garden] it really wasn’t bothering me.  But I said to myself, ‘could that be a dinosaur bone?’  It’s not really my niche.”

Dinosaur Bone

A neighbour showed the bone to a friend who knew a little about the local geology of the area and although they were unable to confirm it was a dinosaur bone, they were convinced it was a rare discovery.  Museum officials based at the nearby town of Le Mans, were later able to confirm that the bone was from a dinosaur, identifying it as part of the foot of an ornithopod.  A photograph of the find was forwarded to Eric Buffetaut, a vertebrate palaeontologist based at the National Centre for Scientific Research, who was able to provide more details as to the object’s identity.

Dinosaur bones do turn up in some odd places, recently team members at Everything Dinosaur reported on the bizarre discovery of another ornithopod fossil bone, this time in a garden in Sunderland (north-eastern England).

To read more about this story: Strange Place to find a Dinosaur Bone – Sunderland.

How a dinosaur bone ended up in Sunderland remains a mystery, as the underlying geology of the area is Permian aged strata, too old for dinosaur bones to be found.  Palaeontologists have speculated that the Sunderland specimen could have resulted from natural re-distribution of material or perhaps it was a “souvenir” taken from southern England and put into the garden by a keen collector.

The bone is estimated to be around 100 million years old.  Ornithopods were a highly diverse clade of dinosaurs, with bird-like hips and a herbivorous diet.  Early ornithopods were fleet-footed, small bipedal creatures but during the Jurassic and Cretaceous this group rapidly diversified and gave rise to the hadrosaurs and iguanodontids, two of the most successful types of dinosaur known.

Ornithopoda Diversity

Mesozoic marvels – the Ornithopoda.

Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur

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

Italian Researchers Claim to Have Found the Oldest Human Blood

One of the world’s best known and most ancient of murder mysteries took yet another twist when scientists studying “Oetzi”, the mummified body of a 5,300-year-old man found frozen in the Italian Alps by hikers back in 1991 found red blood cells around his wounds.  The researcher’s work published in the scientific journal of the Royal Society Interface show that the corpse had remarkable preservation, with even traces of blood, which normally degrades very quickly, being found.  The discovery represents the oldest red blood cells ever observed.

“Oetzi” the Iceman

Earlier this year, scientists published details of the genome of this ancient person, part of an intensive study of the “Iceman of the Alps”.

To read more about the genome of “Oetzi”: Genome of “Oetzi” is Published.

Although the body of this 45-year-old man, an inhabitant of Earth when stone tools were beginning to be replaced with ones forged from metal (copper), has provided scientists with a great deal of data, how he died remains a mystery.  Analysis of pollen grains found in association with the corpse indicate that “Oetzi” died in the spring, even his last meal (the contents of his stomach having been analysed), is known.  However, whether he was murdered or whether he was given a ceremonial burial remains a mystery.

The discovery of an arrow head embedded in this man’s back sparked intense media interest.  Could this be the world’s oldest “whodunnit”?

Scans in the late 1990s failed to reveal substantial traces of blood, as scientists from the Eurac Institute in Bolzano, Italy strived to find out as much about this person as they could.  A detailed examination of a wound on the man’s hand showed evidence for haemoglobin, a protein found in blood.  Haemoglobin carries oxygen, transporting it round the body and delivering it to muscles and tissue.  However, a more advanced, sophisticated and sensitive technique referred to as atomic force microscopy has led to the discovery of red blood cells.  It had been thought that delicate blood cells would not have survived for 5,000 years.

Professor Zink and his colleagues, who had published the genome back in February, collaborated with researchers at the Centre for Smart Interfaces at the University of Darmstadt in Germany to apply what is known the atomic force microscopy to thin slices of tissue taken from an area surrounding the arrow wound in “Oetzi’s” back.

This technique uses a minute metal tip with a needle-like point just a few atoms across, being dragged across the surface of a sample.  As the tip interacts with the surface material, data is fed into a computer and a detailed three-dimensional image of the surface can be built up.

The team found that the samples contained structures with a “doughnut” shape, just as red blood cells have.

To ensure the structures were preserved cells and not contamination of some kind, the European research team confirmed the find using a laser-based technique called Raman spectroscopy, the subsequent results also indicated the presence of haemoglobin and the clot-associated protein fibrin.

The evidence of fibrin in association with a wound would prove helpful to a modern forensic scientist investigating a homicide today.  Fibrin usually degrades very rapidly and it is normally associated with fresh wounds so it seems less likely that poor “Oetzi” died some days before he ended up buried on top of a mountain.

Professor Zink outlined what the presence of detected fibrin means:

“Because fibrin is present in fresh wounds and then degrades, the theory that “Oetzi” died some days after he had been injured by the arrow, as had once been mooted, can no longer be upheld”.

Based on this evidence, it suggests that “Oetzi” met a violent end in the Italian Alps being killed relatively near to where his body was found.

It is not just palaeoanthropologists that are benefiting from this scientific research.  The methodologies employed to examine this New Stone Age potential murder victim are helping modern-day forensic specialists to establish the exact age of blood samples found in association with modern murder victims.

Visit Everything Dinosaur’s website: Prehistoric Animal Models and Toys.

Chinese Palaeontologists Identify Mesozoic Parasites that Plagued the Dinosaurs

A team of scientists have been busy studying the remains of ancient pseudo-fleas preserved in amber that would have made dinosaur lives a misery back in the Cretaceous.  Giant fleas may have pestered dinosaurs. Amber is fossilised tree resin.  It is produced by certain types of trees to help seal wounds on the tree and to protect against disease, the sticky substance traps organisms which when the resin hardens into amber are preserved as fossils.

Giant Fleas

Researchers in China have named and described two primitive flea-like insects that probably fed on the blood of dinosaurs, their large size, several times the size of extant fleas that plague mammals today, indicates that even the biggest dinosaur may have been pestered by these Cretaceous critters.  The two types of blood sucker, assigned to the same genus have been named Pseudopulex jurassicus and Pseudopulex magnus.

Commenting on the recent discoveries of large parasites that fed on dinosaurs and other reptiles, zoologist George Poinar Junior of Oregon State University stated:

“They have this large beak.  Oh, it looks horrible.  It looks like a syringe when you go to the doctor to get a shot or something.”

Emeritus professor Poinar, specialises in analysing and examining the preserved remains of insects that have been preserved in amber.  He regards these insects as pseudo-fleas, they are similar to modern-day fleas but sufficiently different to be distinguished from extant genera.  The legs for example are much longer, they are not designed for jumping, but perhaps these large bugs were able to use their long legs to latch onto and secure themselves to the hides of passing dinosaurs.  The long, beak-like proboscis could then be used to probe between the scales to tap into blood running just underneath the skin.

Giant Mesozoic Parasites of Dinosaurs

Blood-sucking insects plagued the Dinosauria.

Picture credit: Wang Cheng/Journal of Current Biology

A number of dinosaur parasites have been discovered and described over the last couple of months.   In March, Everything Dinosaur team members reported on some further Chinese research concerning the fossilised remains of huge insects that had probably “bugged” dinosaurs.

To read more about the recent Chinese discoveries: Giant Fleas from the Age of Dinosaurs.

With work published in the scientific journal “Current Biology”, Poinar went onto to speculate how the evolution of many different types of insect during the Mesozoic changed the world in which the dinosaurs lived.  He went onto explain that insects from the Late Jurassic onwards probably had a huge impact in at least two ways.  Firstly, insects such as beetles were pollinators, and they encouraged the evolution of Angiosperms (flowering plants).  This may have affected dinosaur evolution with the ornithischians emerging as the dominant plant-eating dinosaurs in the latter part of the Mesozoic.  Other types of dinosaur, ones that could not adapt to the changing fauna would have become vulnerable to extinction.

To view models and figures of prehistoric animals including dinosaurs: Prehistoric Animal and Dinosaur Models.

Secondly, as Poinar points out, dinosaurs had diseases, parasites and intestinal worms.  They probably got some of these conditions from insects such as these primitive flea-like creatures.  The evolution of many new types of parasite could have weakened the dinosaur genetic pool, thus adding to the woes of the Dinosauria.

Poinar went onto add:

“To a lot of them [the dinosaurs], this was something brand new they hadn’t been exposed to before and it would have decimated the population.  And it wasn’t just one disease but a combination of diseases.”

Parasites of the Dinosaurs

Parasites such as these super-sized fleas could have played a role in the extinction of the dinosaurs.

A number of studies have been carried out recently looking into how the Order Insecta diversified during the Age of Reptiles.  In one recent study, scientists looked at how biting lice that today “bug” birds became more diverse, probably as a result of feeding on feathered and non-feathered members of the Dinosauria.  It seems that one of the drawbacks of the short arms on theropod dinosaurs was that they could not scratch themselves very effectively.  How these animals coped with the irritation caused by these parasites can only be speculated upon – T. rex having a favourite scratching post perhaps?

To read more about other parasites affecting the dinosaurs: The Tree of “Lice” – parasites of the dinosaurs.