Nasutoceratops-Horn Face

Scientists have described a new species of Dinosaur from the deserts of Utah dating to 75 million years ago. Nasutoceratops, whose name means 'big nosed horn face' is the latest member of the Ceratopsian family, standing alongside Triceratops and Styracosaurus. The creature was first discovered in 2006 the Grand Staircase-Escalante Monument area of Utah.Continue reading the main story University of Utah. However, it has taken several years to prepare and then study the fossil in detail.The rocks it was found in date to about 75-million-years old, so the beast would have roamed the Earth during the Late Cretaceous period."The horns are by far the absolute largest of any member of its group of dinosaurs - they curve sideways and forwards," explained Dr Loewen."In addition it has the biggest nose of its group too."He added that it also had a scalloped frill at the back of its head.Nasutoceratops was also hefty, weighing about 2.5 tonnes, and with its unusual looks it would have cut a fearsome figure. However this species, like all members of the triceratops family is a herbivore. It would have been more concerned with feasting on plants in its tropical, swampy surrounds than terrorising other dinosaurs. Dr Loewen said: "All of these animals are upwards of three tonnes... You have an environment where you have all of these large herbivores competing for food."We aren't really sure how you can support all of these animals, but you do find them all in the rock at the same time."He added that other unusual new species were also emerging from the site.

Bunestegos- Pangean Loner

New fossils from northern Niger in Africa have been described in the Journal of Vertebrate Palaeontology.The distinctive creature belongs to a new genus of pareiasaur - plant-eating creatures that flourished during the Permian period.The cow-sized specimen has been named Bunostegos, which means "knobby roof".During Permian times, the Earth was dominated by a single supercontinent called Pangaea.Animal and plant life dispersed broadly across the land, as documented by identical fossil species found on multiple modern continents.But the new research by an international team supports the idea that there was an isolated desert in the middle of Pangaea with distinctive animals. Most pareiasaurs had bony knobs on their skulls, but Bunostegos sported the largest, most bulbous ones ever seen in this group, which were common in the Middle and Late Permian, about 266-252 million years ago. Experts are unsure for the about the use of these knobs in pareiasaurs "The most probable use was for inter-specific (between species) or intra-specific (within species) recognition.". The finds support the theory that central pangea was climatically isolated. This means it's creatures would have been very different to the other animals on the coastal fringes of Pangea. Bunostegos would have been one of a kind, like no other creature on earth at the time. Scientists are yet to explore much of the remnants of central Pangea for fossils. Meaning further Permian 'oddities' may be yet to be discovered.

'The Lizard King' Late Doors Frontman Jim Morrison has Fossil lizard name after him: Barbaturex Morrisoni

It seems the late frontman of the Doors has taken a leap back in time from the music stage to the Eocene stage 34-40 million years ago. This latest discovery Barbaturex Morrisoni hails from south east Asia, and is a large herbivorous lizard. Coming in at 6ft long and weighing 27.7 kg, Barbaturex may not be the largest lizard of all time, nor the lizard king. But this behemoth comes close. It seems the unusually high temperatures of the Eocene led to the creature's immense size. Infact it is the largest herbivorous lizard ever found, and was so well adapted that it successfully competed with mammals for 4 million years! Despite the creatures immense size (for a lizard) it was 'most likely preyed on by mammalian predators' according to Dr head, the scientist responsible for this unique discovery. Dr head explains his inspiration for the name of Morrisoni: "I was listening to The Doors quite a bit during the research," Head said. "Some of their musical imagery includes reptiles and ancient places, and Jim Morrison was of course 'The Lizard King', so it all kind of came together." This discovery is important for many reasons as Dr head explains. "Their existence seems to have depended on the climate being right to support large-bodied herbivorous creatures.Climate probably has a bigger influence on the evolution of plant-eating reptiles than we realised. It seems to be a more important factor than competition with other herbivorous mammals." And apparently also offers an insight into the future of earth's lizards 'Giant lizards could once again evolve' explains Dr Head 'but only if conditions are hot enough'. Looking at the way the Earth is going it seems as though this notion could become reality in the near future. But future animals is another topic, for another day. But it's good to know that the spirit of Jim Morrison 'the lizard king' lives on (or lived on)in our prehistoric past. Rock on Barbaturex!

Auf Widersehen Archaeopteryx, Nǐ hǎo Aurornis xui!

Birds have for a long time been recognized a group of Theropod Dinosaur descendants. The most famous of these 'Dino-Birds' is Archaeopteryx. Archaeopteryx has often been accepted by pop culture as the first bird dating to around 150 million years ago. Fossils of Archaeopteryx have been found at Solnhofen in Germany exquisitely preserved in the sandstone found there. But it looks like the earlier bird is about to get the worm. Scientists this week announced the discovery of a new Dino bird species Aurornis xui. Found in the Jurassic rocks of Liaoning province, China. Scientists bought the specimen form a local fossil dealer who presumed it was another fossil he could sell on the market. At first scientists questioned how genuine the specimen was, but researchers working on the piece claim that it is very unlikely to be a forgery. Aurornis is described as being about the size of a pheasant with limbs similar to Archaeopteryx. But unlike Archaeopteryx it completely lacked any larger feathers and possessed short, downy feathers suggesting that it couldn't fly. Aurornis seems to be further down the bird lineage than Archaeopteryx and pre dates it by 15-10 million years. It is likely Aurornis climbed trees or ran very quickly along the ground. Aurornis xui means Xui's dawn beat. Referring to how the new species is thought to be the oldest bird fossil found. But claiming this title is far from easy. As with any prehistoric species we can be sure that it is the first of it's kind. Palaeontologist Paul Barret states "The new species is certainly an older member of the bird lineage than Archaeopteryx, and it's fair to call it a very primitive bird. But what you call a bird comes down to what you call a bird, and a lot of definitions depend on Archaeopteryx,"."This emphasises how grey the dividing line is between birds and dinosaurs. There's such a gradation in features between them that it's very difficult to tell them apart. It only takes relatively small changes in our knowledge of these to flip around some of the evolutionary relationships between them," So the relationship between Aurornis, Archaeopteryx and their Dinosaurian ancestors is very complicated and is subject to the latest discoveries. But it seems our feathered friends have been around for longer than we have previously thought.

No posts for 3 days

There will be no posts for 3 days as I am off to Belgium. There may be a post on Friday. Thank you.

From Russia with Love-The Suprising Paleontology of the Russian Federation

Russia + fossils? Not a combination often thought of by many in fact Russia+Fossil Fuels is a more likely partnership. But, believe it or not the former Soviet Union holds a remarkable treasure trove of its prehistoric past. From the high arctic of Siberia to the flowing Volga Russia truly deserves a place on the fossil map. So, were to begin? The freezing permafrost of Siberia seems a good place to start. Most people who have an interest in the Ice Age and prehistory in general will have heard of the bounty of fossils the Siberian Tundra produces. Mammoth fossils in particular seem to attract most of the attention. Not surprising considering just how beautifully preserved the Mammoth fossils from Siberia are. But the truth is that really, they aren't fossils at all. The Mammoths lived here so recently (new theories suggest that they died out here 8,000-6,000 years ago)that their bones simply haven't fossilized yet. This process is aided by permafrost. Permafrost basically acts as a Pleistocene morgue, keeping the remains of Ice Age animals preserved in the frozen ground only a few inches down. This keeps the bones (and occasionally soft tissue) preserved for prosperity in mint condition. An example of just how crazy this preservation can be is Lyuba a mummified baby mammoth which now resides in the vaults of the Field Museum. Lyuba died over 10,000 years ago but every detail of her from her last meal to her hair is exquisitely preserved. It was purportedly in the possession of a Siberian indigenous tribe for many years before scientists finally found it. The tribal members couldn't thank the scientists enough for taking Lyuba. Stating that the dead mammoths possess 'evil spirits'. But its not only Mammoths found in Siberia. The remains of Horses, Reindeer, and Bison also frequently turn up. The Palaeontology of Siberia has been thrown into the limelight recently with the announcement of 'Pleistocene Park' a project spear headed by numerous Russian Palaeontologists and funded by the Japanese scientists attempting to clone the mammoth back from the dead. All questions of ethics aside the park is actually home to many animals. Mainly Caribou, Horses, and Bison but also including Wolves, Bears, Lynx, and the owner soon hopes Lions and Mammoths. Skipping across the Urals we soon reach the banks of the river Volga. The Volga is steeped in history most notably for the ferrying of Soviet troops to defend Stalingrad. But what of the prehistory of the Volga. Surprisingly many species of Ammonite can be found in the rocks here. The Ammonites date from the Upper Jurassic to Lower Cretaceous periods. The most common Ammonites can be found below (in order of appearance: Kosmoceras, Pavlovia, Australiceras, Peltoceras, and Audlioceras) As you can see the quality of these Volga ammonites is amazing especially the Peltoceras. No wonder many can fetch for up to 500 rubles on the Russian fossil market. These ammonites are found mostly in the oil sands on the banks of the Volga. Finally we take a short (in Russian standards) trip north to the rocks around St Petersburg. These rocks just like the Volga Ammonites yield some truly beautiful fossils. Trilobites. The Trilobites here are top quality and date from the Silurian/Ordovician periods. There are literally so many species that it would take eons (ok, maybe not that long) to list them. But I encourage you to look for yourself here: So, that's the rather surprising and amazing Palaeontology of the Russian federation. If anyone wants to do any further research or for more information on the Trilobites and Ammonites please visit: Paleoart.com

Bone headed-Acrotholus audeti

You've heard of Pachycephalosaurus, and Stygimoloch right? Well say hello to the latest member of the 'bone headed' family: Acrotholus. Discovered in the Milk River Formation of Alberta, Canada, by researchers from the University of Toronto Acrotholus may be the oldest member of the group yet to be discovered. It pre-dates Pachycephalosaurus by 20 million years, The bones date from rocks that are 85 million years old. Being the oldest Pachycephalosaur yet to be discovered it offers researchers insights into the evolution of the 'bone heads' Around the size of a dog and weighing in at 40Kg Acrotholus is a rather small Pachycephalosaur. And it's size also sets it apart from the rest. "We can predict that many new small dinosaur species like Acrotholus are waiting to be discovered by researchers willing to sort through the many small bones that they pick up in the field," said co-researcher Dr Michael Ryan, curator of vertebrate palaeontology at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History. It has long been suggested that there is not a truthful reflection of small Dinosaur fauna's in existence as their tiny bones may have been to small to properly fossilize. However Acrotholus shows that when it comes to Dinosaurs. The small are just as important as the big.