Big ol’ brontotheres.
Science News reports on new discoveries shedding light on how prehistoric mammals grew so dang big, evolutionarily, once the dinosaurs cleared out:
… Read the rest “Big ol’ brontotheres.”Brontotheres were among the first
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Science Art: Skull of Trinocromerum willistoni, Dorothea Franzen,1944.
This is the head of a plesiosaur from Kansas, back in the day when Kansas was an inland sea.
Or a picture from back in the day when the U.S. was still in World War II, and The University of Kansas… Read the rest “Science Art: Skull of Trinocromerum willistoni, Dorothea Franzen,1944.”
Australia’s first sauropod skull.
Scientific Frontline reports on a Diamantinasaurus skeleton that’s chalked up a few Australian firsts after being discovered in Queensland:
… Read the rest “Australia’s first sauropod skull.”Lead researcher and paleontologist
Not that you’d want to kiss them, but T. rex actually had lips.
AP News reports on research into the fearful mouth of the scariest of flesh-eating dinosaurs which found that – despite the public image of Tyrannosaurus rex as being a snaggle-toothed… Read the rest “Not that you’d want to kiss them, but T. rex actually had lips.”
Science Art: A Fossil Flower (Cycadeoidea ingens), 1924.
This is a photograph of a model from the Field Museum of Natural History, representing a cycad flower reconstructed from a fossil.
The fossil came from the Cycad National Monument, established… Read the rest “Science Art: A Fossil Flower (Cycadeoidea ingens), 1924.”
Science Art: Mimodactylus in life, 2019.
This is a painting of Mimodactylus libanensis soaring over what Nature (where it was first published) called “Afro-Arabia,” a continent that existed many millions of years… Read the rest “Science Art: Mimodactylus in life, 2019.”
Dinosaurs had songs. Not so much roaring as something more melodic.
BBC reports on new research reconstructing the sounds of the dinosaurs, the honks, hoots, chirps, and vibrating grunts that the giant creatures used to communicate millions of years ago… Read the rest “Dinosaurs had songs. Not so much roaring as something more melodic.”
Millions of years ago, when Earth was ruled by giant… crabs?
EurekAlert reveals new evidence of an age long before the dinosaurs, a primeval world 470 million years ago when the world was ruled by giant swimming arthropods. Like, the same family as… Read the rest “Millions of years ago, when Earth was ruled by giant… crabs?”
Paleontology drama: Scientist accused of faking asteroid-death data to scoop colleague.
Science is not a publication normally given to interpersonal conflict. But now it’s covering the story of the weird competition between Robert DePalma and Melanie During, who suspects… Read the rest “Paleontology drama: Scientist accused of faking asteroid-death data to scoop colleague.”
Otters as big as lions, there were. As big as grizzly bears.
Atlas Obscura introduces us to Enhydriodon omoensis, a newly classified prehistoric otter that roamed the Omo river valley of Ethiopia, hunting its prey and weighing more than 400 pounds… Read the rest “Otters as big as lions, there were. As big as grizzly bears.”
Mammal ancestors survived a mass extinction – but got killed off by drought.
Live Science considers the fate of the shovel lizard Lystrosaurus, a plant-eating creature from 251 million years ago who survived the Permian-Triassic mass extinction, but then was … Read the rest “Mammal ancestors survived a mass extinction – but got killed off by drought.”
Science Art: Anglosuchus, by James Erxleben, c. 1877.
These are the skulls of two English crocodiles. They were English before the first Anglo-Saxons arrived on that island’s shores. Of course, they also went extinct before the first… Read the rest “Science Art: Anglosuchus, by James Erxleben, c. 1877.”
Reptiles evolve to conquer climate change, again and again (when they didn’t all die).
Jerusalem Post covers research by Harvard University, University of Alberta, and North Carolina Museum of Natural History that reveals the long history of reptiles, who have reacted … Read the rest “Reptiles evolve to conquer climate change, again and again (when they didn’t all die).”
Little arms: T. rex didn’t invent them, and they didn’t come out of nowhere.
Science News looks at a newly discovered, large-headed carnivorous dinosaur that, like T. rex, had surprisingly small forelimbs. But these independently evolved little arms were apparently… Read the rest “Little arms: T. rex didn’t invent them, and they didn’t come out of nowhere.”
The first animal communities are way, way older than you might think. (And weirder, too.)
They had strange, branching forms, says Popular Science as they look over fossils from Newfoundland. And they took off centuries before the so-called “Cambrian explosion”… Read the rest “The first animal communities are way, way older than you might think. (And weirder, too.)”