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Categories: Computer Science: Virtual Reality (VR), Paleontology: Early Mammals and Birds
Published Sauropod dinosaurs were restricted to warmer regions of Earth
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A study investigated the enigma of why sauropod fossils are only found at lower latitudes, while fossils of other main dinosaur types seem ubiquitously present, with many located in the polar regions.
Published Warm-bodied ties between mammals and birds more ancient than previously recognized
(via sciencedaily.com) The evolutionary origin of endothermy (the ability to maintain a warm body and higher energy levels than reptiles), currently believed to have originated separately in birds and mammals, could have occurred nearly 300 million years ago.
Published Dinosaur faces and feet may have popped with color
(via sciencedaily.com) A study finds that there is a 50 percent chance that the common ancestor of birds and dinosaurs had bright colors on its skin, beaks and scales, but 0 percent chance that it had bright colors on its feathers or claws.
Published Fleshing out the bones of Quetzalcoatlus, Earth's largest flier ever
(via sciencedaily.com) Though discovered more than 45 years ago, fossils of Earth's largest flying animal, Quetzalcoatlus, were never thoroughly analyzed. Now, a scientific team provides the most complete picture yet of this dinosaur relative, its environment and behavior. The pterosaur, with a 40-foot wingspan, walked with a unique gait, but otherwise filled a niche much like herons today. The researchers dispel ideas that it ate carrion and walked like a vampire bat.
Published Ancient DNA found in soil samples reveals mammoths, Yukon wild horses survived thousands of years longer than believed
(via sciencedaily.com) Mere spoonsful of soil pulled from Canada's permafrost are opening vast windows into ancient life in the Yukon, revealing rich new information and rewriting previous beliefs about the extinction dynamics, dates and survival of megafauna like mammoths, horses and other long-lost life forms.
Published Loss of ancient grazers triggered a global rise in fires
(via sciencedaily.com) From 50,000 years to 6,000 years ago, many of the world's largest animals, including such iconic grassland grazers as the woolly mammoth, giant bison, and ancient horses, went extinct. The loss of these grazing species triggered a dramatic increase in fire activity in the world's grasslands, according to a new study.
Published Humans hastened the extinction of the woolly mammoth
(via sciencedaily.com) New research shows that humans had a significant role in the extinction of woolly mammoths in Eurasia, occurring thousands of years later than previously thought. An international team of scientists has revealed a 20,000-year pathway to extinction for the woolly mammoth.
Published Introduced birds are not replacing roles of human-caused extinct species
(via sciencedaily.com) Human-caused bird extinctions are driving losses of functional diversity on islands worldwide, and the gaps they leave behind are not being filled by introduced (alien) species, finds a new study.
Published Muscular wing-body junction improved Pterosaur flight performance
(via sciencedaily.com) The flying reptiles known as pterosaurs are the closest relatives of dinosaurs and were the first vertebrates to evolve powered flight. However, many details of pterosaur flight anatomy and performance are still unclear. According to a new study pterosaurs evolved a muscular wing-body junction to reduce drag and improve flight performance.
Published Mammals’ noses come from reptiles’ jaws
(via sciencedaily.com) New examinations of skeletons and animal embryos have allowed researchers to discover how mammals developed protruding, flexible noses. This study contributes to uncovering the origin of mammals' strong sense of smell and creates the potential for new animal models, like chickens or frogs, that are often used in lab experiments to investigate facial development disorders such as cleft palate.
Published Fossil dental exams reveal how tusks first evolved and why they are unique only to mammals
(via sciencedaily.com) Researchers trace the first tusks back to ancient mammal relatives that lived before the dinosaurs and shed light on the evolution of mammalian tusks by first defining what makes a tusk a tusk.
Published Humans did not cause woolly mammoths to go extinct -- climate change did
(via sciencedaily.com) Humans did not cause woolly mammoths to go extinct -- climate change did. For five million years, woolly mammoths roamed the earth until they vanished for good nearly 4,000 years ago -- and scientists have finally proved why. The hairy cousins of today's elephants lived alongside early humans and were a regular staple of their diet -- their skeletons were used to build shelters, harpoons were carved from their giant tusks, artwork featuring them is daubed on cave walls, and 30,000 years ago, the oldest known musical instrument, a flute, was made out of a mammoth bone.
Published Plant-eating lizards on the cusp of tooth evolution
(via sciencedaily.com) Researchers found that complex teeth, a hallmark of mammals, also evolved several times in reptiles, prompting the evolutionary success of plant-eating lizards. However, contrary to mammals their tooth evolution was not unidirectional.
Published Early modern human from Southeast Asia adapted to a rainforest environment
(via sciencedaily.com) Although there has been evidence of our species living in rainforest regions in Southeast Asia from at least 70,000 years ago, the poor preservation of organic material in these regions limits how much we know about their diet and ecological adaptations to these habitats. An international team of scientists has now applied a new method to investigate the diet of fossil humans: the analysis of stable zinc isotopes from tooth enamel. This method proves particularly helpful to learn whether prehistoric humans and animals were primarily eating meat or plants.
Published Primates’ ancestors may have left trees to survive asteroid
(via sciencedaily.com) When an asteroid struck 66 million years ago and wiped out dinosaurs not related to birds and three-quarters of life on Earth, early ancestors of primates and marsupials were among the only tree-dwelling (arboreal) mammals that survived, according to a new study.
Published The climate-driven mass extinction no one had seen
(via sciencedaily.com) Two thirds of all mammals vanished from Africa and the Arabian Peninsula around 30 million years ago, when the climate on Earth changed from swampy to icy. But we are only finding out about this mass extinction now. Researchers examined hundreds of fossils from multiple sites in Africa, built evolutionary trees, and pinpointed each species' first and last known appearances. The climate shift 'was a real reset button.'
Published Toothy grins from the past: Ancient birds replaced their teeth like living crocodilians
(via sciencedaily.com) The first 3D reconstructions of extinct Cretaceous birds reveal a reptilian tooth replacement pattern.
Published Late Pleistocene humans may have hatched and raised cassowary chicks
(via sciencedaily.com) As early as 18,000 years ago, humans in New Guinea may have collected cassowary eggs near maturity and then raised the birds to adulthood, according to an international team of scientists, who used eggshells to determine the developmental stage of the ancient embryos/chicks when the eggs cracked.
Published Ancient bone tools found in Moroccan cave were used to work leather, fur
(via sciencedaily.com) When researchers first started to look at animal bones from Contrebandiers Cave, Morocco, they wanted to learn about the diet and environment of early human ancestors who lived there between 120,000 and 90,000 years ago. But they soon realized that the bones they had found weren't just meal scraps. They'd been shaped into tools, apparently for use in working leather and fur.
Published Fossil bird with fancy tail feathers longer than its body
(via sciencedaily.com) Peacock tails are just one example of how evolution walks a line between favoring traits that make it easier to survive, and traits that make it easier to find a mate. In a new study, scientists have found evidence of this age-old conundrum in the form of a fossil bird from the Early Cretaceous with a pair of elaborate tail feathers longer than its body.