Showing 20 articles starting at article 1
Categories: Paleontology: Dinosaurs
Published Komodo dragons have iron-coated teeth to rip apart their prey (via sciencedaily.com) Original source
Scientists have discovered that the serrated edges of Komodo dragons' teeth are tipped with iron. The study gives new insight into how Komodo dragons keep their teeth razor-sharp and may provide clues to how dinosaurs like Tyrannosaurus rex killed and ate their prey.
Published Scientists assess how large dinosaurs could really get (via sciencedaily.com) Original source
A study looks at the maximum possible sizes of dinosaurs, using the carnivore, Tyrannosaurus rex, as an example. Using computer modelling, experts produced estimates that T. Rex might have been 70% heavier than what the fossil evidence suggests.
Published Research tracks 66 million years of mammalian diversity (via sciencedaily.com) Original source
New research has examined the fossil record going back 66 million years and tracked changes to mammalian ecosystems and species diversity on the North American continent.
Published A new species of extinct crocodile relative rewrites life on the Triassic coastline (via sciencedaily.com) Original source
The surprising discovery of a new species of extinct crocodile relative from the Triassic Favret Formation of Nevada, USA, rewrites the story of life along the coasts during the first act of the Age of Dinosaurs. The new species Benggwigwishingasuchus eremicarminis reveals that while giant ichthyosaurs ruled the oceans, the ancient crocodile kin known as pseudosuchian archosaurs ruled the shores across the Middle Triassic globe between 247.2 and 237 million years ago.
Published Research reveals the most complete dinosaur discovered in the UK in a century (via sciencedaily.com) Original source
The most complete dinosaur discovered in the UK in the last 100 years, with a pubic hip bone the size of a 'dinner plate', has been described in a new article.
Published Life underground suited newly discovered dinosaur fine (via sciencedaily.com) Original source
A newly discovered ancestor of Thescelosaurus shows evidence that these animals spent at least part of their time in underground burrows. The new species contributes to a fuller understanding of life during the mid-Cretaceous -- both above and below ground.
Published Sixty-million-year-old grape seeds reveal how the death of the dinosaurs may have paved the way for grapes to spread (via sciencedaily.com) Original source
Scientists discovered the oldest fossil grapes in the Western Hemisphere, which help show how after the death of the dinosaurs, grapes spread across the world.
Published New study finds dinosaur fossils did not inspire the mythological griffin (via sciencedaily.com) Original source
For centuries, scientists thought they knew where the griffin legend came from. A new study takes a closer look at the data and folklore's influence on science.
Published Newly discovered dinosaur boasts big, blade-like horns (via sciencedaily.com) Original source
A new dinosaur has been identified and named. The dinosaur's name, Lokiceratops rangiformis, translates roughly to 'Loki's horned face that looks like a caribou.'
Published Ancient polar sea reptile fossil is oldest ever found in Southern Hemisphere (via sciencedaily.com) Original source
An international team of scientists has identified the oldest fossil of a sea-going reptile from the Southern Hemisphere -- a nothosaur vertebra found on New Zealand's South Island. 246 million years ago, at the beginning of the Age of Dinosaurs, New Zealand was located on the southern polar coast of a vast super-ocean called Panthalassa. 'The nothosaur found in New Zealand is over 40 million years older than the previously oldest known sauropterygian fossils from the Southern Hemisphere.
Published Origins of 'Welsh dragons' finally exposed by experts (via sciencedaily.com) Original source
A large fossil discovery has helped shed light on the history of dinosaurs in Wales.
Published Musankwa sanyatiensis, a new dinosaur from Zimbabwe (via sciencedaily.com) Original source
Fossils found on the shoreline of Lake Kariba in Zimbabwe represent a completely new dinosaur species. This remarkable find, named Musankwa sanyatiensis, marks only the fourth dinosaur species named from Zimbabwe.
Published Researchers discover hidden step in dinosaur feather evolution (via sciencedaily.com) Original source
Scientists discover 'zoned development' in dinosaur skin, with zones of reptile-style scales and zones of bird-like skin with feathers. A new dinosaur skin fossil has been found to be composed of silica -- the same as glass.
Published First 'warm-blooded' dinosaurs may have emerged 180 million years ago (via sciencedaily.com) Original source
The ability to regulate body temperature, a trait all mammals and birds have today, may have evolved among some dinosaurs early in the Jurassic period about 180 million years ago. The new study looked at the spread of dinosaurs across different climates on Earth throughout the Mesozoic Era (the dinosaur era lasting from 230 to 66 million years ago), drawing on 1,000 fossils, climate models and the geography of the period, and dinosaurs' evolutionary trees.
Published T. Rex not as smart as previously claimed (via sciencedaily.com) Original source
Dinosaurs were likely as smart as reptiles but not as intelligent as monkeys.
Published Do some mysterious bones belong to gigantic ichthyosaurs? (via sciencedaily.com) Original source
Several similar large, fossilized bone fragments have been discovered in various regions across Western and Central Europe since the 19th century. The animal group to which they belonged is still the subject of much debate to this day. A study could now settle this dispute once and for all: The microstructure of the fossils indicates that they come from the lower jaw of a gigantic ichthyosaur. These animals could reach 25 to 30 meters in length, a similar size to the modern blue whale.
Published Dinosaur study challenges Bergmann's rule (via sciencedaily.com) Original source
A new study calls into question Bergmann's rule, an 1800s-era scientific principle stating that animals in high-latitude, cooler climates tend to be larger than close relatives living in warmer climates.
Published Early dinosaurs grew up fast, but they weren't the only ones (via sciencedaily.com) Original source
The earliest dinosaurs had rapid growth rates, but so did many of the other animals living alongside them, according to a new study.
Published Alaska dinosaur tracks reveal a lush, wet environment (via sciencedaily.com) Original source
A large find of dinosaur tracks and fossilized plants and tree stumps in far northwestern Alaska provides new information about the climate and movement of animals near the time when they began traveling between the Asian and North American continents roughly 100 million years ago.
Published Higher carnivorous dinosaur biodiversity of famous Kem Kem beds, Morocco (via sciencedaily.com) Original source
An international team of palaeontologists applied recently developed methods to measure theropod (carnivorous) dinosaur species diversity. The newly applied method uses both traditional phylogenetic analysis, discriminant analysis as well as machine learning.