Archive for August, 2014

Ring Of Fire Tectonic Plate Is Cooling – And Shrinking

The tectonic plate that dominates the Pacific “Ring of Fire” is not as rigid as most assume, and it’s getting less fiery. according to researchers at Rice University and the University of Nevada. Rice geophysicist Richard Gordon and Corné Kreemer, an associate professor at the University of Nevada, Reno, have determined that cooling of the […]

Thylacares brandonesis : carnivorous crustacean 435 MYA

A new species of carnivorous crustacean has been identified, which roamed the seas 435 million years ago, grasping its prey with spiny limbs before devouring it. The fossil is described and details of its lifestyle are published in the open access journal BMC Evolutionary Biology. The fossils were discovered near Waukesha, Wisconsin, with the new […]

WFS Dinosaur Diary: QUETZALCOATLUS

Quetzalcoatlus was the largest pterosaur that ever lived; in fact, this airplane-sized reptile was the largest animal ever to take to the skies, period. Here are 10 facts you may (or may not) have known about Quetzalcoatlus. 1. Quetzalcoatlus was named after an Aztec god. Flying, feathered, reptilian deities have figured in Central American mythology […]

Jurassic mammals were picky eaters.

New analyses of tiny fossil mammals from Glamorgan, South Wales are shedding light on the function and diets of our earliest ancestors, a team including researchers from the University of Southampton report today in the journal Nature. Mammals and their immediate ancestors from the Jurassic period (201-145 million years ago) developed new characteristics — such […]

Prehistoric crocodilian diversity depends on sea temperature

The ancestors of today’s crocodiles colonised the seas during warm phases and became extinct during cold phases, according to a new Anglo-French study which establishes a link between marine crocodilian diversity and the evolution of sea temperature over a period of more than 140 million years. The research, led by Dr Jeremy Martin from the […]

Caiuajara dobruskii:New pterosaur species found

A flying reptile whose head was topped with a big bony crest shaped like the sail of a yacht swooped through the skies over Brazil roughly 90 million years ago. Scientists announced on Wednesday the remarkable discovery of about 50 fossilized skeletons of a creature called Caiuajara dobruskii, a type of flying reptile known as […]

New species of pterosaur found in mass grave

A rare stash of thousands of ancient bones found in Brazil has turned in a magnificent find: over 47 skeletons of a single, new species of Upper Cretaceous pterosaur. Discovered in an old lake deposit on the outskirts of Cruzeiro do Oeste in the southern state of Parana, the bones are unusual for two reasons: […]

Amber offers new views of a lost world

Scientists are searching through a massive collection of 20-million-year-old amber found in the Dominican Republic more than 50 years ago, and the effort is yielding fresh insights into ancient tropical insects and the world they inhabited. When the collection is fully curated, a task that will take many years, it will be the largest unbiased […]

Kulindadromeus zabaikalicus suggest all dinosaurs could have been feathered

The first ever example of a plant-eating dinosaur with feathers and scales has been discovered in Russia. Previously only flesh-eating dinosaurs were known to have had feathers, so this new find raises the possibility that all dinosaurs could have been feathered. The new dinosaur, named Kulindadromeus zabaikalicus as it comes from a site called Kulinda […]