Fresh analysis of a reptile fossil is helping scientists solve an evolutionary puzzle — how snakes lost their limbs. The 90 million-year-old skull is giving researchers vital clues about how snakes evolved. Comparisons between CT scans of the fossil and modern reptiles indicate that snakes lost their legs when their ancestors evolved to live and […]
Archive for November, 2015
Egg Shell porosity and Nesting in Dinosaurs
November 29th, 2015 
Riffin Extinct archosaurs’ eggshell porosity may be used as a proxy for predicting covered or exposed nest types, according to a study published November 25, 2015 in the open-access journal PLOS ONE by Kohei Tanaka from the University of Calgary and colleagues. Knowledge about dinosaur nests may provide insight into the evolution of nesting and reproductive […]
Stretchy slabs found in the deep Earth
November 27th, 2015 Riffin A new study suggests that the common belief that the Earth’s rigid tectonic plates stay strong when they slide under another plate, known as subduction, may not be universal. Typically during subduction, plates slide down at a constant rate into the warmer, less-dense mantle at a fairly steep angle. However, in a process called flat-slab […]
first occurrence of a Dimetrodon fossil in Canada
November 25th, 2015 Riffin A “dinosaur” fossil originally discovered on Prince Edward Island has been shown to have steak knife-like teeth, and researchers from U of T Mississauga, Carleton University and the Royal Ontario Museum have changed its name to Dimetrodon borealis–marking the first occurrence of a Dimetrodon fossil in Canada. “It’s really exciting to discover that the detailed […]
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Tags: Canada, Dimetrodon, first occurrence, fossil, Riffin T Sajeev, Russel T Sajeev, WFS, world fossil society 
No Comments »Intermediate Fossil Feathers Found
November 22nd, 2015 Riffin A piece of amber formed of tree sap from 100 million years ago has preserved crucial evidence of feather evolution. Evolution has long predicted the evolution of birds from reptiles, and recent discoveries of feathered dinosaurs has proved that model correct. However, the dinosaurs feathers found to date have been primitive in form, while bird […]
Posted in Featured Post Tags: Fossil Feathers, Riffin T Sajeev, Russel T Sajeev, WFS, world fossil society No Comments »Tyrannosaurus Could Open Jaw Really Wide ?
November 21st, 2015 Riffin Tyrannosaurus rex and at least one other carnivorous dinosaur were capable of opening their jaws up to 90 degrees. Plant-eating dinosaurs, on the other hand, were limited to a narrower jaw gape, suggesting that feeding style and diet of dinosaurs were closely linked to how wide they could open their mouths. Top 10 Largest Dinosaurs […]
Posted in Featured Post Tags: Jaw, Riffin T Sajeev, Russel T Sajeev, Tyrannosaurus, WFS, WorldFossil Society No Comments »Fossil Forests Discovered in the Arctic
November 20th, 2015 Riffin What did some of the first trees on Earth look like? Earth scientists from Cardiff University digging around in Arctic Norway are closing in on an answer. And that answer is: weirdly familiar. Fossilized stumps from a forest dating back 380 million years indicate that these trees must have resembled palm trees covered in fern-like […]
Posted in Featured Post Tags: Arctic, Fossil Forests, Riffin T Sajeev, Russel T Sajeev, WFS, world fossil society No Comments »dinosaur-bird link
November 18th, 2015 Riffin In the 19th century, Darwin’s most vocal scientific advocate was Thomas Henry Huxley, who is also remembered as a pioneer of the hypotheses that birds are living dinosaurs. He noticed several similarities of the skeleton of living birds and extinct dinosaurs, among them, a pointed portion of the anklebone projecting upwards onto the shank bone […]
Posted in Featured Post Tags: Bird, Dinosaur Ankles, dinosaur-bird link, Riffin T Sajeev, Russel T Sajeev, WFS, world fossil society No Comments »Oceanic microplate formation records the onset of India–Eurasia collision
November 15th, 2015 Riffin An international team of scientists has discovered the first oceanic microplate in the Indian Ocean–helping identify when the initial collision between India and Eurasia occurred, leading to the birth of the Himalayas. Although there are at least seven microplates known in the Pacific Ocean, this is the first ancient Indian Ocean microplate to be discovered. […]
Predatory Functional Morphology in Raptors
November 13th, 2015 Riffin Despite the ubiquity of raptors in terrestrial ecosystems, many aspects of their predatory behaviour remain poorly understood. Surprisingly little is known about the morphology of raptor talons and how they are employed during feeding behaviour. Talon size variation among digits can be used to distinguish families of raptors and is related to different techniques of […]
Posted in Featured Post Tags: Functional Morphology, Predatory, Raptors, Riffin T Sajeev, Russel T Sajeev, WFS, world fossil society No Comments »
