Archive for the ‘Featured Post’ Category

Paralycoptera: first dinosaur-era fish from HongKong

A ~147 million-year-old Jurassic-aged osteoglossoid osteoglossomorph fish Paralycoptera from outcrops at Lai Chi Chong has been described. This fossil represents the first dinosaur-era fish — as well as vertebrate — from Hong Kong to be identified. The fossil was rediscovered in the collections of the Stephen Hui Geological Museum by Mr. Edison Tse Tze-kei, graduate […]

WFS : Ariyalur Cretaceous fossils

Saurichthys rieppeli, a new species of bony fish from the Middle Triassic

Working with an international team, paleontologists at the University of Zurich have discovered two new species of Saurichthys. The ~242 million year old predatory fishes were found in the fossil Lagerstätte Monte San Giorgio, in Ticino. They are distinct from previously known Saurichthys species in the shape of the head and body, suggesting different habitats […]

Finding fault By Modelling

New modeling and analyses of fault geometry in the Earth’s crust by geoscientist Michele Cooke and colleagues at the University of Massachusetts Amherst are advancing knowledge about fault development in regions where one geologic plate slides past or over another, such as along California’s San Andreas Fault and the Denali Fault in central Alaska. Findings […]

Metoposaurus algarvensis was top predator ?

A previously undiscovered species of crocodile-like amphibian that lived during the rise of dinosaurs was among Earth’s top predators more than 200 million years ago, a study shows. Palaeontologists identified the prehistoric species — which looked like giant salamanders — after excavating bones buried on the site of an ancient lake in southern Portugal.The species […]

A stiff new layer in Earth’s mantle

By crushing minerals between diamonds, a University of Utah study suggests the existence of an unknown layer inside Earth: part of the lower mantle where the rock gets three times stiffer. The discovery may explain a mystery: why slabs of Earth’s sinking tectonic plates sometimes stall and thicken 930 miles underground. The findings — published […]

Carnufex carolinensis : predator roles before dinosaurs

A newly discovered crocodilian ancestor may have filled one of North America’s top predator roles before dinosaurs arrived on the continent. Carnufex carolinensis, or the “Carolina Butcher,” was a 9-foot long, land-dwelling crocodylomorph that walked on its hind legs and likely preyed upon smaller inhabitants of North Carolina ecosystems such as armored reptiles and early […]

Beetles beat out extinction ?

Today’s rich variety of beetles may be due to an historically low extinction rate rather than a high rate of new species emerging, according to a new study. These findings were revealed by combing through the fossil record. “Much of the work to understand why beetles are diverse has really focused on what promotes speciation,” […]

Rise of East African Plateau dated by whale fossil

A 17-million-year-old whale fossil is helping scientists pinpoint when the East African Plateau started to rise. Determining when the uplift happened has implications for understanding human evolution, scientists say. Shifts in the Earth’s mantle pushed the East African Plateau upward sometime between 17 million and 13.5 million years ago, researchers report March 16 in the […]

A Microrapter fossil from South Korea

A tiny dinosaur about the size of a house cat was recently discovered in South Korea.The dinosaur’s fossilized remains span about 11 inches, but scientists told Korea JoongAng Daily that it was likely about 20 inches long when it was alive. “Based on the findings so far, we assume that the dinosaur is something close […]