A unique fossil found at the tip of the South Island has been recognised as a 20-million-year-old marine ancestor. The fossil, discovered near Cape Farewell, was collected and analysed by geologists at the University of Otago. They described it as a close relation to the ancestors of modern dolphins and toothed whales. Professor Ewan Fordyce […]
Archive for the ‘Featured Post’ Category
Posted in 
Tags: 
First Dinosaurs Identified from Saudi Arabia
January 20th, 2014 
Riffin Dinosaur fossils are exceptionally rare in the Arabian Peninsula. An international team of scientists from Uppsala University, Museum Victoria, Monash University, and the Saudi Geological Survey have now uncovered the first record of dinosaurs from Saudi Arabia. What is now dry desert was once a beach littered with the bones and teeth of ancient marine […]
Fossil Bird Eggshell Provides Source of Ancient DNA
January 19th, 2014 Riffin In a world first an international team of researchers, led by Dr Michael Bunce of Murdoch University, have successfully isolated ancient DNA from fossil eggshell remains of extinct birds. “We were really surprised to discover that ancient DNA is well-preserved in fossil eggshells, particularly the heaviest bird to have existed the elephant bird called Aepyornis, […]
Supervolcanic Ash Can Turn to Lava Miles from Eruption
January 17th, 2014 Riffin Supervolcanoes, such as the one sitting dormant under Yellowstone National Park, are capable of producing eruptions thousands of times more powerful than normal volcanic eruptions. While they only happen every several thousand years, these eruptions have the potential to kill millions of people and animals due to the massive amount of heat and ash they […]
How Could Dinosaurs Weigh Up to 80 Tons? New Research On Sauropod Gigantism
January 16th, 2014 Riffin Sauropods, the largest land animals in Earth’s history, are still mightily puzzling the scientists. These plant-eating dinosaurs with their long necks and small heads could reach a height of 10 meters or more and dominated all other land vertebrates in terms of size. They could weigh up to 80 tons, more than any other known […]
Supervolcano Triggers Recreated in X-Ray Laboratory
January 15th, 2014 Riffin Scientists have reproduced the conditions inside the magma chamber of a supervolcano to understand what it takes to trigger its explosion. These rare events represent the biggest natural catastrophes on Earth except for the impact of giant meteorites. Using synchrotron X-rays, the scientists established that supervolcano eruptions may occur spontaneously, driven only by magma pressure […]
Discovery of New Tiktaalik Roseae Fossils Reveals Key Link in Evolution of Hind Limbs
January 14th, 2014 Riffin The discovery of well-preserved pelves and a partial pelvic fin from Tiktaalik roseae, a 375 million-year-old transitional species between fish and the first legged animals, reveals that the evolution of hind legs actually began as enhanced hind fins. This challenges existing theory that large, mobile hind appendages were developed only after vertebrates transitioned to land. […]
Taking the ‘Pulse’ of Volcanoes Using Satellite Images
January 13th, 2014 Riffin A new study by scientists at the University of Miami (UM) Rosenstiel School of Marine & Atmospheric Science uses Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) data to investigate deformation prior to the eruption of active volcanoes in Indonesia’s west Sunda arc. Led by geophysicist Estelle Chaussard and UM Professor Falk Amelung, the study uncovered evidence that […]
Fossil Pigments Reveal the Colors of Ancient Sea Monsters
January 12th, 2014 Riffin During the Age of the dinosaurs, huge reptiles, such as mosasaurs and ichthyosaurs, ruled the seas. Previously, scientists could only guess what colours these spectacular animals had; however, pigment preserved in fossilised skin has now been analysed at SP Technical Research Institute of Sweden and MAX IV Laboratory, Lund University, Sweden. The unique soft tissue […]
Iconic Australasian Trees Found as Fossils in South America
January 11th, 2014 Riffin Today in Australia they call it Kauri, in Asia they call it Dammar, and in South America it does not exist at all unless planted there. But 52 million years ago the giant coniferous evergreen tree known to botanists as Agathis thrived in the Patagonian region of Argentina, according to an international team of paleobotanists, […]
