WFS

Formation of sedimentary layers of white clay, Tamilnadu, India

Fossil site for wood fossils, Tamilnadu, India

Fossil site in Kerala, India

Fossil wood park maintained by geological survey of India at Tamilnadu

Cretaceous fossil sites india

Fossils in rack:-Cyad

Fossils in rack:-echiniderms

Fossils in rack:-Rastellum sp

Pre-historic seabed, Cretaceous period

WFS NEWS : chemistry of Earth’s atmosphere 2.7 billion years ago

May 14th, 2016

Riffin

Using the oldest fossil micrometeorites — space dust — ever found, Monash University-led research has made a surprising discovery about the chemistry of Earth’s atmosphere 2.7 billion years ago.

The findings of a new study published today in the journal Nature — led by Dr Andrew Tomkins and a team from the School of Earth, Atmosphere and Environment at Monash, along with scientists from the Australian Synchrotron and Imperial College, London — challenge the accepted view that Earth’s ancient atmosphere was oxygen-poor. The findings indicate instead that the ancient Earth’s upper atmosphere contained about the same amount of oxygen as today, and that a methane haze layer separated this oxygen-rich upper layer from the oxygen-starved lower atmosphere.

This is one of 60 micrometeorites extracted from 2.7 billion year old limestone, from the Pilbara region in Western Australia. These micrometeorites consist of iron oxide minerals that formed when dust particles of meteoritic iron metal were oxidised as they entered Earth’s atmosphere, indicating that the ancient upper atmosphere was surprisingly oxygen-rich.Credit: Andrew Tomkins

“Using cutting-edge microscopes we found that most of the micrometeorites had once been particles of metallic iron — common in meteorites — that had been turned into iron oxide minerals in the upper atmosphere, indicating higher concentrations of oxygen than expected,” Dr Tomkins said.

“This was an exciting result because it is the first time anyone has found a way to sample the chemistry of the ancient Earth’s upper atmosphere,” Dr Tomkins said.

Imperial College researcher Dr Matthew Genge — an expert in modern cosmic dust — performed calculations that showed oxygen concentrations in the upper atmosphere would need to be close to modern day levels to explain the observations.

“This was a surprise because it has been firmly established that the Earth’s lower atmosphere was very poor in oxygen 2.7 billion years ago; how the upper atmosphere could contain so much oxygen before the appearance of photosynthetic organisms was a real puzzle,” Dr Genge said.

Dr Tomkins explained that the new results suggest the Earth at this time may have had a layered atmosphere with little vertical mixing, and higher levels of oxygen in the upper atmosphere produced by the breakdown of CO 2 by ultraviolet light.

“A possible explanation for this layered atmosphere might have involved a methane haze layer at middle levels of the atmosphere. The methane in such a layer would absorb UV light, releasing heat and creating a warm zone in the atmosphere that would inhibit vertical mixing,” Dr Tomkins said.

“It is incredible to think that by studying fossilised particles of space dust the width of a human hair, we can gain new insights into the chemical makeup of Earth’s upper atmosphere, billions of years ago.” Dr Tomkins said.

Dr Tomkins outlined next steps in the research.

“The next stage of our research will be to extract micrometeorites from a series of rocks covering over a billion years of Earth’s history in order to learn more about changes in atmospheric chemistry and structure across geological time. We will focus particularly on the great oxidation event, which happened 2.4 billion years ago when there was a sudden jump in oxygen concentration in the lower atmosphere.”

@WFS,World Fossil Society,Riffin T Sajeev,Russel T Sajeev

mosasaurs were warm-blooded?

May 11th, 2016

Riffin

Key: WFS,World Fossil Society,Riffin T Sajeev,Russel T Sajeev

Mosasaurs — an extinct group of aquatic reptiles that thrived during the Late Cretaceous period — possibly were “endotherms,” or warm-blooded creatures, a paper co-written by a UA professor suggests.

Dr. Alberto Perez-Huerta’s paper on endothermic mosasaurs — co-written with now-graduated doctoral student Dr. T. Lynn Harrell Jr. and Dr. Celina Suarez of the University of Arkansas — was published in a March issue ofPalaeontology, a journal published by the Palaeontological Association.

Fossilize teeth of a mosasaur (stock image). Mosasurs were large aquatic reptiles that went extinct at the end of the Cretaceous period, about 66 million years ago.Credit: © smuki / Fotolia

Mosasurs were large aquatic reptiles that went extinct at the end of the Cretaceous period, about 66 million years ago. The paper focuses on a debate in the paleontological community over how mosasaurs employed “thermaregulation,” or how they controlled their body heat — whether mosasaurs were endotherms (warm-blooded) or ectotherms, cold-blooded creatures taking their body temperature from the surrounding sea.

A paper published in 2010 suggested that mosasaurs were ectotherms, but Harrell and Perez-Huerta thought otherwise.

“There was a paper published in Science in 2010 reporting the thermoregulation in marine reptiles at the time of the dinosaurs focusing on the iconic extinct taxa: ichthyosaurs, plesiosaurs and mosasaurs,” said Perez-Huerta, a UA associate professor of geology. “This conclusion bothered me a bit because there was not a warm-blooded member organism used for comparison, and we know that size can matter in terms of thermoregulation.”

Body outlines and skeletons of mosasaur genera analysed in this study for scale (left) and representative dentaries for each genus (right). Figures redrawn and modified from Russell (1967) and Lindgren et al. (2010, 2011). Scale bars represent 3 m (left) and 10 cm (right).

The study by Harrell (lead author), Perez-Huerta and Suarez used an oxygen isotope analysis on mosasaurs fossils in the collection of UA’s Alabama Museum of Natural History and compared them to fossils of known cold-blooded animals, such as fish and turtles, from the same period, as well as the bones of such contemporary warm-blooded organisms represented by birds — “true” endotherms.

“Lynn came up with good ideas for two chapters of his dissertation, already published as well,” Perez-Huerta said. “We discussed looking for endothermy in mosasaurs given his knowledge on this group of extinct marine reptiles, the large collections of these fossil organisms in the Alabama Museum of Natural History and the scientific controversy related to the Science paper.”

The study states that mosasurs’ body-temperatures compared to the temperatures of modern, warm-blooded sea birds, suggesting that mosausurs were indeed warm-blooded. The study found that this tendency toward higher body temperature held despite the size of the particular mosasur genus or species — body size (gigantothermy) didn’t matter.

“The findings of the present study support that mosasaurs were able to maintain a higher internal temperature independent of the ambient seawater temperature and were likely endotherms, with values closer to contemporaneous fossil and modern birds and higher than fish and turtles,” the researchers said. “Although there are small differences of body temperature among mosasaur genera, these are independent of size, and thus inferred body mass, suggesting that mosasaurs were not gigantotherms.”

Perez-Huerta noted that the study was possible thanks to the Alabama Museum of Natural History’s extensive collection.

“This research study was the ‘perfect storm’ because Lynn is a very good vertebrate paleontologist, amazing collections at the natural-history museum — one of the best in North America for mosasaurs,” Perez-Huerta said. “There are great outcroppings containing mosasaur fossils in Alabama. This research could not have been possible with the great fossil collections housed at the history museum on the University’s campus, and the collaboration of their staff to facilitate our access.”

Citation:T. Lynn Harrell, Alberto Pérez-Huerta, Celina A. Suarez. Endothermic mosasaurs? Possible thermoregulation of Late Cretaceous mosasaurs (Reptilia, Squamata) indicated by stable oxygen isotopes in fossil bioapatite in comparison with coeval marine fish and pelagic seabirds. Palaeontology, 2016; 59 (3).Science daily.

Laser-Stimulated Fluorescence in Paleontology

May 7th, 2016

Riffin

Highlighting and identifying fossilized structures can be difficult whether it is bone, soft tissue such as skin, muscle and internal organs, or integument such as scales and feathers. Historically, multiple methods have been used to highlight structures for photography, including cross-lighting, polarized light , camera filters, and ultraviolet (UV) light . Cross-lighting can highlight structures that are difficult to see in direct light. Polarized light can help to enhance image contrast. UV light is capable of causing minerals (e.g. bone [hydroxyapatite]) to fluoresce, and can even highlight soft tissue to some extent . This paper describes a next-generation method of fluorescing minerals using specific wavelengths of light produced by a laser and corresponding imaging through the use of laser-blocking longpass camera filters . This method is herein named Laser-stimulated fluorescence (LSF).

Feather under reflected and matrix fluoresced illumination.
Green River Formation feather using identical images under different lighting conditions. A, Reflected light microscopy, only barbs are visible. B, Polarized light, some traces of barbules. C, Laser-stimulated fluorescence of matrix behind the carbon film backlights the feather and renders barbules visible across the entire field of view. Scale bar 0.5 mm.

For many decades UV light has been used at night to find and collect fluorescent mineral specimens, which are prized for their wide variation in color . The field of biology has made tremendous scientific advances through the use of laser-induced fluorescence mostly through the widespread use of confocal laser microscopes . In paleontology, UV light has seen increasing use in recent years where the resulting fluorescence can often reveal structures and patterns not seen under white light. The typical UV light source consists of commonly available standard fluorescent lamps with low wattage and a wavelength of 364 nanometers (nm) . Greater amounts of UV flux on the specimen will cause fluorescent minerals to become more conspicuous, allowing for easier photographic documentation, sometimes with the aid of UV filters (e.g. Hoya brand) . The limited variety of detectable fluorescence in fossils has been a primary limitation in the past using standard UV bulbs .

Feather structure comparison using white light, polarized and laser illumination.
A second Green River Formation feather specimen under: A, white light, B, polarized light, and C, laser illumination. Scale bar 0.2 mm.

The technique presented here utilizes laser illumination to stimulate fluorescence which offers an order of magnitude improvement in the signal-to-noise ratio over standard UV light. The irradiance of a 20 watt UV fluorescent lamp is about 510 milliwatts per square centimeter (mWcm-2) at a distance of 20 centimeters from the target , but the irradiance of a ½ watt laser is on the order of 4000–8000 mWcm-2 . This results in detectable fluorescence of many hard-to-fluoresce mineral types which typically remain dark under standard UV. This advantage can be leveraged when other factors are accounted for. For instance, matching the correct laser line with one of the specimen’s absorption bands provides more effective excitation of the fluorescence in a sample. Furthermore, using the right optical filter that matches one of the fluorescence bands of the specimen would improve contrast in the fluorescence image.

Automated fossil sorter.
Proof-of-concept prototype automated micro-fossil picker. The feeder bowl guides a stream of matrix under the laser while a video camera detects ‘blobs’ of a certain size and brightness. Fluorescing fossils are guided down a tube into a tray by a puff of compressed air

Each color of laser emits a different wavelength of light, which will excite fossils and matrix from different rock units in different ways, as the case histories that follow will indicate. Again, LSF techniques depend on the wavelength of light used, the filter used, and the inherent fluorescent properties of the rocks under study. The exact methodology used, therefore, is going to vary depending on these properties.

Fluorescent black light vs.blue laser. A direct comparison between a 15 watt fluorescent UV light illuminating all the fossils at a distance of 7cm, and a 447nm 500mw laser stimulating the specimens in the upper left corner. A, Specimens from the Lance Formation exhibit very low reactivity under fluorescent UVA bulbs. B, Specimens from the White River Formation typically fluoresce very well. This demonstrates that the intensity of laser stimulation can influence low reactivity specimens to fluorescence several orders of magnitude better than specimens known to fluoresce well under UV bulbs. Scale bar 1 cm

Laser-induced fluorescence imaging performed through confocal laser-scanning microscopy (CLSM) has been used in micropaleontology to study the morphology and cellular anatomy of fossils in situ, at micron-scale resolution, and even in three-dimensions . LSF is a simplified and more accessible version of CLSM that uses simpler laser beam scanning and data acquisition systems, and lacks a confocal hole. However, the LSF technique provides its own unique advantages in studying macroscopic paleontological specimens including the compactness and low cost of its setup, its fast data acquisition rate and its high sensitivity compared to UV-stimulated fluorescence. The purpose of this paper is to describe the laser-stimulated fluorescence (LSF) imaging technique and to formalize its use in paleontology in the hope that new and more efficient modes of discovery will be possible.

Citation:Kaye TG, Falk AR, Pittman M, Sereno PC, Martin LD, Burnham DA, et al. (2015) Laser-Stimulated Fluorescence in Paleontology. PLoS ONE 10(5): e0125923. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0125923

Key: WFS,World Fossil Society,Riffin T Sajeev,Russel T Sajeev

Sarmientosaurus : A New titanosaurian dinosaur

April 28th, 2016

Riffin

Scientists have discovered Sarmientosaurus musacchioi, a new species of titanosaurian dinosaur, based on an complete skull and partial neck fossil unearthed in Patagonia, Argentina, according to a study published April 26, 2016 in the open-access journal PLOS ONE by Rubén Martínez from the Laboratorio de Paleovertebrados of the Universidad Nacional de la Patagonia San Juan Bosco (UNPSJB), Argentina, and colleagues.

Titanosaurs, a type of sauropod, ranged in size from the weight of a cow to that of the largest sperm whale. These plant-eaters have long necks and tails and may have been the most common large herbivores in the Southern Hemisphere landmasses during the Cretaceous. Despite their abundance, the skulls of these animals, critical to deciphering certain aspects of their biology, are exceedingly rare. Of the 60-plus named titanosaurs, only four are represented by nearly complete or semi-complete skulls. Using computerized tomography (CT) imaging, the authors of this study closely examined well-preserved, anatomically ‘primitive’ skull and neck fossils from Sarmientosaurus.

Sarmientosaurus head posture, brain & eye (WitmerLab): Digital renderings of the skull and reconstructed brain endocast and eye of the new titanosaurian dinosaur species Sarmientosaurus musacchioi. At left is the skull rendered semi-transparent in left side view, showing the relative size and position of the brain endocast (in blue, pink, yellow, and red) and the inferred habitual head posture. At center is the isolated brain endocast in left side view, and at right is a left/front view of the skull showing the reconstructed eyeball and its associated musculature. Scale bar equals five centimeters. Credit: WitmerLab, Ohio University

The researchers found that the Sarmientosaurus brain was small relative to its enormous body, typical of sauropods. However, they also found evidence of greater sensory capabilities than most other sauropods. They suggest that Sarmientosaurus had large eyeballs and good vision, and that the inner ear may have been better tuned for hearing low-frequency airborne sounds compared to other titanosaurs. Moreover, the balance organ of the inner ear indicates that this dinosaur may have habitually held its head with the snout facing downward, possibly to feed primarily on low-growing plants. “Discoveries like Sarmientosaurus happen once in a lifetime,” says study leader Rubén Martínez. “That’s why we studied the fossils so thoroughly, to learn as much about this amazing animal as we could.”

Sarmientosaurus musacchioi is named for the town of Sarmiento in Chubut Province, which is close to the discovery site. The species name also honors the late Dr. Eduardo Musacchio, a paleontologist and professor at the UNPSJB and friend to Dr. Martínez and other team members.

Citation:PLOS. “Newly discovered titanosaurian dinosaur from Argentina, Sarmientosaurus: Approximately 95-million-year-old complete sauropod skull examined, possibly exceptional sensory capabilities.

Key: WFS,World Fossil Society,Riffin T Sajeev,Russel T Sajeev

How deep sea creatures survive asteroid strike that wiped out the dinosaurs : World Fossil Society News

April 24th, 2016

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WFS,World Fossil Society,Riffin T Sajeev,Russel T Sajeev,

A team led by experts at Cardiff University has provided new evidence to explain why deep sea creatures were able to survive the catastrophic asteroid strike that wiped out the dinosaurs 65m years ago.

Like the dinosaurs themselves, giant marine reptiles, invertebrates and microscopic organisms became extinct after the catastrophic asteroid impact in an immense upheaval of the world’s oceans, yet deep sea creatures managed to survive.

This has puzzled researchers as it is widely believed that the asteroid impact cut off the food supply in the oceans by destroying free-floating algae and bacteria.

However, in a study published in the April issue of the journal Geology, a team led by researchers from Cardiff University’s School of Earth and Ocean Sciences provides strong evidence suggesting that some forms of algae and bacteria were actually living in the aftermath of the asteroid disaster, and that they acted as a constant, sinking, slow trickle of food for creatures living near the seafloor.

The team were able to draw these conclusions by analysing new data from the chemical composition of the fossilised shells of sea surface and seafloor organisms from that period, taken from drilling cores from the ocean floor in the South Atlantic.

Artist’s impression of large asteroid closing in on Earth (stock image).Credit: © Mopic / FotoliaClose

This gave the researchers an idea of the flux, or movement, of organic matter from the sea surface to the seafloor in the aftermath of the asteroid strike, and led them to conclude that a slow trickle of food was constantly being delivered to the deep ocean.

Furthermore, the team were able to calculate that the food supply in the ocean was fully restored around 1.7m years after the asteroid strike, which is almost half the original estimates, showing that marine food chains bounced back quicker than originally thought.

Heather Birch, a Cardiff University PhD from the School of Earth and Ocean Sciences who led the study, said: “The global catastrophe that caused the extinction of the dinosaurs also devastated ocean ecosystems. Giant marine reptiles met their end as did various types of invertebrates such as the iconic ammonites.

“Our results show that despite a wave of massive and virtually instantaneous extinctions among the plankton, some types of photosynthesising organisms, such as algae and bacteria, were living in the aftermath of the asteroid strike.

“This provided a slow trickle of food for organisms living near the ocean floor which enabled them to survive the mass extinction, answering one of the outstanding questions that still remained regarding this period of history.

“Even so, it took almost two million years before the deep sea food supply was fully restored as new species evolved to occupy ecological niches vacated by extinct forms.”

Many scientists currently believe that the mass extinction of life on Earth around 65m years ago was caused by a 110km-wide asteroid that hit Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula. It is believed the debris from impact starved Earth of the Sun’s energy and, once settled, led to greenhouse gases locking in the Sun’s heat and causing temperatures to rise drastically.

This period of darkness followed by soaring heat, known as the Cretaceous-Paleogene boundary, was thought to obliterate almost half of the world’s species.

Scientists also claim that the impact of the asteroid would have filled Earth’s atmosphere with sulphur trioxide, subsequently creating a gas cloud that would have caused a mass amount of sulphuric acid rain to fall in just a few days, making the surface of the ocean too acidic for upper ocean creatures to live.

Cardiff University. “‘Trickle of food’ helped deep sea creatures survive asteroid strike that wiped out the dinosaurs.” ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 14 April 2016. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/04/160414081843.htm

Key: WFS,World Fossil Society,Riffin T Sajeev,Russel T Sajeev

13 Million Year Old Gavialoid Crocodylian Reveals Parallel Evolutionary Trend

April 22nd, 2016

Riffin

Citation: Salas-Gismondi R, Flynn JJ, Baby P, Tejada-Lara JV, Claude J, Antoine P-O (2016) A New 13 Million Year Old Gavialoid Crocodylian from Proto-Amazonian Mega-Wetlands Reveals Parallel Evolutionary Trends in Skull Shape Linked to Longirostry. PLoS ONE 11(4): e0152453. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0152453

Editor: Laurent Viriot, Team ‘Evolution of Vertebrate Dentition’, FRANCE

ABSTRACT: Gavialoid crocodylians are the archetypal longirostrine archosaurs and, as such, understanding their patterns of evolution is fundamental to recognizing cranial rearrangements and reconstructing adaptive pathways associated with elongation of the rostrum (longirostry). The living Indian gharial Gavialis gangeticus is the sole survivor of the group, thus providing unique evidence on the distinctive biology of its fossil kin. Yet phylogenetic relationships and evolutionary ecology spanning ~70 million-years of longirostrine crocodylian diversification remain unclear. Analysis of cranial anatomy of a new proto-Amazonian gavialoid, Gryposuchus pachakamue sp. nov., from the Miocene lakes and swamps of the Pebas Mega-Wetland System reveals that acquisition of both widely separated and protruding eyes (telescoped orbits) and riverine ecology within South American and Indian gavialoids is the result of parallel evolution. Phylogenetic and morphometric analyses show that, in association with longirostry, circumorbital bone configuration can evolve rapidly for coping with trends in environmental conditions and may reflect shifts in feeding strategy. Our results support a long-term radiation of the South American forms, with taxa occupying either extreme of the gavialoid morphospace showing preferences for coastal marine versus fluvial environments. The early biogeographic history of South American gavialoids was strongly linked to the northward drainage system connecting proto-Amazonian wetlands to the Caribbean region.

Information through WFS,World Fossil Society,Riffin T Sajeev,Russel T Sajeev

Gryposuchus pachakamue sp. nov.
Photograph and schematic drawing of the skull (holotype, MUSM 1981) in dorsal (A), ventral (B), and lateral (C) view. (D) Photograph of the right mandible (MUSM 987) and schematic drawing in dorsal view. Details of the skull (E,F). (E) MUSM 900 in lateral view. (F) MUSM 1681 in occipital view. Abbreviations: an, angular; ar, articular; bo, basioccipital; d, dentary; d4, d22, dentary tooth positions; ec, ectopterygoid; ec.j, jugal surface for ectopterygoid; ec.mx, maxilla surface for ectopterygoid; EN, external nares; eo, exoccipital; f, frontal; fo, foramen; IF, incisive foramen; j, jugal; j.mx, maxilla surface for the jugal; l, lacrimal; ls, laterosphenoid; m22, maxillary tooth position 22; mcq, medial condyle of the quadrate; mx, maxilla; mx.j, jugal surface for maxilla; n.mx, maxilla surface for nasal; n, nasal; OR, orbit; p, parietal; pa, palatine; pf, prefrontal; pm, premaxilla; p2, premaxillary tooth position 2; po, postorbital; ppo, paraoccipital process; pt, pterygoid; ptb, pterygoid bullae; q, quadrate; qj, quadratojugal; qj.q, quadrate surface for quadratojugal;; rac, retroarticular crest; sp, splenial; sa, surangular; so, supraoccipital; sq, squamosal; SOF, suborbital fenestra; STF, supratemporal fenestra. Scale bars, 5 cm.

Cranial and mandibular specimens referred to Gryposuchus pachakamue sp. nov.
(A-C,E-O) Gryposuchus pachakamue from the Middle Miocene of the Pebas Formation, Peru and (D) Gryposuchus cf. pachakamue from the Late Miocene of Urumaco, Venezuela. (A,E) Skull in dorsal (A) and lateral (E) view (MUSM 1681); (B,F) Skull in dorsal (B) and lateral (F) view (MUSM 2032); (C,G,H) Skull in dorsal (C), lateral (G), and occipital (H) view, juvenile (MUSM 1988); (D) Skull in dorsal view (AMU CURS 12). (I,J) Snout in dorsal (I) and (J) ventral view (MUSM 1681). (K,L) Snout in dorsal (K) and ventral (L) view, juvenile (MUSM 1727). (M) Symphyseal mandible in dorsal view (MUSM 2407). (N) Symphyseal mandible in dorsal view, juvenile (MUSM 1439). (O) Symphyseal mandible in dorsal view, juvenile (MUSM 1682). Abbreviations: cqg, cranio-quadrate groove; d, dentary; d4, d11, d18, dentary tooth positions; ec, ectopterygoid; EN, external nares; eo, exoccipital; f, frontal; fcp, foramen carotideum posterior; IF, incisive foramen; ITF, infratemporal fenestra; j, jugal; l, lacrimal; m1, maxillary tooth position 1; mx, maxilla; n, nasal; OP, occlusal pits; OR, orbit; p, parietal; p1, p2, p4, premaxillary tooth positions; pm, premaxilla; po, postorbital; pr, prefrontal; pt, pterygoid; PTF, post-temporal fenestra; q, quadrate; qj, quadratojugal; so, supraoccipital; sp, splenial; sq, squamosal; STF, supratemporal fenestra; v, foramen vagus. Scale bars, 5 cm.

World Fossil Society : Earth Day

April 22nd, 2016

Riffin

WFS, World Fossil Society Celebrates Earth Day ………

Earth Day is being commemorated on the 22 April. Held around the world, it’s intended as a moment to reflect on and help preserve the health of the planet – but here are five things that you might not have known about the annual event. World Fossil Society celebrating it along with Riffin T Sajeev and Russel T Sajeev, the youngest paleontologists .

My Earth…. Riffin T Sajeev & Russel T Sajeev

WFS News: Dinosaurs ‘already in decline’ before asteroid apocalypse

April 19th, 2016

Riffin

Dinosaurs were already in an evolutionary decline tens of millions of years before the meteorite impact that finally finished them off, new research has found.

The findings provide a revolution in the understanding of dinosaur evolution. Palaeontologists previously thought that dinosaurs were flourishing right up until they were wiped out by a massive meteorite impact 66 million years ago. By using a sophisticated statistical analysis in conjunction with information from the fossil record, researchers at the Universities of Reading, UK and Bristol, UK showed that dinosaur species were going extinct at a faster pace than new ones were emerging from 50 million years before the meteorite hit.

The analyses demonstrate that while the decline in species numbers over time was effectively ubiquitous among all dinosaur groups, their patterns of species loss were different. For instance, the long-necked giant sauropod dinosaurs were in the fastest decline, whereas theropods, the group of dinosaurs that include the iconic Tyrannosaurus rex, were in a more gradual decline.

Dr Manabu Sakamoto, University of Reading, the palaeontologist who led the research, said: “We were not expecting this result. While the asteroid impact is still the prime candidate for the dinosaurs’ final disappearance, it is clear that they were already past their prime in an evolutionary sense.”

‘Losing their edge’

“Our work is ground-breaking in that, once again, it will change our understanding of the fate of these mighty creatures. While a sudden apocalypse may have been the final nail in the coffin, something else had already been preventing dinosaurs from evolving new species as fast as old species were dying out.

“This suggests that for tens of millions of years before their ultimate demise, dinosaurs were beginning to lose their edge as the dominant species on Earth.”

Professor Mike Benton of the University of Bristol, one of the co-authors of the research, said: “All the evidence shows that the dinosaurs, which had already been around, dominating terrestrial ecosystems for 150 million years, somehow lost the ability to speciate fast enough. This was likely to have contributed to their inability to recover from the environmental crisis caused by the impact.”

New research suggests that other factors, such as the break-up of continental land masses, sustained volcanic activity and other ecological factors, may possibly have influenced the gradual decline of dinosaurs. The long-necked giant sauropod dinosaurs were in the fastest decline, whereas theropods, the group of dinosaurs that include the iconic Tyrannosaurus rex, were in a more gradual decline before the asteroid hit.
Credit: © satori / Fotolia

It is thought that a giant asteroid’s impact with Earth 66 million years ago threw up millions of tonnes of dust, blacking out the sun, causing short-term global cooling and widespread loss of vegetation. This ecological disaster meant that large animals reliant on the abundance of plants died out, along with the predators that fed on them.

The new research suggests that other factors, such as the break-up of continental land masses, sustained volcanic activity and other ecological factors, may possibly have influenced the gradual decline of dinosaurs.

‘Room for mammals’

This observed decline in dinosaurs would have had implications for other groups of species. Dr Chris Venditti, an evolutionary biologist from the University of Reading and co-author of paper said: “The decline of the dinosaurs would have left plenty of room for mammals, the group of species which humans are a member of, to flourish before the impact, priming them to replace dinosaurs as the dominant animals on earth.”

Dr Sakamoto points out that the study might provide insight into future biodiversity loss. He said: “Our study strongly indicates that if a group of animals is experiencing a fast pace of extinction more so than they can replace, then they are prone to annihilation once a major catastrophe occurs. This has huge implications for our current and future biodiversity, given the unprecedented speed at which species are going extinct owing to the ongoing human-caused climate change.”

Citation:Sakamoto, M., Benton, M.J., and Venditti, C. Dinosaurs in decline tens of millions of years before their final extinction. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2016 And University of Bristol. “Dinosaurs ‘already in decline’ before asteroid apocalypse.” ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 18 April 2016. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/04/160418160957.htm>

KeY; WFS,Riffin T Sajeev,Russel T Sajeev,World Fossil Society

Tullimonstrum gregarium was a vertebrate

April 15th, 2016

Riffin

A 300-million-year-old fossil mystery has been solved by a research team led by the University of Leicester, which has identified that the ancient ‘Tully Monster’ was a vertebrate — due to the unique characteristics of its eyes.

Tullimonstrum gregarium or as it is more commonly known the ‘Tully Monster’, found only in coal quarries in Illinois, Northern America, is known to many Americans because its alien-like image can be seen on the sides of large U-haul™ trailers which ply the freeways.

Despite being an iconic image — a fossil with a striped body, large tail, a pair of stalks terminating in dark, oval-shaped ‘blobs’ and a large elephant trunk-like proboscis at the head end which has a pincer-like claw filled with teeth — it is a complete mystery as to what kind of extinct animal it was.

This is an image of the ‘Tully Monster’ fossil and ‘meatball’ and ‘sausage’ melanosomes.Credit: University of Leicester

Professor Sarah Gabbott from the University of Leicester’s Department of Geology said: “Since its discovery over 60 years ago scientists have suggested it is a whole parade of completely different creatures ranging from molluscs to worms — but there was no conclusive evidence and so speculation continued.”

Thomas Clements, a PhD student from the University of Leicester and lead author on the paper, explained: “When a fossil has anatomy this bizarre it’s difficult to know where to start, so we decided to look at the most striking feature — the stalked structures with dark blobs.”

This proved to be the vital clue the team needed to solve the mystery.

In a new study published in Nature, the University of Leicester palaeontologists, along with colleagues at the University of Bristol and the University of Texas in Austin, discovered that the dark ‘blobs’ were actually made up of hundreds of thousands of microscopic dark granules, each 50 times smaller than the width of a human hair.

The shape and chemical composition of these granules is identical to organelles found in cells called melanosomes; these being responsible for creating and storing the pigment melanin.

Dr Jakob Vinther (University of Bristol) said: “We used a new technique called Time of Flight Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry (ToF-SIMS) to identify the chemical signature of the fossil granules and compared it to known modern melanin from crows and this proved that we had discovered the oldest fossil pigment currently known.”

Thomas added: “Nearly all animals can produce the pigment melanin. It’s what gives humans the range of skin and hair colours we see today. Melanin is also found in the eyes of many animal groups where it stops light from bouncing around inside the eyeball and allows the formation of a clear visual image.”

Identifying fossil melanosomes containing melanin and a lens is the first time it has been conclusively proved that Tullimonstrum had eyes on stalks.

When the team looked closer at the melanosomes they made another exciting discovery.

Professor Gabbott said: “There were two distinct shapes of melanosomes in Tullimonstrum’s eyes: some look like microscopic ‘sausages’ and others like microscopic ‘meatballs’. This evidence was crucial because only vertebrates have two different shapes of melanosome, meaning that unlike previous researchers that thought that Tullimonstrum was an invertebrate (animal without a backbone), this is the first unequivocal evidence that Tullimonstrum is a member of the same group of animals as us, the vertebrates.”

Thomas added: “This is an exciting study because not have we discovered the oldest fossil pigment, but the structures seen in Tullimonstrum’s eyes suggest it had good vision. The large tail and teeth suggest that the Tully Monster is in fact a type of very weird fish.”

Citation:University of Leicester. “Prehistoric peepers give vital clue in solving 300-million-year-old ‘Tully Monster’: Ancient ‘Tully Monster’ was a vertebrate.” ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 13 April 2016. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/04/160413135659.htm

Key: WFS,World Fossil Society,Riffin T Sajeev,Russel T Sajeev

Elasmotherium sibiricum: A Siberian Unicorn

April 11th, 2016

Riffin

With a new discovery, paleontologists have found evidence that a Siberian “unicorn” likely walked the earth at the same time as humans.

Lest visions of graceful white horses with golden, spiraled horns prance through your mind, let’s first establish that this beast is anything but. Much closer to today’s rhinoceroses than horses, Elasmotherium sibiricum was a gray, hulking creature with a single defining feature: a massive horn rising from its head. It was thought that these creatures died out roughly 350,000 years ago, but new evidence indicates that these horny beasts were around much longer than that — existing as recently as 29,000 B.C.

First discovered in the 19th century by Russian paleontologists, the animal, whose name means “thin plate beast,” roamed the Eurasian steppes starting sometime around 2.5 million years ago. It was an herbivore and could weigh up to five tons and grow up to twenty feet long. The impressive horn, which could likely grow up to five feet long, was used for self-defense and digging for food, among other things.

Researchers from Tomsk State University found a well-preserved skull belonging to a Siberian unicorn near the village of Kozhamzhar in modern-day Kazakhstan. They published their findings in the American Journal of Applied Sciences. The horn from this particular specimen, unfortunately, was not recovered.

Researchers think that the individual was part of a group of sibiricum that managed to survive far into the Pleistocene by inhabiting a refugium, or an area protected from environmental disruptions, where it was able to outlive the rest of its species. While the new age range overlaps with dates of human habitation in the area, it is unknown if our ancestors interacted with them.

The researchers who first discovered it are said to have based its name on legends of a giant unicorn roaming the area in ancient times.

Whether that unicorn was large and gray and looked like a rhinoceros, we’ll perhaps never know.

Courtesy: article by Nthaniel Scharping

Key: WFS,World Fossil Society,Riffin T Sajeev,Russel T Sajeev