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Brazilian researchers used biogeographic analysis to study Trilobites, arthropods that became extinct over 252 million years ago.

The first appearance of trilobites in the fossil record dates to 521 million years ago in the oceans of the Cambrian Period, when the continents were still inhospitable to most life forms. Few groups of animals adapted as successfully as trilobites, which were arthropods that lived on the seabed for 270 million years until the mass extinction at the end of the Permian approximately 252 million years ago.

The longer ago organisms lived, the more rare are their fossils and the harder it is to understand their way of life; paleontologists face a daunting task in endeavoring to establish evolutionary relationships in time and space.

Surmounting the difficulties inherent in the investigation of a group of animals that lived such a long time ago, Brazilian scientists affiliated with the Biology Department of São Paulo State University's Bauru School of Sciences (FC-UNESP) and the Paleontology Laboratory of the University of São Paulo's Ribeirão Preto School of Philosophy, Science and Letters (FFCLRP-USP) have succeeded for the first time in inferring paleobiogeographic patterns among trilobites.

Paleobiogeography is a branch of paleontology that focuses on the distribution of extinct plants and animals and their relations with ancient geographic features. The study was conducted by Fábio Augusto Carbonaro, a postdoctoral researcher at UNESP's Bauru Macroinvertebrate Paleontology Laboratory (LAPALMA) headed by Professor Renato Pirani Ghilardi. Other participants included Max Cardoso Langer, a professor at FFCLRP-USP, and Silvio Shigueo Nihei, a professor at the same university's Bioscience Institute (IB-USP).

The researchers analyzed the morphological differences and similarities of the 11 species of trilobites described so far in the genus Metacryphaeus; these trilobites lived during the Devonian between 416 million and 359 million years ago (mya) in the cold waters of the sea that covered what is now Bolivia, Peru, Brazil, the Malvinas (Falklands) and South Africa.

The Devonian Period is subdivided into seven stages. Metacryphaeus lived during the Lochkovian (419.2-410.8 mya) and Pragian (410.8- 407.6 mya) stages, which are the earliest Devonian stages.

The results of the research were published in Scientific Reports and are part of the project "Paleobiogeography and migratory routes of paleoinvertebrates of the Devonian in Brazil", which is supported by São Paulo Research Foundation -FAPESP and Brazil's National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq). Ghilardi is the project's principal investigator.

"When they became extinct in the Permian, 252 million years ago, the trilobites left no descendants. Their closest living relatives are shrimps, and, more remotely, spiders, scorpions, sea spiders and mites," Ghilardi said.

Trilobite fossils are found abundantly all over the world, he explained - so abundantly that they are sometimes referred to as the cockroaches of the sea. The comparison is not unwarranted because anatomically, the trilobites resemble cockroaches. The difference is that they were not insects and had three longitudinal body segments or lobes (hence the name).

In the northern hemisphere, the trilobite fossil record is very rich. Paleontologists have so far described ten orders comprising over 17,000 species. The smallest were 1.5 millimeters long, while the largest were approximately 70 cm long and 40 cm wide. Perfectly preserved trilobites can be found in some regions, such as Morocco. These can be beautiful when used to create cameos or intaglio jewelry. Trilobite fossils from Brazil, Peru and Bolivia, in contrast, are often poorly preserved, consisting merely of the impressions left in benthic mud by their exoskeletons.

"Although their state of preservation is far from ideal, there are thousands of trilobite fossils in the sediments that form the Paraná basin in the South region of Brazil, and the Parnaíba basin along the North-Northeast divide," said Ghilardi, who also chairs the Brazilian Paleontology Society.

According to Ghilardi, their poor state of preservation could be due to the geological conditions and climate prevailing in these regions during the Paleozoic Era, when the portions of dry land that would one day form South America were at the South Pole and entirely covered by ice for prolonged periods.

During the Devonian, South America and Africa were connected as part of the supercontinent Gondwana. South Africa was joined with Uruguay and Argentina in the River Plate region, and Brazil's southern states were continuous with Namibia and Angola.

Parsimonious analysis

The research began with an analysis of 48 characteristics (size, shape and structure of organs and anatomical parts) found in some 50 fossil specimens of the 11 species of Metacryphaeus.

"In principle, these characteristics serve to establish their phylogeny - the evolutionary history of all species in the universe, analyzed in terms of lines of descent and relationships among broader groups," Ghilardi said.

Known as a parsimonious analysis, this method is widely used to establish relationships among organisms in a given ecosystem, and in recent years, it has also begun to be used in the study of fossils.

According to Ghilardi, parsimony, in general, is the principle that the simplest explanation of the data is the preferred explanation. In the analysis of phylogeny, it means that the hypothesis regarding relationships that requires the smallest number of characteristic changes between the species analyzed (in this case, trilobites of the genus Metacryphaeus) is the one that is most likely to be correct.

The biogeographic contribution to the study was made by Professor Nihei, who works at IB-USP as a taxonomist and insect systematist. The field of systematics is concerned with evolutionary changes between ancestries, while taxonomy focuses on classifying and naming organisms.

"Biogeographic analysis typically involves living groups the ages of which are estimated by molecular phylogeny, or the so-called molecular clock, which estimates when two species probably diverged on the basis of the number of molecular differences in their DNA. In this study of trilobites, we used age in a similar manner, but it was obtained from the fossil record," Nihei said.

"The main point of the study was to use fossils in a method that normally involves molecular biogeography. Very few studies of this type have previously involved fossils. I believe our study paves the way for a new approach based on biogeographic methods requiring a chronogram [a molecularly dated cladogram] because this chronogram can also be obtained from fossil taxa such as those studied by paleontologists, rather than molecular cladograms for living animals."

As a vertebrate paleontologist who specializes in dinosaurs, Langer acknowledged that he knows little about trilobites but a great deal about the modern computational techniques used in parsimonious analysis, on which his participation in the study was based. "I believe the key aspect of this study, and the reason it was accepted for publication in as important a journal as Scientific Reports, is that it's the first ever use of parsimony to understand the phylogeny of a trilobite genus in the southern hemisphere," he said.

Gondwanan dispersal

The results of the paleobiogeographical analyses reinforce the pre-existing theory that Bolivia and Peru formed the ancestral home of Metacryphaeus.

"The models estimate a 100% probability that Bolivia and Peru formed the ancestral area of the Metacryphaeus clade and most of its internal clades," Ghilardi said. Confirmation of the theory shows that parsimonious models have the power to suggest the presence of clades at a specific moment in the past even when there are no known physical records of that presence.

In the case of Metacryphaeus, the oldest records in Bolivia and Peru date from the early Pragian stage (410.8-407.6 mya), but the genus is believed to have evolved in the region during the Lochkovian stage (419.2-410.8 mya).

Parsimony, therefore, suggests Metacryphaeus originated in Bolivia and Peru some time before 410.8 mya but not earlier than 419.2 mya. In any event, it is believed to be far older than any known fossils.

According to Ghilardi, the results can be interpreted as showing that the adaptive radiation of Metacryphaeus to other areas of western Gondwana occurred during episodes of marine transgression in the Lochkovian-Pragian, when the sea flooded parts of Gondwana.

"The dispersal of Metacryphaeus trilobites during the Lochkovian occurred from Bolivia and Peru to Brazil - to the Paraná basin, now in the South region, and the Parnaíba basin, on the North-Northeast divide - and on toward the Malvinas/Falklands, while the Pragian dispersal occurred toward South Africa," he said.

Fossil trilobites have been found continuously in the Paraná basin in recent decades. Trilobites collected in the late nineteenth century in the Parnaíba basin were held by Brazil's National Museum in Rio de Janeiro, which was destroyed by fire in September 2018.

"These fossils haven't yet been found under the rubble and it's likely that nothing is left of them. They were mere shell impressions left in the ancient seabed. Even in petrified form, they must have dissolved in the blaze," Ghilardi said.

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About São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP)

The São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP) is a public institution with the mission of supporting scientific research in all fields of knowledge by awarding scholarships, fellowships and grants to investigators linked with higher education and research institutions in the State of São Paulo, Brazil. FAPESP is aware that the very best research can only be done by working with the best researchers internationally. Therefore, it has established partnerships with funding agencies, higher education, private companies, and research organizations in other countries known for the quality of their research and has been encouraging scientists funded by its grants to further develop their international collaboration. For more information: http://www.fapesp.br/en.

Source: www.eurekalert.org

The latest work, of Darrin Pagnac, Ph.D., “Dinosaurs: A Catalyst for Critical Thought,” shows that passion for dinosaurs, when properly directed, can trigger interest in science and be used to develop critical thinking skills.

Since the mid-1800s dinosaurs have been a source of fascination and inspiration — from children’s coloring books to Hollywood blockbusters, these extinct animals hold a unique place in the American psyche. The immense popularity of dinosaurs also makes them an excellent conduit for teaching the critical thinking skills needed in basic science and engineering literacy.

Darrin Pagnac, Ph.D., is a South Dakota School of Mines & Technology associate professor of geology specializing in paleontology. His latest work, “Dinosaurs: A Catalyst for Critical Thought,” published by Cambridge University Press, shows that passion for dinosaurs, when properly directed, can trigger interest in science and be used to develop critical thinking skills.

Each spring Pagnac teaches a course called “Dinosaurs,” which attracts a wide range of students from various fields of study. “We have a number of students who get fired up emotionally about dinosaurs,” he says. In this class, Pagnac helps students confront preconceived notions that he calls “Jurassic Park Syndrome.” This is where student’s views of paleontology and sciences are shaped by misconceptions and inaccuracies in pop-culture. Pagnac helps students challenge their own beliefs about dinosaurs and in the process he helps them build critical thinking skills useful in consumption of media across the board.

Pagnac points out that the actual stories behind scientific discovery are often every bit as inspiring as the misconceptions reinforced by pop-culture and science-fiction. “We now know what color some dinosaurs were,” he says. “I never in my lifetime thought we could have discovered this,” says Pagnac. “The way we came about this knowledge, through the rigorous science of exploring and identifying microstructures in dinosaur feathers to discern color, is amazing. It’s better than anything Jurassic Park could present.”

Pagnac encourages other science and engineering teachers to employ critical thinking skills to deconstruct preconceived notions that are reinforced by pop-culture in their own fields.

He says critical thinking skills make students better citizens, writing, “A citizen possessing acute critical thinking skills is best equipped to appreciate the value of science to society, can recognize false or manipulative claims, and will attune their information assessment ability not just to an interest in dinosaurs but also to the important societal issues we all face.”

Source: www.prweb.com

A second grader dreamt up Google's latest playful take on its logo.

The design published Tuesday featuring a variety of dinosaurs forming the Google logo was part of the company's annual Doodle 4 Google contest, where students enter their own creations.

The winning logo for 2018 is by Sarah Gomez-Lane, a second-grade student from Falls Church, Va. She responded to this year's theme, "what inspires me," by creating the dino-friendly logo to share her hopes of becoming a paleontologist.

For the first time, the winner of the contest collaborated with Google designers to create an animated version of the logo. For example, the T-rex at the beginning will play a trumpet, while another dinosaur gobbles up an ice cream cone in one bite.

Gomez-Lane will receive $30,000 toward a college scholarship, Google said, and her school will get $50,000 to spend on technology.

Any student from kindergarten through 12th grade can enter the contest. Google is accepting submissions for the 2019 contest through March 18.

Source: www.usatoday.com

In 1983, fossil hunter William Walker uncovered a giant claw in a brick pit in Surrey. A team of palaeontologists from the Museum began to investigate the site and had soon dug up one of the most complete meat-eating dinosaurs ever found in the UK.

But the creature they had found was in many ways very different to previously known theropods.

Spinosaurus was named by the palaeontologist Ernst Stromer in 1915 and was the world's first-named spinosaur, a dinosaur in the family Spinosauridae. Today it is widely known thanks in part to a starring role in Jurassic Park III.

For a long time, relatively little was known about the ancient creature. The initial Spinosaurus fossils were destroyed by bombing during the Second World War, leaving palaeontologists with few fossil fragments to study.

But with the discovery of Baryonyx in 1983, palaeontologists were suddenly in possession of vital clues to how this family of giant reptiles might have lived.

How was Baryonyx discovered?

Baryonyx was first discovered by fossil collector William J Walker in January 1983 as he explored a clay pit near Ockley, Surrey.

Dr Susie Maidment, a dinosaur researcher at the Museum, says, 'He found a little bit of the claw sticking out of the rock. So he dug it out and brought it to the Museum.'

William J Walker was the first to find evidence of the spinosaur Baryonyx. He discovered a giant fossilised claw in a brick pit in Surrey.

The fossilised claw was enormous, its outer curved side measuring 31 centimetres. A team from the Museum travelled to Surrey to investigate further. Between May and June 1983, palaeontologists excavated a reasonably complete animal that they determined to be a new species of dinosaur.

They named the new dinosaur Baryonyx walkeri - 'Baryonyx' meaning 'heavy claw' and 'walkeri' in tribute to its finder.

The fossilised claw bone discovered in Surrey was approximately 31 centimetres along its outer curved edge. In life, the claw would have been covered in a layer of keratin, making it even larger.

In what way was Baryonyx unique?

From the initial investigation of the skeleton it was determined that although Baryonyx was clearly a meat-eating theropod, in a number of ways it didn't resemble any that had been discovered before, such as Tyrannosaurus or Megalosaurus.

'When they started working on Baryonyx they noticed that the nostrils were set very far back. Also, if you turn the snout over and look inside the mouth, you can see that it's got a sort of rosette shape. That is really characteristic of animals that eat fish,' explains Susie.

'It also had teeth that were quite crocodilian. They are quite rounded in cross section rather than flat like we see in lots of other meat-eating dinosaurs.'

A rosette-shaped snout, seen here in the Baryonyx collected in 1983, is a feature seen in modern crocodiles and some ancient marine-dwelling reptiles. It suggests that Baryonyx and other spinosaurs may have had a fish-based diet.

Although controversial, some research has suggested that Spinosaurus, which was a relation of Baryonyx, may have been a predominantly aquatic dinosaur. But scientists currently think that Baryonyx spent most of its time on land.

'The interpretation of this enormous claw on the hand is that they used it a bit like a bear. They think Baryonyx might have stood on the banks of rivers and hooked fish out using it,' says Susie.

'Baryonyx may have swum about a bit, especially with those set back nostrils, but I don't think it lived its life in the water - it mostly would have splashed about on the banks.'

But although it was adapted to hunt fish, it appears that the Surrey Baryonyx had a more varied last meal.

Susie explains, 'They found what they thought could be its stomach contents in its abdominal region. There were fish scales and also Iguanodon bones, so these dinosaurs probably weren't only eating fish but would have eaten whatever was going.'

What was the UK like when Baryonyx lived?

Baryonyx was found in the Wealden Group, in rocks which are around 125 million years old. This dinosaur's adaptations to life on the water's edge were likely well suited to its waterlogged habitat in southeast England.

Baryonyx's nostrils were set quite far back on its snout, compared to other meat-eating dinosaurs like Tyrannosaurus. This was one of the first features palaeontologists noticed when they began working on the dinosaur.

When this dinosaur lived, the south of England down to the northern coast of France was mostly a large expanse of swampy lagoons and meandering rivers.

'There were other dinosaurs in the area at the time, like Iguanodon, Mantellisaurus and ankylosaurs like Polacanthus. There were also some big sauropods around and crocodiles,' explains Susie. 

'Grasses hadn't evolved yet, so plants would have been things like horsetails, club mosses and ferns. Baryonyx was living in an environment that would have been quite swampy.'

Mantellisaurus was one of the dinosaurs that lived in the same area as Baryonyx. You can see this skeleton of Mantellisaurus in Hintze Hall at the Museum.

What is related to Baryonyx?

The Baryonyx skeleton found in Surrey in 1983 is the most complete example of its species.

Susie says, 'It's known from pretty much a complete skull, including its snout and its brain case, and from lots of the postcrania as well. But when they found it they really didn't know much about these types of dinosaurs at all.'

Some of the fossils of the Baryonyx skeleton collected near Ockley in Surrey in 1983 from the Museum collection.

Baryonyx is a spinosaur. The first spinosaur to be found was Spinosaurus, which was discovered in Egypt in 1912 and named in 1915. Spinosaurus is believed to have been one of the largest meat-eaters ever to have lived. But this important type specimen was destroyed by bombing in Munich in 1944.

However, the discovery of Baryonyx almost 50 years later gave new insights into spinosaurs. Today, many reconstructions of Spinosaurus are partly based on what has been learnt from its cousin Baryonyx.

So far, Baryonyx fossil discoveries have been made in the UK and Spain, although related spinosaurs have been found around the world. Spinosaurus specimens have been discovered in Morocco and Egypt, Suchomimus in Niger and Irritator in Brazil.

Spinosaurus is considered to be the world's first spinosaur, however spinosaurids had been found prior to this. Two teeth discovered in England in 1820 were originally thought to be crocodilian, but they were reassigned to the spinosaur Suchosaurus in 1998.

Susie says, 'We haven't really got any other dinosaurs that have a large amount of their diet made up of fish. We don't really see that similar long snout and set back nostrils in other theropods - that's just one of the things that makes dinosaurs like Bayronyx and Spinosaurus exciting and different.'

Source: www.nhm.ac.uk

When the dinosaur-killing asteroid collided with Earth more than 65 million years ago, it did not go gently into that good night. Rather, it blasted a nearly mile-high tsunami through the Gulf of Mexico that caused chaos throughout the world's oceans, new research finds.

The 9-mile-across (14 kilometers) space rock, known as the Chicxulub asteroid, caused so much destruction, it's no wonder the asteroid ended the dinosaur age, leading to the so-called Cretaceous-Paleogene (K-Pg) extinction.

"The Chicxulub asteroid resulted in a huge global tsunami, the likes of which have not been seen in modern history," said lead researcher Molly Range, who did the research while getting her master's degree in the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences at the University of Michigan.

Range and her colleagues presented the research, which has yet to be published in a peer-reviewed journal, at the American Geophysical Union's annual meeting on Dec. 14 in Washington, D.C. And the research, first reported by EOS, is novel. "As far as we know, we are the first to globally model the tsunami from impact to the end of wave propagation," Range told Live Science.

The idea for the project got started when Range's two advisors — Ted Moore and Brian Arbic, both in the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences at the University of Michigan — realized there was a glaring gap in the Chicxulub research field. Mainly, no one had published a global simulation of the tsunami the asteroid created.

"It wasn’t until starting this project that I realized the actual scale of this tsunami, and it’s been a fun research story to share," Range said.

Getting to work

The researchers knew that the asteroid hit shallow water in the Gulf of Mexico. But to correctly model its huge impact, they needed a model that could compute "the large scale deformation of the [Earth’s] crust that formed the crater, as well as the chaotic waves from the initial blast of water away from the impact site, and waves from ejecta falling back into the water," Range said. So, the group turned to Brandon Johnson, an assistant professor who studies impact cratering at Brown University in Rhode Island.

Johnson ran a model detailing what happened in the 10 minutes following the impact, when the crater was nearly a mile deep (1.5 kilometers) and the blast was so powerful, there wasn't any water in the crater yet. "At this point, some water was moving back toward the crater," Range said. According to the model, "this water will then rush into the crater and then back out, forming the 'collapse wave.'"

In a second model, the team studied how the tsunami propagated through oceans around the world. They did this by taking the results from the first model (particularly the crater shape) and the impact's waves with respect to resting sea level and water speeds, Range said. They then used data sets on the ancient terrain of the ocean, and used that to determine how the tsunami would have played out.

The results show the effects of the tsunami were felt all around the world.

"We found that this tsunami moved throughout the entire ocean, in every ocean basin," Range said. In the Gulf of Mexico, water moved as fast as 89 mph (143 km/h), she found. Within the first 24 hours, the effects of the tsunami's impact spread out of the Gulf of Mexico and into the Atlantic, as well as through the Central American seaway (which doesn't exist anymore, but used to connect the Gulf to the Pacific).

After the initial nearly mile-high (1.5 km) wave, other huge waves rocked the world's oceans. In the South Pacific and North Atlantic, waves reached a whopping maximum height of 46 feet (14 m). In the North Pacific, they reached 13 feet (4 m). Meanwhile, the Gulf of Mexico saw waves as high as 65 feet (20 meters) in some spots and 328 feet (100 m) in others.

To put that in perspective, the largest modern wave ever recorded in the Southern Hemisphere was a "measly" 78 feet (23.8 m) tall, which struck near New Zealand in May 2018, Live Science previously reported.

Hard evidence

There's evidence that supports the models, Range said. According to the second model, fast-moving water from the impact likely caused erosion and sediment disruption in South Pacific, North Atlantic and Mediterranean ocean basins.

In a separate study (which also has yet to be published), Moore examined sediment records across the ocean. His findings agree with the tsunami model, Range said.

It can be hard to imagine such a cataclysmic tsunami, so the researchers compared it to the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami that killed at least 225,000 people. The two tsunamis were as different as night and day, they found. "Over the first 7 hours of both tsunamis, the [Chicxulub] impact tsunami was 2,500 to 29,000 times greater in energy than the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami," Range said.

Of course, the giant tsunami wasn't the only event that did in the non-avian dinosaurs. The asteroid also triggered shock waves and sent a vast amount of hot rock and dust into the atmosphere, which rubbed together with so much friction that they started forest fires and cooked animals alive. These particles also hovered in the atmosphere and blocked the sun's rays for years, killing plants and the animals that ate them.

Source: www.livescience.com

We thought it was extinct. But the 25ft half naked Jeff Goldblum lives. On Google Maps at least.

'Tyrannosaurus Pecs', as we dubbed it, was a triumphant stunt by Now TV used to promote the 25th anniversary of Jurassic Park. The sexed-up mannequin appeared last July in Potters Field Park — a well-worn patch of grass that's been occupied by everything from a Stonehenge made of cars, to a Bluth's banana stand.

The internet went berserk, as fans flocked to get selfies with their hirsute-torsoed hero. But the behemoth is long gone (presumably melted down to make a 25ft Forrest Gump).

That is, unless you seek it on Google Maps. Here, Goldblum has become a permanent fixture: a London landmark, dwarfing Tower Bridge into a mere photobomb behind it. A multi-story deity swarmed by adoring disciples and newly-wed Asian couples, who sit at it its feet, basking in its slick gloriousness.

Goldblum sightings are an occasional phenomenon in the city. In September 2018, the star treated fans to an impromptu set of his jazz numbers on one of the pianos at St Pancras station. His shirt, alas, remained buttoned throughout.

Do let us know if you see Jeff Goldblum walking among us.

Source: http://londonist.com

Which came first: the dinosaur or the feather?

You may have heard that chickens evolved from dinosaurs, and that some dinosaurs had feathers (if not ... surprise!). But scientists may have made a new discovery: Feathers came before dinosaurs.

Here's the deal. A team of researchers recently examined two pterosaurs found in China. Pterosaurs were flying creatures that shared a common ancestor with dinosaurs. Some were as tall as giraffes.

Scientists had always assumed pterosaurs had no feathers. But to their shock, they found evidence for ... you guessed it ... feathers. This was the first time anyone had ever found feathers on something other than a bird or dinosaur.

“When I first saw these specimens and the branching I didn’t believe it,” said Maria McNamara, a biologist at the University College Cork in Ireland who analyzed the fossils.

So if pterosaurs had feathers, and dinosaurs had feathers, that means their common ancestor likely also had feathers. Which means there was a feathered creature walking around before dinosaurs even existed. That means feathers may be 70 million years older than we thought, older even than dinosaurs.

Not everyone's convinced, and scientists plan on finding more specimens to decide for sure what to think about dinosaurs and feathers. But if these interpretations are correct, it means dinosaurs and birds shared an ancient feathery ancestor.

“The feather has deeper origins, not of a bird but maybe from the ancestors of birds, dinosaurs and pterosaurs,” explained Baoyu Jiang, a researcher at Nanjing University in China.

Source: www.treehugger.com

Some of what has been discovered can be seen at a Mexican dinosaurs exhibition in Nuevo León.

For paleontologists, Mexico is fertile ground that has yet to achieve its full potential.

But some of what has been achieved is on display at the Dinosaurs Made in Mexico exhibition at the Planetario Alfa museum in Monterrey, Nuevo Léon. It showcases some of the discoveries made over the years, especially in the northern reaches of the country.

Two people collaborated with the museum — paleontologist René Hernández Rivera and paleoartist Luis V. Rey — to bring the titans of old alive again, bridging the gap in time for the inhabitants of the same geographical region.

Hernández told the newspaper Milenio he is convinced that there exists a wealth of fossils in Mexico.

During his 40-year-career, Hernández has been involved in the main discoveries in his field, such as the 1988 expedition in Parras de la Fuente, Coahuila, that resulted in the assembly of the first Mexican dinosaur.

Since then, he has dedicated his career to spreading the word about the nine unique dinosaur species found in Mexico, and 20 others that, while discovered elsewhere, have close ties to the country.

Hernández believes there still is a lot of work to do in terms of research and public outreach, efforts that should be coupled with the fight against fossil poachers.

Luis V. Rey’s work is more interpretative than factual, because other than the fossilized bones artists like him have little more than some hints of scales, plumage, musculature and colors to imagine the true appearance of the dinosaurs.

Through collaboration with other specialists over the course of 20 years, he now offers a different picture of what dinosaurs might have looked like.

Thanks to scientific study “we observed that it was quite possible that the dinosaurs had a relationship with the birds, as has been accepted today,” said the artist and illustrator.

“Dinosaurs were not monsters,” he continued, “they were living creatures. Movies nowadays have taken advantage of scientific progress to turn them into the monstrous icons the public expects them to be, but that has got to change.”

Dinosaurs Made in Mexico includes large-scale posters of Rey’s art, as well as animatronic dinosaurs and an area where children can join an excavation site and dig for fossils.

The exhibition is located in the museum’s third floor and entrance is included in the 120-peso (just over US $6) ticket. The museum is open Tuesdays to Fridays between 2:30 and 7:00pm, and between 10:30am and 7:00pm on weekends.

Source: Milenio (sp) / https://mexiconewsdaily.com

These Jurassic sites will leave you digging for more.

Dinosaur Hall in the Natural History Museum

Los Angeles, CA

Los Angeles’ Natural History Museum recently completed a new dinosaur hall that dinosaur-lovers shouldn't miss. This exhibit has 20 complete skeletons of dinosaurs and prehistoric creatures of the sea as well as more than 300 fossils. The Natural History Museum also holds the only three-piece Tyrannosaurus Rex growth charts in the world, along with three T. Rex skeletons of different ages. Families can ‘excavate’ dinosaur specimens in hands-on areas of the hall and catch footage of a real dinosaur hunting expedition!

St. George Dinosaur Discovery Site

St. George, UT

Located in Utah, this site has been called one of the "most significant dinosaur tracksites in Western North America." The St. George Dinosaur Discovery Site features real, preserved dinosaur tracks and fossils of imprints from prehistoric fish and plants. What makes this location special is that the site features an unusual level of detail that can help scientists discover information about the behaviors of these ancient animals. Visitors can learn about the history of the area and the dinosaurs, see accurate dinosaur models and check out dinosaur remains found on the premise. There is a gift shop and museum on site, and visitors can leave their mark on dinosaur research by donating to help preserve this incredible site.

Siebel Dinosaur Complex

Bozeman, MT

Home of the world's largest collection of T. Rex statues, the Siebel Dinosaur Complex at the Museum of the Rockies is a must-see for all dinosaur fans. In addition to a Triceratops growth series and dozens of one-of-a-kind fossils, this prestigious museum features 13 nearly-complete T. Rex skeletons, and the largest T. Rex skull ever found. It is also the home base of renowned paleontologist Jack Horner, who served as adviser for the Jurassic Park films.

Dinosaur National Monument

Jensen, UT

Located both in Utah and Colorado, Dinosaur National Monument displays tracks of dinosaurs that once roamed in these places. The detail which allows paleontologists to study these animals’ behaviors still can be seen in the rocks covering the national park. Spend the night and camp with the family or come for the day and roam the same locations that the mighty lizards once trod. Be sure to check out the Exhibit Hall just North of Jensen, Utah, where you can touch real dinosaur fossils. Who knows—maybe you'll make a discovery of your own!

Prehistoric Trackways National Monument

Las Cruces, NM

The Prehistoric Trackways National Monument is another government-protected region that visitors can explore. This site features plenty of dinosaur tracks and fossils from the Paleozoic Era that give scientists clues to what life might have been like during this time. Visitors can hike through the area and maybe even discover some fossils on their own. Unlike other sites on our list, this site doesn't have any specific visitor center and is instead open for exploration and discovery. Be sure to check out the Jerry MacDonald Paleozoic Trackways Collection at the New Mexico Museum of Natural History. Much of the collection was found at this site and has since been moved for study and display.

Rocky Mountain Dinosaur Resource Center

Woodland Park, CO

While dinosaur exhibits can be found at many history museums and other learning centers, Rocky Mountain Dinosaur Resource Center has its very own Paleo Lab! Here paleontologists work on the preparation, restoration, molding and casting assembly, and finishing touches in a laboratory. More importantly, visitors can watch the whole process through glass and see how it's really done. The Prehistoric Paradise Store on site also has souvenirs and gifts to take home after a day of playing and learning.

Dinosaur Ridge

Morrison, CO

It's one thing to look at dinosaur fossils, but it's another thing entirely to be able to walk through the same paths. At Dinosaur Ridge, visitors can trace the steps on the Dinosaur Trail or the Triceratops Trail and see a simulated dig site to touch and experience real dinosaur bones and fossils for themselves. The Trek Through Time exhibit is extremely popular, and there are more than 37 trackways and 300 prints to see. This huge site is run by Friends of Dinosaur Ridge, a nonprofit organization and features a gift shop where you can pick up some fun souvenirs and support the organization trying to preserve this awesome site.

Berlin-Ichthyosaur State Park

Austin, NV

Home to one of the largest collections of ichthyosaur fossils, the Berlin-Ichthyosaur State Park is the reason that Nevada has named the ichthyosaur as the state fossil, and visitors can check out the Fossil House on site to learn more about these amazing creatures. This site is where some of the largest ichthyosaur skeletons have been found, and it was named a National Natural Landmark in 1973. Visitors can take a Fossil Shelter Tour or get some fresh air at one of the many campsites.

Judith River Dinosaur Institute

Billings, MT

The Judith River Dinosaur Institute is a little different than the other attractions on our list in that visitors can apply to take classes or even join dig sites to excavate dinosaur fossils. Available for children 12 and over as well as adults, this institute offers a once-in-a-lifetime chance to work alongside real paleontologists and learn about dinosaurs and the science behind excavating these skeletons and fossils. Part of the Little Snowy Mountains Dinosaur Project, this hands-on experience is for the truly dedicated dinosaur enthusiasts.

Wyoming Dinosaur Center

Thermopolis, WY

Visitors can see more than 30 mounted and complete dinosaur skeletons at the Wyoming Dinosaur Center as well as realistic dioramas. Located only a short distance from Yellowstone National Park and the Star Plunge at Hot Springs State Park, this site houses not only an educational museum filled with fossils, but also an active dig site where visitors  of all ages can see real paleontologists at work and try their hand at "Dig for a Day."

Have you ever seen any of these amazing dinosaur attractions? Did your favorite make our list? Tell us in the comments, and like and share with your dinosaur-loving friends!

Source: www.vacationsmadeeasy.com

Paleontologists from the University of Portsmouth have discovered the fossilized remains of a new species of ancient flying reptile.

The newfound species, named Klobiodon rochei, belongs to an ancient order of flying creatures known as pterosaurs.

The winged reptile lived approximately 167 million years ago (Middle Jurassic Period) and had a wingspan of 6.5 feet (2 m).

Its fossilized remains came from the Taynton Limestone Formation of Stonesfield, Oxfordshire, England.

“Only the lower jaw of Klobiodon rochei is known, but it has a unique dental configuration that allows it to be distinguished from other pterosaurs,” said University of Portsmouth paleontologists Michael O’Sullivan and David Martill.

Klobiodon rochei had huge, fang-like teeth — up to 1 inch (2.6 cm) long at a time when few pterosaurs had any teeth.

“It was likely a gull or tern-like creature — a coastal flier that caught fish and squid using its enormous teeth, swallowing them whole,” the researchers said.

“Its large fangs would have meshed together to form a toothy cage, from which little could escape once Klobiodon rochei had gotten a hold of it.”

Klobiodon rochei and other Stonesfield pterosaurs lived alongside one of the most famous and important dinosaurs in the world, the predatory Megalosaurus, the first dinosaur ever scientifically described.

But as global sea levels were higher, and the world was much warmer, their Jurassic Britain was a series of large tropical islands.

The discovery was announced in a paper that appeared in the journal Acta Palaeontologica Polonica.

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Michael O’Sullivan & David M. Martill. 2018. Pterosauria of the Great Oolite Group (Bathonian, Middle Jurassic) of Oxfordshire and Gloucestershire, England. Acta Palaeontologica Polonica 63 (4): 617-644; doi: 10.4202/app.00490.2018

Source: www.sci-news.com