Discover the Dinosaurs exhibit coming to downtown Mobile

From Al.com:  Discover the Dinosaurs exhibit coming to downtown Mobile


Workers prepare the Discover the Dinosaurs exhibit Wednesday, Sept. 26, which opens at the Mobile Convention Center in downtown Mobile this weekend. It allows visitors to step back in time and learn more about the prehistoric creatures that once inhabited the Earth.

The all indoors exhibit allows attendees to browse more than 60 museum quality and animatronic dinosaur replicas. In addition, children can also ride several of the dinosaurs, including the Tyrannosaurus Rex.

Other attractions for children include a dino dig, dino theater, coloring, scavenger hunt, inflatables, mini golf, face painting and gem and fossil panning.

The exhibit opens Friday from noon until 9 p.m. It will be open from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Saturday and from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Sunday.

Adult tickets for ages 12 and up are $16. Tickets for children over the age of two are $11. 

 

AU: CARRIAGEWORKS: Dinosaur Petting Zoo has life-sized monsters

From Sydney Local central:  CARRIAGEWORKS: Dinosaur Petting Zoo has life-sized monsters

JURASSIC Park comes to life at CarriageWorks this week when the life-sized monsters of Erth's Dinosaur Petting Zoo feature in their most spectacular and fearsome show yet.
Erth's Dinosaur Petting Zoo Goes Rogue is making a one- week appearance at CarriageWorks before travelling to New York with the promise of being the company's biggest show to date.
Artistic director of Erth, Scott Wright said all the dinosaurs - which are usually featured at various shows around the world - will be together for the first time.
"What we are doing is a bigger, badder and more exciting version of the show because all of our dinosaurs will be back in the same building at the same time," Mr Wright said.
"So essentially we have three shows travelling around the world and around Australia and they are all back in the building right now which means we can now have 14 dinosaurs on stage."
Mr Wright said that he was proud to have spearheaded the program over the last four years which has seen the most realistic dinosaur puppets ever created take the stage and impress audiences.
"The feedback is overwhelmingly positive given that the show started as a tongue-in-cheek joke and is now touring extensively across the world," Mr Wright said.
"There are various people around the world who are attempting to replicate what we do and imitation is the greatest form of flattery. Some of them are poor attempts at trying to do what we do but we are the ones who broke the mould. I am proud to say we are the innovators."
Mr Wright said that Dinosaur Petting Zoo Goes Rogue will be a realistic display of dinosaurs, showcasing their natural behaviours as they fight for territory and supremacy.
MONSTERS ON SHOW

WHERE: CarriageWorks, 245 Wilson Street Eveleigh NSW 2015

WHEN: Now until September 29.

COST: $15

DETAILS: 02 8571 9099, www.carriageworks.com.au

 

 

Technicalities Tangle Tarbosaurus Case

From Smithsonian Blog:  Technicalities Tangle Tarbosaurus Case

Since May, Mongolian officials, a fossil dealer, federal agents and paleontologists have been tussling over a million-dollar dinosaur. And the story of this Tarbosaurus keeps getting more complicated.
When the tyrant was sold by Heritage Auctions, the dinosaur was advertised as being about 75 percent complete. But, according to a court hearing earlier this month, only about fifty percent of the reconstruction came from a single animal. The rest apparently came from any number of other dinosaurs. Eric Prokopi–the dealer who imported, mounted and tried to sell the dinosaur–has not provided any information about where all these fossils came from.
To date, Tarbosaurus skeletons have only been discovered in Mongolia. The color and preservation of the bones of the specimen in question indicates that the primary individual used to make the reconstruction came from that country. But the admission that the dinosaur is an amalgamation of several dinosaurs–all of undocumented origin–complicates the Mongolian government’s claim to the dinosaur. Who knows what kind of monster Prokopi created in his effort to create a salable specimen?
And the lack of paperwork has further marred the case. Upon hearing that experts believe that the Tarbosaurus at the center of the mount could only have come from Mongolia, U.S. District Judge P. Kevin Castel offered his opinion that the dinosaur could have been found outside Mongolia simply because “We’re finding new things all the time.” It would seem that Castel fancies himself an amateur paleontologist.
This ever-more frustrating case highlights the problematic nature of the fossil black market. All too easily, fossils are poached and shipped around the world without documentation. Should they ever become the subject of an attempt to send the fossils back home, as in this case, the shady dealings of irresponsible commercial dealers hinders attempts to figure out where the fossils came from, much less return a country’s natural heritage.
No one knows what might happen next. The fact that the Tarbosaurus was a “Frankenstein” of many dinosaurs complicates the case, yet the bulk of the evidence indicates that the core of the mount–the 50 percent from a single Tarbosaurus individual–is an illicit specimen that was smuggled into the United States. For now, though, all we can do is wait. The case is set to resume in December.

 

Researchers Examine Jurassic Era Fossils

From SurfKY:  Researchers Examine Jurassic Era Fossils

BOWLING GREEN, KY (9/21/12) – A researcher from Northern Kentucky University is taking advantage of the 21st century technology available at Western Kentucky University’s NOVA Center to examine dinosaur bones and other fossils that are 160 million years old.
Dr. Janet Bertog, associate professor of Paleontology & Stratigraphy at NKU, brought nine samples Tuesday for examination at the NOVA Center’s Large Chamber Scanning Electron Microscope (LC-SEM).
The fossils, all found in the Morrison Formation in central Utah, included a section of a femur of a sauropod dinosaur; the jaw of a small mammal; a tooth from an allosaurus; and samples that may be a new species of iguana.
The LC-SEM – the only one of its kind at a North American university -- performs scientific, microscopic analysis of large samples, allowing for investigation of large manufactured objects or historical artifacts without destroying them.
“We don’t want to do anything that would damage the fossils,” Dr. Bertog said, noting that the rare and fragile samples are part of several undergraduate research projects under way at NKU.
Creating new research collaborations and providing analytical and technical services are among the goals for the NOVA (Nondestructive Analysis) Center, said Dr. Ed Kintzel, center director and assistant professor in WKU’s Department of Physics and Astronomy.
“This is our goal – to help someone do something they can’t do somewhere else,” Dr. Kintzel said.
Dr. Bertog learned about the NOVA Center and the LC-SEM from one of her former professors, Dr. Cathleen Webb. Dr. Webb, head of WKU’s Department of Chemistry, was at South Dakota School of Mines and Technology while Dr. Bertog was completing her master’s degree there.
“This is the only place in the country with one,” Dr. Bertog said.
Data from the LC-SEM will allow Dr. Bertog to examine growth rings in the femur that may help determine how seasonal and climate variations affected the course of the sauropod’s life. That data will be compared to chemical analysis of the sample that shows the animal may have died from drought conditions. “This is the last little piece we need,” she said.
Growth rings in the bone are similar to growth rings in a tree, Dr. Bertog said. If the animal was stressed, the rings will be smaller, but if the animal was eating well, the rings will be larger.
“We are looking for evidence that it was stressed,” she said.
Dr. Bertog is examining another sample of the sauropod’s toenail for evidence that termites or beetles fed on the bone after the animal died. And by using the LC-SEM to examine the scratch marks on the allosaurus tooth, she may be able to determine whether what it was eating was alive or dead.
By analyzing these samples and various other materials from the Morrison Formation site, such as turtles, crocodiles and fish, Dr. Bertog and her students may be able to determine what the environment was like and whether a lake existed there during the Jurassic era.
Dr. Bertog expects to make additional trips to the NOVA Center and bring more samples, including the skull of a barosaurus.
About the NOVA Center: The NOVA (Nondestructive Analysis) Center, located at WKU’s Center for Research and Development on the corner of Nashville Road and Campbell Lane, features the Large Chamber Scanning Electron Microscope (LC-SEM). The acquisition of the LC-SEM has positioned WKU as the only university in North America with an instrument of this type and as a leader in nondestructive analysis testing. The only other similar equipment is at Tinker Air Force Base in Oklahoma. The LC-SEM performs scientific, microscopic analysis of extremely large samples, allowing for investigation of components without destroying them. Maximum sample size is 40 inches diameter by 40 inches tall, with a weight limit of 650 pounds. This allows it to easily hold a V-6 engine block. The LC-SEM has a magnification power of 100,000 times, which is 100 times that of a standard light microscope.

 

Dinosaurs Migrate South

From Coaster-Net:  Dinosaurs Migrate South

Charlotte, North Carolina -

© Carowinds

Dinosaurs have been on the move throughout the Cedar Fair chain the past few years, and now it looks like they’ll finally be migrating to a warmer climate a bit further south. Carowinds, located near Charlotte, NC, is to become the next recipient of a Dinosaurs Alive exhibit.

Set to debut in spring 2013, Dinosaurs Alive will be the “largest animatronic dinosaur park in the Southeast!” according to the park’s website. Stretched out over 5 acres of land, Carowinds’ version of the attraction will feature 32 life-sized animatronic and animated dinosaurs in a multi-sensory and interactive environment. Moving and roaring along the trail, kids will also have the chance to uncover fossils at their own dig site.

Amongst the 32 dinosaurs will be represented 25 species from 5 different continents. Thirteen scenes and over 1000+ yards of trails throughout the five acres will feature such dinosaurs as Tyrannosaurus Rex who battles with Triceratops, Carosaurus, and Ruyangosaurus, the largest of the bunch at 40 ft high and 60 ft long. The new attraction will take the place of the underused picnic area by the “south gate” and Afterburn roller coasters.

Just a couple of weeks ago, Valleyfair announced they would be getting their own version of Dinosaurs Alive as well, with a similar lineup of dinosaurs. While Carowinds didn’t announce an exact price other than “multi-million-dollar,” according to the Herald Online, it is likely that this one will be around the same as Valleyfair’s $3.5 million price tag.

Chris Kirby, the park’s marketing director, told the Herald Online, “There is a fascination with these ancient creatures that captures the imagination. With their advanced robotics and life-sized scale, we know that Dinosaurs Alive is going to thrill kids young and old.” The addition at Carowinds will be the newest amongst Cedar Fairs six Dinosaurs Alive exhibits. Like those others, it will be a $5 upcharge attraction, and will take an estimated 30 min to walk through the attraction.

In 2013, guests visiting Carowinds need to “Prepare to take a step back…..wayyy back!”

 

Australia: Dinosaur museum makes finals in world architecture competition

From ABC News:  Dinosaur museum makes finals in world architecture competition

A dinosaur museum in outback Queensland has been shortlisted in a global architecture competition.

The $2.5 million reception centre at the Australian Age of Dinosaurs near Winton, north-west of Longreach in central-west Queensland, was officially opened earlier this year.
It is now a finalist in the cultural category at the World Architecture Festival awards.
Architect Michael Rayner says they are competing against cultural buildings in Moscow, South Africa and Brussels, but the Winton project has special appeal.
"It's just a spectacular site, you go across endless plains without relief and then suddenly there is this rising mesa in front of you," he said.
"The whole place is just magic, one of the great pieces of Australian landscape I've ever been to.
"The idea was really to see how we could almost make a building that looked like the landscape had kind of folded up, and perhaps could be seen as almost prehistoric itself."

 

Wind turbine upgrades were inspired by dinosaur shapes

From DVice:  Wind turbine upgrades were inspired by dinosaur shapes

Most wind generators use blades that look kind of like a prop plane's propeller working in reverse, but that's changing based on new aerodynamic research from Siemens. The result is a trio of add-ons for an existing wind turbine's blades, which increases efficiency without costly replacement.
Scoop-like blade extensions called DinoTails are the first of the three upgrades, and increase the lift of the blade while adding a serrated edge that reduces the noise generated by the blade cutting through the air. DinoShells, on the other hand, are snow shovel-shaped scoops that add drive down near where the blade attaches to the main body of the generator. Finally, Vortex Generators are small fins that keep the air in contact with the blade for longer, further increasing lift.
Siemens says that the aerodynamic aids are based on various shapes found on dinosaurs, but just why they thought a dinosaur would be a good source of inspiration for efficient wind coupling isn't clear. Still, when you add together all three upgrades, Siemens claims that the overall efficiency of the wind generator increases by about 1.5 percent. While it may not sound worth the trouble, for a big wind farm like Altamont Pass in California, the improvement is enough to power about 2,500 additional homes on the back of the farm's current output of 125 megawatts.
Currently Siemens is installing the upgrades at the Bison 2 and 3 Wind Energy Centers in North Dakota, where they are expected to pump up the output by 3.15 mill

 

Colorado: Visits surge at Dinosaur National Monument

From Summit County Citizens Voice:  Colorado: Visits surge at Dinosaur National Monument

FRISCO — A new $13 million visitor center at Dinosaur National Monument has turned out to be a big attraction in northwest Colorado. The monument reported a huge surge in visitation in the first half 2012, up 47 percent from the previous year.
Recreational visits to the monument for the month of June alone totaled 44,847.
“While there is no way to predict what the monument’s visitation may be in the future, having the dinosaur quarry open to visitors again definitely increases the monument’s draw,” said monument superindentent Mary Risser. “Despite gas prices, the economy, above normal temperatures, and fires in many western states, people are still traveling and coming to the monument. Uintah County Travel and Tourism based in Vernal, Utah and Moffat County Tourism in Craig, Colorado have both been wonderful partners in helping spread the word about the monument and letting people know that the dinosaur quarry is open again.”
Dinosaur National Monument covers more than 210,000 acres along the border of Colorado and Utah. In addition to the world famous dinosaur fossils, the monument also features two rivers renown for white-water rafting and boating, numerous petroglyph sites and other evidence of human habitation extending back over 7,000 years, an array of plant and animal life, campgrounds, trails and scenic drives.
The new visitor center construction was funded as part of the federal stimulus package early in the Obama administration. The original visitor center, built in the 1950s, was closed in 2006 because of structural damage. Attempts had been made to stabilize the building over the decades, but health and safety concerns led the Park Service to close it for repair and reconstruction.
The new hall was built over the site of the world-famous Carnegie Dinosaur Quarry. It provides close viewing of almost 1,500 dinosaur bones from the Jurassic Period, all exposed on the cliff face where they were deposited about 149 million years ago. The new exhibit hall will also feature information and displays about the Jurassic environment and its inhabitants.
Exhibits in the new visitor center, which now is located down the hill and separate from the fossil quarry, will introduce visitors to Dinosaur National Monument’s natural resources, homesteading history, petroglyphs, geology, paleontology, and rivers. They are designed to stimulate the interest of visitors and encourage them to explore the 210,000-acre monument on their own. Interpretive and educational items also will be available for sale in the Intermountain Natural History Association’s bookstore.
The new visitor center also earned Gold-standard LEED certification, with skylights, low-flow restroom fixtures, photovoltaics and efficient utility systems all helping to make the facility eco-friendly.
“We incorporated sustainability into the building’s design and construction and then the operation and maintenance of the building,” Risser said. “We salvaged materials from the demolished visitor center and shuttle waiting area.
Other components of the sustainable design involved using local materials; the stone for the masonry comes from a quarry in Masonville, Colorado and landscaping boulders from quarries in Maybell and on Blue Mountain. Native plants are being used for a water efficient landscaping. The Yellow cedar used in the large beams across the ceiling came from sustainable forests.

 

With dinosaurs gone, this mammal grew fat and slow

From NBC News:  With dinosaurs gone, this mammal grew fat and slow

An Indian pangolin, which is related to ancient mammals that emerged soon after the demise of the dinosaurs.

Many of the mammals that emerged right after the non-avian dinosaur extinction were hearty creatures, as exemplified by Ernanodon, a beast described in the latest issue of the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology.

The skeleton that is the focus of the study is nearly complete, revealing how this early mammal looked in the flesh and lived.

"Ernanodon was a badger-sized, rather chunky mammal with a short square skull, extremely reduced dentition and big claws on the forelimbs," lead author Peter Kondrashov told Discovery News.

"The structure of the forelimb indicates that this animal was doing a lot of digging, probably mostly in the search of food," added Kondrashov, who is an associate professor and chair of the Anatomy Department at the Kirksville College of Osteopathic Medicine.

He and colleague Alexandre Agadjanian analyzed the skeleton, which dates to the Late Paleocene (60 to 55 million years ago). This Ernanodon individual lived in Mongolia. Other, less complete, remains were previously found in China.

"Ernanodon is a unique find and represents one of the most complete skeletons ever collected from the Paleocene of the Naran Bulak locality," said Agadjanian, who works at the Borissiak Paleontological Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

The animal's hind limbs were almost flat-footed, so the researchers don't think Ernanodon was much of a runner. It instead appears to have spent most of its days digging and eating, without much chomping.
 
"Based on the structure of the teeth — very thin enamel layer, reduced tooth size — it appears that the food was rather soft and did not require a lot of chewing," Kondrashov explained. "Similar dental structure is observed in mammals that feed on termites, ants and other social insects, so we think that it was specialized in feeding on social insects as well."
While Ernanodon is long gone and has no direct descendants, the scientists believe this animal was related to a group of extinct mammals known as palaeanodonts. They, too, had bulky bodies, tiny teeth and big claws for digging.

These animals are, in turn, related to modern mammals called pangolins, or scaly anteaters, which live in Africa and Asia.

Based on the earlier evidence for Ernanodon, scientists thought the then-enigmatic mammal was related to modern armadillos or sloths. While pangolins somewhat resemble these animals in appearance and behavior, they represent a different genus and species.

Ernanodon is just one of many mammals that came to prominence after the great non-avian dinosaur extinction.

"This animal comes from the time period known as the Paleocene, which followed the Cretaceous, so it probably evolved as a result of appearance of numerous new niches after the dinosaurs went extinct," Kondrashov said.

"We know very little about Paleocene deposits in Asia," he added, "and this find sheds a lot of light on the early evolution of mammals in Asia."

 

Supe: New Dinosaur Attraction Roaming To Main Street

From Riverhead Patch:  Supe: New Dinosaur Attraction Roaming To Main Street

Dinosaurs have been spotted on East Main Street in Riverhead.
According to Riverhead Supervisor Sean Walter, rumors of dinosaurs seen roaming back into town are true.
"I can tell you that dinosaurs have been spotted on Main Street," he said.
The prehistoric predators, Walter said, were witnessed entering a building on East Main Street right next door to the future Blue Duck Bakery Cafe.
On Tuesday, Nancy Kouris, owner of the Blue Duck Bakery, predicted the dinosaurs' return and said she'd be offering prehistoric goodies at her East Main Street location. "Thanks to the future reopening of the dinosaur museum to our west, some T-Rex cookies," would be on the menu, Kouris said.
Walter said the new dinosaur project has been commencing quietly. "They've kept it hush-hush, and they've kept it hush-hush from me, too," he said.
But Walter said it was safe to say a new dinosaur attraction would be coming soon. The former Dinosaur Walk Museum closed in Riverhead in 2008; Walter said the new project would be "completely different," with new owners.
The new attraction, he said, "is going to more interactive."
Although details are unclear, Walter predicted more information would become available about the new business "in the next month or so."

 

CT: The Dinosaur Place Hosts the 11th Annual Monty's Fall Festival on Columbus Day Weekend

From Courant.com:  The Dinosaur Place Hosts the 11th Annual Monty's Fall Festival on Columbus Day Weekend

The Dinosaur Place in Montville, (1650 Hartford-New London Turnpike, Oakdale) will host the 11th Annual Monty's Fall Festival during Columbus Day weekend Oct. 6 - 8, 10 a.m. - 6 p.m., daily. This family-friendly event features fun activities all weekend long and is hosted by the park's iconic and gigantic T-Rex, named Monty. All activities are free with paid admission to the park or with a season pass membership.

Monty's Fall Festival includes fall crafts, face painting, a magic show, moon bounce, petting zoo and more. The highlight of the festival is a concert at 1 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 7, by Steve Elci and Friends, the famed children's music group from Waterford, known for their musical "Edu-tainment" performances.


Other activities at the festival include The New York Life Child ID Program, Dime Bank face painting, a performance by magician Zach Ivins, April's Balloon Creations balloon bending, and Circle K Farm's live animal petting zoo.

"We're really excited to have so many local businesses benefit from our annual Festival this year," said Laura Rush, guest relations and marketing manager at The Dinosaur Place. "It will be a great opportunity for local and community businesses to support each other and celebrate the holiday weekend," she said.

During Monty's Fall Festival, $1.00 from each admission fee (up to $500) will be donated to L M Hospital's Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection program, providing free mammograms for uninsured and under-insured women.

According to Laurel Holmes, director of community health, outreach and partnerships at L M Hospital, "We are thrilled that Monty's Fall Festival will benefit our Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection program. The program is designed to help medically underserved women by offering breast and cervical cancer screenings, diagnostic services and treatment free of charge. It's great to see a local business working to help support this community program," she said.

The Dinosaur Place team chose to support L M Hospital's Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection program in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

"This October, we wanted to support the local community and help raise awareness and funding for those who battle cancer and to help people get access to necessary cancer screenings. We are excited to partner with L M Hospital for such a vital community program," said Linda Phillips, owner of Nature's Art: The Dinosaur Place.

Monty and his dino-friends invite all families to stop by Monty's Fall Festival to enjoy the new season and support a great cause. For further updates, or a real-time calendar of hours/activities for the festival, call 860-443-4367 or visit http://www.thedinosaurplace.com. 

 

Roadside Dinosaurs Are Far From Extinct

From HuffPost Travel: Roadside Dinosaurs Are Far From Extinct 

I have a soft spot for weird roadside dinosaurs. The bizarre tourist trap monsters always make me smile when I see them standing awkwardly along America's highways.
Even though, given my job as a science writer, I can be a bit of a pedant about the inaccuracies of aberrant dinosaurs, I nonetheless feel an affection for the Mesozoic-inspired highway kitsch. An aberrant roadside form isn't so much a dinosaur as the idea of a dinosaur boiled down into a mosaic of scaly, drab skin, elongated fangs and fearsome claws. And they most often appear in the places where the remains of real dinosaurs are still resting in the rock, waiting for paleontologists to discern their secrets and further change our understanding of dinosaur lives.
Over the past few years, I've been accumulating reader-submitted photos of Cretaceous celebrities spotted along highways, suburban sprawl, and other unexpected places. (And I've added a few of my own shots through my travels across the American west.) Thanks to my travels and my readers, I've seen the best, the worst, and the weirdest. My absolute favorite is along Vernal, Utah's main drag on the way towards the immense Jurassic bonebed at Dinosaur National Monument: a bikini-clad version of the town's mascot, Dinah, invites visitors for a swim. Although the monstrosities outside Stewart's Petrified Wood shop near Petrified National Park in Arizona are among my top sightings because they're so awful: A model in a shock wig rides a dilapidated sauropod surrounded by icicle lights, while a sad, roughshod theropod threatens to chomp down on a poor mannequin next door.
But then, of course, there's the strange "Wrinklesaurus" that stands outside the Jurupa Mountains Discovery Center in Jurupa, California -- not to mention the sky-blue sombrero-wearing sauropod that grins at patrons from a gas station on the boarder of the Carolinas. The competition for most lovable is fierce.
So, take a peek through these 10 below, then check out all 33 of the best and weirdest roadside dinosaurs and vote fore your favorite here!

(It might be easier to visit all these link on an actual computer - plus the photos will be in color!)

Dinosaur die out might have been second of two closely timed extinctions

From Science Blog:  Dinosaur die out might have been second of two closely timed extinctions

The most-studied mass extinction in Earth history happened 65 million years ago and is widely thought to have wiped out the dinosaurs. New University of Washington research indicates that a separate extinction came shortly before that, triggered by volcanic eruptions that warmed the planet and killed life on the ocean floor.

The well-known second event is believed to have been triggered by an asteroid at least 6 miles in diameter slamming into Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula. But new evidence shows that by the time of the asteroid impact, life on the seafloor – mostly species of clams and snails – was already perishing because of the effects of huge volcanic eruptions on the Deccan Plateau in what is now India.


“The eruptions started 300,000 to 200,000 years before the impact, and they may have lasted 100,000 years,” said Thomas Tobin, a UW doctoral student in Earth and space sciences.

The eruptions would have filled the atmosphere with fine particles, called aerosols, that initially cooled the planet but, more importantly, they also would have spewed carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases to produce long-term warming that led to the first of the two mass extinctions.

“The aerosols are active on a year to 10-year time scale, while the carbon dioxide has effects on a scale of hundreds to tens of thousands of years,” Tobin said.

During the earlier extinction it was primarily life on the ocean floor that died, in contrast to the later extinction triggered by the asteroid impact, which appeared to kill many more free-swimming species.
“The species in the first event are extinct but the groups are all recognizable things you could find around on a beach today,” he said.

Tobin is the lead author of a paper in the journal Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology that documents results of research conducted in a fossil-rich area on Seymour Island, off the Antarctic Peninsula.
That particular area has very thick sediment deposits and, for a given interval of time, might contain 10 times more sediment as the well-known Hell Creek Formation in Montana. That means scientists have much greater detail as they try to determine what was happening at the time, Tobin said.

The researchers took small surface core samples from rocks and fossils in the Antarctic sediment and used a method called magnetostratigraphy, employing known changes over time in Earth’s magnetic field to determine when the fossils were deposited. The thicker sediment allowed dating to be done more precisely.
“I think the evidence we have from this location is indicative of two separate events, and also indicates that warming took place,” Tobin said.

There is no direct evidence yet that the first extinction event had any effect on the second, but Tobin believes it is possible that surviving species from the first event were compromised enough that they were unable to survive the long-term environmental effects of the asteroid impact.

“It seems improbable to me that they are completely independent events,” he said.

The paper’s coauthors are Peter Ward, Tobin’s doctoral adviser, and Eric Steig, both UW professors of Earth and space sciences; Eduardo Olivero of the Southern Center for Scientific Research in Argentina; Isaac Hilburn, Matthew Diamond and Joseph Kirschvink of the California Institute of Technology; Ross Mitchell of Yale University; and Timothy Raub of the University of St. Andrews in Scotland.

The work was funded by the National Science Foundation Office of Polar Programs and the National Scientific and Technological Promotion Agency in Argentina.

NY judge: Dinosaur might be more like Frankenstein

From the Wall Street Journal:  NY judge: Dinosaur might be more like Frankenstein 

NEW YORK — A federal judge expressed surprise Wednesday that a dinosaur skeleton seized by the U.S. government is a composite of several ancient creatures, calling it a "kind of Frankenstein model of a dinosaur."
U.S. District Judge Kevin Castel said it seemed much more needs to be learned about the 70 million-year-old Tyrannosaurus bataar skeleton, known as Ty, before it can be carted off to Mongolia, where the U.S. government says it originated and belongs.
With the judge's approval, U.S. agents swooped into a storage facility in June and snatched the fossil after the government insisted it was a rare specimen that could only have originated in Mongolia. The fossil's seizure seemed urgent after it was sold by Dallas-based auction house Heritage Auctions for $1.05 million.
Attorney Michael McCullough argued the skeleton should be returned to Gainesville, Fla., fossils dealer Eric Prokopi, who says he assembled dinosaur pieces that were worth only tens of thousands of dollars into a nearly intact skeleton worth much more.
The judge said he thought the skeleton represented one dinosaur. McCullough told him only 37 percent of the skeleton came from one specimen, with an equal amount of the finished product coming from at least one other dinosaur and possibly many.
"Now I'm finding out it's kind of a Frankenstein model of a dinosaur, based on several creatures," the judge said.
It also was revealed that dinosaur pieces were brought into the United States in four shipments, not one, as had been described in papers filed by the government.
The U.S. government has said the dinosaur had to have been taken from Mongolia and must be returned. McCullough argued that much of the skeleton might have originated in other countries and that the government had not sufficiently shown why it must be sent to Mongolia.
A prosecutor said it was highly unlikely that bones originated outside Mongolia and that they are subject to forfeiture whether they originated with one dinosaur or many.
Through a quirk of law, the U.S. government was forced to sue the dinosaur itself so that it could seize it, a fact that did not get past the judge.
"I'm not going to claim I have dinosaur arrests presented to me with any frequency," he said.
Although the dinosaur was not in court Wednesday, the judge left open the possibility that it would be brought in if the case goes to trial.
In describing its size, a prosecutor said it would be possible to fit two similar size dinosaurs in the jury box.
The judge replied: "I don't think we'll have a skeleton in the jury box, but we might have it in the courtroom."

 

FL: Sea Monsters display swims into the St. Augustine Lighthouse and Museum Oct. 1

From Jacksonville.com: Sea Monsters display swims into the St. Augustine Lighthouse and Museum Oct. 1

Sea Monsters are coming Monday, Oct. 1, for a month-long visit to the St. Augustine Lighthouse and Museum at 81 Lighthouse Ave.

The traveling exhibit brings extreme ocean animal adaptations to life, and was developed by Mote Marine Laboratory to offer a glimpse into the fascinating “monster” characteristics of some sea animals through hands-on educational panels.

Sea Monsters is one of three traveling exhibits developed by Mote, initially created though a grant from the federal Institute of Museum and Library Services in Washington, DC.

Lighthouse museum admission, including the lighthouse and museum, is $9.50 for adults and $7.50 for seniors and children 12 or under. For more information, log onto www.staugustinelighthouse.com.

Thousands of dinosaur skeletons, but just two dozen complete tails

From Discover Magazine: Thousands of dinosaur skeletons, but just two dozen complete tails

Look up any dinosaur, and chances are you will soon come across an estimate for how long it was. And chances are that estimate is wrong. That’s because, as Dave Hone from University College Dublin points out, our knowledge of dinosaur tails is woefully inadequate.

After searching through papers, museum collections, photos, and the minds of his colleagues, Hone found that among the thousands of dinosaur specimens that have been found, there are “barely two dozen complete tails”. These range from animals like Spinosaurus, where virtually no tail fragments have been found, to others where skeletons are missing an unknown number of vertebrae from the tips. Even in complete skeletons, Hone’s research showed that closely related species, and even individuals, can vary greatly in the length and number of bones in their tails.

This matters since tails are factored into estimates of the animals’ lengths, and lengths are often used to estimate mass. As I wrote in my Nature piece on Hone’s work, “If tails are telling tall tales, other important measures could be inaccurate.

Travel down the body of a dinosaur, and our knowledge of its anatomy tails away past its hips. As Dave Hone from University College Dublin has discovered, the vast majority of dinosaur skeletons, even many that have been deemed ‘complete’, are missing parts of their tails.
These lost bones are important because tails are included in estimates of dinosaur length, which are often quoted, and sometimes used to estimate mass. “A fairly simple question of ‘How long in total was this dinosaur?’ could be really quite tricky to answer for a very good number of species,” says Hone, writing in his Guardian blog. If tails are telling tall tales, other important measures could be inaccurate.
Hone did a painstaking search for complete tails among the scientific literature, more than a dozen museums, photos and his colleagues’ memories. His search came up largely empty. Even many of the best-preserved fossils, which have feathers and skin imprints, have only partial tails.
“Despite having thousands of dinosaur fossils, including a good few hundred that could broadly be considered complete, we’ve got barely two dozen complete tails,” he says. His results are published this week in the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology.
The problem with tails is that their bones are often tiny and easily disconnected from the main skeleton. Many specimens have lost the distinctive final bone, which has no protrusions and tapers to a rounded point. Without it, we have no way of knowing whether the tail continued beyond the point where the preserved skeleton finishes.
Other specimens are missing larger numbers of vertebrae and for some species, such as the infamous Spinosaurus, we have virtually no tail material at all. Some researchers claim it was 14 metres long, and others say it stretched to 16–18 metres, but Hone says that the argument “is a bit frivolous when the tail could have been anything from 5–10 metres in length”.
Hone’s survey reveals how hard it is to estimate total length without complete tails, especially because tail length varies greatly within dinosaur families. Epidexipteryx has a tail just 1.2 times the length of its thigh bone, one of the shortest of any dinosaur. But its closest known relative, Epidendrosaurus, has proportionally one of the longest tails, 7 times the length of its thigh and possibly even longer. Hone even found significant variation within single species. One ‘complete’ specimen of the horned dinosaur Leptoceratops has 38 tail bones, whereas a second has 48.
In some ways, this is unsurprising. In modern four-legged animals (tetrapods), tail length can vary between individuals according to health and environmental conditions, and most scientists leave it out when measuring specimens. Instead, they take the animal’s length to be the distance between the tip of its head to its anus — the “snout–vent length”. But the position of the anus is hard to determine through skeletal remains, so Hone suggests using the end of the hip bone instead.

Some Dinosaurs Used The Same Hunting Techniques As Modern House Cats

This is the same news from a previous article posted here. They all come from the same press release but some authors choose different facts to present.

From Business Insider: Some Dinosaurs Used The Same Hunting Techniques As Modern House Cats

A new study suggests that some predatory dinosaurs used ambush hunting techniques similar to modern cats, Jonathan Ball of BBC reports.

The research, published in PLoS One, studied the fossil remains of two Sinocalliopteryx dinosaurs, eight-foot-long creatures that walked on powerful hind legs, and found the ground dwellers had been feasting on primitive birds and flying dinosaurs when they died.

Dr. Bell said the dinosaurs were wily hunters and that cats are a good comparison because they are "incredibly stealthy, stalking their prey before pouncing."

The Canadian-Chinese team found a Sinornithosaurus, a feathered flying dinosaur measuring about 3 feet 4 inches, inside the stomach of one of the fossils from northeast China and preserved remains of two primitive crow-sized birds in the other.

"I can imagine a Sinocalliopteryx stalking a bird through the underbrush waiting for the right moment to leap into the air and catching a bird mid-flight," researcher Dr. Phil Bell told BBC.

The view has not gained universal approval, however, as Dr. Jakob Vinther of the University of Bristol told BBC that the "only way to strongly argue for this hypothesis would be to have more evidence."

Ball notes that fossils provide one of the few tangible links back to the Cretaceous and Jurassic eras—when dinosaurs ruled the earth—as they represent a petrified and rudimentary snapshot of prehistoric life.

"It's so rare to get a glimpse into how dinosaurs – animals that have been extinct for millions of years – behaved," Dr. Bell said. "We now know more about the diet of this species than any other dinosaur."