Feature Channels: Dinosaurs

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Released: 19-Dec-2016 1:05 PM EST
New Prehistoric Bird Species Discovered
University of Rochester

A team of geologists at the University of Rochester has discovered a new species of bird in the Canadian Arctic. At approximately 90 million years old, the bird fossils are among the oldest avian records found in the northernmost latitude, and offer further evidence of an intense warming event during the late Cretaceous period.

7-Dec-2016 1:05 PM EST
Amber Specimen Offers Rare Glimpse of Feathered Dinosaur Tail
University of Bristol

Researchers from China, Canada, and the University of Bristol have discovered a dinosaur tail complete with its feathers trapped in a piece of amber.

7-Dec-2016 4:05 PM EST
New Study Traces the Origins of Marsupials in N. America, Find Mammals During Age of Dinosaurs Packed a Powerful Bite
University of Washington

A new study by Burke Museum and University of Washington paleontologists describes an early marsupial relative called Didelphodon vorax that lived alongside ferocious dinosaurs and had, pound-for-pound, the strongest bite force of any mammal ever recorded.

5-Dec-2016 3:00 PM EST
Virginia Tech Geoscientists Size-Up Early Dinosaurs, Find Surprising Variation
Virginia Tech

The study focused on the skeletal changes that occurred during growth in the small carnivorous dinosaur Coelophysis (SEE-lo-FY-sis), one of the earliest dinosaurs.

Released: 18-Nov-2016 3:05 PM EST
UF Archaeologist Uses Chicxulub ‘Dinosaur Crater’ Rocks, Prehistoric Teeth to Track Ancient Humans
University of Florida

Where’s the best place to start when retracing the life of a person who lived 4,000 years ago? Turns out, it’s simple -- you start at the beginning.

Released: 8-Nov-2016 1:05 PM EST
Greenland Fossils Help Show Recovery After Mass Extinction Event 252 Million Years Ago
Uppsala University

A new study published in Scientific Reports shows how higher latitude ecosystems recovered after the World's most cataclysmic extinction event 252 million years ago.

Released: 4-Nov-2016 11:05 AM EDT
Herbivorous Mammals Have Bigger Bellies
University of Zurich

What do enormous dinosaurs have in common with tiny shrews? They are both four-legged vertebrates, otherwise known as tetrapods. In the course of evolution, tetrapods developed various body shapes and sizes - from the mouse to the dinosaur - to adapt to different environments. Their feeding habits range from pure herbivory to fierce carnivory, and their body structure reflects this feeding diversity. As plants are usually more difficult to digest than meat, herbivores are thought to need larger guts and more voluminous bellies. Nevertheless, this hypothesis had never been tested scientifically.

Released: 12-Oct-2016 12:05 PM EDT
Why Did T. Rex Have Such Small Arms? SUE Arrives at Advanced Photon Source for Its Most Detailed Scan Ever
Argonne National Laboratory

SUE the Dinosaur’s forearm came to the Advanced Photon Source for its most detailed scan ever, which could shed light on why the large dinosaur had such small arms.

Released: 10-Oct-2016 11:05 AM EDT
New Species of Ancient Texas Reptile Offers Clues to Evolution of Dinosaurs
University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin)

newly described species of extinct reptile that roamed Texas more than 200 million years ago had a strikingly dome-shaped head with a very thick skull and a large natural pit on top that lends the appearance of an extra eye, according to a study released Sept. 22 in Current Biology.

Released: 30-Sep-2016 9:05 AM EDT
New Research Reveals an Ancient Reptile Had Bizarre Forelimb Evolution
Stony Brook University

Fossil remains from an ancient reptile known as Drepanosaurus reveals unusual skeletal adaptations in the forelimb that scientists have never before recorded in land animals.

26-Sep-2016 11:00 AM EDT
Outrageous Heads Led to Outrageously Large Dinosaurs
North Carolina State University

New research from North Carolina State University shows that theropod dinosaur species with bony crests, horns and knobs evolved to giant body sizes 20 times faster than those species lacking such embellishments.

25-Aug-2016 10:05 AM EDT
A Rare Small Specimen Discovered From the Age of Flying Giants
University of Southampton

A rare small-bodied pterosaur, a flying reptile from the Late Cretaceous period approximately 77 million years ago, is the first of its kind to have been discovered on the west coast of North America.

30-Aug-2016 7:00 AM EDT
New Species of Pterosaur Discovered in Patagonia
PeerJ

Scientists today announced the discovery of a new species of pterosaur from the Patagonia region of South America. The researchers have named this new species ‘ Allkauren koi’ from the native Tehuelche word ‘all’ for ‘brain’, and ‘karuen’ for ‘ancient’.

Released: 18-Aug-2016 2:05 PM EDT
University of Washington Paleontologists Discover Major T. Rex Fossil
University of Washington

Paleontologists with the University of Washington's Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture have discovered a Tyrannosaurus rex, including a very complete skull. The find, which paleontologists estimate to be about 20 percent of the animal, includes vertebrae, ribs, hips and lower jaw bones.

Released: 18-Aug-2016 12:05 AM EDT
Fossil Reveals Ostrich Relatives Once Lived in North America
American Museum of Natural History

New research reveals that 50-million-year-old bird fossil specimens, some of which are on display in the Museum’s special exhibition Dinosaurs Among Us, are from a previously unknown relative of the modern-day ostrich.

20-Jul-2016 12:05 PM EDT
Murusraptor barrosaensis Likely a Megaraptorid “Giant Thief”: Patagonian Fossil of New Dinosaur Species Gives Clues to Evolutionary Origins
University of Alberta

A new species of megaraptorid dinosaur discovered in Sierra Barrosa in northwest Patagonia may help discern the evolutionary origins of the megaraptorid group, according to a study published July 20, 2016, in the open-access journal PLOS ONE by Philip Currie from the University of Alberta and Rodolfo Coria from the Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas in Argentina.

Released: 15-Jul-2016 11:05 PM EDT
New Theropod Dinosaur Suggests That Small T. Rex-Like Arms Evolved Multiple Times
PLOS

The discovery of a theropod dinosaur with Tyrannosaurus rex-like arms suggests that these unusual forelimbs may have evolved multiple times, according to a study published July 13, 2016 in the open-access journal PLOS ONE by Sebastián Apesteguía from the Universidad Maimónides, Argentina, and colleagues.

Released: 14-Jul-2016 1:05 PM EDT
The Success of the Plant-Eating Dinosaurs
University of Bristol

There has been a long debate about why dinosaurs were so successful. Say dinosaur, and most people think of the great flesh-eaters such as Tyrannosaurus rex, but the most successful dinosaurs were of course the plant-eaters.

Released: 11-Jul-2016 11:00 AM EDT
To the Breaking Point: Testing Ideas About the Evolution of Long-Necked Sauropod Dinosaurs
University of Michigan

Sauropod dinosaurs were the largest land-dwelling animals of all time, with highly elongated necks and tails that were held suspended above the ground.

Released: 5-Jul-2016 11:00 AM EDT
Warming Pulses in Ancient Climate Record Link Volcanoes, Asteroid Impact and Dinosaur-Killing Mass Extinction
University of Michigan

A new reconstruction of Antarctic ocean temperatures around the time the dinosaurs disappeared 66 million years ago supports the idea that one of the planet's biggest mass extinctions was due to the combined effects of volcanic eruptions and an asteroid impact.

1-Jul-2016 11:05 AM EDT
First Facial Tumour Fossil Discovered in a Dwarf Duck-Billed Dinosaur From Transylvania
University of Southampton

The first-ever record of a tumourous facial swelling found in a fossil has been discovered in the jaw of the dwarf dinosaur Telmatosaurus transsylvanicus, a type of primitive duck-billed dinosaur known as a hadrosaur.

Released: 23-Jun-2016 1:05 PM EDT
Pterosaur Flies Safely Home After 95 Million Years
University of Alberta

With the help of University of Alberta scientists, a newly described pterosaur has finally flown home. This spectacular fossil material was discovered in a private Lebanese limestone quarry more than a decade ago and has led to what UAlberta paleontologist Michael Caldwell calls “priceless scientific findings.”

6-Jun-2016 6:05 AM EDT
Mammals Began Their Takeover Long Before the Death of the Dinosaurs
University of Southampton

New research reports that, contrary to popular belief, mammals began their massive diversification 10 to 20 million years before the extinction of the dinosaurs.

Released: 26-May-2016 3:05 PM EDT
Antarctic Fossils Reveal Creatures Weren't Safer in the South During Dinosaur Extinction
University of Leeds

A study of more than 6,000 marine fossils from the Antarctic shows that the mass extinction event that killed the dinosaurs was sudden and just as deadly to life in the polar regions.

Released: 24-May-2016 12:05 PM EDT
Early Armored Dino From Texas Lacked Cousin's Club-Tail Weapon, but Had a Nose for Danger
Southern Methodist University

Pawpawsaurus's hearing wasn't keen, and it lacked the infamous tail club of Ankylosaurus. But first-ever CT scans of Pawpawsaurus's skull indicate the dino's saving grace from predators may have been an acute sense of smell.

Released: 23-May-2016 1:05 PM EDT
Strange Sea-Dwelling Reptile Fossil Hints at Rapid Evolution After Mass Extinction
Field Museum

Two hundred and fifty million years ago, life on earth was in a tail-spin--climate change, volcanic eruptions, and rising sea levels contributed to a mass extinction that makes the death of the dinosaurs look like child's play. Marine life got hit hardest--96% of all marine species went extinct. For a long time, scientists believed that the early marine reptiles that came about after the mass extinction evolved slowly, but the recent discovery of a strange new fossil brings that view into question.

Released: 20-May-2016 1:05 PM EDT
Rapid Rise of the Mesozoic Sea Dragons
University of Bristol

In the Mesozoic, the time of the dinosaurs, from 252 to 66 million years ago, marine reptiles such as ichthyosaurs and plesiosaurs were top predators in the oceans. But their origins and early rise to dominance have been somewhat mysterious.

Released: 18-May-2016 2:05 PM EDT
New Species of Horned Dinosaur with a Spiked 'Shield'
PLOS

Spiclypeus shipporum had sideways-protruding horns over the eyes, enriches known fossil diversity of Judith River Formation.

Released: 17-May-2016 9:05 AM EDT
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Released: 16-May-2016 10:05 AM EDT
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Released: 13-May-2016 9:05 AM EDT
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Released: 11-May-2016 9:05 AM EDT
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10-May-2016 9:00 AM EDT
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Released: 4-May-2016 2:05 PM EDT
New Evidence Connects Dung Beetle Evolution to Dinosaurs
Cleveland Museum of Natural History

Researchers have found an evolutionary connection between dinosaurs and dung beetles. An international team of scientists uncovered the first molecular evidence indicating that dung beetles evolved in association with dinosaurs. The findings place the origin of dung beetles (Scarabaeidae: Scarabaeinae) in the Lower Cretaceous period, with the first major diversification occurring in the middle of the Cretaceous. This timeline places their origins approximately 30 million years earlier than previously thought. The research explores the potential of a co-extinction with dinosaurs 66 million years ago. The study was published today in the open-access journal PLOS ONE.

Released: 26-Apr-2016 3:05 PM EDT
Newly Discovered Titanosaurian Dinosaur From Argentina, Sarmientosaurus
PLOS

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.

Released: 21-Apr-2016 2:05 PM EDT
Leg-Wing Cooperation in Baby Birds, Dinosaurs Is Key Transition in Origin of Flight
American Museum of Natural History

New research based on high-resolution x-ray movies reveals that despite having extremely underdeveloped muscles and wings, young birds acquire a mature flight stroke early in their development, initially relying heavily on their legs and wings to work in tandem to power the strenuous movement. The new study, published today in the journal PLOS ONE, is important for understanding the development of flight in modern birds and reconstructing its origins in extinct dinosaurs.

Released: 20-Apr-2016 1:05 PM EDT
Paleontologist Finds That Ligaments in Some Dinosaurs’ Necks Helped Them Graze More Efficiently
Montana State University

Ligaments in the long necks of certain sauropods probably helped them graze more efficiently, according to a Montana State University paleontologist who recently published his theory about sweep-feeding in an international journal.

Released: 14-Apr-2016 12:05 PM EDT
Dino Dinner, Dead or Alive
Trinity College Dublin

When asked to think of meat-eating dinosaurs we usually conjure images of voracious predators chasing down helpless prey. These visions are no doubt inspired by the depiction of species such as Tyrannosaurs rex and Velociraptor in the movie Jurassic Park; however, new research conducted at Trinity College Dublin suggests that many of these species might be better remembered as oversized, scaly or feathered hyenas.

1-Apr-2016 4:05 PM EDT
How to Survive Extinction: Live Fast, Die Young
University of Utah

A team of international paleontologists demonstrate that ancient mammal relatives known as therapsids were suited to the drastic climate change by having shorter life expectancies and would have had a better chance of success by breeding at younger ages than their predecessors.

Released: 15-Mar-2016 11:05 AM EDT
Newly Found Species Reveals How T. rex Became King of Dinosaurs
University of Edinburgh

The remains of a new species of horse-sized dinosaur reveal how Tyrannosaurus rex became one of Earth's top predators, a study suggests.

11-Mar-2016 4:05 PM EST
Pregnant T. rex Could Aid in Dino Sex-Typing
North Carolina State University

A pregnant Tyrannosaurus rex that roamed Montana 68 million years ago may be the key to discerning gender differences between theropod, or meat-eating dinosaur, species.

10-Mar-2016 1:05 PM EST
Palaeontologists Discover 250 Million Year Old New Species of Reptile in Brazil
University of Birmingham

The species has been identified from a mostly complete and well preserved fossil skull that the team has named Teyujagua paradoxa.

Released: 1-Mar-2016 2:05 PM EST
Fossil Find Reveals Just How Big Carnivorous Dinosaur May Have Grown
Imperial College London

An unidentified fossilised bone in a museum has revealed the size of a fearsome abelisaur and may have solved a hundred-year old puzzle.

Released: 12-Feb-2016 3:05 PM EST
Paleontologists Discover Evidence of New Types of Dinosaurs in Idaho Including Tyrannosaur Ancestors
Montana State University

A team of Montana State University paleontologists have identified several new types of dinosaurs from fossil evidence discovered in eastern Idaho, demonstrating the presence of a much more diverse group of theropods in the area than was previously known.

Released: 8-Feb-2016 11:05 AM EST
Fossil Discovery: Extraordinary ‘Big-Mouthed’ Fish From Cretaceous Period
DePaul University

An international team of scientists have discovered two new plankton-eating fossil fish species of the genus called Rhinconichthys from the oceans of the Cretaceous Period, about 92 million years ago, when dinosaurs roamed the planet.

Released: 20-Jan-2016 3:05 PM EST
200 Million-Year-Old Jurassic Dinosaur Uncovered in Wales
PLOS

Juvenile theropod possibly oldest known Jurassic dinosaur from UK.

Released: 8-Dec-2015 2:05 PM EST
Unique Mosasaur Fossil Discovered in Japan
Taylor & Francis

An international research partnership has discovered the first Mosasaur fossil of its kind to be found in Japan. Not only does the 72-million-year-old marine reptile fossil fill a biogeographical gap between the Middle East and the eastern Pacific, but also it holds new revelations because of its superior preservation.

2-Dec-2015 2:00 PM EST
Dinosaur Relatives and First Dinosaurs More Closely Connected Than Previously Thought
University of Utah

A new study by a team of scientists from Argentina, Brazil, California and the Natural History Museum of Utah at the University of Utah has determined that the time elapsed between the emergence of early dinosaur relatives and the origin of the first dinosaurs is much shorter than previously believed.

Released: 2-Dec-2015 2:05 PM EST
Hundreds of Enormous Footprints Left by Dinosaurs Found Along a Lagoon in Scotland
Newswise Trends

UK researchers stumbled across several hundred dinosaur footprints in a coastal lagoon on the Isle of Skye, which they dated to the Middle Jurassic, 170 million years ago. The researchers, which include Stephen Brusatte from the University of Edinburgh, UK and his colleague Tom Challands, surmise that the footprints were left by sauropods, primitive cousins of the more famous Brontosaurus and Diplodocus. The largest of the footprints measure around 70 centimetres across, larger than those that would have been left by T. Rex. This find is the largest dinosaur site found in Scotland to date. The researchers report their findings in the Scottish Journal of Geology.

Released: 13-Nov-2015 1:05 PM EST
The Dinosaur Ankle Re-Evolved Amphibian-Like Development in Birds
Universidad de Chile

A new study in Nature Communications by Luis Ossa, Jorge Mpodozis and Alexander Vargas, from the University of Chile, provides a careful re-examination of ankle development in 6 different major groups of birds, selected specifically to clarify conditions in their last common ancestor.



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