* Astronomy

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Arctic Dinosaurs

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Paluxysaurus jonesi

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RE: Dinosaurs

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The remains of an enormous platypus have been found in China amongst what is believed to be the largest group of fossilised dinosaur bones ever discovered.
Palaeontologists have dug up more than 7,000 bones in 15 separate areas in Zhucheng City, known locally as Dinosaur City, in Chinas eastern Shandong province.

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An extensive survey of dinosaur skulls adds to the evidence that Tyrannosaurus rex had a killer sense of smell, and finds that the earliest known birds were much better at sniffing out prey than their descendents.

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How Swell Was The T Rex Sense Of Smell?
We know a lot about the lifestyles of dinosaur - where they lived, what they ate, how they walked - but not much was known about their sense of smell. Until now.

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Contrary to popular belief, polar dinosaurs may not have travelled nearly as far as originally thought when making their bi-annual migration.
University of Alberta researchers Phil Bell and Eric Snively have suggested that while some dinosaurs may have migrated during the winter season, their range was significantly less than previously thought, which means their treks were shorter. Bell and Snively's findings were recently published in Alcheringa: An Australasian Journal of Palaeontology.
The idea that these animals may have travelled distances nine times further than mule deer or four times those of wildebeest would have made them the greatest migrators in history. "There are strong opinions regarding dinosaur migration, but we decided to take a different approach, looking at variables such as energy requirements," said Bell. Their research led them to suggest that migrating dinosaurs could have travelled up to 3,000 kilometres in a round trip-lasting perhaps up to six months-half of the distance suggested previously.

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One of the smallest dinosaur skulls ever discovered has been identified and described by a team of scientists from London, Cambridge and Chicago. The skull would have been only 45 millimetres in length. It belonged to a very young Heterodontosaurus, an early dinosaur. This juvenile weighed about 200 grams, less than two sticks of butter.
In the Fall issue of the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, the researchers describe important findings from this skull that suggest how and when the ornithischians, the family of herbivorous dinosaurs that includes Heterodontosaurus, made the transition from eating meat to eating plants.

"It's likely that all dinosaurs evolved from carnivorous ancestors. Since heterodontosaurs are among the earliest dinosaurs adapted to eating plants, they may represent a transition phase between meat-eating ancestors and more sophisticated, fully-herbivorous descendents" - study co-author Laura Porro, a post-doctoral student at the University of Chicago.

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The bony crests that straddled the heads of some duck-billed dinosaurs may have been used to produce deep, haunting bellows, according to new research.
Medical scans of the dinos' nasal passages suggest thatlike human teenagersthe animals' voices may have changed as they aged, and that the dinos had the ability to recognize individuals based on their voices alone.

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Bizarre Dinosaur Lured Mates With Bony Adornments
The scary spikes on a newly discovered horned dinosaur species may look bizarre today, but they were sexy 72 million years ago, new research suggests.
Dubbed Pachyrhinosaur lakustai, the creature is related to Triceratops.
The dinosaur has a big bone on its nose to support a large central horn, two small spiky bones above its eyes, and three spikes in the middle of its forehead, the largest of which is about a 0.3 meters in length.

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