* Astronomy

Blobrana · L

RE: Dinosaurs

Blobrana · L

Americas smallest dinosaur uncovered
An unusual breed of dinosaur that was the size of a chicken, ran on two legs and scoured the ancient forest floor for termites is the smallest dinosaur species found in North America, according to a University of Calgary researcher who analysed bones found during the excavation of an ancient bone bed near Red Deer, Alberta.

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Blobrana · L

Most of the newly discovered dinosaurs are just that - new to science, an assessment concludes.
With many past fossil finds named on the basis of partial remains, there has been concern that a lot of double counting has been taking place.
Recent studies had even suggested this error rate might be as high as 50% - with some species being catalogued with several aliases.
But the journal Biology Letters reports that modern practice is now very good.

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Blobrana · L

A new species of dinosaur is named somewhere in the world every two weeks. But are they all new species, or do the newly-discovered bones really belong to a dinosaur already identified?
Biologists have long been aware of the alias problem which refers to the number of times when one species has been given more than one name. Recent studies on dinosaurs have shown that the error rate may be as high as 50 per cent.

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Blobrana · L

A dig for dinosaur bones in western Queensland may have uncovered a new species, scientists say.
The Australian Age of Dinosaurs Institute has completed a two-week dig at a remote sheep and cattle station near Winton, where a 20-metre sauropod, dubbed Matilda, was discovered three years ago.

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Blobrana · L

The dinosaurs' long reign on Earth may have had more to do with lady luck than with superiority, according to a study published today in Science. The study challenges the old notion that dinosaurs out-competed their reptilian contemporaries.

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Blobrana · L

A 77-million-year-old mummified dinosaur, called Leonardo, discovered in Montana, USA, is scheduled to go on tour this year for display at museums throughout the United States. The exhibition is being made possible by major corporations including the Ford Motor Company and Huntsman Advanced Materials that provided the advanced technologies and innovative materials needed to build a high-quality stereolithography (SL) model of the rare 22-foot-long fossil. Built in 30 different photopolymer blocks, the model replicates intricate details preserved in the unique dinosaur mummy including skin, scales, muscle and foot pads.

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Blobrana · L

An archaeological dig in central Germany has unearthed fossils which could be the oldest record of dinosaur life ever.
The dinosaur find, at a quarry near the town of Bernburg 90 miles south-west of Berlin, appears to date from 250 million years ago.

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Blobrana · L

new research has suggested that a small dinosaur, known as Hypsilophodon foxii, could run as fast as an Olympian athlete, and possessed a special adaptation that prevented its ribs from rattling during its dash.
According to a report in Discovery News, the find yields both bad and good news for the plant-eating dinosaur.
The bad is that scientists now believe it did not possess impressive body armour, as had previously been suspected.
The good is they now think the thin mineralised plates that had earlier been identified as evidence for armour were actually cartilage tissues that may have helped to regulate breathing, especially during periods of extreme physical exertion.

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Blobrana · L

Duck-billed dinosaurs, once so common that they're called the "cows of the Cretaceous," grew three to five times faster than their predators. That made it easier for them to elude their enemies and thrive during the Late Cretaceous Period, says a paper published Aug. 6 by a former honours student at Montana State University.

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