Discovered by a geologist in the Sustut Basin of north-central British Columbia 37 years ago, the bones, which are about 70 million years old, were tucked away until being donated to Dalhousie University in 2004 and assigned to then-undergraduate student Victoria Arbour to research as an honours project. She soon realized that the bones were a rare find: they are very well-preserved and are the most complete dinosaur specimen found in B.C. to date. They are also the first bones found in B.C.'s Skeena mountain range.
"There are similarities with two other kinds of dinosaurs, although there's also an arm bone we've never seen before. The Sustut dinosaur may be a new species, but we won't know for sure until more fossils can be found," said Arbour, who finished researching the bones while studying for her master's degree at the University of Alberta. "It's very distinct from other dinosaurs that were found at the same time in southern Alberta."
The seven shin, arm, toe and possible skull bones were found nestled in a dip between mountains in the Skeena range, and while the fragments resemble those from a small two-legged, plant-eating dinosaur, the rest of the creature's identity is a mystery, Arbour says.
The fossils are currently in the collection of the Royal British Columbia Museum in Victoria and Arbour hopes to lead a U of A team to the site for future investigation.
Arbour's findings were published recently in the Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences.
12 June 2008
Mysterious mountain dino may be a new species
06 December 2007
Elephants sniff urine to tell who's who
Researchers led by Professor Richard Byrne of the University of St Andrews in Scotland, publish their research in the journal Biology Letters.
A keen trunk coupled with a good memory is essential for the foraging pachyderms, which travel in ever-shifting groups ranging from a handful to several hundred individuals, the study says.
Drawing from developmental research on pre-verbal children, scientists from the UK and Kenya tested the ability of elephants in Kenya's Amboseli National Park to distinguish kin from stranger.
They also devised experiments, called 'expectancy-violation' paradigms, to see whether the animals knew where family members were at any given moment.
They placed individual samples of urine mixed with earth from females along the paths of 36 elephant family groups, and then measured the reactions.
Only female urine samples were used because the social structure of the African elephant Loxodonta africana is matrilineal.
The first female in a group showed very little interest if the urine sample was from an elephant outside its group, but stopped to reach with its trunk if the odour came from a familiar source.
African elephants are able to keep tabs on at least 17 females, and as many as 30 individuals, both male and female, at any given time, the study says.
The lead elephant displayed especially heightened interest if the pungent smell belonged to an elephant that was trailing behind with the family.
This shows the African elephant "can remember where some family members are in relation to itself", the researchers conclude.
"The fact that individuals do not generally walk in the same order when travelling, suggests that keeping track of the location of other elephants could be cognitively demanding," they say.
Byrne and his colleagues conjecture that olfactory kin recognition is made possible by certain proteins found in urine, such as lipocalins and immune system molecules called MHC markers.
04 October 2007
NEWLY DISCOVERED DINOSAUR : Gryposaurus Monumentensis
An undated artist's rendering of the duck-billed dinosaur Gryposaurus monumentensis, which roamed southern Utah 75 million years ago, shows the robust jaws that allowed this creature to eat just about any vegetation it came across.
"It was one of the most robust duck-billed dinosaurs ever," said museum paleontologist Terry Gates, who is also with the U.'s Department of Geology and Geophysics. "It was a monster."
This duck-billed dinosaur dates to the Late Cretaceous Period 75 million years ago. "Gryposaurus monumentensis is probably the largest dinosaur in the 75-million-year-old Kaiparowits fossil ecosystem," said Alan Titus, paleontologist for the national monument.
Gates, lead author on the study, explained that this creature could have eaten just about any vegetation it stumbled across. "With its robust jaws, no plant stood a chance against G. monumentensis," he said.
Scott Sampson, another paleontologist with the Utah museum who was involved with the project, emphasized the massively-built skull and skeleton, referring to the animal as the "Arnold Schwarzenegger of duck-billed dinosaurs."
Finding the skull
In 2002, a team from the Alf Museum, in Claremont, Calif., located at the Webb School, discovered the site that contained the skull used to describe the new creature. Every summer, the California institution, the only nationally-accredited paleontology museum on a high school campus, gives Webb students and volunteers the chance to participate in scientific field work.
The California team was working a stretch of Grand Staircase that Utah researchers had not examined. Duncan Everhart, a Pennsylvania furniture maker, is credited with finding the skull.
Don Lofgren, curator of the Alf Museum, said the team received permission from the monument to dig deeper in 2003.
"We determined it was a skull sitting upside down with the jaw on top," he said.
Once Gates went out to take a look in 2004, he quickly realized the California team had a potentially-important find. The Alf Museum gave the Utah researchers permission to prepare and study the skull.
Titus noted the discovery of this new species was a team effort involving the Alf Museum, the Utah Museum of Natural History and the national monument.
"The cooperative effort put into its collection and research has truly been a model for scientific investigation on public lands," he said.
It wasn't until Utah researchers began working on the skull in 2005 that the full significance of the find began to emerge, Gates said.
The well-preserved skull was initially missing key pieces from the nose region. Fortunately, the California museum had collected a box full of eroded bones, including bits of the nose bone, which was critical for identifying the creature.
"I knew immediately that we had some species of Gryposaurus," Gates said.
A toothy beast
The creature's large number of teeth embedded in the thick skull is among the features that made G. monumentensis, as well as other closely related duck-billed dinosaurs, such a successful herbivore.
At any given time, the dinosaur had over 300 teeth available to slice up plant material. Inside the jaw bone, there were numerous replacement teeth waiting, meaning that at any moment, this Gryposaur may have carried more than 800 teeth.
"IIt was capable of eating most any plant it wanted to," Gates said. "Although much more evidence is needed before we can hypothesize on its dietary preferences."
While the diet is unknown, given the considerable size of the creature, the massive teeth and jaws are thought to have been used to slice up large amounts of tough, fibrous plant material.
The teeth may hold important clues the dinosaur's eating habits. The Utah museum plans to study the composition of the dinosaur teeth, which when compared to other plant-eating dinosaurs from the Kaiparowits Formation, will help researchers decipher differences in diet.
G. monumentensis is one of several new dinosaur species found in Grand Staircase, including: a Velociraptor-like carnivore named Hagryphus, a tyrannosaur, and several kinds of horned dinosaurs. In all, more than a dozen kinds of dinosaurs have been recovered from these badlands, and most represent species that are new to science.
"This is a brand new and extremely important window into the world of dinosaurs," said Sampson.
Under ideal circumstances, paleontologists will find the skull and other key bones at the same site. In this case, the head was the only thing they managed to find from where the Alf team searched.
Researchers believe the head of this particular Gryposaur likely rolled into a bend of a river, where it was partly buried. The right half of the head remained exposed to the river current, dislodging several bones before this side was buried as well.
In other parts of the monument, Utah researchers have excavated bones believed to be from the same species. Gates estimates G. monumentensis may have grown up to 30 feet long as an adult.
"As each new find such as this new Gryposaur is made," Titus said, "it is placed into the greater context of an entire ecosystem that has remained lost for eons, and is only now coming under scientific scrutiny."
Life in 'West America'
Around 75 million years ago, southern Utah differed dramatically from today's arid desert and redrock country. During much of the Late Cretaceous, a shallow sea split North America down the middle, dividing the continent into eastern and western landmasses.
In what Sampson terms "West America," G. monumentensis and its fellow dinosaurs lived in a narrow strip of land sandwiched between the seaway to the east and rising mountains to the west. Due in large part to the presence of the seaway, the climate was moist and humid.
Thanks to more than 100 years of fossil collection, scientists know more about the Cretaceous dinosaurs from North American than they do from any other time or continent on Earth, Sampson noted.
While G. monumentensis gulped down its greens and tried to avoid predatory tyrannosaurs down in Utah, closely related but different species of duck-billed dinosaurs were doing the same thing farther north, in places like Montana and Alberta, Canada.
The new Utah species is proving crucial for determining patterns of duck-billed dinosaur evolution and ecology during the Late Cretaceous of North America, Gates said. He added that "this calls for a re-evaluation of previous ideas about the evolution of duck-billed dinosaurs across the world."
Earlier explanations of dinosaurs undertaking long distance migrations have gone out the window. "Now we have to figure out how so many different kinds of giants managed to coexist in such small areas," said Sampson. "We're just beginning to unravel this story."
Bones from G. monumentensis are on display at Big Water Visitor Center in Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, and for a short time at the Utah Museum of Natural History before returning to the Alf Museum.
This research was published in the Oct. 3 issue of the Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society.
source: This story has been adapted from material provided by University of Utah.
30 August 2007
Sarcosuchus imperator
Steve Irwin, the daredevil Australian naturalist killed last year by a stingray, never wrestled a croc like this one.
Museum of Natural History in Paris,
Philippe Taquet(L) and
France de Lapparent de Broin
pose on a likeness of the
"Sarcosuchus imperator"
that lived 110 million years ago.
As long as a tourist bus and with jaws big enough to pick up a cow, "Sarcosuchus imperator" lived 110 million years ago and was surely the biggest, baddest crocodile to ever roam the earth.
This week its scales-and-blood likeness was unveiled by the man who first identified and named the amphibious predator based on fossil remains found in Niger more than 40 years ago.
"It is impressive to finally see this animal in the flesh -- excuse me, I mean in resin," said a smiling Philippe Taquet, a paleontologist at the Museum of Natural History in Paris.
Measuring 12 meters (40 feet) from snout to tail, and weighing in at 10 tonnes, Sarco -- as the beast is known among dinsosaur buffs -- undoubtably chomped on big fish and small dinosaurs, dragging them into the tropical rivers that once criss-crossed what is today the Sahara.
The reconstruction of the animal by the French company Ophys required 1800 hours of work and 750 kilos (1650 pounds), and was undertaken under the watchful eye of paleontologist France de Lapparent de Broin, who co-authored with Taquet the first scientific article on Sarco in 1966.
Sarco's new home will be the Crocodile Farm, an wildlife park with 400 of the pre-historic reptile's modern cousins, along with an assortment of giant turtles.
28 August 2007
New golden frog discovered in remote region of Colombia
A new poisonous frog was recently discovered in a remote mountainous region in Colombia by a team of young scientists supported by the Conservation Leadership Programme (CLP). The new frog, which is almost two centimetres in length, was given the name the "golden frog of Supatá".
Originally, the young scientists thought the frog was similar to several other common species in the area. However, after scientific analysis of the frog’s characteristics, and review of their findings by experts at Conservation International, it was determined that the golden frog of Supatá is unique and only found within a 20 hectare area in Colombia’s Cundinamarca region. Colombia is one of the world’s richest countries in amphibian diversity, with more than 583 species.
Unfortunately, since this frog is a recent discovery, and endemic to only the Cunidnamarca region, little is known about it. So far, scientists say that the golden frog of Supatá belongs to a group of “dart fogs” that are known to be highly venomous. In the coming months, the young scientists hope to have more information about the frog.
“The importance of this project is not just the discovery of the new frog,” said Oswaldo Cortes, team leader and one of the winners of the 2007 Conservation Leadership Programme awards. “But, most importantly, what this new discovery shows is how little we still know about our planet, and the many species that haven’t yet been discovered. This is why it is so important to work with local communities and educate them about the need for conservation.”
15 March 2007
New Species Declared: Clouded Leopard On Borneo And Sumatra
Bornean clouded leopard Neofelis diardi Kalimantan (Indonesian Borneo), Indonesia.(Credit: Image courtesy of World Wildlife Fund)
Scientists have discovered that the clouded leopard found on the islands of Borneo and Sumatra is an entirely new species of cat. The secretive rainforest animal was originally thought to be the same species as the one found in mainland Southeast Asia.
Genetic analysis conducted at the U.S. National Cancer Institute shows that the difference between the two clouded leopard species is comparable to the differences between other large cat species like lions, tigers, and jaguars. Scientists believe the new species of clouded leopard diverged from the mainland population some 1.4 million years ago.
"Genetic research results clearly indicate that the clouded leopards of Borneo and Sumatra should be considered a separate species," said Dr Stephen O'Brien, Head of the Laboratory of Genomic Diversity, U.S. National Cancer Institute. "DNA tests highlighted around 40 differences between the two species."
The results of the genetic study are supported by separate research on geographical variation in the clouded leopard, based mainly on fur patterns and coloration of skins held in museums and collections.
"The moment we started comparing the skins of the mainland clouded leopard and the leopard found on Borneo and Sumatra, it was clear we were comparing two different species," said Dr Andrew Kitchener, from the Department of Natural Sciences, National Museums Scotland and lead author of the scientific paper that described the new species. "It's incredible that no one has ever noticed these differences."
The new clouded leopard species is generally darker than the mainland species, has small cloud markings, many distinct spots within the cloud markings, grayer fur, and a double dorsal stripe. Clouded leopards from the mainland have large clouds on their skin with fewer, often faint, spots within the cloud markings, and they are lighter in color, with a tendency toward tawny-colored fur and a partial double dorsal stripe.
"Who said a leopard can never change its spots? For over a hundred years we have been looking at this animal and never realized it was unique," said Adam Tomasek, head of WWF's Borneo and Sumatra program. "The fact that Borneo's top predator is now considered a separate species further emphasizes the uniqueness of the island and the importance of conserving the Heart of Borneo."
Clouded leopards are the biggest predators on Borneo. Some grow to be as large as a small panther, and have the longest canine teeth relative to body size of any cat. Sumatran tigers are the largest predators on Sumatra.
Between 5,000 and 11,000 clouded leopards are estimated to live on Borneo. The total number in Sumatra could be in the range of 3,000 to 7,000 individuals. However, further studies are needed to obtain better population data. Habitat destruction is the cat's main threat.
The last great forest home of the Bornean Clouded Leopard is the Heart of Borneo, a wild, mountainous region of rainforest the size of Kansas. WWF recently released a report showing that scientists had identified at least 52 new species of animals and plants over the past year on Borneo.
Last month in Bali (Indonesia), the ministers of the three Bornean governments - Brunei Darussalam, Indonesia and Malaysia - signed an historic Declaration to conserve and sustainably manage the Heart of Borneo.
source : WWF
07 January 2007
21st century technology cracks alchemists' secret recipe
500-year old mystery surrounding the centerpiece of the alchemists' lab kit has been solved by UCL (University College London) and Cardiff University archaeologists.
Since the Middle Ages, mixing vessels – or crucibles – manufactured in the Hesse region of Germany have been world renowned because of their ability to withstand strong reagents and high temperatures.
Previous work by the team has shown that Hessian crucibles have been found in archaeological sites across the world, including Scandinavia, Central Europe, Spain, Portugal, the UK, and even colonial America. At the time, many people tried to reproduce them but always failed.
Now, writing in Nature, the researchers reveal using petrographic, chemical and X-ray diffraction analysis that Hessian crucible makers made use of an advanced material only properly identified and named in the 20th century.
Dr Marcos Martinón-Torres, of the UCL Institute of Archaeology, who led the study, explains: "Our analysis of 50 Hessian and non-Hessian crucibles revealed that the secret component in their manufacture is an aluminium silicate known as mullite (Al6Si2O13).
"Today mullite is used in a wide range of modern conventional and advanced ceramics, such as building materials, electronic packaging devices, optical materials and catalytic converters, as well as in ceramic matrix composites such as thermal protection systems and liners for aircraft and stationary gas turbine engines.
"This material was only first described in the 20th century, though Hessian crucible makers were already taking advantage of this peculiar aluminium silicate 400 years earlier: they synthesised mullite by manufacturing their crucibles with kaolinitic clay and then firing them at temperatures above 1100 degrees.
"Mullite is extremely resistant to thermal, chemical and mechanical stresses, and that's what made the crucibles so fit for their functions. It is thanks to the availability of Hessian crucibles that the discovery of some elements and their thermochemical behaviour could take place.
"Crucible makers were not aware of mullite, but they mastered a very successful recipe, and that's why they kept it constant, and secret, for centuries."
Professor Ian Freestone, Cardiff School of History and Archaeology, said: "Manufacture of the crucibles used in early metallurgy and alchemy challenged the potters as they were required to withstand conditions more extreme than those required of other ceramics. In this case we find that the properties of a material which we regard as modern and high-tech, in this case mullite, were being exploited centuries ago by craftsmen who had a limited scientific understanding of their products but a great deal of skill and ingenuity."
Source: University College London
