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archive: Oct-Dec 2007
Paleo-news archive: October-December 2007
Whale 'missing link' discovered
(Dec 21, 2007)
The whale is descended from a deer-like animal that lived 48 million
years ago, according to fossil evidence. Remains found in the Kashmir
region of India suggest the fox-sized mammal is the long-sought land-based
ancestor of whales, dolphins and porpoises. Research in Nature indicates
the animal lived mainly on land but dived into water to escape predators.
Read
more. Source: BBC |
New meat-eating dinosaur unveiled
(Dec 12, 2007)
Fossils of a massive dinosaur unearthed a decade ago in the Republic
of Niger, Africa, have been recognised as belonging to a new species.
Scientists say Carcharodontosaurus iguidensis was one of the largest
meat-eaters that ever lived, rivalling T. rex in size and ferocity.
The 95-million-year-old fossils have been kept in a Chicago laboratory
for several years, awaiting classification.
Read
more. Source: BBC |
Ancient polar bear jawbone found
(Dec 10, 2007)
What may be the oldest known remains of a polar bear have been uncovered
on the Svalbard archipelago in the Arctic. The jawbone was pulled
from sediments that suggest the specimen is perhaps 110,000 or 130,000
years old. Professor Olafur Ingolfsson from the University of Iceland
says tests show it was an adult, possibly a female.
Read
more. Source: BBC |
Amazing find of dinosaur 'mummy'
(Dec 3, 2007)
Fossil hunters have uncovered the remains of a dinosaur that has much
of its soft tissue still intact. Skin, muscle, tendons and other tissue
that rarely survive fossilisation have all been preserved in the specimen
unearthed in North Dakota. The 67 million-year-old dinosaur is one
of the duck-billed hadrosaur group.
Read
more. Source: BBC |
Man-sized sea scorpion claw found
(Nov 21, 2007)
The immense fossilised claw of a 2.5m-long (8ft) sea scorpion has
been described by European researchers. The 390-million-year-old specimen
was found in a German quarry, the journal Biology Letters reports.
The creature, which has been named Jaekelopterus rhenaniae, would
have paddled in a river or swamp.
Read
more. Source: BBC |
New African ape fossil discovered
(Nov 14, 2007)
The fossil of an ape that lived 10 million years ago could hold clues
to the dawn of human evolution. The ancient ape appears to be a close
relative of the last common ancestor of gorillas, chimps and humans,
according to a Kenyan-Japanese team. The lower jaw bone and 11 teeth,
found in volcanic mud deposits in northern Kenya, are unveiled in
the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Read
more. Source: BBC |
Dinosaurs breathed like penguins
(Nov 7, 2007)
Dinosaurs like Velociraptors owe their fearsome reputation to the
way they breathed, according to a UK study. They had one of the most
efficient respiratory systems of all animals, similar to that of modern
diving birds like penguins, fossil evidence shows. It fuelled their
bodies with oxygen for the task of sprinting after prey, say researchers
at Manchester University.
Read
more. Source: BBC |
Gliding mammal linked to humans
(Nov 4, 2007)
A gliding mammal that lives in the forests of south-east Asia is our
closest relative after apes, monkeys and lemurs, a DNA study shows.
Colugos are the "sisters" of primates, sharing a common ancestor some
80 million years ago when dinosaurs had their heyday, say US scientists.
Until now, many experts thought tree shrews were closer to primates.
Read
more. Source: BBC |
Neanderthals 'were flame-haired'
(Oct 26, 2007)
Some Neanderthals were probably redheads, a DNA study has shown. Writing
in Science journal, a team of researchers extracted DNA from remains
of two Neanderthals and retrieved part of an important gene called
MC1R. In modern people, a change – or mutation – in this
gene causes red hair, but, until now, no one knew what hair colour
our extinct relatives had.
Read
more. Source: BBC |
Cave clue to 'first beachcombers'
(Oct 18, 2007)
The waste from shellfish dinners discarded in a South African cave
is said to be the earliest evidence of humans living and thriving
by the sea. The material was found by scientists working in a sandstone
opening at Pinnacle Point on the Cape. Researchers tell the journal
Nature the remains were buried in sediments that are 164,000 years
old.
Read
more. Source: BBC |
Ancient reptile tracks unearthed
(Oct 17, 2007)
The earliest evidence for the existence of reptiles has been found
in Canada. The 315 million-year-old fossilised tracks give an insight
into a key milestone in the history of life, when animals left water
to live on dry land. The footprints suggest reptiles evolved between
one and three million years earlier than previously thought.
Read
more. Source: BBC |
'Giant dino' found in Argentina
(Oct 16, 2007)
Scientists think they have found a new species of giant plant-eating
dinosaur, Futalognkosaurus dukei, that roamed the earth some 80 million
years ago. It would have measured at least 32m (105ft) in height,
making it one of the tallest dinosaurs ever found, Argentine and Brazilian
palaeontologists say. The skeleton showed signs that its owner had
been eaten by predators.
Read
more. Source: BBC |
Dino print could be T. rex mark
(Oct 10, 2007)
A British palaeontologist has found what he thinks is a preserved
Tyrannosaurus rex footprint. The metre-square, three-toed track was
discovered in the Badlands of Montana, US, an arid landscape that
has yielded many of the finest dinosaur specimens. Dr Phil Manning,
from the Manchester Museum, University of Manchester, first saw the
impression last year.
Read
more. Source: BBC |
River reveals 'Jurassic dragon'
(Oct 10, 2007)
The fossil of a prehistoric sea monster that lived more than 144 million
years ago has been found in a river on the edge of west Belfast. Colin
Glen could become known as Northern Ireland's Jurassic Park after
the backbone of a plesiosaur was uncovered. Such a find was a chance
in a million said Paul Bennett, the educational ranger at the park.
Read
more. Source: BBC |
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