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Post by theshee on Aug 12, 2011 1:59:05 GMT 10
 The rare tracks were most likely made during a polar summer when melting glaciers created a floodplian soft enough for the dinosaurs to leave tracks on.A group of more than 20 polar dinosaur tracks have been discovered on the coast of Victoria, Australia, offering a rare glimpse into animal behaviour during the last period of pronounced global warming, about 105 million years ago. The discovery is the largest and best collection of polar dinosaur tracks ever found in the Southern Hemisphere. “These tracks provide us with a direct indicator of how these dinosaurs were interacting with the polar ecosystems, during an important time in geological history,” said Emory palaeontologist Anthony Martin, who led the research. The three-toed tracks are preserved on two sandstone blocks from the Early Cretaceous Period. They appear to belong to three different sizes of small theropods – a group of bipedal, mostly carnivorous dinosaurs whose descendants include modern birds. The tracks were found on the rocky shoreline of remote Milanesia Beach, in Otways National Park. One sandstone block has about 15 tracks, including three consecutive footprints made by the smallest of the theropods, estimated to be the size of a chicken. The discovery has been detailed in the journal Alcheringa. www.discoveryon.info/2011/08/rare-polar-dinosaur-tracks-discovered-in-australia.html |
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Post by Wes Gear on Aug 12, 2011 12:50:56 GMT 10
Prehistoric bird found under Nullarbor THE 780,000-year-old fossilised remains of a prehistoric bird, possibly a wedge-tailed eagle, have been found in a cave under the Nullarbor Plain. Flinders University palaeontologist Gavin Prideaux said the almost complete skeleton was unearthed amid dozens of bird bones in Leaena's Breath Cave in Western Australia, about 70km from the South Australian border. "We've only ever found one partial eagle fossil before so given how complete this specimen is, it would be an exciting discovery," Dr Prideaux said. The specimen will be taken to Flinders University to determine if it is an eagle and, if so, whether it is the same species as the modern wedge-tailed eagle or something new. "It may be new given that it is at least 780,000 years old and probably much older," Dr Prideaux said. "Surrounding these larger bones are literally hundreds of songbird bones, a situation mirrored through the rest of the deposit. "This cave has been acting as a bird death trap for at least a million years, which is just one thing that makes this one of the most interesting and unique palaeontological sites in Australia." The discovery was made during a field trip involving scientists from Flinders University and the Western Australian Museum that is still under way. Read more: www.news.com.au/breaking-news/prehistoric-bird-found-under-nullarbor/story-e6frfku0-1226113723076#ixzz1UmNAMYo0
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Post by brillbilly on Aug 14, 2011 22:09:21 GMT 10
nice find!
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Happy New Years Everybody!!!
