Well hello, everyone! I hope you all had a great Christmas. I most certainly did. I went to a wonderful Christmas Eve service with my family at a nearby church (our home church didn't have Christmas Eve service this year). This is my last blog post till after New Year's, so I hope you all enjoy it as you sit back and remember the amazing year we had in 2014.
Days till:
It is: 6 days till New Year's
It is: 10 days till my birthday
In the Spotlight:
No news on upcoming movies this week, but I recently finished my next episode of Animal Face-Off called: Carnotaurus vs. Cryolophosaurus. Please enjoy:
Topic of the Week by Christian Ryan
As a dinosaur enthusiast, I am commonly searching the
internet for the latest dinosaur discoveries. Man, was it worth is! 2014 has
been a terrific year for paleontology. Whether in barren deserts and scrub
lands across the world, or discovered in dusty museum fossil storerooms,
scientists discovered a myriad of new dinosaur species, as well as fossils of
dinosaurs that we previously knew very little about. Just like last year,
and the year before that, this article will feature some of the
many dinosaurs discovered in 2014, but also couple of dinosaurs that we knew
existed for decades, but we had so little fossil material, that we could not
learn much about them until now. Let's recap dinosaur discoveries of 2014!
New Discoveries Concerning Already-known Species
Deinocheirus
For decades, Deinocheirus was only known from a pair of arm bones; now that more fossils have been found, we know it was a large, hump-backed creature.
Deinocheirus (meaning “terrible hand”) is one of the
most popular dinosaurs among dinosaur enthusiasts, but until recently there was
a dinosaur shrouded in mystery. This was due to the fact that the only known
fossils of this dinosaur consisted of its giant arms that ended in sharp claws.
Originally, scientists believed Deinocheirus used its claws to rip into
the guts of giant herbivorous dinosaurs. But in 2013, two specimens of Deinocheirus
were discovered: one in Asia's Gobi Desert and the other in a museum storeroom
(as Deinocheirus' arms had only been discovered, scientists didn't know
that the museum's specimen – which lacked arms – was a Deinocheirus).
The specimens were scientifically described in 2014. We now know that Deinocheirus
is actually the largest known member of the ornithomimosaur, or “ostrich
dinosaur”, classification group. It was 12-15 feet tall, 36 feet long and
weighed about seven tons. It was also very unlike most other ornithomimosaurs,
which were ostrich-like in body shape and were swift and agile runners. Deinocheirus
was a stocky, humpbacked and omnivorous creature. Preserved with its fossil
remains are gastroliths (rounded stones used to grind up plant matter and
animal material), suggesting it ate vegetation and used its claws for bringing
vegetation toward its mouth. It also ate fish, because fish scales and bones
have also been discovered in this dinosaur's stomach content.
Spinosaurus
Instead of being a terrestrial, two-legged predator, Spinosaurus was semi-aquatic, hunting mainly aquatic creatures like fish and crocodiles.
Spinosaurus is another popular dinosaur that we have
only recently learned much about. When first discovered by German
paleontologist Ernst Stromer in 1912, Spinosaurus was thought to be a
large species of carnosaur that walked about on two legs. In fact, it wasn't very
different from the dinosaur known as Allosaurus when initially described
other than the fact that it had a sail on its back. (Click here to readmore about Spinosaurus' history) However, new fossil specimens were dug
out of the Egyptian soil of northern Africa in 2013 and the results from a
study of the remains was scientifically published in 2014. The new fossils (and
several other less complete fragments discovered between 1912 and 2013)
revealed that this dinosaur was very different from the initial depictions.
Instead of being a two-legged terrestrial carnosaur that preyed upon
herbivorous dinosaurs, Spinosaurus seems to have been a four-legged,
semi-aquatic carnivore not related to carnosaurs like Allosaurus. It was
in a family all its own: the spinosaurs. Spinosaurus spent much of its
life in the water, mainly hunting fish, crocodiles. However it is doubtful that
Spinosaurus would not have snacked on other dinosaurs on occasion.
New Dinosaurs Described in 2014
Anzu
Anzu is one of the largest species of oviraptorosaurs. It had a crest on its head, probably for display purposes. PHOTO CREDITS
Montana's Hell Creek Formation has yielded several relatively
large skeletons of an oviraptorosaur (dinosaurs related to Oviraptor;
once believed to be egg-thieves) over the years. Scientists thought this
oviraptorosaur remains belonged to the genus Chirostenotes, a species of
oviraptorosaur who's remains are normally found further north, in Canada and
Alaska. However, recent research has proven that instead of belonging to this
genus, paleontologists had a different species altogether! They named it Anzu
wyliei, after a mythological Mesopotamian feathered demon. It was rather
large for an oviraptorosaur – 9-11 feet long, 5-7 feet tall and weighing 660
pounds. Most oviraptorosaurs were no larger than a turkey. Anzu had a
toothless beak, a large bony crest on its head and long arms ending in clawed
hands. It made its home in what is now the northern United States, where it
lived alongside Triceratops and Tyrannosaurus. The scientists
that discovered the creature believe it would have probably eaten vegetation,
small animals and possibly eggs.
Changyuraptor
Changyuraptor was a large relative of Microraptor, complete with two sets of wings, one on each limb.
Dinosaurs weren't the only creatures roaming the planet in
the days before the Genesis Flood described in the Bible. Many birds living at
the time, like the recently discovered the Cretaceous Changyuraptor of
China, were unique among the fliers God created. Like its smaller relative, Microraptor,
Changyuraptor had four wings (one on each limb) but it did not use them for
powered flight. It was a glider, launching itself from trees and gliding
through its forest home. At four feet long and nine pounds in weight, it is the
largest four-winged bird yet discovered.
Dreadnoughtus
Dreadnoughtus was the largest dinosaur known from a relatively complete skeleton, weighing 65 tons! No predator would attack a fully-grown adult! PHOTO CREDITS
Argentinosaurus is the largest dinosaur known from
relatively good fossil remains and is estimated as weighing at least 75 tons
(with some estimates of over 100 tons). Unfortunately, this dinosaur's remains
are very incomplete, so there is some debate on how much the animal weighed.
The largest terrestrial vertebrate possessing the greatest mass of any land
animal that can be calculated with reasonable certainty is the intimidatingly-named
Dreadnoughtus schrani. Dreadnoughtus (which was named after a
warship and means “fearing nothing) was a colossal sauropod, or long-necked
dinosaur, from Cretaceous Argentina. This dinosaur was big, even by sauropod
standards. In life this beast stretched 85 feet long from nose to tail and
weighed an astounding 65.4 tons in weight! It stood about as tall a two-story
building when its neck was held in its normal posture, horizontal with the rest
of its body. This enormous herbivore surely struck fear into nearby predators!
The name “Dreadnoughtus” fits this animal well.
Laquintasaurua
Laquintasaura was a fox-sized dinosaur that might have lived in herds. PHOTO CREDITS
Straight from the lower Jurassic bone beds of Venezuela came Laquintasaura
venezuelae (meaning “La Quinta's Lizard from Venezuela”). It was a rather
small dinosaur, only standing three feet long and a little less than a foot
tall. The bipedal Laquintasaura is a special dinosaur to paleontologists
because it is the first dinosaur known from this region of Venezuela. It was
mainly an herbivore, but it also likely ate large insects and other small
animals. Because several specimens were found in the same place, scientists
believe this dinosaur lived in herds. Living in herds would have been a good
survival strategy for Laquintasaura, as scientists also recently discovered
a species of carnivorous theropod living in the same habitat called Tachiraptor,
which we will get to in just a minute!
Mercuriceratops
Mercuriceratops was a close relative of the larger Triceratops. PHOTO CREDITS
Mercuriceratops is a large ceratopsid (or horned)
dinosaur from Alberta, Canada's Dinosaur Park Formation. As its appearance
might suggest, it is a relative of the larger and much more famous Triceratops.
Ceratopsids are renowned for their horned heads and neck frills that vary in
shape and size depending on the species. Triceratops has three horns and
an average-sized neck frill; Styracosaurus has long spikes sticking out
of the sides of its frill; Pachyrhinosaurus lacks a nose horn, instead
possessing a bony lump. The shape of Mercuriceratops'frillis
unique, as it is shaped rather like a butterfly's wing and possesses wing-like
protrusions sticking out of the sides of its frill. Why ceratopsids had such
varied frill shapes is unknown by scientists, but there is evidence to suggest
that they were used to help protect the animal's neck from predators and/or for
display purposes, such as attracting mates and intimidating rivals or
predators. Maybe they were even used for species recognition. Mercuriceratops
is named after Mercury from Greek mythology, who had wings on his head and
feet.
Nanuqsaurus
Nanuqsaurus' name means "polar bear lizard". PHOTO CREDITS
Tyrannosaurus had a much smaller cousin who's fossils
were recently uncovered in the Price Creek Formation in the North Slope of
Alaska called Nanuqsaurus hoglundi. Nanuqsaurus (which means
“polar bear lizard”) was a member of the tyrannosaur family. Despite being a
relative of T. rex, it was less than half as large and only about 20 feet long.
However, its smaller size would have enabled this tyrannosaur to run very
swiftly after prey.
Rhinorex
Despite its name, Rhinorex was not a relative of Tyrannosaurus rex, but a hadrosaur. PHOTO CREDITS
Rhinorex was a species of hadrosaur discovered in
central Utah's Cretaceous Neslen Formation. Hadrosaurs are famous by their
duck-like mouths and were very widespread throughout the pre-Flood world. What
made Rhinorex unique was its large nose. Like other hadrosaurs,
paleontologists do not believe Rhinorex had a wonderful sense of smell,
so perhaps its large nose was used for display. If so, it would have been very
colorful. Many birds and reptiles living today have colorful head features that
are used to impress females. Rhinorex's nose might have also been used
for species recognition. In addition to a large nose, scientists also
discovered that their Rhinorex specimen had wonderfully preserved skin
impressions.
Tachiraptor
Tachiraptor probably hunted Laquintasaura, as their fossils have been found near each other. PHOTO CREDITS
Laquintasaura was a small and swift dinosaur. The
discovery of another dinosaur living in the same place as Laquintasaura
made it easy to see why being fast was a good thing. Scientists realized the
fossil teeth and bones they found along with the smaller dinosaur were a new
species, and upon describing the fossils, they named the animal Tachiraptor,
meaning “thief of Táchira”. Tachiraptor was about five feet long and
lived in the lower Jurassic pre-Flood environment. Its long legs helped it to
run swiftly after its swift prey.
Zaraapelta
Zaraapelta was a large armored dinosaur built like a tank. It would have been a difficult animal to kill, even by a tyrannosaur! PHOTO CREDITS
Straight from Mongolia's Gobi Desert, a new species of
ankylosaur was described. They named it Zaraapelta, meaning “hedgehog
shield”. Ankylosaurs are famous for the horny knobs and spikes covering their
bodies and the club at the end of their tails used for protection and defense
from predators. However, Zaraapelta had unusually elaborate spikes on
its skull, making scientists theorize that they were used for display purposes.
Zby
Zby, one of the largest dinosaurs, also has one of the shortest names of any dinosaur. PHOTO CREDITS
Another sauropod was described this year, called Zby (Zb-ee),
named after Georges Zbyszewski. Ironically, despite its extremely tiny name, it
was quite a large dinosaur, though its exact size is still unknown to date due
to the lack of fossil remains. It was discovered in Portugal's Lourinhã
Formation. To learn about Zby, scientists used a related species that has had
more fossils attributed to it, called Turiasaurus. Turiasaurus dinosaur is from
Spain and at over 90 feet long, it might be the largest dinosaur known from
Europe.
I hope you liked this recap of some of the most amazing and
interesting dinosaur discoveries of 2014. In fact, I hope you have enjoyed all
the articles I have written over the year 2014. Next year should be just as
exciting! There will undoubtedly be lots of new dinosaur discoveries coming up,
plus two awesome dinosaur movies coming out: Universal Studios' Jurassic
World and Pixar'sThe Good Dinosaur!
I hope everyone really enjoyed 2014 and may God bless all of
my faithful readers! Have a happy New Year
everyone! See you in 2015!
Disclaimer: Many (or in some cases all) of
the photographs and images above are not mine. If you own one or more of them
and would like them to be removed, politely let me know via one or both of the
email addresses above.
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