October 3, 2016:

by Sumayah Aamir

There was a time in the distant past when dinosaurs ruled the earth. Back then mammals were almost non-existent and the few that were present often became easy prey for these giant beasts.

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Yet with a huge catastrophe that shook the earth, these dinosaurs disappeared leaving behind mammals which evolved into, among other species, primates and ultimately homo sapiens.

Today we can find indirect evidence of the existence of dinosaurs via the fossil remains they have left behind. Can we show the imagination to actually believe that one fine day mankind will have evolved to the point where it too becomes extinct like the dinosaurs?

Yet such is the reality of the situation we find ourselves in today with such crises as global warming, resource depletion and nuclear fallout. If all this advanced civilization of ours goes up in a radioactive mushroom cloud, we can well surmise that maybe one day in the distant future, the beings that will be left will dig the ground and find the fossils of our own species.

They will then say that “here lies the remains of man”. Such is the paradox of existence on this planet. Moving on, let us peer into some of the latest discoveries about dinosaurs that still baffle the mind of man.
Extinct Reptile Mimics Body and Skull of Past Ancestors

An extinct reptile that lived about 230 years ago came earlier than the dinosaurs. Called the Triopticus primus, it had a pit in the center of its skull. Its skull was pretty thick too. It showed similarities to its distant cousins that lived 100 million years later.

Triopticus showed convergence which is an important feature of evolution and paleontology. A bird’s wing and a bat’s wing show convergence. Many other reptiles show this trend like the Triopticus primus.

The dinosaurs were basically reptiles. They underwent a mass extinction at one point in their (pre)history. Then the reptiles and mammals exploded on the scene.

Many high technology methods were used to obtain these valuable results regarding these reptiles and dinosaurs. X-ray CT scanning was the most prominent of the procedures employed to gain the precious data.
Dinosaurs’ Camouflage may have Saved them from Enemies

The latest evidence suggests that dinosaurs’ coloring may have protected them from their predators. The Psittacosaurus was the main center of focus for this study. It showed a lighter color on its underbelly and a darker color on its top ridge.

It also had horns on its skull and bristles on its tail. When scientists made a 3D model of this beast, it showed how its countershading protected it from larger dinosaurs that preyed upon it.

The animal’s coloring matched the surroundings in a symbiotic manner. The environment it lived in was such that it melded in it thus escaping the hungry eyes of any predators.
A Newly Unearthed Dinosaur Found to be the Size of a Pet Cat

A pterosaur was exhumed and it was smaller than expected. For one thing it had the dimensions of a house cat. It lived 77 million years ago. Also it had a 5 foot wing span.

These pterosaurs are neither dinosaurs nor birds. They are actually reptiles and that too a unique species of these cold-blooded beasts. The bones of these pterosaurs were hollow.

The image of these pterosaurs as having giant wing spans is countered by this specific member of the species. Later on these small species simply began disappearing from the scene.

That left their larger cousins, the more normal pterosaurs as the main flying creatures that we are familiar with in a fossilized form today.
Hundreds of Footprints of Piscivorous Dinosaurs Exist in Portugal

A Spanish paleontological team has found evidence of over 700 footprints of dinosaurs in Portugal. They belong to the Middle Jurassic Period. They trapped and ate fish isolated in tidal pools.

One of the team members pointed out how the discovery of footprints in the soil was a big find. The period which these belonged to was known as the Dark Age of the Dinosaurs.

Other places where these footprints have been found are in England, Scotland and France. The footprints are the most largest of all found and they point to humongous specimens. The fact that they solely ate fish remains a fascinating discovery.
Jurassic Sea Monster Comes to the Fore

An extinct Storr Lochs Monster has been brought before the public more than half a century after the discovery of its fossils. The venue of the find was Scotland. This massive marine species was found in fossilized form in 1966.

It was an ichthyosaur which is an extinct dolphin-like animal. It lived 170 million years ago. The skeleton of this fearsome creature is almost intact. The fossil of this creature was imbedded in a large rock.

The fossil was unearthed and taken to a local museum. This marine animal ruled the seas while dinosaurs ruled the earth.
With 300 Teeth Duck-Billed Dinosaurs are a Mindboggling Species

Where dental care is concerned, duck-billed dinosaurs are having 300 teeth. These were called hadrosaurs. They lived between 90 million and 65 million years ago.

Their dental setup is unique among species. Instead of shedding teeth, these hadrosaurs kept adding teeth throughout their lifetime. Thus row upon row of teeth were the end result.

This network of teeth tore and shredded plant material. The teeth were viewed through a microscope. The tooth structure was very fine. These dinosaurs had the most complex teeth of any species.
Paleontology Expert finds Crucial T. Rex Fossil

A paleontologist found a T. Rex fossil that is a chief part of a puzzle. The skull is pretty much complete. The bones comprise 20% of a complete specimen. The T. Rex was a fierce predator and it had serrated teeth that tore its prey like razor blades.

Dubbed the Tufts-Love Rex, this dinosaur once was a terror of land species. It is 66.3 million years old. To unearth it completely from the rock it is imbedded in is still an ongoing process.
Novel Dinosaur may Lend Clues as to its Evolutionary Origins

A new species of megaraptorid dinosaur found in the soil of Patagonia may lend clues as to its evolutionary origins. Their meat-eating diet led to their epithet as giant thieves. They included: the Megaraptor, Orkoraptor and Aerosteon.

The fossil found had an intact brain case. The evolution of these meraraptorids is the main focus here. A basic analysis of the fossil is underway to get at the core nitty gritty stuff.
Soot may have Led to the Death of Dinosaurs and Ammonites

The question regarding the mass extinction of the dinosaurs is one that has haunted mankind. It is believed that large amounts of stratospheric soot spewed from rocks caused global cooling, drought and and limited photosynthesis in the world’s waterways.

While some dinosaurs were thought to be roaring furiously, many of them cooed softly from their mouths. The evolutionary history of these dinosaurs shows this to be a hard fact.

One thing is clear, birds descended from dinosaurs. Dinosaurs were probably giant birds. A thorough examination of the vocal organs of dinosaurs shows this thesis to be true.
Theropod Dinosaur shows Small T.Rex Type of Arms Evolved Many Times

Reconstruction of skeletal remains of dinosaurs especially theropods shows that they developed T.Rex type of limbs many times over. The region in which this took place in the past was Argentina.

The forelimbs were very small as compared to the rest of the body. The theropod is called Gualicho and it is a sort of mosaic dinosaur. This trait evolved separately in several other dinosaurs as well.
Facial Tumor found in Duck-Billed Dinosaur Fossil

A tumor swelling was found in the facial features of a fossil of a duck-billed dinosaur. It was a benign tumor though. The dinosaur species was a dwarf member of its kind.

These dinosaurs were probably subject to the onslaught of tumors from their biology. Termed ameloblastoma, these tumors were a form of neoplasia.
Titanosaurian found in Argentina

A 95 million year old specimen has been found in Argentina. Termed the Sarmientosaurus, it ranged in size in its times from a cow all the way to a sperm whale. Its brain was small as compared to its skull size.

It also had several senses that helped it navigate and deal with its complex environment. The organs of balance in the ears show this species to be highly attuned to several types of sounds.
Seeds Protected Bird Ancestors from Annihilation

Apparently, the consumption of seeds thanks to specialized teeth allowed the ancestors of modern day birds to live instead of going extinct. When the dinosaurs disappeared, several bird ancestors also went the way of all the 99% other species.

The birds with toothless beaks that ate seeds survived while the others that followed a different diet became extinct. Thus it was seeds which came to the rescue of these birds of the past.
A Rare Dinosaur Found in Appalachia

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Appalachia was the region where duck-billed dinosaurs were unearthed. One such rare species which was discovered from the soil of Appalachia had a skeleton that was found to be pretty much complete. It lived 85 million years ago. The study of this rare species will yield new evidence regarding the evolution of dinosaurs in the future.