All about dinosaurs, fossils and prehistoric animals by Everything Dinosaur team members.
21 10, 2007

Meat-Eating Dinosaur Tracks Discovered in Australia

By |2023-02-17T08:21:18+00:00October 21st, 2007|Dinosaur and Prehistoric Animal News Stories, Dinosaur Fans, Main Page|0 Comments

Footprints from Carnivorous Dinosaur Unearthed in Australia

A team of Australian palaeontologists have published a paper on three separate dinosaur tracks that prove the existence of large carnivores in the Cretaceous polar forests.  The team led by Anthony J Martin (senior lecturer in Environmental Studies at Emory University, Victoria), are presenting their findings at the Society of Vertebrate Palaeontology meeting in Austin, Texas.

These three-toed prints are the first tracks belonging to theropods to have been discovered in Australia.  The trackways were made by unknown large carnivores as they made their way across a muddy floodplain approximately 115 million years ago (Aptian faunal stage – Early Cretaceous).  The team of scientists composed of researchers from both Emory University and Monash University, accompanied by palaeontologists from the nearby Museum of Victoria found the trackways near the coastal town of Inverloch, an area that has provided a number of dinosaur finds.

Meat-eating Dinosaur Tracks

The first two tracks were found by Anthony Martin in February 2006, with a third trackway identified by a postgraduate student on another visit to the site 12 months later.  As yet the scientists have been unable to determine whether these meat-eaters were travelling together in what would have been some sort of pack.  They are confident of finding more trackways in the area to help them shed more light on the type of animals that might have made them.

The tracks are especially significant for showing that large dinosaurs were living in a polar environment during the Cretaceous Period, when Australia was still joined to Antarctica and the area was subjected to freezing conditions and total darkness for part of the year.

Whether these large carnivores were permanent residents of the polar forest region is unknown.  Perhaps they followed migrating herds of Muttaburrasaurus (an iguanodontid) that moved into the area to take advantage of the 24-hours of daylight in the short summer.

An Illustration of the Iguanodontid Muttaburrasaurus

Aussie dinosaur.

Muttaburrasaurus illustrated. Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur.

Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur

A Dwarf Allosaur Track?

In pictures supplied, the scale bar is 10 cm long and is placed at the heel of the foot, two digits can be clearly seen with a third, slightly less obvious digit to the right.  The prints are up to 35 cm long and scientists have speculated as to what sort of meat-eater could have made the tracks.

One of the candidates put forward is Allosaurus astragalus (Dwarf allosaur), an animal estimated at being up to 6 metres long and a smaller descendant of the fearsome allosaurs of the Jurassic.  Allosaurus astragalus is known from a few fragments of ankle bone found in 1979, although there is still debate whether enough evidence has been gathered to state with any conviction the existence of this animal.  The name still carries “Nomen dubium” status.

If A. astragalus was around 115 million years ago in this region it would have been regarded as a “living fossil” as the allosaur group was very much in decline with the mantle of top predators being taken by other types of theropod.

The Remarkable Dinosaur Biota of Australia

The finds from Victoria have helped palaeontologists document the remarkable fauna and flora of the extreme Mesozoic environment.  During this part of the Cretaceous, the region was inside the Antarctic circle and although the area was not covered with ice caps, its climate was still very cold with winters of total darkness and short summers when the sun did not set below the horizon.

This environment was the subject of one episode of the “Walking with Dinosaurs” series – “Spirits of the Silent Forest”, the Dwarf allosaur seen in that programme inspired the sculptors at Bullyland to produce an allosaur based on colouration of the Australian dwarf species, it is a remarkable model.

To view a range of dinosaur models including Allosaurus: Dinosaur and Prehistoric Animal Figures.

The habitat was indeed very harsh and the prehistoric animals that inhabited the polar forests of lichen covered conifers and ferns had to adapt to these conditions.  Perhaps the limited amount of food ensured that the meat-eaters in the area remained relatively small compared to their cousins further north.

20 10, 2007

Living Fossil Helped back to New Zealand Mainland

By |2023-02-24T17:48:46+00:00October 20th, 2007|Animal News Stories, Main Page|0 Comments

Tuatara Sanctuary receives new Residents

In the world today there are a few plants and animals that are relics from ancient history, they are often referred to as “living fossils”.  One such animal is the very rare Tuatara, an ancient reptile that superficially resembles a lizard but is in fact a member of the Order Sphenodontia and not part of the Order Squamata (lizards and snakes).  Tuatara is actually a Moari name, this animal is known by the genus Sphenodon (means wedge tooth), by scientists.  It is found on 32 remote islands off the coast of New Zealand, but a team of conservationists have been attempting to establish a colony on the mainland near Wellington.

Tuatara

Tuatara from Stephens Island in the Marlborough Sounds have been captured and are being re-homed at the Karori Wildlife Sanctuary, to help boost the numbers of these reptiles at this special preserve.  With the Stephens islands having an estimated population of 50,000 Tuatara, the removal of around 200 animals will not make much difference to the island’s population it will more than treble the Tuatara numbers at the Karori Wildlife Sanctuary.

The process of catching these animals, which can grow up to 60 cm long was not easy, as by day they live in burrows dug by petrels and rarely venture far from the burrow entrance during daylight.  Once grabbed the conservationists need to be mindful of the animals sharp teeth and claws.  Tuataras have a dental arrangement unique amongst terrestrial chordates, a sign of their ancient heritage.

Tuatara Dentition

They have a single row of teeth on the dentary (lower jaw) but two rows of teeth on the maxilla.  When the mouth is closed the lower jaw teeth fit perfectly into the space between the upper teeth rows, providing a very effective bite mechanism.  The animal seems to lack a predentary and the premaxilla forms a beak-like structure at the front of the mouth.

We can tell it is a male from the picture as these animals demonstrate sexual dimorphism, the males are generally bigger than the females and the crest which runs down the spine is more pronounced in males than females.

In December 2005, the Karori Sanctuary became the home to 70 Tuatara, the first time these animals had made it back to the mainland for 200 years after going extinct in the 19th Century.  The new additions will help to strengthen the population and perhaps play a part in the re-introduction of these animals to other parts of New Zealand.

The lack of vermin, particularly rats will help the Tuatara, as these rodents eat the eggs of the reptiles and were largely responsible for their decline.  With luck, the two species of Tuatara still surviving will flourish and continue to provide a link between our world and the Triassic, as the sphenodonts are first found in the fossil record dating back 220 million years.

For models and replicas of Triassic prehistoric animals and other creatures: CollectA Deluxe Prehistoric Animal Figures.

19 10, 2007

Recommended Last UK and International Posting Dates for Christmas

By |2022-11-04T12:57:35+00:00October 19th, 2007|Everything Dinosaur News and Updates, Main Page|0 Comments

Post in Time for Christmas

With just 68 days to go before Christmas, we thought it might be helpful if we posted up the recommended last posting dates for UK customers sending items abroad.  These dates have been provided to us by the Royal Mail, as always they are guidelines only, the quicker you despatch an item at this time of year then the more likely it is to get to where you want it to go in time.

Last Posting Dates

The staff do everything they can to despatch items swiftly and promptly, for example we even pack on a Saturday morning to take advantage of our postal collection that day.  In this way we can help to make deliveries as speedy as possible.

Here are the last safe posting dates for Christmas (source: Royal Mail)

International Surface Mail

Monday 29th October – USA, Canada, Hong Kong, Singapore and South Africa

Friday 16th November – Eastern Europe, Greece, Cyprus, Turkey, Malta and Iceland

Friday 30th November – Western Europe

International Air Mail

Friday 7th December – South and Central America, Caribbean, Africa, Middle East, Far East (except Japan), Australia and New Zealand

Monday 10th December – USA, Canada, Japan and Eastern Europe

Thursday 13th December – Western Europe

At Everything Dinosaur we offer a range of postal services to assist our customers, many of them subsidised to help save postage costs (we believe that it is better to spend your hard earned money on dinosaur products than on the postage costs).

Everything Dinosaur Providing Information on Last Posting Dates

Royal Mail Logo 2022 postage saving rates

Everything Dinosaur team members have taken steps to help with postage for the festive season by publishing recommended last posting dates.

Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur

To read more about our deliveries: Everything Dinosaur Delivery Information.

UK Last Posting Dates

Friday 14th December Standard Parcel Service

Friday 14th December Everything Dinosaur Postal Saver Services

Monday 17th December Second Class postage

Thursday 20th December First Class postage

Naturally we will do everything we can in our power to help ensure that parcels arrive on time.  To help us please can customers ensure that they provide the correct zip or postcode (we do check addresses but this makes our job a lot easier).

We also check addresses manually and always put a return address on the back of any parcel should one go astray.  Finally, another assurance for our customers, we always check the postal charges and one of our staff members accompanies each delivery to the post office to ensure that each parcel has the correct postal charges paid for it and that all the parcels are handed over to the post office staff.

18 10, 2007

Giant Dinosaur Discovered in a Cretaceous “Lost World”

By |2022-11-04T12:52:35+00:00October 18th, 2007|Dinosaur and Prehistoric Animal News Stories, Dinosaur Fans, Main Page, Palaeontological articles|0 Comments

Palaeontologists Reveal new Contender for the “Biggest Dinosaur of All Time”

A new species of huge dinosaur believed to have measured over 105 ft (32 metres) long has been revealed to the world this week.  This enormous animal, a long-necked titanosaur was discovered in 2000 by a team of palaeontologists excavating an area rich in Cretaceous fossils on the banks of Lake Barreales in the Argentine province of Neuquén in the badlands of Patagonia.

Huge Dinosaur

The immediate area is rich in plant and animal remains providing scientists with a unique insight into the ecosystem at the time.  In the seven years of study, 240 fossil plants have been found, dozens of fish, at least two species of crocodile, hundreds of teeth, a pterosaur and the remains of a predatory megaraptor.  The diversity of finds has provided the South American team with a glimpse of their very own “Lost World”.  An ecosystem with giant plant-eating titanosaurs, perhaps the largest land animals of all time, wandering the landscape.

This new dinosaur has been named Futalognkosaurus dukei.  The genus name has been created from the local Indian dialect Mapuche and means “giant chief of the lizards”.  The species name was selected in recognition of the expedition’s sponsors the Duke Energy company of Argentina.

Futalognkosaurus dukei

The very size of this animal’s carcase may have created the conditions needed to trap so much fossil material in one place.  Scientists believe that the dead animal’s body blocked a waterway, in effect acting like a giant dam.  A logjam of other dead animals and plant materials was then trapped behind it and slowly buried.  Marks on the huge fossilised bones show that scavengers fed on the carcase before it was completely submerged.  Such a large animal would have attracted a whole host of predators to feed upon it.

The picture shows the size of this animal’s huge bones with a what appears to be a left humerus and vertebrae.  The spinal vertebrae weighed 8 tonnes and many of the neck vertebrae were over 1 metre tall.  An estimated 70 per cent of the skeleton has been found. It is more usual for only 10 per cent of mega-herbivores to be recovered.  This makes it one of the most complete sauropod/titanosaurs ever discovered.

Futalognkosaurus has been estimated at being 32-34 metres long  (105-112ft) with the neck alone stretching to over 17 metres.  The tail was estimated at 15 metres.   These measurements put Futalognkosaurus in the top 5 of big dinosaurs (all of them titanosaurs), with Argentinosaurus (estimated to have been 35 metres long), just keeping the title of the biggest yet described.

The titanosaurids seem to have been particularly successful in South America and remained dominant herbivores in this part of the world right up to the end of the Cretaceous, whilst elsewhere sauropods became less common and were replaced by the ornithopods.

A number of large titanosaurs are known from South America, many of the excavated from this part of Patagonia, Neuquensaurus, Puertasaurus, Antarctosaurus and Titanosaurus.

Some of these titanosaurs developed body armour, perhaps as some protection against the giant megaraptor packs and the huge allosaurs that roamed the plains.

A typical example is Saltasaurus, a small-sized titanosaur tipping the scales at around 8 Tonnes.  Several fossilised skeletons have been excavated from Argentina and Uruguay, with thousands of bony plates (scutes) lying around them, these plates, some no bigger than peas provided protection against the giant predators.

Saltasaurus dinosaur model

“Reptile from Salta Province”.  A replica of Saltasaurus.

A model of a typical titanosaur: Dinosaur and Prehistoric Animal Models.

17 10, 2007

The Clever Catch – A Unique Inflatable Dinosaur Ball that Tests Your Knowledge

By |2024-02-22T12:44:55+00:00October 17th, 2007|Everything Dinosaur News and Updates, Everything Dinosaur Products, Main Page, Press Releases|0 Comments

The Clever Catch – Inflatable Dinosaur Ball and Prehistoric Animal Quiz

Introducing the Dinosaur themed Clever Catch inflatable quiz ball, a bit of a mouthful, but if you can say it, you will have the wherewithal to blow up this huge inflatable and test your knowledge on prehistoric animals.  This wonderful gift idea is a great way to test your knowledge about dinosaurs.

Dinosaur Knowledge

The “Clever Catch” concept is an American idea which has been accepted by many schools and educational establishments.  Building on the principle that learning can be fun, a giant dinosaur themed inflatable has been created covered in pictures of dinosaurs and lots of prehistoric animal questions to test the knowledge of young palaeontologists – what a clever idea!

The Giant Inflatable Dinosaur Quiz Ball

Source Everything Dinosaur images

A Great Way to Learn About Dinosaurs

A great way to learn about dinosaurs, an inflatable that tests your knowledge on prehistoric animals.  Ideal for school, the beach or home.

Using the nozzle the ball can be hung up in the bedroom, for a cool dinosaur feature.  This inflatable has seventy prehistoric animal themed questions designed to test the knowledge of young dinosaur fans and help them to learn all about these amazing creatures.

Do you have what it takes to be a palaeontologist?

This is a big inflatable (130 cm circumference, with a diameter of 60 cm), it can be inflated by blowing into the nozzle, or cheat like we did, use a pump!

For further dinosaur themed product suggestions: Visit Everything Dinosaur.

16 10, 2007

The Puzzling Therizinosaurs – are they the Strangest of all Dinosaurs?

By |2022-11-04T10:34:07+00:00October 16th, 2007|Dinosaur Fans, Main Page, Palaeontological articles|0 Comments

Therizinosaurs – A Dinosaur Designed by a Committee!

Looking back over various text books, journals and papers from the 1960s, 70s and 80s you can get an impression of how our knowledge of dinosaurs has changed over time.  New fossils and new techniques used to study existing specimens have yielded much more data, which when interpreted has provided palaeontologists with a great deal of information about these prehistoric animals.  However, the Mesozoic fossil record is still full of surprises and the emergence of the therizinosaurs, this bizarre group of meat-eaters turned plant-eaters illustrates this point nicely.  Puzzling therizinosaurs are they a dinosaur designed by a committee?

Puzzling Therizinosaurs

Very large fossilised claws were found by a Russian expedition to Mongolia in 1948, at first these claws, which measured up to 1 metre in length, were thought to belong to a huge tortoise, and these fossils remained a mystery with little further evidence found to help describe the creature to which these huge claws belonged to.  In 1954, papers published by the expedition leader, the eminent Russian palaeontologist Evgeny Aleksandrovich Maleev (who was also responsible for naming Tarbosaurus bataar); described the genus Therizinosaurus and the species T. cheloniformis – the first “scythe reptile” had been described, but what this animal actually looked like was very much down to speculation.

Several years later fossil finds from China (hind limb bones indicating a four-toed foot, a tooth, part of the pelvic girdle) were discovered and a more complete picture of this strange dinosaur group began to emerge.

Therizinosaurs seem to be comprised of various elements of other dinosaur clades.  Parts of the very wide hip area resemble prosauropods, the pelvic bones with the swept back pubis bone, pushed up against the ischium is more typical of an ornithischian dinosaur than a saurischian.  This arrangement is known in other saurischian dinosaurs, maniraptorans such as Deinonychus and Velociraptor have this arrangement, as do their close relatives the birds (Aves).  The wide hips and the placing of these pelvic bones may have evolved to accommodate an enlarged gut as the therizinosaurs switched to eating plants.

The huge claws would have been helpful in pulling down branches and it is thought that these animals fed rather like giant sloths.  About 12 different genera are known, all but one located in Asia, but the fossil record of these creatures is very sparse.

A Drawing of Therizinosaurus

Source: Young Palaeontologist Ewan

Our thanks to Ewan for his excellent drawing.

How effective the huge claws may have been at deterring the large tyrannosaurs around at the time is the subject of much speculation.  These large creatures were not capable of moving very fast to escape predators, perhaps they flapped their arms in a threat display to put off would-be attackers.  The claws were very heavy and scientists have carried out preliminary studies to try to understand whether the muscles in the forelimbs permitted these animals to swing the claws with much force.  If they had been able to put some “umph” into it then the claws would have been very formidable weapons indeed.  The lack of fossils has prevented scientists from carrying out more detailed studies, this area of research is on-going.

Huge Forelimbs

The discovery of huge forelimbs (ascribed to Deinocheirus), further confused and compounded scientists.  The forelimbs of Deinocheirus were enormous – 2 metres long, these are the only remains found so far and they are in the same area and same geological deposits of therizinosaurs.  Each finger on the three-fingered hand had a huge claw, but this time the claw was very different from the long blade-like claws of a Therizinosaurus.  These claws were thicker and much more curved.   Palaeontologists have speculated that Deinocheirus was a giant ant-eater.

A Scale Drawing of the Giant Therizinosaurus (T. cheloniformis)

Puzzling therizinosaurs - a scale drawing of Therizinosaurus.

Huge “scythe lizard”  An illustration of a puzzling therizinosaur.

Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur

PNSO have introduced a range of theropod dinosaur models including therizinosaurs and Deinocheirus.  To view the range of PNSO Age of Dinosaurs figures in stock at Everything Dinosaur: PNSO Age of Dinosaurs Figures.

If Deinocheirus turns out to be a close relative of the therizinosaurs then this could be an example of parallel evolution.  In mammals, the order Xenarthra (means strange-jointed mammals; as the vertebrae have extra joints between them), consists of bizarre looking animals such as sloths, armadillos and ant-eaters.  These are all closely related mammals that have evolved to fill specialist niches in the food chain, in perhaps just the same way that these bizarre therizinosaurs did so 100 million years earlier.

15 10, 2007

Ewan’s Drawing of a Therizinosaurus (Segnosaur)

By |2022-11-04T10:25:19+00:00October 15th, 2007|Dinosaur and Prehistoric Animal Drawings|0 Comments

Ewan’s Drawing of a Therizinosaurus

Everything Dinosaur gets sent lots of dinosaur drawings and illustrations by young dinosaur fans.  Whether they are inspired by their dinosaur toys or models, or just fans of dinosaurs, it does not matter to us as we love to receive pictures of prehistoric animals.  Our thanks to Ewan for sending into Everything Dinosaur his drawing of a Therizinosaurus.

Budding dinosaur hunter Ewan sent in a wonderful picture of the bizarre theropod called Therizinosaurus, super colouring in Ewan!

Ewan’s Therizinosaurus Dinosaur Drawing

Great picture of a "Scythe Lizard"

Great picture of a “Scythe Lizard”.

Picture credit: Ewan/Everything Dinosaur

Drawing of a Therizinosaurus

We look at every illustration that we receive and we post them up on our warehouse wall next to where we store the dinosaur models.  Thank you Ewan for your fantastic drawing of a prehistoric animal.

To view Everything Dinosaurs range of dinosaur toys and models: Visit Everything Dinosaur

14 10, 2007

Stegosaurus Tail Spikes – could they have been used as defensive weapons?

By |2023-02-13T20:37:04+00:00October 14th, 2007|Dinosaur and Prehistoric Animal News Stories, Main Page|2 Comments

The Tale of the Stegosaurus Tail

Stegosaurus is one of the most easily recognised of all the dinosaurs, with its distinctive rows of plates and the long spikes sitting on the end of its tail.  Something in the region of 11 genera of stegosaur have so far been described, although strongly associated with the Morrison Formation of Utah and Colorado, recent findings in Portugal indicate that Europe had stegosaurs to.  Stegosaur diversity seems to have peaked around 155-145 million years ago, at the end of the Jurassic (Kimmeridgian and Tithonian stages), although it still remains very popular today with a top five placing in Everything Dinosaur’s survey work with school children.  Oddly, it seems to be more popular with girls than boys.  Stegosaurus always scores higher when we break down our research data into the sexes.

Perhaps, as boys have a tendency to rate the big meat-eaters higher this may count against a herbivore like Stegosaurus in their surveys, or may be it is because the Stegosaurus soft toys we had a hand in developing have such big eyes and look so sad, that they appeal to girls more.

Soft Toy Stegosaurus – Could his appeal be down to the Sad Eyes?

Picture courtesy of Everything Dinosaur

To view a Stegosaurus soft toy and other prehistoric animal soft toys: Dinosaur Soft Toys.

In truth, with such a small head the eyes of stegosaurs were not unduly large and there is little evidence to suggest that they had excellent eyesight, superior to other dinosaurs, indeed scientists have speculated that their sense of smell was perhaps their most acute sense.  Anyway, Stegosaurus remains a popular and much loved dinosaur.

Stegosaurus Tail Spikes

The debate about how effective the tail spikes could be as defensive weapons continues.  Some of these tail spikes (S. armatus) could reach lengths of over 1 metre, but could they be wielded with enough force to damage a carnivore such as a 2.5 Tonne Allosaurus?

To read an Everything Dinosaur blog post about a term that was created to describe stegosaur tail spikes: Stegosaurus Tail Spikes – How They Got Their Name.

The famous American palaeontologist Robert Bakker has commented on the lack of ossified tendons (ossified tendons being a feature of many ornithopods) in stegosaurs, would this have made the tail much more flexible, enabling an angry stegosaur to swing it from side to side to deter an aggressor?  However, the large dorsal plates overlap many caudal vertebrae, these plates could impend movement of the tail.  The very powerful and strong forelimbs of Stegosaurus could enable it to swivel round at speed to deter any potential attacker and the strongly arched back would have enabled it to put up a formidable display, perhaps enhanced by the pumping of blood through the plates to produce an colourful “keep away from me” gesture.

A recent study of stegosaur tail spikes by McWhinney indicates that many have a high incidence of trauma related damage, does this indicate they were used in combat?  The most compelling evidence for the tail spikes actually being used to strike another dinosaur was found recently when the tail vertebrae of an allosaur from the United States were studied closely.  One fossil bone, shows considerable damage, it  has been punctured and a cast of the wound shows that it could have been made by a Stegosaurus tail spike.

We are confident that a Jurassic predator such as Allosaurus could have found an easier meal, rather than face a 9-metre-long Stegosaurus.

It is interesting to note that the actual angle of the tail spikes is still debated.  To be really effective weapons the spikes need to be positioned in a more horizontal plane then normally depicted.  Most stegosaurs are illustrated with their tail spikes sitting vertically on the tail, however, recent research indicates that in at least some species, they may have been positioned to the side.

Due to Stegosaurus’s popularity there are a number of items available from Everything Dinosaur that feature this animal, there are many models and of course the soft toys, but we are pleased to see that the Dig-a-Dino range of palaeontological kits also includes a Stegosaurus.  A chance for young scientists to re-enact the discovery of Stegosaurus 130 years ago.

Typical scale model of Stegosaurus: Dinosaur and Prehistoric Animal Models.

13 10, 2007

Duck-billed Dinosaur Skull Found in Japan

By |2023-02-13T20:38:31+00:00October 13th, 2007|Dinosaur and Prehistoric Animal News Stories, Main Page|0 Comments

Hadrosaur skull found Upper Cretaceous strata in Japan

Reports have come in from several Japanese news agencies of the discovery of an 85-million-year-old duck-billed dinosaur skull in south-western Japan.  This skull could represent a new genus of hadrosaur although scientists have yet to state which of the two main clades of duck-bills – hadrosaurine or lambeosaurine this animal might belong to.

This fossil was originally found by an amateur palaeontologist in 2004 but it only recently has been cleaned, restored and identified as belonging to a dinosaur.

Hadrosaur Skull

For much of the Mesozoic (age of reptiles) the land that makes the islands of Japan was underwater, what land was above sea level during this era was attached to the continental landmass of Asia, hence the several known genera of Japanese Cretaceous dinosaurs having a strong affinity with Asian dinosaurs.  This is the first time a hadrosaur skull has been found in Japan, although a femur suspected of belonging to an unknown duck-billed dinosaur was discovered a few  years ago.

About a dozen different dinosaur genera are known from Japan.  The Japanese have a real passion of prehistoric animals and there are a number of museums in the country with fine collections although the stock of home-grown dinosaurs is relatively poor.  Other dinosaur fossils have been found in the north of the main Japanese island with prefectures such as Fukushima and Hyogo providing remains of other dinosaurs.  Perhaps the best known Japanese dinosaur is the early Cretaceous ornithopod – Fukuisaurus.  Fukuisaurus is believed to have been a medium sized iguanodontid, it has been described from some partial jaw bone and teeth.  The name Fukuisaurus still carries the “nomen nudum” status; a name given to an animal that has not yet been formally described and an animal for which no holotype (base specimen) has been designated.

A Model of Fukuisaurus (CollectA Deluxe Age of Dinosaurs)

CollectA Deluxe 1:40 scale Fukuisaurus.

The new for 2020 CollectA Deluxe Fukuisaurus dinosaur model (1:40 scale).

Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur

The picture (above) shows a CollectA 1:40 scale Fukuisaurus dinosaur model.  To view the CollectA Deluxe range: CollectA Deluxe Prehistoric World Dinosaur Models.

12 10, 2007

The Mystery Tyrannosaur Footprint

By |2023-02-14T21:11:26+00:00October 12th, 2007|Dinosaur and Prehistoric Animal News Stories, Main Page|0 Comments

Single Theropod track from the Hell Creek Formation

It never ceases to amaze us how a footprint made by an animal millions of years ago is able to be fossilised and then exposed to the elements in such a way that it can be found before it erodes away.  Although dinosaur tracks and footprints have been found all over the world, they are much rarer than fossilised bones.  Footprints are extremely delicate structures and it is only by incredible luck that they get preserved at all.

Mystery Tyrannosaur Footprint

The ground the animal was walking on must be soft enough to allow an impression to be made, yet it cannot be too soft or deformation will occur.  Mud is a typical candidate for a footprint but mud indicates water and if there is a water source nearby then animals will congregate and could trample all over the footprint, churning the ground over and turning the site into an indistinguishable mess.  The tramplings of dinosaurs weighing several tonnes can wreck havoc on any trackways – scientists have even coined a special word for this sort of damage – dinoturbation.

If the footprint is lucky enough to avoid getting puddled into oblivion then the print needs to be covered by something that will protect it, a sediment such as fine sand grains, for example.

Presuming fossilisation and preservation occurs then the print must remain intact and then erode out from the surrounding matrix facing exposure once again.  The elements can erase any impression, through erosion processes such as freeze and thaw, and then someone who can distinguish a footprint from the surrounding debris needs to find it.

This explains why prints are so rare…

Fortunately, Dr Phil Manning of the University of Manchester was able to spot this exciting meat-eaters’ footprint.

Dr Phil Manning with his Late Cretaceous Theropod Footprint

Big Foot?

Source: Dr Phil Manning (University of Manchester)

Tyrannosaurus rex Track?

It has been speculated that this print could have been made by a Tyrannosaurus rex, but it is difficult to be certain as unless an animal is found at the end of the trackway, palaeontologists can only really make educated guesses.   It is certainly the footprint of a theropod (the three toes give it away), it might be a T. rex print, possibly the first ever found or it could equally have been made by a relative of T. rex, the smaller Nanotyrannus (nomen dubium) that also lived at the same time as the “King of the Dinosaurs”.  It could even belong to a completely unknown genus.

Please note Nanotyrannus is a disputed dinosaur genus.

The print will need to be carefully studied so we can gain as much information about it as possible.  However, for us, that is for another day, it is just marvellous to wonder at it and to think that it managed to survive 67 million years for us to be able to view it at all.

To read the first web log article on this footprint: Possible Tyrannosaurus rex footprint found.

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