All about dinosaurs, fossils and prehistoric animals by Everything Dinosaur team members.
//April
20 04, 2009

Get Creative with new Dinosaur Themed Art Set

By | April 20th, 2009|Everything Dinosaur News and Updates, Everything Dinosaur Products, Main Page, Press Releases|1 Comment

New Dinosaur Inspired Art Set from Everything Dinosaur

Everything Dinosaur, the award-winning, UK-based mail order company has added a dinosaur themed art set.  The art set is a welcome addition to its all ready extensive dinosaur and prehistoric animal themed range.

Calling all you dinosaur fans and artists, just what you need to help create your own prehistoric scenes – a dinosaur themed art set.  This new art set comprises marker pens, pastels, coloured pencils, sharpener and eraser, plus six different prehistoric scenes for you to colour in.  Helping to bring dinosaurs and other ancient animals back to life.

Dinosaur Themed Art Set

It is very difficult for scientists to identify the colouration of dinosaurs.  The models, and diagrams seen in museums are reconstructions based on assumptions and “best guesses”.  Now dinosaur fans have the chance to give prehistoric animals their own interpretations.  They can reproduce scenes from the Age of Reptiles.

Dinosaur Creative Art Set from Everything Dinosaur

Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur

To view the huge range of dinosaur themed gifts and toys including several prehistoric animal themed craft products, visit Everything Dinosaur’s award-winning website: Everything Dinosaur.

The Creative Art Set contains 12 coloured pencils, 12 marker pens and 6 realistic prehistoric scenes to colour in.  Pastels, a sharpener and an eraser (in case you want to make your mistakes extinct) are also included.  The set is supplied in a sturdy, clear plastic box with carry handle.  It makes an ideal gift for entertaining dinosaur fans on car journeys and holidays.

Ideal of Young Artists

Suitable for children aged 3 years and over, a proportion of the proceeds from sales of this item goes towards the Abhaya Charitable Foundation – a non-profit organisation helping to support disadvantaged children.

It is time to get creative with this clever Dinosaur Creative Art Set.

19 04, 2009

Spiky Sauropods – Agustinia

By | April 19th, 2009|Dinosaur and Prehistoric Animal News Stories, Main Page|0 Comments

A Prickly Prehistoric Plant-Eater from Patagonia

One of the more unusual dinosaur discoveries over the last fifteen years or so was the finding of fragmentary fossils of Agustinia, an armoured sauropod.  This medium sized sauropod (estimated length 15 metres), had an astonishing array of body armour.  Agustinia had plates and spikes running along the back of the neck, down the back and onto the tail.  The plates are quite square shaped and resemble those of a stegosaur.  The spikes seem to stick out and provide protection against attack.  The longest spikes, some more than 50 cm long seem to have been positioned over and above the hip region.

Agustinia

If the body armour had been found with no bones in association, then the armour would probably have been assumed to belong to an armoured dinosaur such as a thyreophoran.

An Illustration of Agustinia

Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur

To view a model of Agustinia and other figures of bizarre members of the Sauropoda available from Everything Dinosaur’s award-winning website: Dinosaur and Prehistoric Animal Models.

There remains some confusion as to the exact name given to this genus.  This dinosaur was originally named Augustia but that scientific name had already been given to another species – a type of Begonia (a flowering plant), that had been named and described over 130 years before the fossils of Agustinia were discovered.

A 1:40 Scale Model of Agustinia

Agustinia

The CollectA 1:40 scale Deluxe Agustinia dinosaur model.

The model (above) is a 1:40 scale replica of Agustinia from the CollectA Deluxe range. To view this range of models and figures: CollectA Deluxe Prehistoric Animal Scale Models.

A spokesperson from the UK-based Everything Dinosaur commented:

“Agustinia is one of the more unusual sauropods known from Gondwana. It is great to see a company like CollectA making a 1:40 scale replica of this amazing dinosaur.”

18 04, 2009

An Ode to Giganotosaurus (ITV Primeval)

By | April 18th, 2009|Dinosaur Fans, Everything Dinosaur News and Updates, Main Page|0 Comments

Giganotosaurus makes Guest Appearance on TV Show

For over 100 years Tyrannosaurus rex has been regarded as the largest, most ferocious land predator of all time.  However, fossil discoveries over the last twenty years or so have brought to light even bigger meat-eating dinosaurs, colossal specimens that were not only heavier but longer than the largest Tyrannosaurs known.  One such example of a relatively new theropod dinosaur discovery is Giganotosaurus.  Giganotosaurus roamed the plains of southern Argentina and dates from approximately 100 – 90 million years ago (Albian to the Cenomanian faunal stages of the Cretaceous).  The first fossils of this gigantic dinosaur were discovered in the 1990s by a local amateur dinosaur collector and car mechanic Ruben Carolini.  The holotype species was named in honour of its discoverer G. carolini.  Surprisingly, over 70% of the skeleton is known.  Finding complete skeletons of large theropods is exceptionally rare, for example, another carcharodontosaurids from Africa, an animal closely related to Giganotosaurus – Carcharodontosaurus is known from only a few fragmentary pieces of bone and skull material.

An Illustration of Giganotosaurus showing a man Drawn to Size Providing Scale

Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur

Giganotosaurus

Giganotosaurus is estimated to have reached lengths attaining 15 metres and might have weighed as much as 8 tonnes.  This dinosaur is due to make its first appearance on the ITV science fiction programme Primeval this evening.  Unfortunately, Nigel Marven the well-known naturalist and TV personality ends up as a snack for this carnivore, in what is an all but brief guest appearance.  Ironically, the writers and researchers make some fundamental mistakes in this episode, some that earnest young dinosaur fans will be able to spot.

Safari Ltd have introduced a replica of this huge South American theropod.  To view the model (whilst stocks last) and the other prehistoric animals in this series: Safari Ltd Dinosaur Models.

For instance, Nigel Marven identifies a small dromaeosaur that briefly makes an appearance as a Velociraptor.  There were certainly many types of small theropod that shared the environment with Giganotosaurus in the Cretaceous of Argentina.   Animals such as Santanaraptor and Unenlagia are known from South America and date from the Albian faunal stage (Santanaraptor placidus, Unenlagia comahuensis), however, Velociraptor is a genus associated with the Late Cretaceous (Campanian faunal stage), at least 10 million years after Giganotosaurus.  To compound the mistake, Velociraptor remains are associated with China, Mongolia and Russia, not South America.  Still it’s only television and it is pleasing to see a large theropod other than T. rex get into the limelight.

To view the extensive range of prehistoric animal models and figures including dinosaurs available from Everything Dinosaur’s award-winning website: Dinosaur and Prehistoric Animal Models.

17 04, 2009

Computer Software Provides New Insight for Palaeontologists

By | April 17th, 2009|Dinosaur and Prehistoric Animal News Stories, Main Page, Palaeontological articles|0 Comments

Palaeontology with Computers – Powerful Computer Programmes provide New Interpretations

A few months ago, team members at Everything Dinosaur were privileged to be shown a life size cast of the sacral vertebrae and hip structure of a large North American theropod Acrocanthosaurus.  We can’t remember the exact source of the cast, but we suspect it is of NCSM 14345 from the Black Hills Institute.  We are fairly confident that the cast is from a paratype (a specimen not related to the holotype – the original material from which the animal was named and described).

Acrocanthosaurus

We were all rather blown away by the sheer size and scale of the animal.  It is only when you get up close to casts like these and the real fossils themselves that you get an appreciation of just how sizeable some of these creatures were.  There is only one species of Acrocanthosaurus recognised at present (A. atokensis), and it was certainly an apex predator, reaching lengths in excess of 12 metres and weighing more than 4 tonnes.

Complete articulated skeletons of dinosaurs are extremely rare, associated bones are like hen’s teeth but if a palaeontologist is lucky enough to find an almost intact fossil skeleton of an animal like Acrocanthosaurus, the fossil bones only tell half the story.  A couple of new specimens of Acrocanthosaurus were discovered in the 1990s, more complete than the original holotype specimen excavated forty years earlier.

Theropod Fossils

Even so, fossils of large theropods are very special as when compared to the amount of hadrosaurine or even sauropod material in the fossil record they are amongst the rarest dinosaur fossils of all.

The fossilised bones of a complete skeleton can tell scientists a lot about the animal, but they do not make up the complete picture.  With very little soft tissue such as skin, muscle, tendons and organs preserved scientists remain very much in the dark over key aspects of Dinosauria anatomy.  When we visit classrooms we explain it using the analogy of a snooker table.  Imagine you came across a snooker table, never having seen one before.  You would see a large flat table, covered in green baize with six pockets spaced around it.  It would be difficult to work out what the table was used for, unless you found the balls, snooker cues, spiders, triangle and all the other elements associated with the game as well.

Educated Guesses

Without the soft tissues, scientists have to make educated guesses, drawing conclusions on muscle size and fixation by studying the scars on bones that indicate muscle attachments.

The fossil bones may indicate where muscles were attached but they do not reveal information about the relative sizes, their length, thickness or composition.  Left to making educated guesses palaeontologists can make widely varying assessments regarding dinosaur locomotion, gait, physical size and velocity.

For instance, if the muscles connected to the femur of a tyrannosaurid were short, this would suggest that the femur would have been angled more vertically in relation to the hip bones, as in human beings.  However, if the muscles were longer, then the thigh bone would have resembled the more horizontal position as seen in Aves (birds).

Human Femur Position compared to Modern Bird Femur Position

Edmontosaurus skeleton.

Duck-billed dinosaur on display.  There is more to interpreting the anatomy of the Dinosauria than just simply examining their fossilised bones.

Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur

The photograph (above) shows an articulated specimen of the hadrosaur Edmontosaurus (E. annectens).  There is much more to deduce about the anatomy of the dinosaurs than simply reconstructing their fossilised bones.

Powerful Computers and Software

A relatively new field of palaeontological study, the use of powerful computers to model concepts and create 3-D images is revolutionising the way in which soft tissue structures are visualised.  Such work is being pioneered by a team of researchers based at Manchester University.  Researchers such as Bill Sellers and palaeontologist Phil Manning create virtual muscles on scanned images of dinosaur bones to calculate how muscles worked and the anatomy of these long dead creatures.

The team from Manchester University create computer algorithms that carry out experiments to establish the most efficient method of locomotion for prehistoric animals.  At first the programmes cause the specimen being modelled to fall over but gradually the computer programmes learn from their mistakes, correct them and come up with the most likely solution.

Explaining how the process works, computer palaeontologist Peter Falkingham of Manchester University stated:

Initial attempts to randomly decipher which pattern of muscle activation works best result almost always in the animal falling on its face“.

However, the scientists employ “genetic algorithms,” or computer programmes that can alter themselves and evolve, and so run pattern after pattern until they get consistent improvements.

Eventually, they evolve a pattern of muscle activation with a stable gait and the dinosaur can walk, run, chase or graze, Falkingham added.

Mimicking Natural Selection

Assuming the Manchester team’s computer software is mimicking the process of natural selection, then the computer generated animal should move similar to its now extinct counterpart.   By comparing their cyberspace results with real measurements of extant species such as humans and emus the Manchester team can be confident in the results computed for extinct prehistoric animals such as dinosaurs.

Now back to Acrocanthosaurus, this giant meat-eating dinosaur from the Early Cretaceous (Aptian to Albian faunal stages).  Acrocanthosaurus was named after the tall neural spines that ran along the backbone, the function of these spines, some of which measure nearly three times the height of the vertebrae from which they project, is not known.  Scientists have speculated that the spines are similar to those found in modern bison, these spines are used to support a hump that stores fat.  Perhaps this large meat-eating dinosaur had a hump which allowed it to store fat and water reserves to help it survive times when food was scarce.

An Acrocanthosaurus Dinosaur Model

A view of the Papo Acrocanthosaurus dinosaur model.

The Papo Acrocanthosaurus dinosaur model.  A close-up view of a typical Acrocanthosaurus dinosaur replica.

Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur

The photograph (above), shows a reconstruction of the Papo model of Acrocanthosaurus atokensis. We noted that over the sacrum vertebrae there was extensive criss-crossing of tendons and other structures, as viewed by our team members when we viewed the cast of the Acrocanthosaurus fossil at Manchester University.  In the model image, the Acrocanthosaurus although typical of an allosaurid in so many ways, would have had a distinct hump.

To view a scale model of Acrocanthosaurus, Allosaurus and other theropod dinosaurs: Dinosaur and Prehistoric Animal Models.

The Work of Peter Falkingham

Peter Falkingham specialises in using the computer algorithms to interpret fossilised trackways, unlike fossil bones that may be transported a long way from where the animal lived before being deposited, footprints and trackways are preserved “in situ”.

He went on to comment:

“Tracks can tell you so much that skeletons can’t.  They can tell you about the soft parts of the feet that weren’t preserved over time.  They can tell you how the animal moved, how it walked or ran. They can even tell you about the environment they lived in, and perhaps show you they may have moved considerable distances.”

Recreating Fossil Trackways

Recreating fossil trackways as manual models and experimenting on them to calculate how the animal actually walked would be very time consuming and accurate, consistent results would be difficult to achieve.  However, by using the computer software a number of different scenarios can be tested and when this data is combined with aspects of anatomy, the locomotion and movement of a large dinosaur like Acrocanthosaurus can be better understood.

The Manchester University team have used the computer algorithms to study the way in which Acrocanthosaurus walked (fortunately there are some extensive trackways in the United States attributed to Acrocanthosaurus to assist in this research).

In this way, the team hope to shed some light as to the peculiar structure and purpose of the tall neural spines and structure of the bones making up the sacral vertebrae.  Based on this work the team have “fleshed out” this dinosaur creating a muscle map of this large, stocky meat-eater.

A Reconstruction of an Acrocanthosaurus

The Rebor Acrocanthosaurus atokensis model.

A great dinosaur model by Rebor (Acrocanthosaurus atokensis).

Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur

Neural Spines

The neural spines seem to be broader immediately behind the sacrum, could they have supported thicker muscles that may have helped counter balance the creature as it walked?  Could the structures have acted as shock absorbers to steady the animal as it ran, or could they have stored some energy in the large tendons associated with this part of the skeleton and reduced energy expenditure as the animal moved in a similar way to the long tendons found in kangaroos.

Tendons as energy stores may not have enabled this animal to “bounce” along like a kangaroo but by tensing and relaxing they may have helped this particular dinosaur maintain momentum and expend less energy as it moved about.

Three Dimensional Images of Acrocanthosaurus

Computer models help bring Acrocanthosaurus back.

Picture credit: Bates, Sellers and Manning, University of Manchester

By viewing diagram A (lateral view) it can be seen how thick set and heavy this animal appears to be.  It has a deep broad tail and powerful leg muscles to aid locomotion.  It is interesting to note diagram C (anterior view), the skull is very narrow and the jaws delicate and fine.  Light skulls are characteristic of Allosauridae but Acrocanthosaurus seems to have an out of proportion skull in comparison with its thick, heavy body.  Perhaps this large theropod has more secrets about its anatomy and position in the Cretaceous food chain awaiting discovery.

The feet are also worthy of note, they look surprisingly small when compared to the size of the animal, perhaps the peculiar lacerations and scars found on the sacral vertebrae and neural spines of this dinosaur provide a clue to this phenomenon also.

16 04, 2009

A Montage of CollectA Prehistoric Animal Models

By | April 16th, 2009|Dinosaur Fans|0 Comments

A Montage of CollectA Prehistoric Animal Models

Team members at Everything Dinosaur really enjoy looking at the clever images that are created by CollectA and put in the CollectA prehistoric animal model sections of their product catalogues.  Not only are the dinosaur models amazing to look at, but some of the clever scenes that CollectA create are amazing too. Many dinosaur model collectors and model makers use these figures to help re-create prehistoric scenes and from the image reproduced below you can start to see why.

A Montage of CollectA Prehistoric Animal Models

Collecta prehistoric animals feature in montage.

CollectA prehistoric animals feature in montage.

Picture credit: CollectA/Everything Dinosaur

CollectA dinosaur models are certainly very well painted and we commend the company for the creative artwork on display in the brochures.

The CollectA Age of Dinosaurs (Prehistoric Life) model range is extremely diverse. It features pterosaurs, marine reptiles, prehistoric mammals, prehistoric invertebrates such as trilobites, ammonites and belemnite figures, and of course, lots and lots of dinosaurs.

To view Everything Dinosaur’s current range of CollectA prehistoric animals: CollectA Age of Dinosaurs Models and Figures.

15 04, 2009

American Palaeontologist Pleads Guilty to Federal Charges

By | April 15th, 2009|Dinosaur and Prehistoric Animal News Stories, Main Page|0 Comments

American Palaeontologist Falls Foul of US Federal Laws

An amateur American palaeontologist based in Montana has pleaded guilty to federal charges concerning the stealing of vertebrate fossils from state land.  The palaeontologist, Nate Murphy, is well known in the scientific community as he has made a number of important dinosaur discoveries in the strata and sediments of Montana, including the remains of a semi-mummified hadrosaur nicknamed Leonardo, believed to be one of the best preserved dinosaur specimens found to date.

American Palaeontologist

Yesterday, in a U.S. District Court, being held at Great Falls, Montana, Murphy pleaded guilty to removing more than a dozen fossilised dinosaur bones from United States Bureau of Land Management land.  It is legal to excavate and remove invertebrate fossils from state land in Montana, but to work on vertebrate fossils such as dinosaurs; specific permits are required and Nate Murphy; as an amateur not directly associated with any university or scientific body; did not have a permit.

Mr Murphy had already pleaded guilty last month to state charges of concealing the theft of a dromaeosaur fossil from state land.  He claimed the discovery of a new species of “raptor” and intended to exploit the fossil’s commercial potential by selling casts and moulds of the fossil to museums.  In keeping with many palaeontological discoveries, Mr Murphy nick-named the fossilised dromaeosaur “Sid Vicious”, unfortunately “Sid” has proved to be a very mixed blessing for Murphy.

To read more about the earlier allegations and charges against Mr Murphy:

First article: Local Fossil Collector Charged with Theft.

Second article: Guilty Plea in Montana Dinosaur Theft Case.

Investigation into Fossil Theft

American law enforcement officials and federal officers have stressed the importance of making an example of Mr Murphy as fossil thefts are becoming more common as rare specimens fetch high prices on the open market.  Over 200 law enforcement incidents involving fossils were recorded by the American Bureau of Land Management over the last ten years.

Mr Murphy has entered into a plea bargain agreement and has requested that his sentence exclude any prison term, he will have to wait to hear his sentence as the sentencing date has been set for Thursday July 9th.

Commenting after the hearing had ended U. S. Attorney Bill Mercer stated that he hoped the high profile prosecution concerning a well known palaeontologist would deter others from committing such crimes.

Mr Mercer went on to add:

“This particular prosecution hopefully will send a strong message that if people do engage in that type of activity, there will be serious consequences in terms of legal action”.

Mr Murphy, aged 51, is a self-educated palaeontologist who runs a private paleo-outfitting business based in Billings, Montana.  Amongst his other commercial activities, Mr Murphy takes tourists on dinosaur digs.  Commenting prior to yesterday’s hearing, Nate Murphy had stated that he was eager to put his side of the story, but under advice from his attorney he chose not to make a statement at the court hearing.

U. S. Attorney Mercer praised the efforts of the federal authorities, particular praise was reserved for Special Agent Tom Madsen, who sadly passed away during course of the investigation.

Pleading Ignorance

Mr Murphy had pleaded ignorance and claimed not to know that he had taken fossils from state owned land.  Mr Murphy said he had made a “mistake” in not accurately mapping the fossil dig site.

After speaking with his attorney, Mr Murphy clarified his statement and stated that pinpointing the exact location of fossil finds is standard scientific procedure and that he did not do so in two instances.  Indeed, palaeontologists use GPS (Global Positioning Satellites) in order to establish the exact location and layout of dig sites.

“This was not a mistake,” commented the prosecuting council:  “If this was merely a mistake, it would not be sufficient for a criminal charge.”

In pleading guilty to the theft of fossils from state land, Mr Murphy admitted to acting with “wilful ignorance or blindness” meaning, he knew his actions risked violating the law but he chose to ignore that fact and face the consequences.

Unfortunately, this is not the first time that Mr Murphy has had a run-in with the law.  In 1994, he was accused of removing another dinosaur fossil from Bureau of Land Management land without an official permit, but no charges were ever filed.

Visit Everything Dinosaur’s award-winning website for dinosaur models, figures and toys: Everything Dinosaur.

14 04, 2009

Primeval off to Hollywood

By | April 14th, 2009|Animal News Stories, Dinosaur Fans, Main Page, TV Reviews|0 Comments

Primeval Creators in Talks to turn TV Series into a Film

Impossible Pictures the company behind the hit television series Primeval are in talks with US film studio Warner Bros to turn the time travelling adventure into a Hollywood blockbuster.

According to industry insiders, work on the film will begin later this year, after Primeval has finished a run of its third series, now currently being shown on ITV1 on Saturday nights.  The show features a cast of characters led by evolutionary zoologist Nick Cutter (played by Douglas Henshall) who explore rifts in time that allow animals from the past and the future to roam in the modern world.  Primeval was originally pitched as an ITV rival to the new Doctor Who series, it has done well in the television ratings, regularly achieving viewing figures in excess of 7 million.

The film version will be a joint venture between the TV production company Impossible Pictures and Warner Bros.  It is not known whether the TV series cast will take their roles to the big screen or whether American actors will take the main roles.  The use of American actors and actresses is indeed a possibility as there are ongoing talks about creating a US TV series with a number of stateside networks.

We will have to wait and see, but it looks like the team behind the BAFTA and EMMY award winning Walking with Dinosaurs have plans to develop a substantial Primeval franchise.  Wish we could jump through one of their anomalies to see how things turn out.

13 04, 2009

Count Down to the Bollington Festival

By | April 13th, 2009|Dinosaur and Prehistoric Animal News Stories, Educational Activities, Main Page|0 Comments

Bollington Festival Starts next Month

The annual Bollington Festival starts on Friday 8th of May and runs until the late May Bank Holiday (Monday May 25th).  The organisers are hoping for an even greater attendance for the events, shows, presentations and activities this year, beating the experience of 2008 when over 10,000 event tickets were sold and many thousands more attended the free, open air activities.  The Festival is going to have for the first time, a series of science themed presentations, adding to the broad appeal of the Festival.  There will be something for everyone, from toddlers right up to the young at heart.

As well as covering literature, the arts, sport and photography a number of science themed events and presentations will be held over the three weeks that the Festival runs.

For example, on Saturday 16th May from 1pm to 4pm a series of science themed workshops will be held, promising explosions, experiments and excitement.  The event is open to all and free to attend, just pop along to the Bollington Methodist Church and be prepared to be entertained and perhaps even educated in one or two scientific concepts.

To learn more about the events on offer visit the official website of the Bollington Festival, a link to it is here: Bollington Festival.

The Cheshire town of Bollington is just a few miles north of Macclesfield and it has become quite famous for its Festival.  This year, for the first time, a number of science based presentations and events are going to be held.  The Festival has a dedicated science group and a total of 8 fantastic science themed events will take place over the duration of the Festival.

The Bollington Festival

The scientific presentations are varied and cover a diverse range of subjects, for example, Dr. Graeme Jones from the School of Physical and Geographical Sciences at Keele University will be presenting the definitive scientific guide to a good night out – “Saturday Night Science”.

In recognition of 2009 being the international year of astronomy, Dr Jamie Gilmour from the School of Earth, Atmospheric and Environmental Sciences at the University of Manchester will be providing visitors to the Festival with a guide to meteorites, and how our little part of the Milky Way was formed.  His presentation is entitled “Meteorites, Stardust and the Solar System”.

Our good friend Dr Phil Manning from the University of Manchester will be giving a talk on his latest palaeontological adventures and updating everyone on some of the new developments in palaeontology.  He promises to cover everything from dinosaur mummies, to fossil blasting and how to carry out a dinosaur autopsy – sounds fascinating.  Dr Manning will be talking on the evening of Tuesday 12th May at the Bollington Arts Centre.

Promotional Poster for Presentation on Dinosaurs (Dr Phil Manning)

Picture credit: Annette Hurst (Bollington Festival)

Visit the Bollington Festival website: Bollington Festival Website.

12 04, 2009

The Joy of Belemnites

By | April 12th, 2009|Dinosaur Fans, Everything Dinosaur News and Updates, Geology, Main Page|14 Comments

The Joy of Belemnites – An Easy Fossil to Find

Belemnites extinct members of the cephalopod class and consequently close relatives of extant animals such as squids and cuttlefish are often a young person’s introduction to the joys of fossil hunting.

Belemnites

Complete belemnite fossils are exceptionally rare, although several Jurassic-aged fossil specimens are known from southern England.  However, the part of the animal that is usually preserved as a fossil is a solid piece of calcite called the guard.  The guard was an element of the internal skeleton positioned towards the rear of the creature.  These distinctive bullet shaped fossils with a pointed end are easy to find in certain Jurassic marine sediments.  They often occur in great numbers, perhaps indicating how numerous these marine invertebrates were or how well preserved the guards are.  Indeed at Lyme Regis for example, some of the strata between the Cobb at Lyme and Charmouth are named after the number of belemnite fossils found therein.

Fossil Belemnites from Lyme Regis

Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur

The picture above shows a selection of belemnite fossils found by members of the Everything Dinosaur team on the beach between Charmouth and Lyme Regis.  The pound coin in the photograph provides scale.  The word belemnite comes from the Greek for “dart” and looking at the picture above it is easy to see the reason for this name.  Finding belemnite guards is relatively easy, they do stand out against the small, round pebbles and stones found on the foreshore and collecting them can be fun.  Everything Dinosaur team members have picked up over a dozen or so in just a few minutes of searching a small area.

We supply a model of a belemnite.  This is a useful item as it allows us to illustrate where on the animal the guard would be located and helps to “bring to life” the fossils that young dinosaur fans have found.

To see the model of a belemnite, prehistoric animal figures and dinosaur models: Dinosaur and Prehistoric Animal Models.

The Model Belemnite available from Everything Dinosaur

A typical model of a belemnite.

Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur

11 04, 2009

Woolly Rhino – An Odd Shaped Rhino Horn

By | April 11th, 2009|Animal News Stories, Educational Activities, Main Page|0 Comments

Woolly Rhino (Coelodonta antiquitatis) – Odd Shaped Horns

Whilst one of our team members was doing some dinosaur themed teaching activities with school children before the half-term holiday, they were asked by a student why did Woolly Rhinos had such large horns?

A Replica of a Woolly Rhino

Woolly  Rhino

Great care has been taken to depict the anterior horn on the new Papo model. Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur.

Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur

The picture (above) shows the Papo Woolly Rhino model, to view the Papo range of prehistoric animal models and figures: Papo Prehistoric Animal Models.

The question was asked when the Mammoth tooth was being handed round and it did get us thinking as to why ancient Rhinos had large horns.  In truth, we had to do a little bit of research before we could provide a complete explanation.  We were able to send an email to the teacher, outlining some of the reasons for the large horn on the Woolly Rhino.

Woolly Rhino

It turns out that the particular pupil concerned had seen a model of a Woolly Rhino and it did have a very large nose horn when she compared it to her models of modern Rhinos in her zoo play set.  Rhinocerotidae (the family to which Rhinoceroses belong), is actually quite an ancient mammal group, with their fossil record dating back to the Oligocene, approximately 35 million years ago.  There were a number of Rhino species around during the Ice Ages of the Pleistocene Epoch, fossils of such animals have been found all over Asia and Europe, these ancient animals were much more widespread in the past than modern species.  It is believed that the first Woolly Rhinos originated in China and there were a number of different types or species.

Coelodonta antiquitatis was named and described in 1807 by the German anthropologist and naturalist Johann Friedrich Blumenbach, long before the term Dinosauria had been thought of.  Indeed, Regency museums had many exhibitions of prehistoric mammal fossils long before dinosaur fossils began to take centre stage.

An Illustration of a Woolly Rhinoceros

Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur

To see a model of a Woolly Rhino and other prehistoric mammals associated with the Ice Age and the Pleistocene Epoch: Dinosaur and Prehistoric Animal Models.

Coelodonta antiquitatis

Coelodonta antiquitatis had two horns on its snout, the front horn being larger than the second horn located between the eyes. Woolly Rhinos were stocky, covered in long, shaggy hair with short legs, small ears and a dumpy tail – all adaptations for living in cold climates.  The horns of rhinos are made of keratin (fibrous hair that it compressed), the front horn (known as the anterior horn), could grow up to about 2 metres in length.  It is believed that the males had larger horns than females.

Scientists believe that the front horn of the Woolly Rhino was keeled, it was constantly worn down as the animals grazed moving their heads from side to side.  Woolly Rhinos may have used their large horns to clear snow in order to find food, this may explain how these animals had peculiar shaped horns.  Animals with large horns may have been more successful engaging in ritual combat and winning more mates as well as finding food.  The genetic trait for large horns may then have been passed from generation to generation.  This might explain why over many generations Woolly Rhinos had larger horns.

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