All about dinosaurs, fossils and prehistoric animals by Everything Dinosaur team members.
10 04, 2009

Hand-Painted Quality Dinosaur Models from Schleich

By |2022-12-21T21:26:33+00:00April 10th, 2009|Everything Dinosaur News and Updates, Main Page|0 Comments

Hand-Painted Quality Prehistoric Animal Models – Schleich

Schleich, the German based model manufacturers first began producing model figures in the 1950s, the company was founded some years before and we believe they originally started making items of merchandise to exploit the growing interest in children’s comic characters.

The company produces a number of ranges, including two dinosaur themed and one prehistoric animal themed product range.  Although, due to cost considerations most of their output is produced overseas, they still retain the sculpting and design work in-house.  This helps to ensure that the quality of the models and their accuracy are maintained.

Most of the models in the ranges that we sell are hand-painted, certainly all of them are hand-finished and the detail on the models is quite remarkable.

Close up of Megalodon Model (Giant Shark)

Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur

The close up of our Carcharodon megalodon shows the fine detail and care that goes into making a Schleich model, the five gill slits of a model shark species are clearly shown and a great deal of care has been taken to paint the model.  When it came to finding a model that would be suitable to represent C. megalodon our specialists looked long and hard and tested several different models from numerous manufacturers.  In the end, it was decided to choose the Great White shark model from the Schleich range to represent the Megalodon type extinct prehistoric shark, after all, this company has made some excellent prehistoric animal models including Schleich dinosaurs.

To view the model of Megalodon and other prehistoric marine animals: Dinosaur, Marine Reptile and Prehistoric Animal Models.

Carcharodon megalodon is believed by scientists to be the largest and most dangerous shark of all time; (Bull sharks Carcharhinus leucas with their frequency of attacks on people would run it close we think).  The name “Megalodon” means huge teeth, apt as some of the teeth of this creature were bigger than a man’s hand.  The jaws were capable of opening to over six feet high and an adult Megalodon could have swallowed a fully grown Great White shark whole.

A large fossil tooth from a Carcharodon megalodon.

Picture credit: Press Everything Dinosaur

Fossilised teeth of this huge prehistoric creature have been found in Europe, Africa, the United States, South America and Australasia.

Note: Since this article was written the taxonomy of this giant, prehistoric shark has been reassessed and most palaeontologist refer to this species as Otodus megalodon.

9 04, 2009

Free Swimming Tadpoles

By |2022-12-21T21:21:14+00:00April 9th, 2009|Animal News Stories, Educational Activities, Everything Dinosaur News and Updates, Main Page|0 Comments

Tadpoles begin to Disperse in Office Pond

Those tadpoles that hatched successfully have now begun to disperse across the office pond.  The heads of these little creatures, are now clearly discernable but no eyes or mouth can be distinguished as yet, in animals little more than one centimetre long.  The broad tails are permitting these tiny creatures to make short journeys as they spread out from the mass of spawn to take up residence in the rest of the pond.  We have observed a number of indviduals have made it to the far side of the pond and they are hanging onto large stones and debris in the shallows.  The majority of the tadpoles are to be found within the remains of the spawn, but we suspect that once they have exhausted their yolk sacs they will seek food and refuge elsewhere.  There is a lack of cover for the tadpoles (we cleaned the pond out in the autumn).  Hopefully, there will still be enough cover for the tadpoles to hide in although we accept that nearly all of them will perish over the next few weeks.  Most will fall prey to the other animals that inhabit the pond with them, the dragon and damsel fly nymphs are particularly voracious, but even blackbirds and robins can pose a threat to the tadpoles.

8 04, 2009

Extremely Rare Fossil Octopuses from the Late Cretaceous

By |2023-03-02T07:33:35+00:00April 8th, 2009|Dinosaur and Prehistoric Animal News Stories, Main Page|0 Comments

Rare Fossil Octopuses show Traits of Modern Cephalopods

Perhaps amongst all the animals to be found in the fossil record it is those members of the order Mollusca that assist palaeontologists the most when it comes to biostratigraphic dating.  Biostratigraphic dating is the process by which rock strata can be dated in relation to other depositional layers by finding characteristic fossils within the sediment of a particular part of the strata.  The rapidly evolving and numerous marine mollusc fossils such as the cephalopods ammonites and belemnites are particularly helpful.

The Mollusca phylum is very diverse.  It consists of shelled and unshelled forms, everything from bivalves such as cockles and mussels to the gastropods (slugs and snails) to the cephalopods squid, cuttlefish and the octopus.  Scientists could argue that the Mollusca are perhaps numerically the most abundant large invertebrates in the fossil record.  However, there is a problem with the Molluscan fossil record.  Only very rarely are the soft bodied molluscs preserved; so the fossil record of this particular phylum is extremely biased towards the shelled forms.

As a result, the evolution of this group is hotly debated, although most palaeontologists agree that the first shelled molluscs appeared in the Cambrian.  Whether or not Mollusca is represented in the Cryptozoic (Precambrian) is controversial.

Cephalopod Fossils

Recently, some light was shed on the evolution and development of soft bodied cephalopods with the discovery of some extremely well preserved fossil octopuses that date back to the Late Cretaceous (Cenemanian faunal stage).  Such fossils are extremely rare, but this discovery indicates that Mesozoic octopuses were very similar to the extant relatives today, with ink sacs and suckers on their arms.  The octopus lacks a hard external or internal skeleton, the body is composed almost entirely of muscle and skin.  A dead octopus is either quickly eaten by scavengers or decays rapidly to leave no body fossil.

The result is that preservation of an octopus in the fossil record is an exceptionally rare event, so rare in fact that of the 300 or so species of octopi alive today, none have ever been found in the fossil record.

In the January edition of the scientific journal Palaeontology, Dirk Fuchs and his colleagues of the Freie University (Berlin) report on the discovery of three new species of prehistoric octopi in a study from five beautifully preserved specimens from Lebanon.  The fossils have been dated to around 95 million years ago and show the animals in remarkable detail.  Even traces of ink sacs and internal gills are present in some of the preserved specimens.  The three new species have been named Styletoctopus annae, Keuppia hyperbolaris and Keuppia levante.

Three New Species

Pictures show a fossilised octopus classified as the new species Keuppia levante.  The head is towards the left of the picture with traces of all eight tentacles pointing towards the right of the images.  The strange purple and pink colours seen in the picture are not the actual colour of the fossil or the rock in which it is found, the picture has been taken when the fossil was under fluorescent light.  Studying fossils of delicate creatures under ultraviolet and infrared light can show details that are hidden to the naked eye under natural or white light.

Fine structures can be made out, this is also a technique used to check on the level of restoration found on a particular specimen.  Materials used in restoration such as cement and putty, don’t bounce light back under fluorescent conditions, these parts of the fossil appear darker.

Commenting on these finds, Dirk Fuchs stated:

“The luck was that the corpse landed untouched on the sea floor.  The sea floor was free of oxygen and therefore free of scavengers.  Both the anoxy [absence of oxygen] and a rapid sedimentation rate prevented decay.”

Only One Single Fossil Species Known

Prior to these discoveries, only a single fossil species of octopus was known.  The ancient octopi look remarkable similar to modern species and put back the evolution of extant forms of cephalopod by several million years.  Similar animals to the octopuses that you see today in an aquarium would have lived in the sea alongside ichthyosaurs, marine crocodiles and plesiosaurs.

This provides important evolutionary information, revealing much earlier origins of modern octopuses and their characteristic eight-legged body-plan, according to the researchers.

“The more primitive relatives of octopuses had fleshy fins along their bodies.  The new fossils are so well preserved that they show, like living octopus, that they didn’t have these structures,” Fuchs added.

CollectA have produced several replicas of iconic invertebrates from the fossil record, including ammonites and belemnites.

To view the range available from Everything Dinosaur: CollectA Prehistoric Life Models and Figures.

7 04, 2009

Pop to Paris to Pick up a Prehistoric Relic

By |2023-03-02T07:54:59+00:00April 7th, 2009|Dinosaur and Prehistoric Animal News Stories, Main Page|2 Comments

Christie’s to hold Auction of Prehistoric Artefacts

Christie’s, the world famous auction house is holding another sale of prehistoric animal fossils and other ancient artefacts at their auction house in Paris.  This is one of a number of large scale fossil auctions that have been held around the world over recent years, as the interest in collecting rare specimens has grown.  A number of remarkable lots are up for auction and on public display to allow curious onlookers and serious bidders to view the items.

Included in the collection are a brood of baby dinosaurs and an adult (believed to the the mother or parent).  The dinosaur is a Psittacosaurus, a small member of the Marginocephalia, a dinosaur which has several species ascribed to this particular genus.  Also included in the sale are the reconstructed jaws of the huge prehistoric shark Megalodon (Otodus megalodon).

Megalodon is presumed to be one of the largest predatory sharks that has ever existed, so big in fact that its huge jaws could swallow a Great White Shark whole (Carcharodon carcharias).  Lengths of this huge fish are difficult to estimate, as since, like all sharks and rays, the animal’s skeleton was made of cartilage, very few body fossils are found.  However, this Pliocene predator may have reached lengths in excess of 16 metres.

Although skeletal remains are exceptionally rare, the robust teeth are relatively easy to pick up from fossil dealers. Several species of large shark existed during the Miocene and Pliocene and the tough teeth fossilise well.  Sharks are able to shed teeth and have new ones grow up through the jaw to replace them, so a large shark would shed hundreds of teeth during its life time.  At Everything Dinosaur, we have a O. megalodon tooth specimen, found at Calvert Cliffs in Maryland, USA.

An Illustration of a Megalodon Giant Shark

Giant Shark illustration.

Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur

Giant sharks are certainly very popular with model collectors.  To the best of our knowledge, no model of a O. megalodon has been mass produced to date, so we supply a large scale, accurate model of a Great White Shark as a substitute.  Many scientists believe that the Megalodon was a close relative of the Great White and would have looked very similar.  Indeed, some fisherman believe that the Megalodon may not be extinct at all, still patrolling the warmer seas of the world, although most scientists pour scorn on this idea.

To view a models of giant, prehistoric sharks and other prehistoric animal models: Dinosaur and Prehistoric Animal Models.

Due to popular demand, we have added a Megalodon soft toy to our prehistoric animal range, it seems that despite this animal’s fearsome reputation, children want to have a soft toy version of this prehistoric predator.

The Megalodon Soft Toy from Everything Dinosaur

Giant Shark Soft Toy.

Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur

Everything Dinosaur stocks a wide range of prehistoric animal plush.  To see the company’s range of dinosaur and prehistoric animal soft toys: Prehistoric Animal Soft Toys.

A number of auctions of this type have been held around the world in recent years.  A couple of years ago, such items fetched record amounts of money, but the economic downturn has curbed many people’s enthusiasm for prehistoric items and some auction lots have struggled to sell.

To read an article about another recent auction: Collectors pick up Prehistoric Bargains at Canadian Auction.

Commenting on the lots available at the sale, Eric Mickeler, the specialist who organised the sale told a newspaper:

“Ever since ‘Jurassic Park’, sales of dinosaur teeth have had incredible success”.

We sincerely hope that Mr Mickeler was not referring to the Megalodon exhibit when he made this remark, sharks are not dinosaurs.

The auction house estimates that the reconstructed jaws will fetch between $200,000 to $240,000 USD.  A number of other interesting items are up for sale including fossils of Sabre Tooth Cats and a reconstruction of the European Cave Bear (Ursus spelaeus) dating from the Pleistocene epoch.

A Model of a European Cave Bear

Cave Bear model by Papo.

Papo Cave Bear model.

The Cave Bear fossil skeleton up for auction is depicted hunting salmon, it is thought that this large animal was omnivorous.  The reconstruction prepared for auction is certainly getting admiring looks from those viewing the exhibit which is due to go under the hammer today.

6 04, 2009

Dinosaur Easter Egg Activity – Make your own Dinosaur Nests

By |2022-12-21T09:21:25+00:00April 6th, 2009|Educational Activities, Everything Dinosaur News and Updates, Main Page|2 Comments

Dinosaur Easter Activity – Make your own Dinosaur Nests

Looking for something to do with your young dinosaur fans over the school holidays, make a chocolate nest full of tasty dinosaur eggs.  Here is a simple and fun recipe for dinosaur chocolate nests, an ideal activity for Easter time.

Dinosaur Chocolate Nests

Ingredients – (makes a batch of about 8 nests)

Plain or Milk cooking Chocolate 225 grammes (8oz)

Packet of Breakfast Cereal Cornflakes or Shredded Wheat variety

Packet of Sugar Coated Mini-chocolate Eggs

Pack of Small Cake Cases

Dinosaur Nests – a Great Easter Holiday Baking Activity

Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur

Method

1.  Break the cooking chocolate into pieces and place in a heat-proof bowl.  Melt the chocolate over a pan of simmering water.

2.  Once the chocolate has melted remove it from the heat and give it a good stir in the bowl.

3.  Add some of the breakfast cereal until the mixture takes on a a brown twiggy look.

4.  Carefully spoon enough of the mix into each paper case so that a little nest is formed.  Make sure you push it down in the middle so that each nest has a hollow in the centre

5.  Place two chocolate mini-eggs in the centre of each chocolate nest, the eggs will stick when the chocolate sets. Two eggs is all you need for each nest (we know that some dinosaurs laid eggs in pairs so your chocolate nests would please a palaeontologist).

6.  Then leave the nests to set.

There you are a set of lovely dinosaur themed nests, an ideal activity for young palaeontologists over the Easter holiday break.

For other baking ideas, recipes and for fun party items as well as dinosaur toys and gifts visit the award-winning Everything Dinosaur website: Visit Everything Dinosaur.

Dinosaur Eggs

Dinosaurs and their Nests (a little bit of science for you)

Many nests of dinosaurs have been discovered, particularly over the last fifteen years or so with the discovery of sauropod nesting sites in Argentina and Europe plus more evidence having been gathered from places such as the famous Flaming Cliffs area of Mongolia.

Dinosaur Eggs Fossil Discovery

The first dinosaur eggs were discovered in 1859 (France). The first recognised dinosaur nests were uncovered by an American team of palaeontologists led by Roy Chapman Andrews during expeditions to Mongolia in the 1920s.  Over the last few years, scientists have been able to build up their knowledge about dinosaur reproduction and egg laying as egg-shell fragments, nests, and even fossils of unhatched baby dinosaurs inside eggs have been discovered.

5 04, 2009

Fossilised Trackway Ends up Covered in Paint

By |2022-12-21T09:18:26+00:00April 5th, 2009|Dinosaur and Prehistoric Animal News Stories, Main Page|0 Comments

Dinosaur Trackway Vandalised

Fossilised footprints of dinosaurs are exceptionally rare.  As trace fossils they are evidence of the activity of dinosaurs and sometimes their behaviour such as demonstrating evidence of herding or pack hunting.

Unlike body fossils such as bones, which may be transported a long way from where the animal actually lived and died, trace fossils are direct evidence of the environment in which the animal lived.  Unfortunately, another area of preserved dinosaur trackways and footprints has been unintentionally vandalised.

Dinosaur Trackway

A series of dinosaur trackways at the base of Mount Cristo Rey in New Mexico have been splattered with pink, yellow, blue and green paint after the area, local officials believe, was used for a paint-balling game.

Ornella Jaramillo, a spokesperson for one of the museums currently studying the site commented:

“At Mt. Cristo Rey, we have [dinosaur] foot prints, more than 1,000 in this area.  So, it was a real shame we have paint-balls in this place”.

She went on to add that whoever used the site for paintball shooting probably didn’t know the 210 acre site is full of theropod tracks, and it’s off limits and under preservation by a museum.

“The message we want to give is that people know this is private property.  If they want to come here and play, they can’t.  The only reason they can come here is on a tour,” the spokesperson added.

Discovered in 2004

The tracks were first discovered in 2004, when the land was donated to a local museum (the Insights Museum).  Preserving the site is not easy, as this area between Texas, New Mexico and Mexico is often used by illegal immigrants as a U.S. border crossing point and many people use the area for recreation purposes.  Museum staff have a fortnight to clean up the unsightly mess, the fossilised prints are unlikely to have received too much damage but it is disappointing to note that they have been subjected to this vandalism, whether or not it was intentional.

Team members at Everything Dinosaur have come across similar incidences of vandalism.  On one occasion; whilst working on a hadrosaurine bone bed in Alberta, we came across a large femur (thigh bone) still embedded in the mudstone that surrounded it, but it had been used as a signpost for local bikers looking for a particular trail.  Spray paint had been put on the fossil, indicating directions to the bike trail.  Unfortunately, the paintball incident is not an isolated event, there have been a number of incidents of vandalism of dinosaur fossil sites reported over the last few months.

Visit Everything Dinosaur’s award-winning website: Everything Dinosaur’s Website.

4 04, 2009

Seeking a Red Dinosaur

By |2023-03-02T09:35:23+00:00April 4th, 2009|Everything Dinosaur News and Updates, Main Page|0 Comments

Seeking a Red Dinosaur

Team members at Everything Dinosaur are asked to supply a red dinosaur model.

We can really appreciate how important the colour of dinosaur models are to some very young dinosaur fans.  Not only do their parents have to find the right dinosaur model, for example, if they want an Allosaurus a Velociraptor simply will not do.  These bright young palaeontologists are very quick to point out the difference and woe betide the parent, grandparent or guardian who gets it wrong when searching for dinosaur toys for children.

Red Dinosaur

Each day we receive a number of emails and phone calls and letters from parents and guardians of these enthusiastic dinosaur fans asking for advice and help in tracing a particular item.  Our team do all they can to help.  Sometimes it is not just a particular prehistoric animal that is required, it has to be the right colour.  We have had to provide a blue Carnotaurus model recently and yesterday we received a plea for help in looking for a red dinosaur.  Fortunately, our dinosaur model series contains a bright red, almost scarlet in fact, plastic dinosaur.

We were able to despatch this model along with the customer’s order and we were told that by the customer, that they were about to become “favourite auntie” for finding the red dinosaur their little nephew so wanted.

I suppose it is all in a day’s work for our team members, we get a certain satisfaction knowing that we have helped out.  After all, not even the most knowledgeable palaeontologist is sure what colour dinosaurs were (colour does not normally fossilise).  A red dinosaur required by a young dinosaur fan?  No problem we take such requests in our stride.

Picture of the Dinosaur Party Models

Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur

The dinosaur party models set consists of a selection of 12 different prehistoric animal models.  The red model can be seen towards the right of the picture.  When a request like this is made by a customer, we make sure a note is made on the order form, this information is then picked up by the packing team in the warehouse.  The right item ends up in the customer’s parcel, in this case the red dinosaur model.

Customer’s can even write a note to us about particular model selections in the “additional information” section of the order processing system.

To view the huge range of dinosaur and prehistoric animal themed toys and gifts available on Everything Dinosaur’s award-winning website: Everything Dinosaur.

Tsintaosaurus

The red dinosaur model represents a Tsintaosaurus (pronounced ching-dow-oh-sore-us), a lambeosaurine hadrosaurid of the Late Cretaceous.  The fossils of this particular duck-billed dinosaur have been found in the Shandong Province of eastern China.  A large ornithischian dinosaur, estimated to have exceeded 10 metres in length, the most distinguishing feature of this particular animal was the thin, hollow crest that stuck out from the middle of the head.  As a result of this facial feature, palaeontologists have nick-named this dinosaur the “unicorn dinosaur”.  The name means “Lizard from Tsintao”, the large town close to the place where the first fossils of this dinosaur were discovered.

3 04, 2009

The Frogspawn is Hatching

By |2022-12-20T22:49:44+00:00April 3rd, 2009|Animal News Stories, Educational Activities, Everything Dinosaur News and Updates, Main Page|0 Comments

Office Pond Frogspawn Shows signs of Life

On Saturday 14th of March we reported that once again we had frogspawn in our office pond.  This is the second year in a row that frogs have spawned in our pond.  Based on our estimates we think that just like last year, the eggs we have in the pond have come from just the one female.  We are not sure whether it is the same female as last year, but it might be as we believe that the Common Frog (Rana temporaria) tends to return to the same pond each year to spawn.

To read the article about the frogspawn: We have frogspawn in the office pond.

We have kept a close watch on the frogspawn, and over the last few days or so we have observed that it is beginning to hatch.  The first tadpoles began to hatch on Wednesday 1st April, approximately 17 days after the spawn was laid.  The spawn last year began to hatch a little earlier but it was laid in a shallower part of the pond in direct sunlight and this may account for the slightly slower hatching this year.  We expect to see the majority of the tadpoles hatching over the weekend, although we note that the spawn is not as clear and healthy looking as it was last year.  Perhaps it is because the spawn has ended up in a deeper part of the pond, sitting on the silty bottom.  Those tadpoles that have hatched already, have a distinctive head end, but their tails are not able to propel them very far at the moment.

In the autumn, we all got together and had a lovely afternoon clearing out the blanket weed and generally cleaning the pond.  This has left the pond with little weed cover.  Hopefully, the tadpoles will be able to find plenty of cover to help them avoid predators.  The absence of cover may permit us to observe the tadpoles in more detail this year.

To view the article about 2008 hatching frogspawn: Frogspawn beginning to hatch (2008).

The pond seems quite healthy, we have noticed a lot of snails eggs and the water boatmen have been very active.  We also observed our first pond skater of the season.  Hopefully, our pond clearing has helped maintain a healthy, balanced ecosystem.

2 04, 2009

Sauropods with their Heads Held High – the Debate Continues

By |2023-02-28T15:15:43+00:00April 2nd, 2009|Dinosaur and Prehistoric Animal News Stories, Main Page|0 Comments

New Report into the Posture of Sauropods

The sauropods, or to give them their correct taxonomic classification – Sauropoda, were long-necked, elephantine plant eaters, part of the Saurischia (lizard-hipped) group of Dinosauria.  These animals are reputed to be the largest land animals of all time, with some of these creatures such as Brachiosaurus and the titanosaur, Paralititan reaching lengths in excess of 25 metres.

Sauropods

How these enormous creatures held their long necks has been the subject of much debate amongst palaeontologists.  In the past, it was believed that these animals were able to hold their necks quite high, almost vertically in what has been described as the “swan neck” position, but now most scientists are dissuaded from this point of view.  Indeed, this interpretation of sauropod fossil bones is very much out of favour, along with the view that these animals were so large that they had to live in water in order to have their great weight supported.

The More Traditional View of Sauropods

Mojo Fun Mamenchisaurus dinosaur model (new for 2020).

The Mojo Fun Mamenchisaurus dinosaur model.  The model’s head is held high in this reconstruction.

Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur.

Sauropod Dinosaur Models

Mojo Fun have created several sauropod dinosaur models including Mamenchisaurus, Brachiosaurus and Diplodocus.

To view this range of figures: Mojo Fun Prehistoric and Extinct Figures.

The view of these large creatures living in swamps and lakes, so that the water could help support their weight has been largely discredited, but the debate over how these animals used their necks continues.  A new study has just been published in the scientific journal “Biology Letters” that examines the effect the position of a dinosaur’s head is in relation to its heart and the implications for blood pressure.  Extant reptiles such as crocodiles and lizards have a very different anatomical structure to that of dinosaurs.  Living reptiles standing in their natural posture have their heads virtually level with their hearts.  They can raise their heads of course, but no living reptile possesses the immensely long neck or posture of a sauropod such as Brachiosaurus.

The hearts of modern reptiles are different in design from a human heart.  They cannot separate pulmonary (blood to and from the lungs) and systemic blood (blood circulated around the rest of the body), they do not have a fully divided, chambered heart.  Most dinosaurs from the smallest theropod such as Compsognathus to the large brachiosaurs, held their heads above their hearts.  This implies that their hearts were fully divided ensuring that there would be enough blood pressure to pump blood to their elevated heads.

Sauropod Posture

This new study, led by Dr Roger Seymour, an evolutionary biologist from the University of Adelaide shows that a dinosaur’s head would have been so far above its heart that raising the head and neck would have caused the blood pressure to soar – to potentially fatal levels.  This team argue that in the case of the sauropods, for example, these large herbivores would not have fed on the branches of tall trees, but grazed like cows keeping their heads and necks closer to the ground.  The scientists found that the physical effort involved in lifting such long necks, some of which could measure over 15 metres long would have used up almost 50% of the energy derived from a sauropod’s diet just to circulate the blood.

Commenting on his study Dr Seymour stated:

“The long necks of gigantic sauropod dinosaurs are commonly assumed to have been used for high browsing to obtain enough food.  However, this analysis questions whether such a posture was reasonable”.

The scientists estimated the energy required comparing the dinosaurs metabolic rate, blood flow and blood pressure.

Dr Seymour added:

“The analysis shows it would have required the animal to expend approximately half of its energy intake just to circulate the blood, primarily because a vertical neck would have required a high systemic arterial blood pressure”.

Intriguing New Study

The new study sounds intriguing but none of the team members at Everything Dinosaur have been able to read up on the details of this research.  In their conclusions, the team have related the results to the potential lifestyles and habits of feeding sauropods.  Rather than have them browsing on the tops of trees, they comment that the majority would have fed lower to the ground.

“It is therefore energetically more feasible to have used a more or less horizontal neck to enable wide browsing while keeping blood pressure low”.

This sounds a fascinating article one that contributes to the debate over the structure of dinosaur hearts and the resulting implications for metabolic rate and endothermic applications.  Sir Richard Owen commented on the fact that dinosaurs may have led “more energetic lives” than extant reptiles in 1841.  He concluded that they must have had a fully divided heart like mammals and birds and alluded to the possibility that the dinosaurs may have been warm blooded.

Sir Richard Owen stated:

“from their superior adaptation to terrestrial life, to have enjoyed the function of such a highly organised centre of circulation [the heart] in a degree more nearly approaching that which now characterises the warm-blooded Vertebrata [mammals and birds]“.

1 04, 2009

Playing with Pictures – New Website

By |2022-12-21T09:08:14+00:00April 1st, 2009|Everything Dinosaur News and Updates, Main Page|0 Comments

Playing with Pictures – New Images for the Everything Dinosaur Website

In a few days time, our new website is due to go live.  It has taken a long time to develop but this new site is very much bigger than the existing Everything Dinosaur site.

To view the extensive range of dinosaur and prehistoric animal themed toys and gifts available from the award-winning Everything Dinosaur website: Visit Everything Dinosaur.

Everything Dinosaur Website

As well as having lots of new, user friendly features, this new site is going to be compatible with Google elements and permit us to provide customers with more information about products.  It has taken some time for us to get used to all the functionality of the back office systems, but we think we are just about there.

One of the exciting new developments, is that this new site allows us to put up many more pictures of the products.  Since we test all the products that we stock and we commission our own professional photography we can post up many more pictures showing the products than before.  Slowly but surely our team members have been sorting through the photographic records that we have kept and the images are being added to the product sections.

We have just finished putting up some more pictures of the Dinosaur Collection CollectA Pteranodon (product code MODC002).  We are now able to show more than one picture of this particular model on our site.

To see the CollectA Pteranodon and other replicas of pterosaurs and dinosaurs: Dinosaurs, Pterosaurs and Prehistoric Animal Models.

Pteranodon Model (Dinosaur Collection CollectA Prehistoric Animal Models)

Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur

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