American Scientists Claim that Velociraptor was Feathered

Palaeontologists have speculated that many of the Maniraptorians such as Dromaeosaurus and Velociraptor may have been covered in downy feathers.  The feathers would help to keep these small, active animals warm and help them to conserve heat.  A number of superbly preserved small Theropod fossils have been discovered (mainly in Liaoning province, China), which show traces of proto-feathers and true feathers.  Now a group of American scientists claim to have found evidence of feathers on the forearm of a Velociraptor.

Feathered Velociraptors

In research published in the journal “Science” by Alan Turner and Mark Norell of the American museum of Natural History assisted by Peter Makovicky of the Field museum Chicago; evidence for Velociraptor having at least some feathers has been presented.

The team studied the beautifully preserved ulna (forearm) of a Velociraptor found in Ukhaa Tolgod, Mongolia in 1998.  The fossil ulna most likely belonged to V. mongoliensis which roamed this part of Asia between 90 – 80 million years old (mya).  Most people imagine Velociraptors to be at least two metres tall, but this has to do more with their depiction in the Jurassic Park films than with palaeontology.  There were certainly some very large dromaeosaurs around but Velociraptor was only about the size of a turkey, perhaps weighing as little as 15 kilos.

A Feathered Velociraptor

A non-bird dinosaur – a feathered Velociraptor. The book “Prehistoric Pets” demonstrates the link between a budgie and a dinosaur! Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur.

Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur

No fossil of a feathered Velociraptor has yet been found, the sediments in which these animals fossils have been discovered to date are not fine enough to produce such detail and to permit the preservation and fossilisation of such delicate structures.  However, the American team claim that the ulna shows signs of regular bumps along its leading edge, these might be “quill knobs”.

Quill knobs are found in many living bird species and are most evident in birds that are strong flyers.  Finding evidence of quill knobs on a Velociraptor ulna may confirm that this animal did indeed have feathers.

Quill Knobs

The fossil had six of these bumps about four millimetres apart and the researchers conclude that the bumps would have held the quills of secondary feathers, equivalent to the flight or wing feathers of modern birds.  A total of 14 such quill knobs and feathers may have been on the forearm of a Velociraptor, from the size and spacing of the bumps they would have been more than just downy feathers perhaps they were similar to contour (body) feathers on birds which are not designed to assist flight but are downy at the bottom to provide insulation and coloured at the top to provide camouflage or display plumage.

The feathers on the forearm could have been asymmetrical, like the flight feathers of modern birds, but the anatomy of Velociraptor rules out any attempts at flight and the feathers would not have helped much if the animal had wanted to jump further.

What Were the Feathers Used For?

If Velociraptor did have substantial feather adornments on its arms, the question arises what they might have been used for.  This could be an encumbrance whilst hunting, as the feathers could have impeded the action of the arms as they grabbed prey – unless of course you take into account the half-moon shaped wrist bones.  The curved wrist bone would have permitted sweeping and folding movements of the hands making Velociraptor very effective at grabbing small prey.  Perhaps the feathers were used for display purposes, to obtain a mate or deter rivals.

This research adds to the view that dinosaurs did not entirely die out at the end of the Cretaceous, but the feathered, avian dinosaurs (birds) survived and continued to flourish. Today there are still more species of bird in the world than mammals.

Perhaps after all Dinosaurs are survivors…

Close up Velociraptor Ulna and cast compared to Turkey Vulture

Picture credit: Mick Ellison

Image above caption:

(A) View of right ulna of Velociraptor  (fossil reference: IGM 100/981).
(B) Detail from cast of red box in (A), with arrows showing six evenly spaced feather quill knobs.
(C) View of right ulna of a turkey vulture (Cathartes).
(D) Same view of Cathartes as in (C) but with soft tissue dissected to reveal placement of the secondary feathers relative to the quill knobs.
(E) Detail of Cathartes, with one quill completely removed to reveal quill knob.
(F) Same view as in (E) but with quill moved to the left to show placement of quill, knob, and follicular ligament. Follicular ligament indicated with arrow.

The Papo Feathered Velociraptor Model

Everything Dinosaur stocks a variety of feathered dromaeosaurid figures.

The picture (above) shows a Papo feathered Velociraptor figure, to view the Papo range of prehistoric animal models: Papo Dinosaurs and Prehistoric Animal Models.

Recent discoveries of Fossil Crocodiles in Cuban re-ignite “Biggest Crocodile” Debate

Scientists from Cuba have discovered  a series of fossils that they claim are from a number of giant crocodiles.  The ancient crocodile remains, mixed up with fossils of dugongs (marine mammals), were found in a cave in the central Cuban province of Sancti Spiritus, approximately 220 miles east of Havana.

The cave which is adjacent to the banks of the Cayajana river was slowly revealing its fossil treasure as its sediments were eroded away by the river.  The fossils have been dated to between 20 mya and 18 mya, the early Miocene epoch.  No estimates of the length of these crocodiles has yet been given by the research team but they claim them to be “giants”.

Biggest Crocodile

These ancient crocodilians may be related to the Purussaurus genera, a group of extinct crocodiles from south America.  Measurements taken from one specimen in Brazil give an estimated length of 17 metres.  Fortunately, for us these huge reptiles that once roamed the swamps of Peru, Venezuela and Brazil became extinct towards the end of the Miocene approximately 8 mya.

Scientists debate which of the ancient crocodiles was the biggest.  Many fossil crocodiles are far from complete and articulated skeletons are very rare.  Size is usually estimated by measuring the length of the skull and comparing the proportions of extant crocodiles to give an approximate size.  Unfortunately, the skull : body proportions of all 23 existing species of crocodilians vary widely, so fossil skull length may not be an accurate method of estimating the total length of a particular crocodile specimen.

As crocodiles live close to water, they are good candidates to have their remains preserved as fossils, unfortunately processes such as turbination occur and the fossil bones are mixed up or lost.  Currents or floods can disperse remains making the preservation of a complete carcase unlikely.  Crocodile bones from the Mesozoic were often subjected to “Dinoturbination”.  Their bones were trampled, broken and scattered by dinosaurs as they congregated on the river or lake bank to drink.

The Pearly Crocodile

Cuban has one indigenous species of crocodile, appropriately called the Cuban or “pearly crocodile” – C. rhombifer.  Reports of Cuban crocs, reaching lengths of 5 metres when raised on farms have been made, but in the wild lengths of more than 3.5 metres are rare.

They get the name “pearly crocodile) as their hides have a distinctive yellow and black mottling.  Unfortunately, this has been their downfall as they have been hunted nearly to extinction by poachers after their valuable skin.

Many scientists debate whether Deinosuchus (means terrible crocodile) or Sarcosuchus (means flesh crocodile), were the biggest crocs around during the age of reptiles.  Estimates of body length put these animals around the 10-12 metre mark.  However, the jaws of Sarcosuchus are narrow and slender and seem more suited to catching fish. Whereas. the big broad jaws of Deinosuchus may indicate that this beast was an ambush predator, preying on dinosaurs as they came down to the water to drink.

The Rebor Club Selection: Meta the Hatchling Deinosuchus Estuary Variant is featured in an Everything Dinosaur video showcase.  A replica of a hatching Deinosuchus – perhaps one day it will grow to be the biggest crocodilian of all time.  Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur.

Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur

To see a scale model of Deinosuchus: Prehistoric Animal and Dinosaur Models.

South African Fossil Pelycosaur may show Parental Behaviour

Dr Jennifer Botha-Brink from the National Museum of Bloemfontein in the Free State Province of South Africa has published a paper on a remarkable fossil recovered from upper Permian strata near Fraserburg in the Northern Cape.  The fossil is of a group of unknown and yet to be fully described pelycosaurs, one –  assumed to be the adult, has its tail tucked around three of the four smaller animals in an almost protective posture.  Could this fossil show a parent trying to protect its offspring as they perished in the Late Permian?  If this is the case then this is the earliest evidence found of parental behaviour in an ancestor of mammals.

Pelycosaur

The fossil was first unearthed in 1995 from a sequence of sedimentary rocks known as the Beaufort Group, but was only recently identified as a synapsid and from the Order Pelycosauria, it has been dated to the late Permian (260 mya).

The Beaufort Group makes up a large proportion of the Karoo basin and covers the Middle Permian to the Middle Triassic periods.  Many mammal-like reptiles and primitive dinosaur fossils have been found in this sequence.  This area is extremely important for palaeontologists and geologists as the rock strata provides an almost unbroken fossil record covering 50 million years as the Palaeozoic gave way to the Mesozoic.

Fossils of the Karoo Basin

Ironically, pelycosaur fossils are rare in the Karoo Basin, most fossil pelycosaurs are discovered in the Northern Hemisphere (USA and Europe), this find is only the fourth pelycosaur fossil to be discovered south of the Equator.  Perhaps the environment or the climate of the interior of Pangaea prevented these animals from spending across the whole of the super-continent.  Pelycosaurs were certainly very successful on the western side of the Pangaea, where by the end of the Permian they made up approximately 50% of the large land animal population.

The unique position of the fossilised animals may indicate a degree of parental care in these animals – a trait that they passed onto their mammal descendants.  This could be a fossil of a family group who died when they were buried together in a sandstorm.  However, the corpses may have shifted position and orientation during the preservation and fossilisation process so the degree of care shown by an adult to their offspring can only be speculated upon.  Indeed, there is no evidence to suggest that this is a family group, but the fossil certainly provides scientists with the opportunity to theorise on the development of a parental behaviour in early mammal-like reptiles.

Fossils that may reveal aspects of social behaviour are extremely rare, although this fossil was discovered 12 years ago, it was never completely prepared and studied, so only now is it revealing a tantalising glimpse into what may have been family life before the dinosaurs.

Studying Synapsids

Mammals and their extinct relatives are called synapsids.  These animals are named after the fenestra (opening) in the skull behind the eye socket.  Diapsid reptiles have two skull openings on either side.  The diapsids include the dinosaurs, birds, snakes, lizards, crocodiles, marine reptiles and pterosaurs.  These openings may have evolved to help anchor jaw muscles as animals developed more sophisticated and powerful jaws.  In humans, this single synapsid opening has now closed up as our skull has expanded to protect our brains.

The two best known pelycosaurs are Dimetrodon and Edaphosaurus – known collectively as “sail-back” reptiles due to the arrangement of a long frill or sail that ran along their backs.  Scientists are not sure what function these structures performed as the spines that support the sail are different between these two genera.  However, it is commonly believed that these sails were thermo-regulatory devices helping to maintain these large animal’s body temperature in the extremes of the Late Permian climate.

A Sail-backed Pelycosaur (Edaphosaurus)

The CollectA Edaphosaurus model.  A replica of a famous sail-backed reptile, a pelycosaur.

Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur

To see a scale model of carnivorous Dimetrodon: Prehistoric Animal and Dinosaur Models.

Gloucestershire man builds Dinosaur Sculpture in Garden

Dinosaurs are a source of fascination for young and old alike, but one Gloucestershire man has taken his interest in palaeontology to new heights by building a 14 ft high model of a Baryonyx in his back garden.  Russell Batten, 49, from the town of Brockworth (just outside Gloucester), carved the sculpture out of polystyrene, using electronically charged hot wires.

His sculpture depicts this large theropod in an aggressive posture with its head facing up to the sky, as if it was roaring to ward off rivals and defend its territory.

A British Theropod Dinosaur in the Back Garden!

The new for 2021 CollectA Age of Dinosaurs Popular Neovenator scenting prey.  A British theropod dinosaur in your back garden.

Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur

Fascinated with Prehistoric Animals

Russell has always been fascinated with prehistoric animals, especially dinosaurs and as he stood proudly by his statue he dedicated his work – the first Baryonyx seen in southern England for a few million years, to his children.

Baryonyx is nick-named the “English” dinosaur by many palaeontologists, as its remains were first found by an amateur palaeontologist – William Walker whilst he was exploring a Surrey clay pit.   The animal dates from 125-120 million years ago and maybe the ancestor of the spinosaurs.  Estimates for the size of Baryonyx vary, as the fossil unearthed in the Surrey clay pit was of an immature adult, but this fierce dinosaur could have grown to over 10 metres in length.  The distinctive “kinked” jaws indicate that this animal was a piscivore (fish eater).  Using its long, straight neck, Baryonyx may have looked out over water and hooked fish out with its massive thumb claws.  The thumb claw actually gives Baryonyx its name (means heavy claw).  These claws could be up to 30 cm long and would have been very effective at grabbing fish.

A Replica of a Baryonyx

The new for 2020 Mojo Fun Baryonyx dinosaur model with an articulated jaw.  A model of a Baryonyx.

Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur

The Baryonyx (above) is from the Mojo Fun prehistoric and extinct range of figures.  To view this series: Mojo Fun Prehistoric and Extinct Animals.

The fish hunting theory has gained credence as in the Surrey specimen, scales belonging to a fish called Lepidotes were found in the area where the stomach would have been.  Fossil bones of a small Iguanodon were also found, suggesting that this large carnivore did not always stick to the fishy diet but was a bit of an opportunist.

Never-the-less, great to see a fishing dinosaur in Gloucestershire.

To view a model of Baryonyx designed by palaeontologists at the Natural History museum in London and other Baryonyx figures: Dinosaur and Prehistoric Animal Models.

Teenage Tyrannosaurus rex gets Trial Date

It seems that humans teenagers are not the only ones capable of getting themselves embroiled with the law but in the case of a teenage T. rex fossil, the dinosaur is the innocent party caught up in a legal wrangle.

Tyrannosaurus rex Fossil

The fossil Tyrannosaurus, excavated from a secret site in South Dakota was initially excavated by Mark Eatman, a commercial fossil collector.  He removed a partial dentary (lower jaw bone) before selling on his discovery to a group of Texas based business people.  The new owners contacted the tyrannosaur expert and leading palaeontologist Bob Bakker, who was able to examine vertebrae, ribs, gastralia, tibia, fibia and a complete humerus.  He concluded that this was potentially a female and one that was as yet fully grown – a teenage Tyrannosaurus!  Approximately 60 fossil bones have been recovered making this one of the most complete immature tyrannosaurs ever found.

Tyrannosaurus Fossils Can Sell for Hundreds of Thousands of Dollars

The Left metatarsal bones of a T. rex (Titus). Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur.

Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur

Fossils of juvenile and sub-adult animals help scientists understand how such creatures grew and developed.  An appreciation of the ontogeny of a Tyrannosaurus rex can provide an insight into social behaviour.  For example, was a young T. rex able to hunt or did it depend on its parents to bring it food.

An assessment of the vertebrae and the disproportionately large leg bones have led Bob Bakker and his team to deduce that this was indeed a young T. rex, perhaps the equivalent of a teenager.  The animal has been nick-named “Tinker”.  The well developed jaws indicate that even at this young age, it had a lethal and powerful bite, but the long limb bones would have given this animal a clumsy almost gangly appearance.  This phenomenon is known as “distal growth” and is a process whereby animal’s bodies grow at different rates.  This can be seen on young calves and foals as their legs are much longer in proportion to the rest of their bodies.

These animals need to be able to run from a very young age to escape predators.  T. rex also exhibited these characteristics, perhaps it needed to be able to keep up with its parents as they followed herds of migrating Hadrosaurs.  Or perhaps young tyrannosaurs needed to be fleet footed to escape the attentions of their brothers and sisters who might have wanted to practice fratricide.

A Replica of a Juvenile Tyrannosaurus rex

A young T. rex.  A model of a juvenile Tyrannosaurus rex.

The model pictured above, is a figure from the: CollectA Prehistoric Life Model Range.

At the Centre of a Legal Dispute

Unfortunately, further study of this specimen is not possible as the fossils have become the centre of a legal row over ownership.  A federal lawsuit was filed in August 2004 against the Texas team, accusing them of illegally removing the fossil from County property.

A trial date has been set for February 5th 2008, which will hopefully settle ownership and permit this valuable fossil to be studied more closely.

In June 2006, U.S. District Judge Richard Battey (a veteran of T. rex court cases after his involvement with the famous “Sue” fossil and the Black Hills Institute court case), ruled the original lease between the County and the fossil collectors was invalid.  This ruling was overturned in April by a federal appeals court, thus setting up the showdown in February which should decide ownership rights.

“Tinker” in Storage

“Tinker” is in storage in Pennsylvania.  After being in the ground for 65 million years the fossils are now locked away in store cupboards.  The case has been complicated as the man hired to restore the fossils has filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection.

Dinosaur fossils are big business and a museum quality specimen can sell at auction for very large sums of money.  The large Tyrannosaurus rex fossil “Sue” – BHI2033; was auctioned at Sotheby’s on October 27th 1997, she fetched $8.36 million!