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Today is National Fossil Day, and in celebration here is a cavalcade of dinosaur news!

• By looking at where dinosaurs died, scientists have uncovered new insights into how they lived.

• Chinese scientists have discovered a new dinosaur genus related to Coelophysis, a small, meat-eating dinosaur.

• Ancient flying dinosaurs may have been able to fly for 10,000 miles non-stop!

• Scientists debate over classification of Raptorex: tiny T-Rex or juvenile Tarbosaurus?

• Paleontologists may have been incorrectly splitting sauropod classifications.

• Sauropods with creepy hands!

• Museum exhibit explores paleontology bloopers.

8 replies on “Happy Fossil Day!”

  1. Early humans may have evolved as prey animals rather than as predators, suggest the remains of our prehistoric primate ancestors that were devoured by hungry birds and carnivorous mammals.

    The discovery of multiple de-fleshed, chomped and gnawed bones from the extinct primates, which lived 16 to 20 million years ago on Rusinga Island, Kenya, was announced yesterday at the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology’s 70th Anniversary Meeting in Pittsburgh.

    At least one of the devoured primates, an early ape called Proconsul, is thought to have been an ancestor to both modern humans and chimpanzees. It, and other primates on the island, were also apparently good eats for numerous predators.

    “I have observed multiple tooth pits and probable beak marks on these fossil primates, which are direct evidence for creodonts and raptors consuming these primates,” researcher Kirsten Jenkins told Discovery:

    http://news.discovery.com/archaeology/hu…

  2. I wonder if Ken Ham has weighed in on this. I really look forward to his opinions.

    He hits that completely entertaining sweet spot of utter batshit insanity combined with haughty stupidity.

  3. Since it’s National Fossil Day, it is my sad duty to point out the the article on “Ancient Flying Dinosaurs” is incorrect in referring to Pterosaurs as “dinosaurs.”

  4. North American Late Jurassic sauropod diversity is a complicated subject but that “Amphicoelias” paper is more of a brochure for these new specimens that private fossil hunters uncovered. It is not peer-reviewed and is suggests that all 21 genera of Morrison Formation sauropods *except* their own “Amphicoelias” is one taxon. Which is presumptive to say the least.

    http://svpow.wordpress.com/2010/10/07/th…

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