Today begins a cavalcade of dinosaur news I’ve been saving… it’s going to be an exciting few days!
First, in important local dinosaur news, the Woodland Park Zoo will be invaded by animatronic dinosaurs this summer! The dinosaurs arrive April 30th and will remain through Labor Day.
Second! A new theory on sauropod dietary habits! Researchers posit that they were like 1950s vacuum cleaners:
The impressive necks sported by giant sauropods in the Jurassic period allowed the beasts to forage over large areas without having to waste energy moving their enormous bodies around, the researchers report.
Their striking anatomy resembles the solution that engineers came up with when they realised that early vacuum cleaners were too cumbersome to drag easily around a room. To allow the user to reach more carpet, they fitted the machine with a lengthy hose.
More on our long-necked friends here and here.
And lastly: Oil workers in Alberta dug up what is most likely an ankylosaur!
…a shovel operator at a Suncor mine site noticed what looked like brown discs in the black rock on a small cliff he was excavating. Per Suncor’s policy, operator Shawn Funk shut off his machinery and reported that he’d found something unusual.
More on this rare, nearly complete, well-preserved find can be found here, here and here.
Coming soon to Dinosaur News: a dino missing link, a t-rex cousin, and dinos with lice!
I for one welcome our animatronic dinosaur overlords and their violent revolution against the uber-rich in the coming Dinosaur-led Revolution.
That is NOT a 1950’s vacuum cleaner,
@2 Correct Catalina… that’s a more modern vacuum cleaner that’s less cumbersome and more easily dragged around a room…
We’re going to need another Timmy.
That sauropod theory has been around for a while.
Then why did they specifically say “A 1950’s vacuum cleaner”? An Electrolux, or a Constellation, or a lovely Filter Queen would be appropriate, no?
Words have meanings. Oh yes they do!
lol, that they do, Catalina. My bad.