DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ Stegosaurus fossil goes on sale - but not everyone is happy
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-30 | by ( Lianne Kolirin | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

The “exceptional” and “virtually complete” dinosaur fossil, which is 11 feet tall and 20 feet long, will be sold as part of Sotheby’s annual Geek Week. Paleontologists have questioned the sale of such specimens to private bidders, arguing that these finds should be preserved in museums or other public spaces. Nevertheless, that will not stop the auction of the 150-million-year-old fossil from going ahead in New York on July 17. Apex, as it has been nicknamed, is the “finest Stegosaurus specimen to come to market,” Sotheby’s said in a press release Wednesday. It is expected to fetch between $4 million and $6 million, making it one of the most valuable dinosaur fossils ever offered up for sale, the auction house added.

Persons: ” Sotheby’s, Jason Cooper, Sotheby’s, Cooper, “, Steve Brusatte, ”, Sotheby’s Brusatte, “ Sophie, Cassandra Hatton, Maximus ”, Stan Organizations: CNN, Apex, Scotland’s University of Edinburgh, Geek, Abu Dhabi Department of Culture Locations: New York, Apex, Colorado, Morrison, Moffat County , Colorado, Dinosaur, Sotheby’s, Sotheby’s New York, Abu Dhabi, Tourism

☆ Apex, the Largest Stegosaurus Fossil Ever Found, Heads to Auction
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-29 | by ( Asher Elbein | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

That femur led to a stegosaurus fossil, among the largest and most complete ever found, which has subsequently been nicknamed “Apex.” In July the Sotheby’s auction house will sell Apex at auction at an estimated value of $4 million to $6 million, making the skeleton the latest flashpoint in a long-running debate about the private fossil trade. Dinosaur fossils have fetched escalating prices at auction houses since 1997, when Sotheby’s sold “Sue” the Tyrannosaurus rex to the Field Museum in Chicago for $8.36 million. In 2020, “Stan,” another largely complete T. rex skeleton, sold at Christie’s for $31.8 million. Such pricing has raised serious concerns among academic paleontologists, said Stuart Sumida, vice president of the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology. Many of them have watched fossils that may unlock scientific mysteries get steered into the hands of wealthy private collectors rather than toward research institutions in recent decades.

Persons: Jason Cooper, Sotheby’s, Sue ”, “ Stan, ”, Stuart Sumida Organizations: Apex, Field Museum, Vertebrate Locations: Colorado, Dinosaur, ”, Chicago

☆ Opinion | Exploring the World Beyond Queens
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-25 | by ( The Editorial Board | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

One of his dream careers was paleontology, which combined his love for dinosaurs with the hands-on work of combing through artifacts. They yearned to give him more opportunities to explore his passions beyond their life in Queens. Mr. Bukari was 12 when he spent his first summer in upstate New York, at the Fresh Air Fund’s Camp Mariah. Leaving home for the first time made him feel more mature and aware of how big the world was. Being at camp “raised my eagerness to want to do more things on my own,” he says.

Persons: Shariff Bukari, Bukari, Mariah, “, ” Locations: Queens, Ghana, New York City, New York

☆ The evolutionary twist that could have helped dinosaurs rule Earth
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-18 | by ( Katie Hunt | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

New research this week is adding fresh detail to one of paleontology’s biggest questions: Did dinosaur blood run hot or cold? Clues from fossilized eggshells and bones have now suggested that some dinosaurs were warm-blooded and others were not. Reinhard Dirscherl/ullstein bild/Getty ImagesMarine scientists have used artificial intelligence to decode previously unknown complexity in the calls of sperm whales. The whales produced a catalog of clicking sounds, which the researchers described as akin to a “phonetic alphabet” for sperm whales. What sperm whales are saying with their clicks remains a mystery to human ears, but understanding the scope of their vocal exchanges is an important step toward linking their calls with specific behavior.

Persons: Dinos, Davide Bonadonna, Jeff Lichtman, Reinhard Dirscherl, Napoleon Bonaparte, Ashley Strickland, Katie Hunt Organizations: CNN, Vigo, UCL, Google Research, Lichtman, Harvard University, Google, Harvard, Northern, Central America, Getty Images Marine, —, Heritage, CNN Space, Science Locations: Universidade, North America, Scandinavia, Europe, Central, India, Dover, England

☆ Scientists uncover ‘striking’ ancient arachnid that had large spiky legs
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-17 | by ( Issy Ronald | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —The idea of coming face to face with a spider-like creature unexpectedly is enough to fill any arachnophobe with horror, let alone encountering one with large, spiky legs. The newly discovered long-extinct species is described as a “large spider-like arachnid” with “distinctive large spines on the legs” by the study’s authors. They were unable to place the creature within any known arachnid order due to the specimen’s lack of mouthparts, which scientists use to classify them. “You see sort of spiny legs in some arachnids, but we’ve never seen one that really has these big spines all the way along, at least the first parts of the legs. Scientists think the spiny legs were for defensive purposes.

Persons: we’ve, ” Dr, Jason Dunlop, Naturkunde, “, Bob Masek, David Douglass, Paul Selden, Dunlop, you’ve, ”, ” Dunlop, Douglass Organizations: CNN, Paleontology, Field Locations: what’s, Illinois, Masek, North America, Northern Europe, Europe

☆ Did dinosaur blood run hot or cold? Both, according to a new study
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-15 | by ( Katie Hunt | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

CNN —Were dinosaurs warm-blooded like birds and mammals or cold-blooded like reptiles? Clues from dinosaur eggshells and bones have suggested that some dinosaurs were warm-blooded and others were not. These dinosaurs may have evolved endothermy, or the ability to internally generate body heat, according to the study. “Warm-blooded animals are generally more active, for example, cold-blooded animals usually don’t build nests,” said lead study author Dr. Alfio Alessandro Chiarenza, Royal Society Newton International Fellow at University College London’s department of Earth sciences. Her 2022 study suggested that ornithischians were more likely cold-blooded and sauropods were warm-blooded.

Persons: Big John, Sarah Meyssonnier, ornithischians, ”, Alfio Alessandro Chiarenza, Brontosaurus, ” Chiarenza, “, Jasmina, ” Wiemann, Chiarenza, Anthony Fiorillo, ” Fiorillo, wasn’t Organizations: CNN, Royal Society Newton International, University College London’s, Field, UCL, Universidade de, New, New Mexico Museum, Southern Methodist University Locations: Paris, Chicago, Spain, New Mexico, Dallas

☆ Colossal, 50-foot prehistoric snake discovered in India
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-18 | by ( Katie Hunt | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —A giant prehistoric snake longer than a school bus slithered around what is now India 47 million years ago, according to new research. A panoramic view of Panandhro Lignite Mine, in western India's Gujarat state, shows the fossiliferous level (red arrow) where the giant snake Vasuki indicus was found. However, the snake would have rivaled the largest known snake species — the extinct Titanoboa — in size. Snake size and the role of climateSnakes are cold-blooded and need heat from the environment to survive. Datta and Bajpai said the snake lived in a coastal marsh and swamp.

Persons: dwarfing, indicus, Shiva, Debajit Datta, Sunil Bajpai, ”, Datta, Verma Debajit, Bajpai, Titanoboa, Vasuki Organizations: CNN, Indian Institute of Technology Locations: India, Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee, Uttarakhand, India’s Gujarat, India's Gujarat, Colombia

☆ Ancient fossils lead to discovery of largest known marine reptile
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-17 | by ( Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

Dr. Dean Lomax, Ruby Reynolds, Justin Reynolds and Paul de la Salle (from left) are shown with the fossil discovery in 2020. “To think that my discovery in 2016 would spark so much interest in these enormous creatures fills me with joy,” de la Salle said. I am overjoyed.”Together, the Reynoldses, Lomax, de la Salle and others returned to Blue Anchor to search for additional fragments. The nearly complete giant jawbone is shown along with the jawbone (middle and bottom) found by Paul de la Salle in 2016. Sergey KrasovskiyThe discovery made by the Reynoldses and de la Salle will soon be displayed at the Bristol Museum and Art Gallery in the UK.

Persons: Ichthyotitan, Justin, Ruby Reynolds, Marcello Perillo, Dean Lomax, Justin Reynolds, Paul de la, Lomax, De la Salle, “, de, Ruby, ” Lomax, Paul de, ”, ichthyosaurs, Perillo, ” Perillo, Mary Anning, Joseph, Sergey Krasovskiy, ” Ruby Reynolds, Paul Organizations: CNN, University of Bonn, Paul de la Salle, University of Manchester, University of Bristol, Salle, la Salle, de la Salle, Bristol Museum, Art Locations: Somerset, Braunton, England, , Somerset, Germany, United Kingdom, Devon, Lilstock, Canada, China

☆ Ancient carved drawings found next to dinosaur footprints in Brazil
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-11 | by ( Jacopo Prisco | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

CNN —Prehistoric humans in Brazil carved drawings in the rock next to dinosaur footprints, suggesting that they may have found them meaningful or interesting, a new study has found. A dashed line indicates petroglyphs made by indigenous people, while a continuous line shows theropod dinosaur footprints. “I think rock art creation was embedded in some sort of ritual context: people gathering and creating something, perhaps utilizing some psychotropics. I think they were interested in what the footprints represent, and I suppose they identified them as footprints. “This was the case in various parts of the world where rock art was practiced, and it is very clearly visible, among others, in the North American Southwest/U.S.

Persons: ”, Leonardo Troiano, We’ll, ” Troiano, Australia —, Troiano, Radosław, ” Palonka, Leonardo Troiano Jan Simek, Simek, Adrienne Mayor, ’ Simek Organizations: CNN, Institute of National Historic, Heritage, Jagiellonian University, Southwest, University of Tennessee, Stanford University Locations: Brazil, Paraíba, Brasilia, Australia, Serrote, United States, Poland, Kraków, U.S, Knoxville

☆ ‘It’s a dolphin!’: Researchers uncover unusual ancient fossil in the Amazon
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-30 | by ( Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

The newly identified dolphin species lived in a freshwater lake in the Peruvian Amazon 16 million years ago. This composite image captures the phases of a total solar eclipse as they unfolded in El Molle, Chile, in July 2019. Stan HondaOn April 8, astrophotographer Stan Honda will be stationed in Fredericksburg, Texas, armed with four cameras to document the total solar eclipse. Mark your Apple iCal or Outlook, Google, or Office365 calendar with the date of the upcoming total solar eclipse, which CNN will be covering live. UnearthedThe remains of a decorative wall can be seen at the site of an ancient home renovation in Pompeii.

Persons: Dr, Austin Gallagher, Gallagher, Pebanista yacuruna, Jaime Bran, ”, Aldo Benites, Emperor Wu, couldn’t, Wu, Stan Honda, Honda, Apple, George Washington, Samuel, Washington, Francesca Giarelli, Everest, —, Ashley Strickland, Katie Hunt Organizations: CNN, University of Zurich, Honda, Google, Italy Ministry of Culture, Red River Archaeology, CNN Space, Science Locations: Bahamas, Peruvian, Peru’s Loreto, Switzerland, China, Mongolia, El Molle, Chile, Fredericksburg , Texas, Mount Vernon , Virginia, Samuel’s Harewood, Charles Town, West Virginia, Harewood, Red, English, Oxfordshire, Cairo

☆ Ancient giant dolphin discovered in the Amazon
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-26 | by ( Mindy Weisberger | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

And though there are Amazonian freshwater dolphin species alive today, they aren’t close kin to that ancient cetacean. There’s the South Asian river dolphin (Platanista genus) and the Amazon river dolphin (Inia genus), also known as the pink river dolphin, and the two groups include several species and subspecies. Researchers discovered the Amazonian dolphin fossil in 2018, near the Napo River in Loreto, Peru. At first, they thought it would turn out to be an ancient relative of modern Amazonian river dolphins. “That was a moment where everybody freaked out, because it wasn’t an Amazonian river dolphin,” Benites-Palomino said.

Persons: ”, Jorge Velez, ” Velez, Juarbe, Aldo Benites, Palomino, John J, Flynn, Palomino “, John, freaked, Benites, yacuruna, Rodolfo Salas, Gismondi, ” Benites, Pebanista, ” Mindy Weisberger Organizations: CNN, American Association for, Advancement of Science, Juarbe, of Los, International Union for, Nature, IUCN, University of Zurich’s Department of Paleontology, American Museum of, of, World Wildlife Fund, Velez, Scientific Locations: Peruvian, South Asia, America, of Los Angeles County, Loreto , Peru, New York City, Peru, of Lima, Amazonia

☆ Peculiar fossil reveals oldest toothless bird from 120 million years ago
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-08 | by ( Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

CNN —A peculiar fossil has helped scientists discover an unusual bird that lived among the dinosaurs 120 million years ago, and the find is changing the way researchers think about avian evolution. Enantiornithines are known as “opposite birds” because they had a shoulder joint feature that greatly differs from the ones modern birds have. “Before Imparavis, toothlessness in this group of birds was known to occur around 70 million years ago,” Clark said. When Jingmai O’Connor, the Field Museum’s associate curator of fossil reptiles, visited the Shandong museum’s collections a few years ago, the fossil caught her attention. While modern birds have fused forelimb digits, enantiornithines still had independent movement in the “little fingers” on their wings.

Persons: Sir David Attenborough, ”, Alex Clark, Imparavis, ” Clark, Jingmai O’Connor, O’Connor, Clark, “, enantiornithines, ” O’Connor, ” Attenborough Organizations: CNN, University of Chicago, Field Locations: China, China’s Toudaoyingzi, Shandong

☆ Titanosaur skeleton discovered in France is 70 million years old
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-07 | by ( Taylor Nicioli | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

CNN —A chance discovery made in southern France has revealed a rare specimen — an almost complete dinosaur skeleton found connected from its hind skull to its tail. The Archaeological and Paleontological Cultural Association at the Cruzy Museum, in collaboration with the French National Center for Scientific Research, identified the nearly 10-meter-long (32.8-foot-long) fossil as a Titanosaur skeleton upon excavation. The recently revealed 70% complete Titanosaur skeleton was retrieved during the excavation along with several fossils of various dinosaurs and other vertebrates, including some in anatomical connection and near complete. The Titanosaur skeleton currently resides in the Cruzy Museum’s laboratory, where it will be further studied, Veyssières said. Remains of Titanosaur fossils are widely unearthed in Europe, but few are discovered in anatomical connection, Boschetto said.

Persons: CNN —, Damien Boschetto, Boschetto, ” Boschetto, Jean, Marc Veyssières, ”, Veyssières, Damien Boschetto Titanosaur, Matthew Carrano, ” Carrano Organizations: CNN, Cruzy, French National Center for Scientific Research, Cruzy Museum, Smithsonian Institution National, of Locations: France, Montouliers, Cruzy, Europe

☆ Are we in the Anthropocene Epoch? Not so fast, geologists say
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-05 | by ( Katie Hunt | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —Scientists have voted against a proposal to declare a new geological epoch called the Anthropocene to reflect how profoundly human activity has altered the planet. The vote followed a 15-year process to select a geological site that best captures humanity’s impact on the planet. Some experts argued that the start of the Anthropocene could be better defined in other ways, such as the beginning of the Industrial Revolution. “This is the commission’s expert group for this interval of geological time and we are bound by its decision. Regardless of whether the term is officially classified as a geological epoch, Anthropocene is already widely in use, Cohen noted.

Persons: Kim Cohen, ”, Cohen, Phil Gibbard, eon, Colin Waters, Waters, …, David Harper, ” Harper, hadn’t, “ Organizations: CNN —, International Union of Geological Sciences, CNN Tuesday, geosciences, Utrecht University, Scott Polar Research, University of Cambridge, Geologists, University of Leicester, Durham University, International, of Locations: Ontario, Netherlands, United Kingdom

☆ Ancient reptile fossil revealed as a forgery
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-20 | by ( Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

CNN —A 280 million-year-old fossil thought to be a well-preserved specimen of an ancient reptile is largely a forgery, according to new research. The fossil appeared in book and article citations over the decades, but no one ever studied it in detail. A new, detailed analysis has revealed that the dark color of the fossil isn’t preserved genetic material — it’s just black paint covering a couple of bones and carved rock. When the specimen was discovered, researchers thought the fossil might provide a rare glimpse into reptilian evolution. It’s not the first time a fossil forgery has been uncovered, but Rossi said this particular style of forgery is unusual.

Persons: antiquus, ”, Valentina Rossi, ” Rossi, Rossi, Mariagabriella Fornasiero, Evelyn Kustatscher, It’s, Fabrizio Nestola, ” Nestola Organizations: CNN, University of Padua’s Museum of Nature, University College Cork, Museum of Nature, Tyrol Nature Museum, University Center, Museums, University of Padua Locations: Italian, Italy, Ireland, Tyrol, Bolzano

☆ A 13-year-old found a 5-million-year-old fossil, and now there's a new species of walrus named in his honor
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-08 | by ( Jenny Mcgrath | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Co-authors Robert Boessenecker and Sarah Boessenecker hold the Valenictus walrus skull. Robert BoesseneckerEleven years after Sheperd found it, Boessenecker named the newly-identified walrus species Valenictus sheperdi, after Sheperd's last name. But because the new skull was older and larger than other Valenictus species and had some physiological differences, Boessenecker suspected it was an unknown species. The smooth surface is part of the walrus skull emerging from the rock. AdvertisementThe walruses of CaliforniaMillions of years ago, over a dozen walrus species roamed the planet.

Persons: Forrest Sheperd, who's, Robert Boessenecker ., Robert Boessenecker, Sarah Boessenecker, Sheperd, Boessenecker, Sheperd's, I've, Forrest, clacking, walruses, it's Organizations: Business, Santa Cruz Museum, California, Los Locations: Santa Cruz , California, California, West, San Joaquin, Sierra

☆ Sanfordiacaulis: New ancient tree species looks like it could be from the mind of Dr. Seuss
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-02 | by ( Ayurella Horn-Muller | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

The authors said these new and unusual fossil trees not only bear a surprising shape reminiscent of a Dr. Seuss illustration, they reveal clues about a period of life on Earth of which we know little. Few tree fossils that date back to Earth’s earliest forests have ever been found, according to Gastaldo. Most ancient tree specimens are relatively small, he noted, and often discovered in the form of a fossilized trunk with a stump or root system attached. Wilf noted via email that the “unusual” new fossil tree was a relic of a time period from which there are almost no tree fossils. The peculiar set of tree fossils presents proof of a “failed experiment of science and evolution,” Stimson added.

Persons: Seuss, ”, Robert Gastaldo, sedimentologist, “, Coauthors Olivia King, Matthew Stimson, Gastaldo, “ gobsmacked, Tim, Laurie Sanford, Stimson, ” Stimson, Peter Wilf, Wilf, ” Wilf, Dr, King, “ We’re, fossilization, ” Gastaldo Organizations: CNN, Colby College, New Brunswick Museum, geosciences, Pennsylvania State University Locations: Canadian, New Brunswick, Waterville , Maine, paleobotanist

☆ Japan’s ‘Moon Sniper’ lands but its fate is unclear due to power issue
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-20 | by ( Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

Rovers, science experiments, golf balls and other telltale signs of human exploration still sit on the lunar surface, and it’s only just beginning as more space agencies and countries plan trips to the moon. An artist's illustration depicts the SLIM lander's descent toward the lunar surface. JAXAJapan’s “Moon Sniper” robotic explorer successfully landed on the lunar surface Friday but almost immediately encountered a critical issue. The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency team said it believes the solar power issue is a result of the spacecraft facing the wrong direction. If the Moon Sniper can soak up some sunlight, the mission may continue.

Persons: Smart Lander, Emmanuel Rondeau, ”, Eager, Nick Famoso, Irene Stachon, Trent Ford, Lockheed Martin, Ashley Strickland, Katie Hunt Organizations: CNN, ”, telltale, JAXA, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, North America, University of Alaska, WWF, Force, NASA, Lockheed, CNN Space, Science Locations: Soviet, North, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Elma, Malayan, Malaysia, Oregon, Mitchell , Oregon, Scandinavia, Finland, Äkäslompolo, United States, Chicago, Illinois

☆ 29 million-year-old grasshopper nest found intact with eggs, study says
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-16 | by ( Mindy Weisberger | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

The eggs and overall nest construction closely resemble the eggs and pods of modern grasshopper species. Insect eggs are extremely rare in the fossil record, and intact egg cases are even rarer. This wasn’t just a cluster of eggs — it was a type of subterranean egg pod called an ootheca, with the eggs cradled by a protective layer that had mineralized into a stony rind. So Lee consulted a global insect egg database, containing more than 6,700 living species, to identify the eggs in the fossil pod. The virtually pristine specimen also speaks to the level of preservation in the national park site’s fossil beds, Famoso added.

Persons: ”, Jaemin Lee, Nick Famoso, Famoso, Ricardo Pérez, la Fuente, Christopher Schierup, Schierup, “, Lee, Angela Lin, ” Famoso, ” Lee, ” Mindy Weisberger Organizations: CNN, Parks Stewardship, University of California, National Parks Service, University of Oxford’s, University of Oregon’s, Imaging, Scientific Locations: Oregon, Berkeley, Mitchell , Oregon, United Kingdom, Eugene

☆ The top 9 'must-have' travel experiences of 2024, according to luxury advisors
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-16 | by ( Monica Pitrelli | Jonathan Delise | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +8 min

If that sounds like a tall order for a summer getaway, the luxury travel company Virtuoso asked 20,000 of its travel advisors to share their top experiences for 2024. Dark sky tourism focuses on rural locations without light pollution, such as Greece's Olympus Mountain National Park. Departing in August, Virtuoso recommends travelers first take in the Olympic Games before departing the city in style. Passion travelsHobbies may be associated with the home, but Virtuoso recommends taking your passions on the road. Virtuoso recommends exploring Peruvian cuisine at the Mistura Food Festival, or checking out the street food of Ljubljana, Slovenia.

Persons: Nicolas Economou, Manoj Shah, Belles, Bhutan's, Young, Peter Adams, Chiang Mai, Koh, Wiphop, Sakura, James Cole, Hillary, Cousteau, Shackleton, pricey, Yasin Akgul, bookworms, Wolfgang Kaehler, Brian Curtice, Levente Bodo, ERNESTO BENAVIDES Organizations: Nurphoto, DarkSky, Stone, InterContinental, UNESCO, Istock, Expedition, Getty, CNBC Travel, Orient, Afp, Departing, Olympic Games, Chelsea Flower, Lightrocket, Festival Locations: stargazing, Norway, Iceland, Canada, Northern Mexico, Blanco , Texas, Albanya, Spain, Africa, Bhutan, Thailand, Pana, Yai, Bangkok, Japan Japan, United States, North America, Japan, Hakodate, Hokkaido, Kyoto, Kanazawa, Fuji's, Antarctica, Paris, Istanbul, Turkey, Asia, Europe, Venice, Turkish, Strahov, Riau, Isla, Ljubljana, Slovenia

☆ Giant ape’s extinction solved by new fossil analysis
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-10 | by ( Katie Hunt | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

Many of the caves containing Gigantopithecus fossils have been found in Guangxi's distinctive karst landscape. “The early caves at 2 million years old have hundreds of teeth, but the younger caves around the extinction period — there are only 3-4 … teeth,” Westaway said. Isotope analysis of elements such as carbon and oxygen contained in the Gigantopithecus teeth helped the researchers understand how the animal’s diet may have changed over time. Kira Westaway/Macquarie UniversityQuestions remainNo Gigantopithecus fossils from the neck down have ever been found and documented. A November 2019 analysis of proteins found in a Gigantopithecus fossil suggested its closest living relative is the Bornean orangutan.

Persons: King Kong ” —, G.H.R, von Koenigswald, Gigantopithecus, “, ”, Renaud Joannes, Boyau, Yingqi Zhang, Kira Westaway, We’ve, Westaway, Zhang, ” Westaway, Feng Cave, It’s, Wang Wei, Wang Organizations: CNN, colossus, Southern Cross University, Macquarie University, Shandong University’s Institute of Cultural Heritage Locations: Hong Kong, China, Australia, Guangxi, Vietnam, Asia, Shandong, Qingdao, Indonesia, what’s, Bose

☆ Oldest mosquito fossil comes with a bloodsucking surprise
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-05 | by ( Will Dunham | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Dany Azar/Handout via REUTERS Acquire Licensing RightsWASHINGTON, Dec 5 (Reuters) - Hundreds of thousands of people worldwide are killed annually by malaria and other diseases spread through the bite of mosquitoes, insects that date back to the age of dinosaurs. To their surprise, the male mosquitoes possessed elongated piercing-sucking mouthparts seen now only in females. Some flying insects - tsetse flies, for instance - have hematophagous males. "In all hematophagous insects, we believe that hematophagy was a shift from plant liquid sucking to bloodsucking," Azar said. The researchers said while these are the oldest fossils, mosquitoes probably originated millions of years earlier.

Persons: Dany Azar, Handout, " Azar, Azar, André Nel, hematophagy, Nel, Will Dunham, Rosalba O'Brien Organizations: REUTERS Acquire, Rights, Chinese Academy of Sciences ' Nanjing Institute of Geology, Lebanese University, National Museum of, World Health Organization, Thomson Locations: Lebanon, Hammana, Paris

Now, her children are fighting over who should inherit her money, pointing to conflicting wills that Ms. Williams left, including one she signed shortly before her death. It is the latest legal dispute spawned by Sue, a crown jewel of paleontology regarded as the most complete T. rex fossil ever found. Before her death in 2020, Ms. Williams had written two wills. In a 2017 will, she appointed one of her daughters, Sandra Williams Luther, as the personal representative of her estate. In another will, written in 2020, she designated that same daughter to be her sole heir and the sole executor of her estate.

Persons: Darlene Williams, Sue, Williams, Sandra Williams Luther Locations: South Dakota

☆ Birdlike footprints from Triassic mystery animals precede earliest bird fossils by 60 million years
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-29 | by ( Mindy Weisberger | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

The footprints, found at several sites in southern Africa, were recently identified as the oldest birdlike tracks ever found, preceding the earliest known skeletal fossils of avians by about 60 million years. Some called the tracks birdlike, but others weren’t so sure. Ellenberger may have muddied the waters by assigning many differently shaped tracks to the ichnogenus, “and not all of them are birdlike,” Abrahams said. They could belong to other reptiles or cousins of dinosaurs that evolved birdlike feet,” Clarke said. During a trip to Maphutseng, a fossil locale in Lesotho, the team found a number of birdlike tracks from the Triassic Period.

Persons: “, ”, Miengah Abrahams, Abrahams, Paul Ellenberger, Ellenberger, ” Abrahams, Julia Clarke, ” Clarke, there’s, Morphotype, paravians, —, ” Mindy Weisberger Organizations: CNN, University of Cape, University of Texas, Scientific Locations: Africa, University of Cape Town, South Africa, Austin, archosauria, Maphutseng, Lesotho

☆ DNA remnants found in fossil of 6 million year old turtle
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Researchers excavate the 6 million year old fossil remains of a sea turtle of the genus Lepidochelys near La Pina along the Caribbean coast of Panama in this handout photograph taken in 2015 and obtained by Reuters on September 28, 2023. Cadena said the only older vertebrate fossils than the newly described turtle to have been found with similar DNA remnants were of two dinosaurs - Tyrannosaurus, which lived about 66 million years ago, and Brachylophosaurus, which lived about 78 million years ago. Cadena said DNA remnants also have been reported in insects dating to tens of millions of years ago. The turtle is from the same genus - Lepidochelys - as two of the world's seven living species of sea turtles - the Kemp's ridley, the world's smallest sea turtle, and the olive ridley, Cadena said. "Each fossil, each fossil site has specific conditions of preservation that in some cases could have favored preservation of original biomolecular remains such as proteins and DNA," Cadena said.

Persons: Carlos de Gracia, today's Kemp's ridley, Edwin Cadena, Cadena, ridley, Kemp's ridley, Will Dunham, Elida Moreno, Rosalba O'Brien Organizations: Reuters, REUTERS Acquire, Universidad del Rosario, Smithsonian Tropical Research, Pacific, Thomson Locations: La Pina, Panama, Handout, Bogota, Gulf of Mexico, Washington

Search resuls for: "Paleontology"

25 mentions found