To most people paleontology means dinosaurs and although that may be a simplistic viewpoint nevertheless it is the giant skeletons of those ancient creatures that most obviously show how life here on Earth today is very different from what it was in the past. With each new species discovered by paleontologists we get a better picture of how much life in the past differed, and in some ways was very much the same as life today. Here are a few of the latest finds.
At any time in life’s history those plant eating animals that don’t want to get eaten by predators have three basic choices, run fast, fight back or grow armour. In today’s world animals like turtles or armadillos grow either tough hide or bony scales as protection but during the cretaceous period there was a small family of dinosaurs known as the ankylosaurs who possessed perhaps the best armour of all. With it’s back and head covered in bony plates and with a bony club for a tail the best known ankylosaur, Ankylosaurus magniventris was a tough meal indeed for any hungry T rex to chew on.
Now a new species of ankylosaur named Stegouros elengassen has been discovered in Chile whose tail managed to evolve into perhaps the most fearsome weapon ever possessed by a living creature. In fact the tail of S elengassen bears a striking resemblance to the ancient war club / sword called the macuahuitl that was used by Aztec warriors. Even the Spanish conquistadors who defeated the Aztecs were impressed by the macuahuitl, which was constructed from a stout wooden club into which sharp fragments of obsidian had been embedded.
Similarly in the tail of S elengassen seven pairs of bony spikes stick out the side and were stiffened by a coating of fused osteoderms that also flattened them into a more lethal knife like or axe like shape. The animal itself was about 2 meters in length and surprisingly its back does not appear to be as well armoured as many of its relatives. Perhaps with that deadly tail it didn’t need so much protection.
The specimen of S elengassen was discovered at the southern tip of Chile in a cold, windy valley known as the Rio Las Chuinas. Paleontologists from the University of Texas have been working there for the last decade hoping to learn more about the differences between the Dinosaurs of the Northern and Southern Hemispheres.
Now if a single dinosaur excites you what will a herd of dinos do? The find of an entire herd of 11 members of the species Tethyshadros insularis comes from Italy, a nation not well known for dinosaur discoveries. Discovered in a limestone quarry near the northeastern city of Trieste, T insularis lived about 80 million years ago during the cretaceous period and could reach a full length of 5 meters. In addition to being Italy’s largest find in terms of number of dinosaur specimens the discovery also includes the skeleton of ‘Bruno’ the largest and most complete dino skeleton ever found in Italy.
The study of dinosaur social behavior is a hot topic in paleontology nowadays, back when I was young it was assumed that dinosaurs lived solitary lives the way most reptiles do today. Discoveries such as the Trieste herd have changed that notion however and now it is recognized that many if not most large plant-eating dinosaurs lived in large herds more like large herbivore mammals do today.
The quarry has been providing dinosaur bones since 1996 along with fossils of fish, crocodiles, flying reptiles and even shrimp. The fossils have been taken to the University of Bologna for study where hopefully more can be learned about the social behavior of this species.
Finally I’d let to end with a story that I hope, I say I hope is just a joke. As I was searching for stories about dinosaurs I came across an article about a ‘Noted Creation Scientist’ who had ‘Discovered’ the reason why men have nipples. Ready, it’s because we used to nurse Dinosaurs!!!
Of course females of every species of mammal have nipples in order to be able to nurse their offspring. After all we’re called mammals because our females have mammary glands that produce milk and nipples so that our babies can get that milk. Male mammals also have nipples although they have no use for them, and biologists have wondered about that for thousands of years. The consensus opinion is that, since nipples don’t hurt males in any way it’s simply too much trouble, genetically to get rid of them in males while at the same time making sure females have them!
But not according to Dr. Andrew Canard who, when speaking to a semi-annual meeting of Young Earth Creationists and Flat Earthers at Devil’s Den, Australia gave a lecture entitled “The Use and Abuse of Male Nipplage”. In his speech Dr. Canard revealed his faith-based evidence that between the expulsion from the Garden of Eden and Noah’s Flood there was a great deal of Dino on Man nursing going on.
As I said, I hope this is all just a joke. The article I got the story from certainly treated it as a joke with the conference quarrelling about whether Boston Cream Pie is a Pie or a Cake as well as other just plain silly arguments. And all of the references I Googled about Dr. Canard also treated him as something of a joke so I think, I hope Man nursing Dino is truly ‘fake news’ but ya never know. Considering some of the lunatic things that actual members of Congress are doing to grab a few headlines the actual lunatics out there must be going crazy, pun intended, to try and stay ahead.
Fortunately while nuts like Dr. Canard, and some members of Congress may seem amusing for a brief while it’s Stegouros elengassen and Tethyshadros insularis and other actual dinosaurs who will always be interesting.