Discover and read the best of Twitter Threads about #Fossils

Most recents (22)

"In The Descent of Man (1871), #Darwin suggested that #Africa was the most likely evolutionary homeland for humans because it was the continent where our closest relatives, the African apes, could be found today. However, it was to be many years before the fossil (1/5)
evidence that was ultimately to prove him right began to be discovered. Before then, #Europe with the Neanderthals, “Heidelberg Man,” and the spurious “Piltdown Man,” and #Asia with “Java Man,” were the foci of scientific attention concerning human ancestry. But the 1921 (2/5)
discovery of the Broken Hill skull in what is now #Zambia, and the 1924 discovery of the Taung skull (from South Africa), started the process that gave Africa its paramount importance in the story of human evolution, even if that process still had many years to run. By (3/5)
Read 5 tweets
👀💭 There recently was a discovery of physical evidence confirming that floodwaters damaged the Great #Pyramid & other structures on the #Giza Plateau. Khafre, the tallest pyramid was damaged by the flood except its top. #Archaeology
#Ancient #History #Egypt #megalithic ImageImageImageImage
👀💭 Part 2: The salt contains many seashells and #fossils that have been radiocarbon-dated to be 11,600 years old. This evidence alone can be used to date the flood, the three main pyramids, & the #Sphinx. #Archaeology #Egypt #Giza #megalithic #ancient ImageImageImageImage
👀💭 Part 3: When the water went back to the sea, it took tons of debris from the desert and deposited it along the way. This water from the ocean left behind its unique signature, which is traceable by science. #Archaeology #Egypt #Pyramids #Giza #megalithic ImageImage
Read 7 tweets
Happy #MosasaurMonday!
Last week, #Thalassotitan was making news for exemplifying what mosasaurs did best: killing anything & everything that lived alongside them! 🦎🔪
A 🧵 of fossil evidence for murder by mosasaur jaws...
🎨 @MarkWitton
#paleontology #scicomm #fossils Image
First, let's talk about the new kid on the taxonomic block: Thalassotitan! It belongs to a group of mosasaurs called Prognathodontini, all bruisers with insanely powerful jaws & massive, serrated conical teeth - NOT adaptations for making friends!
🎨@AndreyAtuchin Image
Next, there is *abundant* evidence of facial biting among mosasaurs. Several Thalassotitan fossils possess bite marks, but perhaps the best example in any mosasaur is this 0.8m long Tylosaurus skull @FHSU_Paleo that is covered in deep gouges, while also having a broken neck. ImageImageImageImage
Read 6 tweets
A brief thread on #mammals that are are alive today but were first described as #fossils.... 1/n
Goosebeak or Cuvier’s beaked #whale (#Ziphius cavirostris): described as a fossil in 1823 but realised in 1872 to be the same as beached specimens reported in 1820s but given different names. Ziphius is near-globally distributed (pics: specimens from Bay of Biscay; NOAA) 2/n
Bush dog (Speothos venaticus): named as a fossil in 1839 - which explains Speothos, meaning ‘cave wolf’ - and described alive 1843. The same person, Danish naturalist Peter Wilhelm Lund, described the fossil AND living animals, but ... 3/n (pics Attis; Bonne1978; CC BY-SA 3.0)
Read 15 tweets
A new species of #dinosaur has just dropped and word on the street is that it’s pretty similar to the #TRex

In fact, researchers think this discovery could explain why these beasts evolved to have tiny arms!

Read: weather.com/en-IN/india/sc…

📸: Jorge A Gonzalez

Thread. 👇 Image
In 2012, the almost-complete skeleton of a new kind of #dinosaur was found in the northern Patagonia region of #Argentina.

The dinosaur has been christened #Meraxes gigas. The generic epithet is an ode to a dragon in the #GameOfThrones series.
Standing at the height of 11 m (36 ft) and weighing roughly 4000 kgs, the #dinosaur sported several crests, bumps and horns on its skull, which lent it a menacing appearance.

But the highlight of the findings is that the dinosaur had teeny-tiny arms, just like the #Trex! Image
Read 6 tweets
I've just been looking at Big Sara, the privately owned #Allosaurus skeleton (genuine fossil, not a cast) currently on show at Westquay Shopping Centre, #Southampton. What a spectacular specimen! Here are some thoughts... #dinosaurs #fossils
I've heard some concerns about the displaying of this genuine fossil in a food court. I have no idea how the specimen is faring in terms of pyrite decay and so on but...
... it's not in an environment that will contribute to decay. Indoor spaces like this are, in the UK, not humid, but cool and airy. Big Sara is in a big open space close to a giant window. Moving to anatomy...
Read 6 tweets
I just can't believe we're halfway through the year already. I haven't done much at #TetZoo - just no chance - but here's a quick thread of personal highlights of 2022 so far... ImageImageImageImage
First off, I enjoyed putting together my lookback at the 2001 #DorlingKindersley Encyclopedia of #Dinosaurs & Prehistoric Life, a book I co-authored and helped put together during my formative PhD-focused years tetzoo.com/blog/2022/1/29…
The recycled article on Kogia - the dwarf and pygmy sperm whales - was fun to reassemble... tetzoo.com/blog/2022/3/7/… #mammals #marinemammals #cetaceans #whales
Read 5 tweets
The #Cambrian Explosion marks the first appearance of many animal phyla in the #fossil record, but just how radical was it? I'm starting a new #FossilFriday thread where I post Cambrian fossil representatives of one phylum per week. Join me on this trek across the tree of life Image
Let's begin with #Annelida. In the #Cambrian these come mainly from deposits of exceptional preservation. Polychaetes and sipunculids, including species with potential affinities to living families, are represented.
#FossilFriday ImageImageImageImage
Image references:
Canadia - Parry & Caron 2019
Dannychaeta - Parry et al. 2020
Kootenayscolex - Nanglu & Caron 2018
Archaeogolfingia and Cambrosipunculus - Huang et al. 2004
Read 46 tweets
#Hobbit-like human ancestors thought to have gone extinct 12,000 years ago might still be hiding away in #Indonesia, an anthropologist has claimed.

Read: weather.com/en-IN/india/sc…

📸: Stuart Hay, ANU

Thread. 👇 Image
In 2004, late anthropologist Mire Morwood discovered #fossils of a tiny species of hominin on Flores, an #Indonesian island.

Named Homo floresiensis & dating back to the late #Pleistocene, this was a contemporary of early modern humans in Southeast Asia.

📸: Peter Brown Image
The diminutive hominin bore a resemblance to the australopithecines and even chimps to some extent.

Considering the kind of attention that #LordOfTheRings garnered in the early 2000s, it was only natural that the fun-sized H. floresiensis be nicknamed after #TheHobbit.
Read 8 tweets
Australia’s Great Barrier Reef spawns in explosion of color during recovery from damage

usatoday.com/story/news/wor…

#GreatBarrierReef #CoralBleaching #spawning #recovery
Research brief: Feedback considerations for grand challenges in biodiversity–ecosystem functioning research

santafe.edu/news-center/ne…

#PublicPolicy #BiologicalFeedback #BiodiversityFeedback #models #HumanCommunities #MultidisciplinaryResearch
Read 13 tweets
To make it also official via Twitter: my first PhD paper came out! We provide a review on the research history of the temporal skull region in tetrapods and how people discussed the evolution of temporal openings from the 19th century until today.
bit.ly/2TR2si1
(1/9)
What really baffled our minds was the high amount of terminology introduced for the temporal morphology. Next to the well known "Synapsida" or "Diapsida", and lesser known "stegokrotaphic", there were also mostly forgotten terms like "Anomapsida" or "pseudomonozygokrotaph".
(2/9)
Also the taxonomic content of some of the taxa named after their temporal openings differed over time. For example, did you know that the original Synapsida also included sauropterygians, turtles, and "cotylosaurs", but no "pelycosaurs"?
(3/9)
Read 10 tweets
What is the @Greenpeace position on #fossil gas ? We know that they are against #nuclear power, but if that had to choose, will they first prefer to phase out of #fossil fuels or #nuclear power ?
Let's find out!
[Thread]
Have a look to this report titled « Silent Killers – Why Europe must replace coal power with green energy » and published in 400 ppm (2013)

greenpeace.org/static/planet4… Image
The document aims at explaining that 300 plants in EU burn #coal to produce #electricity, killing prematurely 22000 people every year while being the largest source of the carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions Image
Read 26 tweets
Daily Bookmarks to GAVNet 03/12/2021 greeneracresvaluenetwork.wordpress.com/2021/03/12/dai…
World's first dinosaur preserved sitting on nest of eggs with fossilized babies

eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2…

#dinosaurs #fossils #paleontology #discovery
Read 10 tweets
Daily Bookmarks to GAVNet 01/30/2021 greeneracresvaluenetwork.wordpress.com/2021/01/30/dai…
The fight for $15: can Joe Biden usher in a higher minimum wage?

ft.com/content/22ed8f…

#MinimumWage
How Trump’s Tariffs Really Affected the U.S. Job Market

carnegieendowment.org/chinafinancial…

#trade #tariffs #policy #jobs
Read 10 tweets
Our new #IsleofWight #theropod #dinosaurs - Vectaerovenator (not as scary as it looks: 'vect-air-oh-ven-a-tor') from the Greensand of #Shanklin - was published yesterday in an #OA paper, available here: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.10… Brief thread on this research...
This dinosaur - so far known from four extremely unusual, anatomically interesting vertebrae (two of them shown here) - was discovered by three different collectors, our work on describing them was led by University of Southampton PhD student @palaeoguy12 ... #FossilFriday Image
It was obvious from the start that this was (1) a theropod (or predatory dinosaur), (2) a new species and genus, and (3) interesting in being highly pneumatic (that is, it has loads of air-filled cavities and openings: you can see those features in these photos)... #dinosaurs Image
Read 10 tweets
New Paper: 1st dinosaur from #IsleofEigg! We describe a limb bone, & attribute it to a Middle #Jurassic stegosaur! Thread👇 [1/7] #StEiggosaurus #Fossils #Scotland #dinosaurs #FossilFriday
I discovered the bone on @NatGeo funded #fieldwork in 2017. #IsleofEigg is known for #Jurassic marine reptiles & fish #fossils (found by Hugh Miller & others). It was collected by a team frm @GeosciencesEd & Staffin Dinosaur Museum. #StEiggosaurus [2/7]
The bone was badly eroded, but @MrIchthyosaurus carefully prepared it for the team to study. We combined our expertise in #Mesozoic reptile #anatomy and bone microstructure (#histology), to narrow down the identification. #StEiggosaurus #fossils [3/7]
Read 6 tweets
If you’re interested in the history of #dinosaurs, you’ll know the #GideonMantell story, since it’s covered in every single book on dinosaurs. But some new data has just come to light on key events, follow me for a thread… [art by Diego Barletta].
Supposedly, Mantell – a medical doctor and amateur palaeontologist – obtained some fossil teeth while visiting a patient in Cuckfield, East Sussex. He realised they were from a giant reptile, and named the beast #Iguanodon in 1825… #dinosaurs #fossils
The conventional version of the story is that these initial teeth were found by Gideon’s wife, Mary Ann Mantell, while she was accompanying him on a visit to a patient. The #fossils were observed in gravel piled up for road building...
Read 16 tweets
Last week my first first author paper was published, and also my first plant genus and species description! We described Keraphyton mawsoniae, a new fern-like plant from the Late Devonian of Australia. I wrote a little thread about it for #FossilFriday #Palaeobotany #Paleontology Image
Our paper is available online #openaccess at peerj.com/articles/9321/ “Keraphyton gen. nov., a new Late Devonian #fern-like plant from Australia” #paleobotany #paleontology #plant #taxonomy (2/17)
The #fossil #plant was first discovered by an amateur geologist on the bank of the Manilla River in Barraba #NewSouthWales… more than 50 years ago #NSW (3/17) Image
Read 18 tweets
Science News - Other Sciences: Mathematics, Social Sciences, Archaeology, Fossils

phys.org/science-news/
#archaeology #mathematics #fossils #science #economics
New findings suggest laws of nature 'downright weird,' not as constant as previously thought

phys.org/news/2020-04-l…
#laws #weird #nature
The Federal Reserve's Coronavirus Crisis Actions, Explained (Part 6) - Notes on the Crises

nathantankus.substack.com/p/the-federal-…
#FederalReserve #actions #explained
Read 6 tweets
It’s #Croctober, so that means I’ll be featuring croc-relatives using the hashtag #AtoZcrocs. Follow along this month for a deep dive into how weird croc #evolution really got.
A is for Anatosuchus, a notosuchian from the Cretaceous of Niger. It’s name means “duck-crocodile,” for it’s oddly flared snout. #Croctober #AtoZcrocs #fossils

📸 Sereno and Larsson, 2009: doc.rero.ch/record/200234/… skeleton of Anatosuchus, flared snout to the left, body out to the right, missing most of its tailArtist's reconstruction of Anatosuchus in an upright posture, duck-like snout gaping to show off flared shape
Anatosuchus’ upright limb posture and funky snout might have helped it wade in the shallows and root around for small prey. #Croctober #AtoZcrocs #fossils

📸 Sereno and Larsson, 2009: doc.rero.ch/record/200234/… Photographs of Anatosuchus' skull in dorsal, ventral, and lateral views, snout flares out like a duck bill, but is filled with relatively small teethLine drawing interpretation of the skull shown in similar views as the photographs, snout flares out like a duck bill, but is filled with relatively small teeth
Read 55 tweets

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