Phil Currie Moves to University of Alberta

The Royal Tyrrell Museum of Drumheller is losing its famous paleontologist Philip Currie who will become a professor at the University of Alberta in Edmonton on October 1. He began at Tyrrell in 1985 and has 15-20 graduate students worldwide working with him as adjunct professor at the University of Calgary.

Tut’s Death Still a Mystery

Hawass has completed the CT scan of King Tut’s skeleton and the conclusion is that we may never know how he died in1320 BC. He has ruled out the hit on the head and the accidental crushing of the chest. The head injury may be from the post mortem removal of the golden mask or from drilling a hole in the skull to drain it in the mummification process. And the missing sternum and front ribs also do not indicate a traumatic death, which would have caused other injuries not found. There is a new break on the left thighbone that may have punctured the skin and caused an infection. But this too may have occurred as the skeleton was handled after discovery. He was 19 years old and well fed when he died and stood 5 feet 6 inches tall. Hawass suspects that he died from natural causes or was poisoned. He repeats that no one will ever study the DNA from Tut as he believes the high error rate (40% on mummies) is too high. “King Tut will rest forever”.

                                  Olmec as a “Mother Culture”

                                                
The Olmecs lived in San Lorenzo in southern Mexico from 1500 to 900 BCE (Early Formative Period) in a large community covering 700 hectares, while other cultures also thrived throughout Mexico. Debates centered on whether Olmec was the ‘mother culture” or whether they were all sister cultures. Now evidence points to the Olmec as the “mother culture. Its pottery made in San Lorenzo is found throughout the cultures indicating active trade. They are known for their huge carved heads, thrones and other carvings of rulers and deities. The study of 725 ceramic pieces from the area, and the analysis of the clays they were made from, show that most were from San Lorenzo. This shows that the culture of the Olmec traveled with the pottery and became ingrained when the locals copied their icons and beliefs when making pottery locally. There are still many questions. How did they interact with the other powers? The basalt water deity pictured was found in a water aqueduct in San Lorenzo and shows many Olmec symbols – down-turned mouth, almond eyes, and cross-banded chest gorget. (Blomster et al in Science Vol. 307/Feb. 18 and article by Diehl)

New Cretaceous Raptor from Argentina – Neuquenraptor

This 2 meter (7 foot) predator lived in Argentina some 80 MYA and had a deadly hooked claw on each foot making it a dromaeosaurid (like Velociraptor). It is known from parts of vertebrae, ribs, leg and arm bones and an almost complete left foot. Its full name is Neuquenraptor argentinus for the province where it was found. It was found while digging up a titanosaur and although some thought it might have been scavenging the plant eater’s carcass, it is believed to have been an accidental association. It looks like it is similar to another predator found in the area named Unenlagia, indicating that dromaeosaurs played an important role in the south and must have spread before Gondwana split from the north. The drawing is by Jorge Blanco. (Novas et al in Nature Vol. 433)

Oldest Rabbit Lived 55 MYA in Mongolia

A very complete fossil of Gomphos elkema was very like modern rabbits with a rear foot more than twice as long as the hand. It retains some primitive features like its jaw and dentition. Rabbit fossils have been found that were 35 MY old and the fossil record has made the dating of placental mammals difficult. Some believe that placentals originated before the K/T while others think it occurred after the K/T. This research supports the later theory with their evolution and divergence from other placentals coming close to the K/T. (Asher, McKenna, Novacek et al in Science Vol. 307/Feb. 18)

New Brazilian Croc & Plate Tectonics – Uberabasuchus

“The terrible crocodile of Uberaba was announced by Brazilian paleontologists and is named Uberabasuchus terrificus. It lived 70 MYA and was about 3 meters long (10 feet) weighing about 650 pounds. They have about 85% of the skeleton and it probably lived on land with sturdy legs. It did go extinct and is not related to today’s crocs. But similar fossil crocs have been found in Patagonia and Madagascar. These similarities help to support the land links of Gondwana until at least 70 MYA.

Megarachne is not a Spider, but a Crab

The largest spider (mygalomorph or tarantula) to ever live on Earth at 339 mm (13.3 inches) in length was found in Argentina in 1980 from the Permo-Carboniferous (about 300 MYA). Arachnid expert Dr. Paul Selden of Manchester University has studied the holotype (which has been locked up in a safe and was unavailable until recently) and a new specimen and he believes that it is really a sea scorpion – a bizarre eurypterid or sea scorpion. It has large claws and two big compound eyes (not eight eyes like spiders). (Selden et al in Biology Letters)
 

           Karen Nordquist, ESCONI Paleontology Study Group