New Feathered Dino Found from China – Pedopenna

Another feathered dinosaur has been found with long pennaceous feathers on its feet (metatarus) strengthening the theory for an arboreal-gliding transition from theropods to birds. However, some feel it may be limited to dromaeosaurids and therefore irrelevant to this transition. This eumaniraptoran dino may have lived in the Middle or Late Jurassic in Nei Mogol (not Liaoning) and has been named Pedopenna daohugouensis. (Xu et al in Naturwissenschaffen)

Cretaceous Ducks Living With Dinos - Vegavis
 

                                             

A fossil that has been known since 1992 has been identified as an early duck that lived with the dinosaurs some 70 MYA. It was found on Vega Island in western Antarctica and is stirring up controversy. Dr. Julia Clarke of North Carolina University has named it Vegavis iaai and says it is closely related to Anatidae which includes true ducks. She believes that this means that there was some diversification of living birds before the K/T extinction. Some believe that this strengthens the case for diversification in the Mesozoic. The other side believes that birds did exist in the Mesozoic but that they were wiped out at the K/T, with only a few surviving to diversify (called the “big bang” theory). Since chickens are related, they may also have been present back then, but fossils have not been found yet. However, Alan Feduccia, who has been strangely silent following all the exciting feathered dino discoveries, does not agree with the interpretation of these bones or with the possibility that birds could have survived the K/T in large numbers. Especially since sensitive birds are often an early indicator of environmental stress. (Julia Clarke et al in Nature)

                             Whales Related to Hippos

This surprising relationship is based on a genetic study and 40 MY old fossils. These are not the most likely relatives as some have thought they would be closer to horses (indeed, the Greek translation for hippopotamus is “river horse”). The earliest cetacean fossils date back to 53 MYA and the first hippo dates to about 16 MYA. This would mean that there was a common water-loving ancestor some 50 to 60 MYA that evolved into two groups. The first group was the cetaceans that moved into the water full time and the second was the large diverse group of pig-like animals called anthracotheres that formed 37 groups and died out leaving only the hippos. (Boisserie et al in PNAS)


                          California Bonanza Found From Middle Miocene

A construction crew digging for the installation of a high voltage tower came upon a bone bed. And what a find it is! So far they have found bones from some 30 mammal species including a new type of earth digging weasel, a jumbo predator bear-dog (standing 4 feet at the shoulder), half pint camels, a rhino, giant tortoises and five varieties of small horses. And this is from an area 6 feet wide and 100 feet long and 6 inches deep. They are anxious to go deeper and wider. This significant new find of some 1,200 fossils is dated to 15-18 MYA and has been called California’s ancient Serengeti. This site about 20 miles north of Coalinga was grassland near an inland sea and could have supported large herds. There are also a number of bird species that are still being sorted out. (KTLA web site)

                       Huge Fossil Eagle Dominated in New Zealand

New research reports that Haast’s Eagle came to New Zealand and grew at a fast rate to become chief predator 2,000 YA. Unfortunately, it disappeared 500 years ago or 200 years after humans arrived. DNA analysis was used to determine if it was related to the large Australian wedge-tailed eagle. Instead they learned that it was actually more closely related to one of the world’s smallest eagles – the little eagle from Australia and New Guinea. Haast’s Eagle weighed between 10 and 14 kg (22 to 31 pounds) and was 30 to 40% heavier than the largest living bird of prey alive today – the harpy eagle of Latin America. The DNA told them that the little eagle was so closely related that they diverged less than one million years ago. So the little eagle flew to New Zealand, grew 10 to 15 times bigger - a rare event in evolution. There was a lot of prey and few other predators, allowing them to become top predator at that time. They hunted moas that grew up to 200 kg (440 pounds). They has truncated wings at about 3 foot span for flying in forest understories and would strike prey from the side ripping into the flesh and grabbing the bones with claws the size of tigers. (BBC News on web from PLoS Biology)

                    Early Mammals Did Get Big in Mesozoic

Once again Liaoning fills in another blank with amazing specimens. This time it is a fossil of a badger-sized mammal named Repenomamus robustus (the name combines reptile and mammal) which was found with the remains of a young dinosaur (Psittacosaur) in its stomach. In addition, it was found near the remains of an even larger mammal named Repenomamus giganticus which is about the size of a 30 pound dog. It is exciting because it was thought that mammals were shrew sized, but this shows that not only were the large, they were carnivores. The reptile features include large pointy teeth and sprawling limbs. But the limbs are more flexible like those of mammals with some resemblance to the Tasmanian devil. The victim dino was in small chunks indicating that the mammal did not chew it. This seems to turn the tables on the small mammals hiding from the dinosaurs because now we know that some of them got bigger and did eat dinosaurs. The Field Museum’s Peter Makovicky was quoted saying that this area of amazing preservation is opening new windows into fossil history. (Chicago Tribune Jan 11 from Nature article)
 

           Karen Nordquist, ESCONI Paleontology Study Group