T. rex Tissues Found in Fossil

Jack Horner supplied a piece of a freshly broken 70 MY old T. rex (B rex found in 2000) femur to Mary Schweitzer to aid in her search for soft tissue within bone marrow. She dissolved the surrounding bone in a solution and is studying the flexible vascular tissue left behind. It includes translucent vessels with small red-brown dots within that may be bone cells or osteocytes. The drawing above from a Chicago Tribune story shows the T. rex vessels and cells on left and ostrich on the right. They match well with modern ostrich cells. If they can analyze and find protein material it may help to determine whether the dinosaurs were hot or cold-blooded. It may also tell us more about fossilization in general as these soft tissues are not believed to be preservable. She is not looking for DNA and does not believe a dino could be cloned. (Schweitzer, Horner et al in Science Vol. 307)

New T. rex Relative Found in Alabama – Appalachiosaurus

This new Late Cretaceous tyrannosauroid (RMM 6670) is a basal subadult that is the most complete non-avian theropod found in the eastern North America. There are enough differences in some skull bones to justify naming a new genus and species – Appalachiosaurus montgomeriensis – for its location in Montgomery County. Because of its eastern location and its more basal position, it implies that its recent common ancestor of Tyrannosauridae probably evolved following its arrival over the Western Interior Seaway. They may represent relics isolated by the sea. However, it does not help with the determination of the origin of tyrannosauroids. The fossil was first found in 1984 at the Turnipseed Dinosaur Site and identified as Albertosaurus. They had part of the skull, 10 teeth, pelvis, hind limbs, ribs, and caudal vertebrae. Now it is being renamed as a new genus with the position of Dryptosaurus as an even more basal Tyrannosauroid. Based on the femur it is estimated that this animal weighed about 1,374 pounds. Interestingly, two of the caudal verts are fused together, probably the result of an injury. It is dated to about 77 MYA and coincides with the Judith River and Two Medicine Formations in Montana. (Carr et al in JVP Vol. 25 No. 1)

Paired Eggs Found in Oviraptor Fossil

It is rare to find unlaid eggs within the fossilized body of the mother. In 1993 an oviraptor was found brooding over her nest and a feathered Sinosauropteryx had two eggs in the body but they did not have shells. This new Late Cretaceous Chinese (Jiangxi Province) specimen has two shelled eggs (elongatoolithid) in the pelvis area that appear to be ready to be laid. It is not complete enough to identify it but it is an oviraptosaurian. It seems to help prove that it had two oviducts that produced one egg at a time. (Sato et al in Science Vol. 308/p. 375)

New Rodent Family Found in Asia - Laonastes

You never know where you will find new unknown species of animals. In this case they were found in markets being sold as food in Khammouan Province, Lao Peoples Democratic Republic. These rock rats had been trapped in nearby limestone karst. It is a hystricognathous rodent with most of its families being found in South America, several in Africa and only one family distributed in Africa and Asia. It has been named Laonastes aenigmamus and shows unique external and craniodental features from its adaptations to a rocky life. (Jenkins et al in Systematics & Biodiversity 2(4)/p. 419)

New 330 MY Old Fish Found in Scotland Concretion

An amateur collector (Patrick Gavin, 34) cracked open a slab of rock and found the remains of a 330 MY old fish with its teeth, scales and stomach contents still intact. Michael Coates of the University of Chicago was asked to identify it. It is 15 cm long (6 inches) and may be related to the sturgeon. The finder, an upholsterer, may name the new fish after it has been further studied.

New Burrowing Mammal 150 MY Old Found in Fruita

Fruita Colorado is known for dinosaurs and now a museum volunteer (Wally Windscheffel) has found an exciting new mammal. It is named Fruitafossor windscheffeli or ‘Fruita digger’. It was about the size of a chipmunk but had very muscular arms (leading them to nickname him Popeye) indicating that it was a proficient digger for termites and other insects. Its molar teeth are hollow and uniquely tubular and may have grown continuously. They are similar to the teeth of armadillos, mammals that evolved some 100 MY later (they are not closely related). It is being studied and reported by Luo and Wibble at the Carnegie Museum. The drawing is by Mark Klinger at Carnegie. (Luo et al in Science Vol. 308/April 1))

                    Running Vampire Bats

Bats are the only mammals that fly and they fly very well. They are not known to be good at walking and certainly not at running. Now vampire bats (Desmodus rotundus) have been captured sneaking up on cattle on the ground and put onto treadmills to see how they move. Surprisingly they do run in their own way. Their arms are stronger than their legs because of flight and they use them to move ahead. There is a phase in which they have all their limbs off the ground which defines running. They are able to move on the ground forward, backwards and sideways and can start flying with a single vertical jump from standing. The films showed that they walk like other tetrapods, but the run is unique. They have a lower stride frequency than mice because of the long forearms. Other bats tested were not able to run suggesting that the ability to run was lost in bats and has reappeared in vampire bats. (Riskin et al in Nature Vol. 434/March 17)
 

           Karen Nordquist, ESCONI Paleontology Study Group