Tag: dinosaurs
-
PBS Eons: The Dinosaurs Too Big to Be Dinosaurs
There’s a new episode of PBS Eons on Youtube. This one is about big dinosaurs… really BIG dinosaurs. How did sauropods, uniquely large land animals, actually live, with their anatomy and physiology pushed to such extremes? Well, their unprecedented gigantism came with some equally massive costs…
-
The Conversation: Why Dippy the dinosaur remains beloved, 120 years after arriving at the Natural History Museum
The Conversation has an interesting piece about Dippy the Diplodocus carnegiei, who is the star of the Natural History in London. Dippy first went on display in 1905 at the Natural History Museum in London. Dippy arrived in London as part of a campaign for public education by the Scottish-American millionaire Andrew Carnegie (1835–1919). At that…
-
After years in the making, Utahraptor State Park opens for visitors
From Moab, Utah comes news that Utahraptor State Park is now open to visitors. MOAB, Utah — The first visitors have arrived at Utah’s newest state park that took years to create. “This is the first project in state history to take over 100 million years to complete!” Governor Spencer Cox joked at the…
-
150-Million-Year-Old Stegosaurus Skull Rewrites Dinosaur Evolution
SciTechDaily has an article about a stegasaur skull discovered in Spain. Stegasaur skulls are rarely found due to the extreme fragility of their bone. This new speciec, Dacentrurus armatus, was found near Villar del Arzobispo Formation and is nearly complete. The rock formation dates to the late Jurassic about 150 million years ago. The research…
-
Dinopalooza Dino Derby at the Field Museum on June 7th, 2025
This Saturday, June 7th, 2025 is Dinopalooza at the Field Museum. Find out more on the Dinopalooza webpage. Dinopalooza is back and bigger than ever! Come celebrate SUE at this Museum-wide dinosaur extravaganza featuring Field scientists sharing their work, paleoart crafts, face painting, special tours, and so much more! This year the Field Museum is…
-
The Day The Dinosaurs Died : Up First from NPR
NPR’s Up First has a story about the a New Jersey fossil hotspot… also the day the dinosaurs died. In 2007, paleontologist Ken Lacovara suspected he’d made a huge discovery in an unexpected spot. Tucked behind a Lowe’s hardware store in a strip mall in New Jersey he found one of the most intact fossil…
-
New Species of Jurassic Herbivorous Dinosaur Discovered in China
SciNews has a story about the discovery of a new species of eusauropod. Jinchuanloong niedu lived during the Middle Jurassic Period some 165 million years ago. The fossil bones were found near Jinchang city, Gansu province, northwestern China. The specimen includes of a nearly complete skull with mandible, five cervical vertebrae and 29 caudal vertebae. …
-
This Dinosaur Had Feathers and Probably Flew Like a Chicken
The New York Times has an article about the Chicago Archaeopteryx. The Field Museum unveiled the its Archaeopteryx in the Spring of 2024. Since then, the fossil has been revealing its secrets… some of them were published recently in the journal Nature. Archaeopteryx specimens have, “maybe more than any other fossil, changed the way that…
-
Paleontologists Describe New Species of Rhabdodontid Dinosaur
SciNews has a story about the discovery of a new rhabdodontid dinosaur species, Obelignathus septimanicus. Obelignathus septimanicus lived about 72 million years ago in the late Cretaceous Period in what is now southern France. Rhabdodontid dinosaurs were small to medium-sized, probably bipedal herbivores that grew to between 2 and 6 m (6.6-20 feet) in length. …
-
Throwback Thursday #262: Time for Spring Cleaning at the Field Museum
This is Throwback Thursday #262. In these, we look back into the past at ESCONI specifically and Earth Science in general. If you have any contributions, (science, pictures, stories, etc …), please send them to esconi.info@gmail.com. Thanks! The Field Museum had a recent post about Spring Cleaning over on LinkedIn. 🪶 Feather dusting Akeley’s Fighting…
-
The Dinosaur Database
The Dinosaur Database looks to be an interesting resourrce for all things dinosaur! Dinosaurs are categorized by region/continent and time period. A great place for dinosaur fans of all ages! Welcome to the internet’s largest dinosaur database. Check out a random dinosaur, search for one below, or look at our interactive globe of ancient Earth! Whether you are a kid,…
-
A 30,000-Year-Old Fossil Frozen in Volcanic Ash Holds an Unbelievable Secret
SciTechDaily brings news of a unique fossil discovery in Italy. A 30,000 year old fossil of a vulture shows that soft tissue can be preserved in volcanic rock deposits. The research was published in the journal Geology. The vulture fossil was originally discovered in 1889 near Rome by a local landowner, who recognized its exceptional…
-
Fossilized Evidence Reveals Extinction of Dinosaurs Led to Brief Epoch When Asteroids Ruled the Earth
It’s a few years old, but The Onion had a story about the extinction of the non-avian dinosaurs… MÉRIDA, MEXICO—Shedding new light on a rarely discussed prehistoric era, paleontologists from the Ohio State University announced Friday they had uncovered fossilized evidence that confirmed the extinction of dinosaurs led to a brief epoch when asteroids ruled…
-
‘This is a crisis’: A southern Utah city is set to build a power station on top of a premier dinosaur fossil site
The Salt Lake Tribune has a story about the potential loss of a “paleontological jackpot” in Utah. St. George, Utah has an amazing dinosaur locality that dates to the beginning of the Jurassic Period about 200 million years ago. Unfortunately, the city of St. George plans to build a new electric substation on one of…
-
PBS Eons: What Killed These Sleeping Dinosaurs?
PBS Eons has a new episode. This one is about the fossils of Liaoning in northwestern China… amazingly, beautifully preserved dinosaurs that give us insight into dinosaur and bird evolution. Since the 1990s, paleontologists have been pulling 125-million-year-old complete dinosaur skeletons from the rocks of the Lujiatun in Northwestern China, most seemingly posed in perfect…
-
How a Mass Extinction Driven by Ancient Volcanoes Led to the Age of the Dinosaurs
Smithsonian Magazine features a story on the Triassic-Jurassic mass extinction, a pivotal event that reshaped life on Earth. The late Triassic was vastly different from the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods that followed. During this time, early dinosaurs played only minor roles, while the landscape was dominated by giant amphibians, a diverse array of crocodilian relatives—ranging…
-
PBS Eons: Could You Survive the K-Pg Extinction?
PBS Eons has another of their longer form videos which address major events in the history of the Earth. This one is about the K-Pg mass extinction event about 66 million years ago at the end of the Cretaceous Period. Would/could you survive? Remember, this event took out the non-avian dinosaurs, the ammonites, and many,…
-
PBS Eons: Life and Death on Tiny-Dino Island
PBS Eons has another episode of their long form video series "Surviving Deep Time" This time they go to Hațeg island during the late Cretaceous. The domain of Hatzegopteryx thambema, the huge azhdarchid pterosaur. Could you survive? There was an island in the Late Cretaceous Period in the fragmented European archipelago that turned out to be…
-
‘Dinosaur highway’ dating back 166 million years discovered in England
PBS News has a story about the discovery of a special dinosaur trackway in England. While digging up clay in a imestone quarry in southern England, a worker found nearly 200 dinosaur tracks that date to the Jurassic Period about 166 million years ago. There are four sets of sauropod tracks, thought to be Cetiosaurus…
-
Throwback Thursday #246: Looking Back at ESCONI for January 2025
This is Throwback Thursday #246. In these, we look back into the past at ESCONI specifically and Earth Science in general. If you have any contributions, (science, pictures, stories, etc …), please send them to esconi.info@gmail.com. Thanks! ——————————————————————————————- 25 Years Ago – January 2000 50 Years Ago – January 1975 70 Years Ago – January…
-
The Top Ten Dinosaur Discoveries of 2024
Smithsonian Magazine has an article that details the Top 10 dinosaur discoveries of 2024.
-
PBS Eons: Could You Survive the End-Triassic?
PBS Eons has a new episode of their “Surviving Deep Time” podcast. This one is about the Triassic/Jurassic mass extinction. This is the extinction event that lines up with the break up of Pangaea. In the aftermath of the Great Dying, rapid evolutionary radiation resulted in the rise of a bunch of weird creatures in…
-
Deck the Dinos at the Field Museum!
Deck the dinos! 🎁🦕 Stop in through the holiday season to catch a few of your prehistoric pals in their most festive attire. Snap a pic lounging with the Quetzalcoatlus or Máximo. Then stop by and sing a carol with SUE in the Flesh, before this carnivore hits the road on January 16!
-
Throwback Thursday #242: Looking Back at ESCONI for December 2024
This is Throwback Thursday #242. In these, we look back into the past at ESCONI specifically and Earth Science in general. If you have any contributions, (science, pictures, stories, etc …), please send them to esconi.info@gmail.com. Thanks! 25 Years Ago – December 1999 50 Years Ago – December 1974 70 Years Ago – December 1954
-
Thanksgiving special: Dinosaur Drumsticks and the Story of the Turkey Trot
Yale News has a post about research into what makes "peacocks to strut, penguins to waddle, and turkeys to trot." See the study published in the journal Nature. Wings may be the obvious choice when studying the connection between dinosaurs and birds, but a pair of Yale paleontologists prefers drumsticks. That part of the leg,…
-
Paleontologists Discover Dinosaur Fossils in Hong Kong for the First Time
Smithsonian Magazine brings news of the first discovery of dinosaur fossils in Hong Kong. The fossils were identified as a “large, aged dinosaur”. They were found on the tiny uninhabitied Port Island. The animal lived during the Cretaceous Period. China—along with Argentina, Canada and the United States—is one of the main geographical regions for identifying…
-
Dinosaurs unearthed in China may have ended with a collapse, not a catastrophe
NPS has news of an interesting new theory of how a group of dinosaurs were preserved in China. Recent research offers a new perspective on the preservation of dinosaur fossils in China’s Yixian Formation, often dubbed the “Chinese Pompeii.” Previously, the exceptional preservation of these Cretaceous-period fossils was attributed to periodic volcanic eruptions over a…
-
PBS Eons: The Dinosaurs That Evolution Forgot
PBS has a new episode. This one is about the dinosaurs of the east coast of North America. North America was divided into two land masses by the Western Interior Seaway at the end of the Cretaceous about 100 to 66 million years ago. The east coast landmass is called Appalachia. Where are all the…
-
Throwback Thursday #234: Looking Back at ESCONI for October 2024
This is Throwback Thursday #234. In these, we look back into the past at ESCONI specifically and Earth Science in general. If you have any contributions, (science, pictures, stories, etc …), please send them to esconi.info@gmail.com. Thanks! ——————————————————————————————- 25 Years Ago – October 1999 50 Years Ago – October 1974 70 Years Ago – October…
-
NPR: Paleontologist Ken Lacovara and the fifth extinction that killed the dinosaurs
NPR’s Ted Radio Hour has a video segment with paleontologist Ken Lacovara speaking on the extinction event at the end of the Cretaceous Period. That event took out the non-avian dinosaurs and led to the rise of the mammals. Paleontologist Ken Lacovara is founder of a new museum and fossil park in New Jersey where visitors can…
