Tag: Egypt
-
When Whales Could Walk | Full Documentary | NOVA | PBS
PBS Nova has posted the full documentary "When Whales Could Walk" on Youtube. Whales had legs… What?!? In Egypt’s Sahara Desert, massive skeletons with strange skulls and gigantic teeth jut out from the sandy ground. This fossil graveyard, millions of years old, is known as the “Valley of the Whales.” Now, paleontologists have unearthed a…
-
Fossil of Tiny, Extinct Whale Discovered in Egypt, Named for King Tut
Smithsonian Magazine has a story about the discovery of a new whale species. The new whale, Tutcetus rayanensis, is named for the Egyptian pharaoh Tutankhamun. It lived about 41 million years ago. The team of Egyptian research discovered the fossil about 25 miles from the Wadi Al-Hitan World Heritage Site in Egypt, an area rich…
-
Massive bulldog-faced dinosaur was like a T. rex on steroids
Live Science has a post about a new dinosaur discovery. This new dinosaur is still unnamed and is known to be a meat-eater, which belonging to a group called the abelisaurids. This dinosaur lived during the Cretaceous Period about 98 million years ago in the famous Bahariya Formation in what’s now Egypt’s Sahara Desert. From…
-
Wadi al-Hitan (Valley of the Whales)
Atlas Obscura has a post and podcast about the Valley of the Whales. The Valley of the Whales is a place in Egypt that is just overflowing with whale bones. Its discovery in 1902 provided valuable information about the evolution of the whales. Few sites in the world speak of an evolutionary tale as rich…
-
New Eocene-Period Whale Unearthed in Egypt
SciNews has a story about a recently discovered whale from the Eocene of Egypt. Called Aegicetus gehennae, this ancient mammal give important clues in the evolution of whale locomotion. A team of paleontologists, including Professor Philip Gingerich of the University of Michigan, published the details in a recent paper in the journal PLoS ONE. Protocetidae (protocetids)…
-
PBS Eons: The Weird, Watery Tale of Spinosaurus
The PBS Eons YouTube Channel has a episode about Spinosaurs. Enjoy! In 1912, a fossil collector discovered some strange bone fragments in the eerie, beautiful Cretaceous Bahariya rock formation of Egypt. Eventually, that handful of fossil fragments would reveal to scientists one of the strangest dinosaurs that ever existed — the world’s only known…
-
NYT: The F.B.I. and the Mystery of the Mummy’s Head
The New York Times has a story about a 4,000 year mystery, which involves a mummy’s head. Was it Mr. or Mrs. Djehutynakht’s (juh-HOO-tuh-knocked) head? Interesting story, read it to find out! In 1915, a team of American archaeologists excavating the ancient Egyptian necropolis of Deir el-Bersha blasted into a hidden tomb. Inside the cramped…
-
34 million year old carnivore named after the Egyptian god of the Underworld
PLOS Paleo’s Blog has an article about a newly described canine-like fossil from Egypt. Masrasector nananubis, or little “Anubis”, was a dog-like creature that lived during the late Eocene about 34 million years ago. The researchers that authored the open access paper are Matthew Borths from Ohio University and Erik Seiffert from the University of…
-
PBS NOVA: Bigger Than T-Rex… Spinosaurus
The Spinosaurus NOVA documentary is over on YouTube. Check it out if you missed it last fall on PBS. There are discussions on the new fossil find in Egypt and the aquatic nature of Spinosaurus, which appeared in an article in the National Geographic Magazine back in September 2014. Enjoy!
-
Events for Weekend and Week Ahead
Thursday, 12/2 Cafe Science: Egyptian Gold – 7:00 p.m. Join Dr. James Phillips at the Hopleaaf Bar, 5148 N. Clark Street, in Andersonville as he discusses the role that gold has played in Egyptian history and culture, past and present. Free. Pre-registration not required. Friday, 12/3 ESCONI Christmas Party – 5:30 pm at Greek…
