Tag: Triassic
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PBS Eons: When Dinosaur Look-Alikes Ruled the Earth
There’s a new episode of PBS Eons. This one is about the crocodilians that evolved along side the dinosaurs during the Triassic Period. There were a huge number of croc-like animals that flourished during the Triassic Period. Dinosaurs had just arrived on the scene but it was these animals that truly ruled the Earth,…
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The Rise of Meat-Eating Dinosaurs Is More Complicated Than We Thought
Smithsonian Magazine has an interesting piece about carnivorous dinosaurs. The evolution of large meat eating dinosaurs is a long and complicated story. Dinosaurs evolved around 235 million years ago. At that time, they were lanky and small. One of the largest early meat eaters was Herrerasaursus. It was about 16 feet long and lived in…
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LiveScience: Are Birds Dinosaurs?
LiveScience has an interesting story that explains how and why birds are dinosaurs. What do sparrows, geese and owls have in common with a velociraptor or the mighty Tyrannosaurus rex? All can trace their origins to a bipedal, mostly meat-eating group of dinosaurs called theropods (“beast-footed”) that first appeared around 231 million years ago, during the…
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Early meat-eating dinosaur revealed via spectacular fossil
National Geographic has a story about a new dinosaur discovery. This new dinosaur, named Gnathovorax cabreirai, dates to about 230 million years ago during the Triassic Period. It represents one of the earliest dinosaurs ever found. This discovery was made near the town of Sao Joao do Polesine in southern Brazil. Details can be found…
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Did a million years of rain jump-start dinosaur evolution?
Nature has an interesting post about a spell of wet weather in the middle Triassic that may have spurred the evolution of the dinosaurs. This wet spell occurred for about a million years about 232 million years ago. The evidence for the very wet period (pluvial episode) is contained in Triassic rocks from the Carnian…
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SciNews: Elevated Levels of Oxygen Gave Rise to North American Dinosaurs, Scientists Say
SciNews has a post about the rise of the dinosaurs during the Triassic. It seems that oxygen rose over 25% in 3 million years. That change might have led to the expansion of dinosaurs around 215 million years ago. The paper was presented at the 2019 Goldschmidt Conference in Barcelona, Spain. A team of researchers…
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Smithsonian: Rare Desert Pterosaur Fossil Discovered in Utah
The Smithsonian Magazine has an article about a new pterosaur discovered in the desert in Utah. Its name is Caelestiventus hanseni (meaning Heavenly Wind) and it dates back to the Triassic, about 200 to 210 million years ago. Pterosaurs first took to the air during the Triassic. Hopefully, this specimen can shed some light…
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Scientists May Have Wildly Underestimated the Giant Dinosaurs of the Ancient World
LiveScience has an interesting story about sauropod dinosaurs. It seems that their leafy meals were probably a whole lot more hearty, wholesome, and nutrient packed than previously thought. This research appeared in the journal Palaeontology. The conventional wisdom about the big plant-eating dinosaurs, like Brachiosaurus and Argentinosaurus, is that they had to eat huge…
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Discovery of ‘First Giant’ Dinosaur Is a Huge Evolutionary Finding
Livescience has a story about the discovery of the “First Giant” dinosaur in Argentina. This, the earliest sauropodomorph, lived about 215 million years ago in the Triassic period. Ingentia prima, which means “first giant in Latin – weighted about 11 tons and was 32 feed long. All the details were published in a paper in…
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New 245 Million Year Old Horseshoe Crab Discovered in Idaho by ESCONI Member
Live Science has a story about a new species of horseshoe crab. The crab lived during the Triassic Period about 245 million years ago. It was discovered by ESCONI member Trick Runions and is called Vaderlimulus tricki. The name stems from the shape of the head shield, which resembles the helmet worn by Darth Vader…
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Oldest-ever bugs found preserved in amber
From Discover Magazine: (hat tip Floyd) Three tiny creatures from the Triassic period are the oldest ever to be discovered preserved in amber – about 100 million years older than any other amber arthropod ever collected…. … But even though arthropods are more than 400 million years old, until now the oldest record of the…
