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Sauropod dinosaurs emerged in South America some 230 million years ago, but despite living during the supercontinent Pangea it took them 15 million years to reach Greenland – when it should have taken 20 years. A team from Colombia University suggests a ‘climatic phenomenon’ may have allowed the enormous creatures to finally make the journey. … Read more
Crocodiles survived the asteroid strike that wiped out the dinosaurs thanks to their ‘versatile’ and ‘efficient’ body shape, that allowed them to cope with the enormous environmental changes triggered by the impact, according to new research. Crocodiles can thrive in or out of water and live in complete darkness. They are also very robust, meaning … Read more
Tyrannosaurus rex reached its colossal size — of up to 42 feet long — by piling on more than three stone a week during a teenage growth spurt, a study found. Researchers led from the US cut into the fossilised remains of various dinosaurs to measure the growth lines in their bones and track how fast they … Read more
Scientists have long theorized that dinosaurs were on the decline before the catastrophic asteroid impact wiped them out 66 million years ago –but new study suggests the prehistoric beasts may have been thriving. Previous works used fossil records to assess diversity of dinosaurs, but researchers in the latest study say how bones are preserved and … Read more
Two magpie-sized dinosaurs that lived 160 million years ago evolved the ability to glide but were poor flyers, a new study shows. Despite having bat-like wings, the two foot-long, feathered dinosaurs, called Yi and Ambopteryx, only managed to glide clumsily between the trees, say US researchers. Their poor aerial ability meant they eventually died out … Read more
Asteroid impact 66 million years ago released aerosols and dust into Earth’s upper atmosphere that blocked the sun and killed the dinosaurs, study reveals Previous work suggests the black carbon that filled the air after an asteroid hit the Earth 66 million years ago was released by massive wildfires Now, researchers found evidence it was … Read more
Mass extinction that triggered the dinosaur takeover of the world 233 million years ago is identified by scientists Volcanic eruptions in Canada spewed out vast amounts of greenhouse gases Led to a spike in rainfall and a million years of humidity followed by a dry period This change caused many species to go extinct and … Read more
Paleontologists in the field are typically seen as experts hunched over the ground, brushing dirt off dinosaur bones in a dry, barren landscape. However, researchers are now using techniques from medicine, chemistry, engineering and physics to expose the secrets of these prehistoric creatures in labs across the world. National Geographic released its October issue with … Read more
Dinosaurs were able to grow to huge sizes because of a unique bone adaptation which kept their bones relatively light 8,000 pounds hadrosaurs were among the largest dinosaurs to roam the Earth Their spongy trabecular bone didn’t increase in thickness as body size increased This was key for the old ‘bulky lizards’ being able to … Read more
Charles Darwin (1809-1882) Charles Robert Darwin was born in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, the fifth of six children of wealthy and well-connected parents. One of his grandfathers was Erasmus Darwin, a doctor whose book ‘Zoonomia’ had set out a radical and highly controversial idea, that one species could ‘transmute’ into another. Transmutation is what evolution was then … Read more