Fossils & Paleontology

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Researchers make one-of-a-kind fossil discovery in eastern Oregon | Digging for Old

KGW News
23 Jan 2024

In the John Day Fossil Beds, scientists discovered a fossilized grasshopper egg pod believed to be almost 30 million years old, the first find of its kind. The clutch of fossilized eggs is not just rare, it's believed to be unique.

[Flatpoint High]

apologies if I already posted this:

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Off Topic

When wales could walk in the Sahara then Jesus would have ridden on one

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Fully recovered skeleton described after a decade of work in China by collaboration of scientists from Scotland, the US, Germany and China, depicted as half dragon like, half snake.

Dinocephalosaurus orientalis Li, 2003: a remarkable marine archosauromorph from the Middle Triassic of southwestern China

Published online by Cambridge University Press: 23 February 2024
Stephan N.F. SPIEKMAN, Wei WANG, Lijun ZHAO, Olivier RIEPPEL, Nicholas C. FRASER

Article contents

• Abstract
  Introduction
  Systematic palaeontology
  Description
  Discussion
  Summary
  Institutional abbreviations
  Competing interests
  References

Abstract

The non-archosauriform archosauromorph Dinocephalosaurus orientalis was first described from the Upper Member of the Guanling Formation (late Anisian, Middle Triassic) of Guizhou Province by Li in 2003 on the basis of a complete articulated skull and the first three cervical vertebrae exposed in dorsal to right lateral view. Since then, additional specimens have been discovered in southwestern China. Here, five newly discovered specimens are described for the first time, and redescriptions of the holotype IVPP V13767 and another referred specimen, IVPP V13898, are provided. Together, these permit the description of the complete skeleton of this remarkable long-necked marine reptile. The postcranial skeleton is as much as 6 metres long, and characterised by its long tail and even longer neck. The appendicular skeleton exhibits a high degree of skeletal paedomorphosis recalling that of many sauropterygians, but the skull and neck are completely inconsistent with sauropterygian affinities. The palate does not extend back over the basisphenoid region and lacks any development of the closed condition typical of sauropterygians. The arrangement of cranial elements, including the presence of narial fossae, is very similar to that seen in another long-necked archosauromorph, Tanystropheus hydroides, which at least in part represents a convergence related to an aquatic piscivorous lifestyle. The long and low cervical vertebrae support exceptionally elongate cervical ribs that extend across multiple intervertebral joints and contribute to a ‘stiffening bundle of ribs’ extending along the entire ventral side of the neck, as in many other non-crocopodan archosauromorphs. The functional significance of the extraordinarily elongate neck is hard to discern but it presumably played a key role in feeding, and it is probably analogous to the elongate necks seen in pelagic, long-necked plesiosaurs. Dinocephalosaurus orientalis was almost certainly a fully marine reptile and even gave birth at sea.


https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals ... 342089ACB8

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same for the common folks among us:

Dinocephalosaurus was Fully Marine Reptile and Even Gave Birth at Sea, Paleontologists Say

Feb 23, 2024
by News Staff

Paleontologists from Germany, China, the United Kingdom and the United States have described in detail Dinocephalosaurus orientalis, a remarkable marine reptile from the Middle Triassic of China, on the basis of seven beautifully preserved specimens.


Restoration of Dinocephalosaurus orientalis depicted among a shoal of the large, predatory actinopterygian fish, Saurichthys. Image credit: Marlene Donnelly.

Dinocephalosaurus orientalis lived in what is now China during the Triassic period, around 240 million years old.

This aquatic reptile was up to 6 m (20 feet) in length and had an extraordinarily long neck with 32 separate vertebrae.

The animal was very similar to Tanystropheus hydroides, another strange marine reptile from the Middle Triassic of both Europe and China.

“Both reptiles were of similar size and have several features of the skull in common, including a fish-trap type of dentition,” said Dr. Nick Fraser, keeper of natural sciences at National Museums Scotland, and his colleagues.

“However, Dinocephalosaurus orientalis is unique in possessing many more vertebrae both in the neck and in the torso, giving the animal a much more snake-like appearance.”


Dinocephalosaurus orientalis. Image credit: National Museums Scotland.

Dinocephalosaurus orientalis was almost certainly a fully marine reptile and even gave birth at sea.

The exact function of its extraordinary long neck is unclear but it almost certainly aided in catching fish, which are preserved in the stomach contents of one of the specimens.

Despite superficial similarities, the reptile was not closely related to the famous long-necked plesiosaurs that only evolved around 40 million years later and which inspired the myth of the Loch Ness Monster.

“This discovery allows us to see this remarkable long-necked animal in full for the very first time,” Dr. Fraser said.

“It is yet one more example of the weird and wonderful world of the Triassic that continues to baffle paleontologists.”



https://www.sci.news/paleontology/dinoc ... 12716.html

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Dog finds his largest bone ever ...

70 million-year-old dinosaur skeleton discovered by a man walking his dog
Damien Boschetto made the discovery in southern France in 2022.

ByLeah Sarnoff
March 4, 2024, 10:43 PM

A man who took his dog out for a walk in France two years ago made an astounding discovery -- one that he's been keeping a secret, until now.

In 2022, Damien Boschetto stumbled upon a massive, 70 million-year-old fossil that turned out to be a nearly complete skeleton of a long-necked titanosaur, he told ABC News.

Boschetto, now 25 years old, said the unexpected discovery was made in the forests of Montouliers, near his home in Cruzy, a village in southern France.

MORE: New flying dinosaur skeleton discovered on Isle of Skye in Scotland
"The territory around Cruzy is rich in fossils of dinosaurs and other species living at the same time," Boschetto told ABC News in a translated statement. "For 28 years, Cruzy has been supplying and building one of the largest collections of dinosaur fossils from the Upper Cretaceous period in France."

Titanosaurs, members of the sauropod dinosaur family, roamed the Earth from the Late Jurassic Epoch -- 163.5 million to 145 million years ago -- to the end of the Cretaceous Period, which lasted from 145 million to 66 million years ago, according to Britannica.

The long-necked dinosaurs are the largest terrestrial animals known, Britannica reports, adding that some titanosaurs grew to the size of modern whales. Their fossils, which include 40 different species, have been found on all continents except Antarctica, according to Britannica.

Boschetto -- who has a "self-taught passion" for paleontology -- discovered the exposed bone fossils, which led to the excavation of a 70% complete, 30-foot-long fossilized titanosaur.



https://abcnews.go.com/US/man-discovere ... =107776667