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New 'thunder-thighs' dinosaur discovered (w/ Video)
PHYSORG.COM ^ | February 23, 2011 | STAFF

Posted on 02/23/2011 10:25:26 AM PST by Red Badger

Brontomerus mcintoshi is a newly discovered dinosaur from the Early Cretaceous of North America. The name Brontomerus means "Thunder thighs" -- a name chosen because the peculiar shape of the hip bone shows that it would have had enormously powerful thigh muscles in life.

(PhysOrg.com) -- A new dinosaur named Brontomerus mcintoshi, or "thunder-thighs" after its enormously powerful thigh muscles, has been discovered in Utah, USA. The new species is described in a paper recently published in the journal Acta Palaeontologica Polonica by an international team of scientists from the U.K. and the U.S.

A member of the long-necked sauropod group of dinosaurs which includes Diplodocus and Brachiosaurus, Brontomerus may have used its powerful thighs as a weapon to kick predators, or to help travel over rough, hilly terrain. Brontomerus lived about 110 million years ago, during the Early Cretaceous Period, and probably had to contend with fierce "raptors" such as Deinonychus and Utahraptor.

The fossilised bones of two specimens of Brontomerus mcintoshi – an adult and a juvenile – were rescued from a previously looted and damaged quarry in eastern Utah by researchers from the Sam Noble Museum. Paleontologists speculate that the larger specimen is the mother of the younger and would have weighed around 6 tons, about the size of a large elephant, and measured 14 meters in length. At a third of the size, the smaller specimen would have weighed about 200 kg, the size of a pony, and been 4.5 m long.

The authors classified the new genus based on an incomplete skeleton including bones from the shoulder, hip, ribs, vertebrae and some unidentifiable fragments. They used the bones to identify Brontomerus' unique features, primarily the shape of the ilium (hip bone), which, in the case of Brontomerus, is unusually large in comparison to that of similar dinosaurs. The wide, blade-shaped bone projects forward ahead of the hip socket, providing a proportionally massive area for the attachment of muscles.

The shape of the bone indicates that the animal would likely have had the largest leg muscles of any dinosaur in the sauropod family. This is reflected in the name Brontomerus, which literally means "thunder-thighs." The dinosaur's species name, mcintoshi, was chosen in honor of John "Jack" McIntosh, a retired physicist at Wesleyan University, Conn., and lifelong avocational paleontologist.

"Brontomerus mcintoshi is a charismatic dinosaur and an exciting discovery for us," said first author Mike Taylor, a researcher in the Department of Earth Sciences at University College London. "When we recognised the weird shape of the hip, we wondered what its significance might be, but we concluded that kicking was the most likely. The kick would probably have been used when two males fought over a female, but given that the mechanics were all in place it would be bizarre if it wasn't also used in predator defense.

Other marks on the bones give additional clues to Brontomerus' lifestyle and environment. Co author Matt Wedel, assistant professor of anatomy at Western University of Health Sciences, Pomona, Calif., explained: "The shoulder blade of Brontomerus has unusual bumps that probably mark the boundaries of muscle attachments, suggesting that Brontomerus had powerful forelimb muscles as well. It's possible that Brontomerus mcintoshi was more athletic than most other sauropods. It is well established that far from being swamp-bound hippo-like animals, sauropods preferred drier, upland areas; so perhaps Brontomerus lived in rough, hilly terrain and the powerful leg muscles were a sort of dinosaur four-wheel drive."

While Brontomerus' unusual hip structure and enormous thigh muscles place it on the list of most extreme dinosaurs, it is also a significant find for another reason. It is one more in a number of finds over the past 20 years that challenge the previously held idea that sauropods began to disappear in the Early Cretaceous period.

"Because sauropods were the most abundant dinosaurs found during the Jurassic period and the rarest during the Early Cretaceous, there's long been the perception that sauropods were successful in the Jurassic and were replaced by duckbills and horned dinosaurs in the Cretaceous," explained Wedel. "In the past 20 years, however, we are finding more sauropods from the Early Cretaceous period, and the picture is changing. It now seems that sauropods may have been every bit as diverse as they were during the Jurassic, but much less abundant and so much less likely to be found."

More information: Taylor, Michael P., Mathew J. Wedel and Richard L. Cifelli. 2011. Brontomerus mcintoshi, a new sauropod dinosaur from the Lower Cretaceous Cedar Mountain Formation, Utah, USA. Acta Palaeontologica Polonica 56(1):75-98. doi:10.4202/app.2010.0073

Provided by University College London


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Miscellaneous; Unclassified
KEYWORDS: brainbleach; cankles; cretaceous; dinosaur; dinosaurs; godsgravesglyphs; paleontology; wookiees
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1 posted on 02/23/2011 10:25:27 AM PST by Red Badger
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To: Red Badger

Oops—I thought this was a thread about Hillary Clinton.


2 posted on 02/23/2011 10:26:21 AM PST by rightwingintelligentsia (Forcing one person to pay for the irresponsibility of another is NOT social justice.)
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To: Red Badger

In before the Helen Thomas and Hillary pictures.


3 posted on 02/23/2011 10:26:30 AM PST by Islander7 (There is no septic system so vile, so filthy, the left won't drink from to further their agenda)
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To: Red Badger
I saw the headline and thought hey a story about me.
I can crack walnuts with my thighs though.

4 posted on 02/23/2011 10:29:37 AM PST by svcw (God in His own time not ours)
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To: rightwingintelligentsia

I predict this thread will set the record for the most satirical pictures.


5 posted on 02/23/2011 10:29:37 AM PST by Brookhaven (Moderates = non-thinkers)
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To: rightwingintelligentsia

No pants suits were found in the fossil records............


6 posted on 02/23/2011 10:29:45 AM PST by Red Badger (Want to be surprised? Google your own name. Want to have fun? Google your friend's names.....)
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To: Red Badger
been discovered in Utah

I'd have guessed Arkansas.

7 posted on 02/23/2011 10:31:19 AM PST by Mr. Mojo
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To: Red Badger

Very interesting.


8 posted on 02/23/2011 10:34:52 AM PST by svcw (God in His own time not ours)
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To: Red Badger

A descendant of Brontomerus mcintoshi known as Brontomerus Chewbacci.


9 posted on 02/23/2011 10:35:19 AM PST by Constitution Day
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To: rightwingintelligentsia

That’s the Kanklasaurus thread...


10 posted on 02/23/2011 10:36:40 AM PST by null and void (We are now in day 764 of our national holiday from reality. - It's almost 3 AM)
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To: Islander7

...and the MoochelleMaBelle pix...what has been seen cannot be unseen...


11 posted on 02/23/2011 10:37:20 AM PST by castlebrew (Gun control means hitting where you're aiming!)
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To: Red Badger

12 posted on 02/23/2011 10:38:38 AM PST by Snickering Hound
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To: castlebrew
This will get you horny.

Doncha wish the skirt was shorter?


13 posted on 02/23/2011 10:42:42 AM PST by USS Alaska (Nuke the terrorist savages, in honor of Standing Wolf.)
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To: Constitution Day

Soooie...


14 posted on 02/23/2011 10:43:04 AM PST by harpu ( "...it's better to be hated for who you are than loved for someone you're not!")
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To: rightwingintelligentsia
Barry likes it


15 posted on 02/23/2011 10:44:36 AM PST by Iron Munro ("Our country's founders cherished liberty, not democracy." -- Ron Paul)
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To: Red Badger

I hereby nominate this post for ‘Post of the Day’, who’s with me?


16 posted on 02/23/2011 10:49:30 AM PST by OriginalChristian ('Mittens 2012' - GUARANTEES Four More Years of the Hussein Regime...)
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To: OriginalChristian

I’m in. :-)


17 posted on 02/23/2011 10:53:56 AM PST by SoKatt ("Change" is not a strategy!)
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To: OriginalChristian

18 posted on 02/23/2011 10:54:05 AM PST by Red Badger (Want to be surprised? Google your own name. Want to have fun? Google your friend's names.....)
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To: Constitution Day

Wrong! This thread is about a thunder thighs dinosaur, not a hairy thunder ass dinosaur.


19 posted on 02/23/2011 10:54:47 AM PST by Ancesthntr (Tyrant: "Spartans, lay down your weapons." Free man: "Persian, come and get them!")
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To: Ancesthntr

LOL!


20 posted on 02/23/2011 10:55:35 AM PST by Constitution Day
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