Posted on 11/29/2007 9:56:32 AM PST by blam
November 29, 2007
Dinosaur graveyard may unearth new reasons for their extinction
Thomas Catᮠin Madrid
Spanish scientists have unearthed what could be Europes largest dinosaur boneyard, finding the remains of 65ft plant-eaters never before discovered on the continent. The palaeontologists believe they have found eight different species amid the 8,000 fossils discovered so far.
The range of species they are finding at the 80 million-year-old site and their state of conservation is virtually unparalleled in Europe and challenges long-held beliefs about the way in which dinosaurs became extinct.
This is completely beyond what we expected to find, Francisco Ortega, co-director of the excavation, told The Times. This represents a huge leap in our understanding of the Upper Cretaceous (period).
Dozens of experts are working around the clock to excavate the site. It was discovered in June during construction work for a new high-speed rail link between Madrid and Valencia. Palaeontologists, who kept the discovery under wraps, have until the end of the month to remove the skeletons of several hundred dinosaurs before the diggers move back in.
Researchers have not finished excavating the entire area of Lo Hueco, near the city of Cuenca, in western Spain. But they say they have retrieved most of the fossils from the path of the railway.
The find is from a period palaeontologists have little information on in Europe. Most of the sites dating from that period have been found in the Americas.
Scientists had long believed that the diversity of dinosaurs declined sharply as they approached the end of their time on earth. Palaeontologists working in Lo Hueco, though, have been amazed to find a wide variety of dinosaurs from the period.
Everything indicates that the dino-sours were enjoying great evolutionary vigour when they suddenly disappeared, said José Luis Sanz, the co-director of the dig.
Mr Ortega said the find should help shed light on the extinction of the dinosaurs in Europe and whether they also died out as a result of the huge meteorite that struck modern-day Mexico. The different species found include three, perhaps four, different types of Titanosaurus huge, long-necked creatures that munched on plants and walked on four thick legs. More than 100 individual Titanosaurus have been found at the site, some of them with thick armour plating on their backs, a feature not previously seen in Europe.
Many dinosaur skeletons that are nearly intact have also been unearthed.We have found very complete individuals (dinosaurs) and skull fragments from Titanosaurus, said Mr Ortega.Other dinosaurs found are believed to include Struthiosaurus, a small, armoured, quadrupedal, plant-eating dinosaur.
Until now, only incomplete fossils had been found in Austria and Roma-nia. Researchers also believe they have found two or three types of Dromaeosaurus small, fast-moving predators with sharp teeth and deadly, sickle-like claws. They have also found a Rhabdodon, a small, two-legged plant-eater with a long tail, short neck and a bulky body.
Researchers also say there is wealth of other plant and animal species at the site that could provide a treasure trove of information about one of Europes least-understood periods. They must still sift through 20,000kg of sediment and say they can expect to find dozens of other smaller species. This is the equivalent of 80 to 100 times the size of a normal excavation in terms of time and money, Mr Ortega said.
Any exterrestrial metallica discovered in that crater?
Thanks for the graphics Fred!
I often have problems with the Time/Money units.
The point isn’t that the rail line gets to where it’s supposed to go; Spain has a socialist gov’t now. ;’)
:’)
Thanks. Gee I like this God stuff.
It does tell them about local population densities (assuming herd and carnivore behavior), but that doesn’t indicate how the species died later.
Hey! No fair!
You copied my test question before I got a chance to hand it in! 8<)
Can they tell if they drowned?
The sweet and SOUR kind.
I think they meant 65 feet LONG bodies.
Oh RATS!
(But thanks for the info about WHY!)
Just HOW many times now have I told you to...
TRIM THEM NAILS FIRST!!!!
Nördlingen, Germany is the town in your aerial photo.
It's the town that that Willy Wonka, Grandpa Joe and Charlie fly over in the glass elevator during the closing sequence of the original "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory" movie.
“I believe in Cosmos almighty, Maker of the heavens and the earth.
“And in Darwin, the only enlightened Son of Cosmos, our Lord who was conceived of first cousins, born into an inbred family, suffered under the Church of Rome for his enlightenment, died and was buried. He was resurrected by athiestic science and ascended to the right hand of Cosmos where all biological truth is judged according to his ideas.
“I believe in chance and selection, the supremacy of nature, the collective opinion of scientists, the evolutionary justification of all behavior, the survival of the fittest and the end of life at death.”
Amen
The answer is in the original article — that it was believed that there was a gradual decline.
;’)
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