New Dinosaur Species Found in India

AP ^ | August 13, 2003 | RAMOLA TALWAR BADAM

[nwrep]

New Dinosaur Species Found in India

2 hours, 55 minutes ago

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By RAMOLA TALWAR BADAM, Associated Press Writer

BOMBAY, India - U.S. and Indian scientists said Wednesday they have discovered a new carnivorous dinosaur species in India after finding bones in the western part of the country.

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The new dinosaur species was named Rajasaurus narmadensis, or "Regal reptile from the Narmada," after the Narmada River region where the bones were found.

The dinosaurs were between 25-30 feet long, had a horn above their skulls, were relatively heavy and walked on two legs, scientists said. They preyed on long-necked herbivorous dinosaurs on the Indian subcontinent during the Cretaceous Period at the end of the dinosaur age, 65 million years ago.

"It's fabulous to be able to see this dinosaur which lived as the age of dinosaurs came to a close," said Paul Sereno, a paleontologist at the University of Chicago. "It was a significant predator that was related to species on continental Africa, Madagascar and South America."

Working with Indian scientists, Sereno and paleontologist Jeff Wilson of the University of Michigan reconstructed the dinosaur skull in a project funded partly by the National Geographic (news - web sites) Society.

A model of the assembled skull was presented Wednesday by the American scientists to their counterparts from Punjab University in northern India and the Geological Survey of India during a Bombay news conference.

Scientists said they hope the discovery will help explain the extinction of the dinosaurs and the shifting of the continents — how India separated from Africa, Madagascar, Australia and Antarctica and collided with Asia.

The dinosaur bones were discovered during the past 18 years by Indian scientists Suresh Srivastava of the Geological Survey of India and Ashok Sahni, a paleontologist at Punjab University.

When the bones were examined, "we realized we had a partial skeleton of an undiscovered species," Sereno said.

The scientists said they believe the Rajasaurus roamed the Southern Hemisphere land masses of present-day Madagascar, Africa and South America.

"People don't realize dinosaurs are the only large-bodied animal that lived, evolved and died at a time when all continents were united," Sereno said.

The cause of the dinosaurs' extinction is still debated by scientists. The Rajasaurus discovery may provide crucial clues, Sereno said.

India has seen quite a few paleontological discoveries recently.

In 1997, villagers discovered about 300 fossilized dinosaur eggs in Pisdura, 440 miles northeast of Bombay, that Indian scientists said were laid by four-legged, long-necked vegetarian creatures.

Indian scientists said the dinosaur embryos in the eggs may have suffocated during volcanic eruptions.

[StolarStorm]

Would you consider calling someone a space alien devil insulting? Granted, it made me laugh rather than make me mad.

[AndrewC]

A counterproductive bit of speculation, and certainly insulting.

I take it then that you would find that behavior to be counter to the following?

Effective August 9, 2003, we, the undersigned, freely and in good faith agree that henceforth we shall treat others on these threads as we wish to be treated ourselves.

[StolarStorm]

It's a bit odd for someone who hasn't signed a document, to be its enforcer.

[AndrewC]

Second I know pidgin ASL and as such pidgin language does not pose a problem for me to comprehend

You are amazing! I now know why I, etc. God bless you!

[AndrewC]

It's a bit odd for someone who hasn't signed a document, to be its enforcer.

I'm not enforcing anything. I'm using my God-given right to express myself.

[whattajoke]

Oi vey with you, Andrew. Please, I've actually had civil, somewhat normal discussion with effdot (via postings) here as well.

the whole schitzo thing has been proposed at least 20 times by different posters.

I know and believe he lives in Maui... in fact, if my recent honeymoon had gone to Maui, I told him I'd love to have met him. (Kauai and the Big Island instead).

At any rate, neither of you can claim to pretend to understand all of his posts, or defend his repeated use of spam posts that he already has in his extensive profile.

[LeeMcCoy]

Would you consider calling someone a space alien devil insulting? Granted, it made me laugh rather than make me mad.

My point is that the abuse and name-calling has to stop. It may take some a bit longer to modify their posting styles, but I think in light of recent flame wars, everyone has developed thicker skins and can perhaps let an accusation of being a "space alien devil" slide for the time being. In my opinon, accusing someone of being a paranoid schizophrenic or delusional is far worse.

[balrog666]

I cannot wait until Ichneumon shows back up and chews this little post to ribbons.

The complete lack of science in that one's been chewed to death on the web.

[LeeMcCoy]

I take it then that you would find that behavior to be counter to the following?

Yes, I do. The fighting and name-calling (excluding the Troll provision) must stop, regardless of who is the poster.

[Aric2000]

Isn't it though?

But since ALS isn't here to do it, Andrew has decided that he will do it for him.

This was the ORIGINAL intent of the agreement as proposed by ALS.

He would get us all to sign onto the agreement, then he would of course back out of it for some reason, which he of course found.

Then, if we responded in a way that he did not like, then he would bash us over the head with said agreement, and call us breakers of our word, etc.

It would have been another GREAT flamefest starter for him, and then he could blame us because we had signed an agreement.

So he could do whateveer he wanted, then when we fought back, he would hit us with the agreement WE had signed.

This was the original intent of the agreement as proposed by ALS, but since we actually LIKED the idea, we signed on and actually had some input, so of course it backfired on him big time.

It REALLY helped that he asked Alamo-Girl to be the moderator, because he was hoping that she would be unfair to us, when in fact, she was as a moderator is supposed to be, totally neutral, and moderate between the 2 parties.

ALS of course is mad as heck at AG for turning out to be fair, when in fact he expected that she wouldn't be.

So, he was not able to hit us with the agreement without us being able to fight back, we got the troll clause included, which allowed us some defensive action, which of course was unreasonable to ALS, because he wanted the agreement to lock us down and shut us up.

It of course backfired on him BIG time, and now some other people have taken it upon themselves to police an agreement that they never signed.

So I find this whole excercise with AndrewC rather illuminating.

[whattajoke]

So noted. Even as a non-signee, I will still refrain from calling people paranoid schizophrenics or delusionals.

[Nataku X]

Thank you and God bless you too, although there's nothing "amazing" about ASL. :-) Interesting side-note: most people who go to deaf schools do not generally have an education in formal English (the average reading level of the average deaf school graduate is a dismal 4th grade). In their writings, they will often think in sign language and then they write down the English equivalent. The result is exactly like f.Christian's writings (with no pronouncation).

I think f.Christian's just trying to sound "poetic", or something...

[StolarStorm]

However, the odds of me being a 'space alien devil' are far less likely than the odds of someone with a belief in 'space alien devils', being a paranoid schizophrenic.

I may well be a 'space alien devil' but he has no rational reason to believe so. Posting such oddities does give one a reasonable reason for believing that the poster may have issues.

[AndrewC]

Yes, I do. The fighting and name-calling (excluding the Troll provision) must stop, regardless of who is the poster.

Well, we agree except for the troll provision, because I see it being used as an incitement, much like being called a lawyer.

[Doctor Stochastic]

You need to exorcize a c. (Just count this as a c note.)

[LeeMcCoy]

At any rate, neither of you can claim to pretend to understand all of his posts, or defend his repeated use of spam posts that he already has in his extensive profile.

I don't claim to understand all of his posts, but that is his style, and I will defend his right to post as he pleases as long as he does not violate the agreement. Spam is not permitted in the agreement, and I do not support such posts.

[AndrewC]

So I find this whole excercise with AndrewC rather illuminating.

Thank you for the notification. I am not enforcing anything. Do you have a summons? As you can see, I am not the only one that has observed abusive behavior. For those abusers that have signed the agreement it is a violation of that agreement. For those abusers that have not signed the agreement, it remains abusive and should be treated as such.

[VadeRetro]

The Geologic Column: Does It Exist?

John Woodmorappe: Does He Exist? (No.)

[LeeMcCoy]

Posting such oddities does give one a reasonable reason for believing that the poster may have issues.

That may very well be, but it requires a judgement call, and since none of us lives next door to him, I doubt any of us have sufficient evidence to back up such claims.

There is another side to the coin - it could be said of ALL of us that we have "issues" or don't have real lives simply because we are addicted to a message board.

[AndrewC]

C. We will not question another poster’s motives or accuse him of trolling, disrupting, etc. without specific evidence.