National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence Paul Sereno announced the discovery of fossils of five crocodile species in the Sahara. Three of the species were previously undiscovered; the other two had been recorded and named before, but were poorly understood. Unlike modern crocodiles, many of these ancient crocs had upright skeletal structures, allowing them to gallop on land even as their tails made them extremely strong swimmers.

The largest of the species is the so-called BoarCroc, a 20-foot long meat-eating machine. The BoarCroc, described as a "saber-toothed cat in armor," had three rows of fangs, ideal for chowing down on dinosaurs. The flat-bodied PancakeCroc was also 20-feet long and could wait for hours in the water for "something stupid" to come along. The other crocodiles pursued less fearsome prey. The three-foot RatCroc had buck teeth for digging at tubers and small rodents. The DuckCroc's bill-like snouted helped it snap up fish and frogs, and the long-legged, agile DogCroc (pictured above) likely preferred plants and grubs.

These five species join the already known SuperCroc, Sarcosuchus imperator, which, at 40 feet and a whopping eight tons, was the Sahara's largest crocodile.

5 "Oddball" Crocs Discovered, Including Dinosaur-Eater [National Geographic]
Image via Guardian.

Charles Darwin, recognizing the similarities between humans and chimpanzees, postulated that we might someday find fossils of a "missing link," a creature that represented the evolutionary break between humans and chimps. The discovery of Ardi, however, suggests that when we do find that evolutionary break, the fossils we find will not be a blend of human and chimpanzee.

Researchers discovered Ar. ramidus near Aramis, Ethiopia, and have dated it as 4.4 million years old, considerably older than Lucy, who at 3.2 million years old was considered humanity's oldest relation. It's not clear whether humans are directly descended from this particular hominid, but it makes it clear that bipedal hominids are considerably older than previously thought.

The paleobiologists studying Ardi identify hers as an "intermediate" form, one that is bipedal, but at the same time capable of walking on all forms and traveling through trees. Still, although she represents a point past hominids' evolutionary break with gorillas and chimpanzees, she is very different from modern apes. For example, Ardi's had flat hands and feet and flexible wrists, and engaged in a form of locomotion called palmigrady, which is a trait of ancient apes and unlike gorillas and chimpanzees, which are stiff-wristed knuckle-walkers. This suggests that gorilla and chimp ancestors developed their knuckle-walking long after their evolutionary break with hominids.

In a paper in the upcoming issue of Science, which outlines the discovery, researchers will explain what Ardi's dissimilarity from modern apes means for our picture of human and chimp evolution:

Humans did not evolve from chimpanzees but rather through a series of progenitors starting from a distant common ancestor that once occupied the ancient forests of the African Micoene.

Otocinclus batmani (Batman)

In 2007, ichthyologist Pablo Lehmann named a newly discovered species of catfish after the caped crusader. Why? Because, if you look closely at the tail, you can see the Bat Symbol. Now visitors flock to Loon Lake in Antioch, Illinois each summer to try to catch the fish.

Tarbosaurus efremovi (Ivan Yefremov)

Soviet writer Ivan Yefremov is most famous for his works of science fiction (most notably the communist utopian novel Andromeda Nebula), but he was also a paleontologist. Perhaps that's why a Russian paleontologist named this species of Tarbosaurus (a near cousin of the Tyrannosauri) after the author.

Arthurdactylus conandoylei (Arthur Conan Doyle)

Writing a book about dinosaurs is a good way to get a reptile named after you, even if Sir Arthur Conan Doyle had to wait 82 years after the publication of The Lost World for it to happen. In 1994, paleontologist Eberhard Frey and David Matrill named an entire genus of pterosaur after the author, who described a similar creature in his novel.

Irritator Challengeri (Professor Challenger)

A second dinosaur named for The Lost World, I. challengeri is named for Doyle's irritable dilettante Professor Challenger. Perhaps appropriately, I. challengeri could have eaten A. conandoylei for breakfast; a fossilized tooth from its genus was once discovered lodged in a pterosaur's neck.

Draculoides bramstokeri (Bram Stoker)

If you're going to name a critter after the author of Dracula, it had better be a bloodsucker. This Australian arachnid is known for its fang-like pedipalps, which it uses to grab and crush prey before sucking out their tasty juices. As an added bonus, this sucker lives in the darkness of caves.

Orsonwelles (Orson Welles)

Arachnologist Gusavo Hormiga named this genus of gigantic spider after writer and director Orson Welles simply because Welles was a giant of filmmaking (we're assured this is meant metaphorically). The individual species' names are subtle references to Welles' work, such as O. Bellum for War of the Worlds, O. Malas for Touch of Evil, and O. Toledus for Citizen Kane.

Serendipaceratops arthurcclarkei (Arthur C. Clarke)

2001 author Arthur C. Clarke has a slew of things named for him and his creations: the asteroid 4923 Clarke, the 2001 Mars Odyssey orbiter, and, of course, the Clarke awards. Having a species of dinosaur named after him is just icing on the namesake cake.

Borogovia (Borogoves - The Jabberwocky)

Perhaps as an attempt to lend more meaning to Lewis Carroll's famous nonsense poem, the paleontologists who named these smaller, carnivorous dinosaurs named them after the borogoves in the opening verse:

'Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe;
All mimsy were the borogoves,
And the mome raths outgrabe.

Dracorex Hogwartsia (Hogwarts School of Wizardry)

When a 66 million year-old dinosaur that looks like a dragon was discovered in South Dakota, paleontologists decided it would be at home in the Harry Potter universe, naming it "The Dragon King of Hogwarts" after the school of wizardry. J.K. Rowling agreed that the beast looked familiar, like "a slightly less pyromaniac Hungarian Horntail."

Leucothoe tolkieni (JRR Tolkien)

There is actually no shortage of critters named for Tolkien's creations, from a hairy-footed beetle named Pericompsus bilbo to the hexapod Gollumjapyx smeagol. But the tiny shrimp-like crustacean L. tokieni is named for the man himself.

Gojirasaurus (Gojira)

It's probably not surprising that someone would eventually name a dinosaur after Japan's giant reptilian monster. But you would think they would have chosen a larger creature; Gojirasaurus is a mere 6.5 meters tall, and would tower over a human, but not the city of Tokyo.

Godzilliidae (Gojira)

Of course, this family of blind crustaceans from the class Remipedia makes Gojirasaurus look like Godzilla. It also contains two Gojira-themed geni: Godzillius, the largest of the remipedes, and Godzilligonomus, the smallest.

Pleomothra (Mothra)

Evidentally, naming remipede crustaceans after Japanese monsters became something of a convention, as another genus in the Godzilliidae family was named after the flying menace Mothra.

Sinemys gamera (Gamera)

At least Gamera was named for a creature he might actually be related to. S. gamera is a turtle from the Cretaceous Period. Though the species may have existed in Japan, the S. gamera fossils were actually found in Inner Mongolia.

Hortipes terminator (Terminator)

The Hortipes are a genus of tiny spiders that live in the soil of sub-Saharan Africa. The H. terminator was reportedly so named because the males' appendages resemble a futuristic gun.

Balnibarbi (Balnibarbi - Gulliver's Travels

Another common source of scientific names is Jonathan Swift's Gulliver's Travels. Oddly enough, this genus of trilobites gets its name from Balnibarbi, a country where science is used for foolish ends.

Laputavis (Laputa - Gulliver's Travels)

The Laputavis seems a more apt name from Jonathan Swift. Not only does it make sense to name an extinct bird for the flying castle in Gulliver's Travels, it's also a bit of a pun, as the Laputavis are related to swifts.

Sadly, no image of Laputavis was available. This is its distant relative, an Alpine Swift.

Holorusia brobdingnagia (Brobdingnags - Gulliver's Travels)

Brobdingnag is the country of giants — giant people, giant rats, giant insects. The H. brobdingnagia crane fly isn't quite as large as similar creatures in Brogdingnag (which were said to be as large as cats), but they're still sizable and annoying pests.

Jurassosaurus Nedegoapeferima (Jurassic Park)

This ankylosaurus is named not just for the film Jurassic Park, but for the cast as well. The species name is made up of letters from the actors' surnames: Sam Neil, Laura Dern, Jeff Goldblum, Sir Richard Attenborough, Bob Peck, Martin Ferrero, Ariana Richards, and Joseph Mazzello. Ultimately, the genus name Jurassosaurus was dropped in favor of Tianchisaurus, but the movie-inspired species name stuck.

Conus tribblei (Tribbles - Star Trek)

You would think a species named after the fuzzy, procreation-happy pets from the original Star Trek series would be furry. Instead, we get predator sea snails. As it turns out, C. tribblei isn't named directly for the fictional pet, but for discoverer Jerry Walls actual pet, a cat named "Tribbles."

Bidenichthys beeblebroxi (Zaphod Beeblebrox - Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy)

Though you can't see it on this species of triplefin blenny (a close relation), B. bebblroxi has a false head pattern on its scales, earning it a moniker similar to that of Douglas Adams' funny two-headed alien.

Erechthias beeblebroxi (Zaphod Beeblebrox - Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy)

Once again not seen here on this related species, but the E. beeblebroxi moth's pattern create the illusion of a second head, adding it to Zaphod's two-headed naming pile.

Fiordichthys slartibartfasti (Slartibartfast - Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy)

Planet designer Slartibartfast has a particular affinity for making coastlines, especially the fjords of Norway. So this particular fishy, found only in the Fiordland of New Zealand was named in his honor.

Ninjemys (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles)

This horned turtle of Pleistocene epoch gets its radical name from the sewer-dwelling mutants of New York. Sadly, its existence predates the invention of the pepperoni pizza, so it was forced to live on a diet of plants.

Morlockia Garcia-Valdecasas (Morlocks - The Time Machine)

The subterranean Morlocks from H.G. Wells get their own troglodyte species named for them, a remipede crustacean found in the caves of the Bahamas.

Pimoa Cthulhu (The Call of Cthulhu)

You might have expected that a species named after Lovecraft's unspeakable horror would be a cephalopod of some kind, or at least something frighteningly monstrous. Instead, we get an ordinary American spider, one that isn't even poisonous to humans.

Han solo (Han Solo)

Giving this trilobite species the name Han solo was an excuse not only to name a creature after a character from Star Wars, but also to make a terrible pun. H. solo, is, after all, the sole member of the genus Han. Incidentally, Harrison Ford has two species named after him, the spieder Calponia harrisonfordi and the ant Pheidole harrisonfordi.

Agathidium vaderi (Darth Vader)

If there's one person that biologists can't resist naming critters after, it's Darth Vader. And entymologists Kelly Miller and Quentin Wheeler particularly love assigning beetles in the Agathidium genus unusual names. Other Agathidium species include A. bushi, A. cheneyi, and A. rumsfeldi. A. vaderi in particular gets its name from its shiny, helmet-like head.

Darthvaderum (Darth Vader)

Apparently, this genus of orbited mites got its name when the entomologist who discovered them took one look and thought of the Sith Lord.

Polemistus chewbacca, P. vaderi, and P. yoda (Chewbacca, Darth Vader, and Yoda)

It's not entirely clear why entomologists Arnold Menke and David Vincent decided to name their newly-discovered wasp species after characters from Star Wars. Apparently, they're just big fans.

This 8-legged creature, thought to be an ancient ancestor of modern spiders, roamed the rain forests around 300 million years ago, even before dinosaurs appeared on Earth. The creatures are called Cryptomartus hindi, and they are believed to be among the earliest creatures that crawled on the surface of the earth after life left the oceans.

The models are made of compiled CT scan images of the entire fossil. The images allow the researchers to get the full picture of the organism being studied and craft these kinds of 3D nightmare fuel images.

The model also taught researchers a bit about the habits of these spiders. The ancient Cryptomarti had grabbing arms in the front, indicating that the spiders would ambush prey and grab them with these claws. This mode of attack is similar to modern crab spiders, which hang out on the edge of flowers to grab their prey.

In a paper published in Biology Letters, the team also indicates that this technology will be applied to older fossils, giving scientists a chance to terrify us with even more detailed images of ancient monsters. I can't wait!

Scary Ancient 'Spiders' Revealed In 3D Models, With New Imaging Technique [via ScienceDaily]

It sounds like a genetic aberration, but supergiant sperm can actually be an evolutionary advantage in several species. Fruit flies are a just a few millimeters long, but their sperm are 6 cm long. To top that, a human male would have to shoot out sperm that are up to 60 meters long. Another super giant sperm producer is a type of ostracod, a sea crustacean that looks like a tiny snail less than a centimeter long. Its sperm grows up to 10 times longer than its body. Here you can see an X-ray holotomograph of some super giant sperm.

Scientists have known for a while that one way males compete to inseminate females is by producing massive amounts of sperm. The more sperm you produce, the more likely that it will reach the egg before the other guys' sperm does. But in some species, it turns out that the winning sperm are always the biggest. If you can produce a sperm so big that it pushes all the other sperm out, your genetic material wins the race to the egg. This is exactly what happened in fruit flies and among some ostracods. (Pictured is the Ostrocada known as a mussel shrimp.)

Among super giant sperm producers, females have developed a special cavity that takes up to a third of their bodies to store the super giant sperm of their mates. Here you can see one such cavity, in an ostracod, which is only about half-filled with sperm. A paper published this afternoon in Science reveals how a group of scientists led by Renate Matzke-Karasz used a cutting-edge imaging technique called "synchrotron X-ray holotomography" to understand the evolution of this bizarre reproductive tool.

Matzke-Karasz and her team looked at ancient examples of the ostracod by selectively subjecting it to radiation in the synchrotron. This allowed them to examine a fossil that was over 100,000,000 years old, whose soft tissues had been preserved. It is extremely unusual for a fossil this old to contain any soft tissues, but the ancient ostracod was preserved in a region off the Brazilian coast where the soft tissues of many sea creatures have been preserved. Here is what the X-ray holotomography revealed. According to Giles Miller, of the Natural History Museum in London:

We obtained an excellent image of the reproductive apparatus of the fossil ostracods and were in for a real surprise. Our results show that these 100 million year old Cretaceous ostracods were already reproducing with giant sperm.

Added synchrotron researcher Paul Tafforeau:

Holotomography is a non-destructive imaging technique like computer tomography, where powerful and coherent synchrotron X-rays are used. With this method, a three-dimensional image of the inner structures even of microscopically small objects can be reproduced without doing any damage, with contrast and precision levels not reachable with any other techniques.

The researchers knew the fossilized ostracod had been mating with giant sperm because of this revealing holotomograph of a female ostracod. Because its soft tissues were preserved, scientists could see that it had a massive receptacle for super giant sperm. The image also showed that this female had recently been inseminated. The receptacle would only be this large if it had contained a giant sperm or two. Explained Matzke-Karasz:

Until now, it had been unknown whether giant sperm ostracod sperm arose multiple times over the course of evolution, like those of Drosophila, or whether they have been a persistent feature in certain groups for millions of years. This question can now be answered once and for all: giant sperm have been produced in at least some species over long periods of time, even though they come at an extremely high price for both, males and females. The next stage of our research is to try to understand why and how it has persisted for so long.

via Science Express and Eureklert

Hailing from the Middle Eocene (about 47 million years ago), this discovery will help to shed light on the early history of a potential human ancestor. Discovered in the late 1980s, the specimen was divided into two separate parts and sold to different buyers, and wasn't reassembled until 2007.

This new species, now called Darwinius masillae, is named for Charles Darwin, and is believed to exist very close to an evolutionary branch that would eventually lead to modern primates and humans. This specimen in particular is a young female, named Ida, and is so highly preserved that soft tissues and fur impressions were preserved, along with the digestive tract that allowed researchers to discover the last meal that it ingested - fruits and leaves. She also had a broken wrist, which had since healed, and it is believed that she would have been about 9 months old. Alive, she would have weighed around two pounds, and about two feet in length.

This finding is a remarkable one, not only for the high preservation of the fossil, but for the potential implications for paleontologists. A mere twenty million years prior to this is the KT boundary, a major extinction line that saw the demise of the Dinosaurs. With their passing came the rise of the mammals, and a world that looked much like ours today. The location where Ida was discovered is known as the Grube Messel, a World Heritage Site, and 47 million years ago, it was a para-tropical rain forest.

Complete specimens are also extremely useful for scientists, to learn as much as possible about the species. This particular find is missing an arm, and is somewhat crushed, but remains the most complete primate ever discovered, which will yield an enormous amount of information on how Ida and her kind moved, what they ate and what their life cycle would likely have been. Certain changes between this and earlier fossils also helps to uncover information about the evolution of this group, and Ida seems to represent a certain amount of diversification within this group of primates. Scientists believe that this species falls at an early time in the ancestral line that would eventually lead to humans.

Source: /PLoS ONE/

A team of researchers from the University of Toronto at Mississauga found the creature's remains in Colombia. This is quite near where its closest living relative, the anaconda, still lives - the mega-snake you see here was found on the border between Colombia and Brazil. Dubbed the Titanoboa, the ancient giant snake would have been the length of a city bus, and would have been so hefty that its body would have "reached a person's hips," according to BBC News.

The researchers' findings are published this week in the journal Nature. Their discovery also sheds light on Earth's temperatures 60 million years ago, because reptiles can only grow to such enormous sizes in very warm temperatures. This is because, as cold-blooded creatures, they depend on local temperatures for warmth. For the metabolism to function in a snake this big, researchers estimate the average temperatures in Columbia would have been about 30 C on a typical day. That's two degrees higher than the average temperature today.

Like its anaconda descendants, it's likely the Titanoboa spent most of its time in the water. P David Polly, a co-author of the Nature article on Titanoboa, says the creatures probably ate fish and alligators. He adds that as temperatures warm up on Earth today, we are likely to see snakes evolving to be much larger again. Currently, the biggest snakes on Earth are boa constrictors, but even the biggest of these is still 10 feet smaller than the Titanoboa fossil.

Several researchers have questioned Polly's claims about temperature changes, and many caution that more research needs to be done before we start worrying about climate change producing mega-snakes.

SOURCES:

BBC News

Nature

AP Photo/Dario Lopez-Mills

Throughout the Paleozoic era, which began 543 million years ago, Trilobites were extraordinarily successful. As we face all sorts of planetary crises, and worry about our long-term future on Earth, perhaps we should examine these hardy organisms over their three hundred million year existence.

Trilobites are arthropods - their closest living relative is the horseshoe crab - and were so common and diverse throughout much of their existence that they are often used by geologists and paleontologists to date the rock formations in which they are found. (1) Throughout the Cambrian period, they populated the seas with over six hundred separate species, before their dominance over the seas waned during the Ordovician period.

The term Trilobite is very descriptive - they are divided longitudinally into three sections - a central lobe, and two pleural lobes. Its thorax is divided into smaller segments that allow for a range of movement - some species could even roll into a tiny ball for protection. Their heads are called cephalons, and might contain eyes and defined cheeks; their tails are called pygidiums. Under the thorax, under each segment, was a pair of legs, and some species sported a number of spikes on top. (2)

What is remarkable about trilobites is their rapid evolution and growth to adapt to the many environments presented to them in the oceans of the Paleozoic. If you compare two species, one from the early and one from the later parts of the Cambrian, the differences are numerous. Earlier trilobites are far more primitive, lacking the more advanced features such as spines and eyes. (2)

As one moves up the column and time, the earlier, more primitive trilobites are slowly replaced by more sophisticated and diverting species. They shed segments, gained eyes and spikes, all essentially tailored to an environment where the trilobites found they could survive. Richard Fortey, in his book Trilobite: Eyewitness to Evolution, explains "punctuated equilibrium," a term which comes from the study of trilobites in the 1960s. Put simply, the theory holds that some species change very little over long periods of time, and then experience short spurts of intense change where one species branches out into several new ones.

Trilobites follow this pattern. The changes in trilobite species occurred gradually in regions, with no major events. But once a species diverged from another, they would endure. (4) Further studies of trilobites have come up with similar findings, and to the scientific community, these ancient creatures are essentially a study of evolution in action.

By the end of the Cambrian period, roughly 490 million years ago, trilobites had lost their dominance throughout the seas. During the later stages of the Ordovician period, the Earth was gripped by a vast ice age, and geologists have found fossils of the trilobites that survived this period. With this period of climate change came real changes for the species. Trilobites that existed in open water and were adapted to warmer climates died off, as their food supplies died with the cold. Other species, not adapted to open and deep water, flourished on the continental shelves, and thrived into the Silurian. (5)

During this time, vertebrate fish species evolved. While not likely a cause of the downfall of the trilobites, these new species would have likely presented problems for the trilobites. (6) By the Permian period, 290 million years ago, trilobites were in further decline, helped along by another ice age. But most likely their final extinction was caused by an event that is thought to have eliminated almost 95% of all life from the planet.

Theories vary, but it is thought that there were two separate extinction events. The first was the formation of Pangea, a single land mass that later broke up into the continents we know today. The consolidation of the super continent cut off global currents, essentially causing a global cooling event. Second, there was a period of massive volcanic activity on an almost unbelievable scale, which resulted in extremely thick outcrops of volcanic lava flows and ash over Siberia and China. This would have likely caused another period of warming and cooling in the early Jurassic period. Other theories include meteor hits, although that is certainly up for debate. Massive amounts of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere are thought to have killed off additional marine species. (7)

The trilobites didn't survive the Permian, but we we can learn several things from their long lifespan on the planet. The first is that these arthropods were extremely adaptable, able to change to meet a number of environments present in the ocean - from the deep ocean to the continental shelves. They ruled the seas, filling every environmental niche until they were stopped by several global cooling periods.

The second thing that we can learn is that even a hardy species has an incredibly difficult time with rapid climate change. Global warming periods pumped carbon dioxide into the oceans, which is thought to have helped to reduce their numbers, but also the extreme periods of global cooling further killed species off as they could not adapt in their specific environments fast enough to survive. Examining the effects of climate change through the eyes of a geologist or a paleontologist shows that these changes have come before, and that they have had devastating effects on organisms throughout the world's environments. Is humanity next, doomed because we cannot adapt quickly enough? Possibly.

And possibly because they force us to ask that question, trilobites have captured our imaginations. James Gurney, in his fantastic world of Dinotopia, shows a Devonian world, complete with trilobites, flourishing in a part of the world that escaped the mass extinctions. While this story is impossible in the context of global climates, it is an entertaining one. But, in Ken Macleod's 2000 novel Cosmonaut Keep, we briefly see that the trilobite has been resurrected by genetic manipulation in the near future.

Will we see the trilobite once again in our oceans? I certainly hope so.

NOTES

1 – Donald R. Prothero and Robert H. Dott Jr, Evolution of the Earth, (McGraw Higher Education, Boston, MA: 2004), 197
2 - Cyril Walker and David Ward, Fossils, (Dorling Kindersley Books, London, United Kingdom: 1992), 56
3 - Fortey, Trilobite! : Eyewitness to Evolution, (Knopf Books, New York NY: 2000), 159
4 - Ibid, 163-164
5 - Ibid, 184-185
6 - Prothero, 262
7 - Ibid, 346-347

Supporting source: James R. Beerbower, Search for the Past: An Introduction to Paleontology, 2nd Edition, (Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, NJ: 1968)

Photos from adriangonsalves, tunelko, kevinzim, and Andrew Scott trilobite art from bugmaker via flickr.

Jud Turner calls this sinuous sculpture Trilo Temporalis, in reference to the Trilobite fossils it's modeled on - and in reference to the antiquated-looking watch he's added to its head. Trilobites lived over 250 million years ago, but their fossils are numerous. And so they are the perfect subject for a sculpture about time. And the pre-dinosaur era.

Turner also has a passion for human remains, as you can see from this bicycle he designed last year. Sadly, you can't ride it.

See more of Turner's art in his gallery. Tip 'o the hat to MAKE.

National Geographic says:

The team unearthed a three-foot-high (one-meter-high) bone from the sauropod, which means the long-necked herbivore was almost 65 feet (20 meters) in length.

They also found a massive chunk of beak from a pterosaur, an immense birdlike creature from the same era as the sauropod - about 100 million years ago.

[via National Geographic]

Illustration by Dr Mark Witton/Mike Taylor, Photograph courtesy University of Portsmouth

Here's one of Hawkins sculptures, displayed at the greatest dinner party we've ever not been invited to.

Hawkins' love of dinosaurs even got him worked over by some thugs from the U.S. Democratic Party. After coming to America in 1868, Hawkins established a studio on the site of the American Museum of Natural History in New York City, and went to work on some phenomenal dinosaur sculptures that Cabinet Magazine says attracted the glare of the only Boss that mattered:

Work on the paleozoic museum caught the attention of William "Boss" Tweed, the notorious figurehead of the city's corrupt Democratic political machine, who denounced the project (there was no apparent graft that could be had from an institution built around collecting fossils). Hawkins, a Londoner raised to believe in the virtue of making public declarations at Hyde Park Corner, held a demonstration in support of the museum during which he openly denounced Tweed. That evening, Tweed's henchmen entered Hawkins's studio and destroyed the dinosaur sculptures. Some believe that they buried the shattered fragments in Central Park. To this day, the skeletal remains of Hawkins's American dinosaurs have never been recovered, their iron and brick bones undisturbed for more than a century and a half.

Their problem in part was that Hawkins lacked a complete dinosaur skeleton. Perhaps partial skeletons could give rise to false notions? Even Hawkins himself described dinosaurs as dragons. The Democrats couldn't have people running around thinking there were dragons in Central Park. Misinformation was easy to come by back then. It was a good forty years after the word paleontology was invented that Darwin published The Origin of Species.

Things have come a long way since then, but it was a messy process. Henry A. Ward's 1866 book, Catalogue of Casts of Fossils looks more like The Far Side than a textbook of purported fact.

Successors improved upon the recipe, and include James Gurney, Douglas Henderson, Raul Martin, Luis V. Reys and legendary Czech illustrator Zdenek Burian. Artists like John Conway, Mauricio Antón and Dan Warner even make authenticity a selling point.

A Buried History of Paleontology [Cabinet]

Weirdly, it was the dinosaur poop, a relatively common item among fossil hounds that normally would sell for about $1000 U.S. But this time, it got snatched up for nearly twice that, while the meteorite didn't sell at all. Maybe that was because the beautiful rock (a slice of which you are seeing above) started bids at over $2 million U.S. Made of palasite, a common metorite material, the big rock was found in China. Supposedly the owner has plans to sell it to a private party.

Dinosaur poop chunks, known as coprolites, are so common that you can even buy jewelry made out of them.

Dinosaur Feces - 1; 4.5 MYO Meteorite - 0 [Environmental Graffiti]

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• Massive quantities of helium were discovered leaking out of the ground in Nevada. This mysterious gas emission is even stranger because usually geologists only see this kind of thing near volcanoes. Is Nevada about to become a volcanic hellhole? [Discovery News]
• 10,000-year-old trees were discovered during a construction project on a farm in Michigan. They are among the best-preserved fossilized trees ever found, and scientsts speculate that they were crushed under the last glacier to stretch across North America. [Science Daily]
  

• A Japanese court ruled today that a grieving widow would receive compensation from Toyota because the company killed her husband with overwork. The 30-year-old man died after working 60 hours/week for a month, and then 70 hours/week for an additional month. In Japanese, there is a word for death from overwork: karōshi. [Autoblog]
  
• Scientists have just announced a "map of genetic aging" in mice. The map shows a series of genes whose behavior changes as the mice age. Since human and mouse genomes are fairly similar, researchers hope to use this map to find similar "aging genes" in humans, and perhaps tinker with those genes to reverse the aging process. [PLoS Genetics]
  
• If you're thinking of getting a genetic test, think again. Most experts say the tests are a total waste of money and tell us next to nothing. Even though there are more and more genetic tests every day, they aren't getting any more accurate or reliable. [Reuters]