Scientists Find "Perfect" Dino Fossil

[Earnest Cavalli]

Scientists Find "Perfect" Dino Fossil

A new fossil found in Germany may be "the most complete dinosaur ever found."

The fossil, which depicts a 135-million-year-old predatory theropod, has 98 percent of its skeleton intact. As a result, the fossil has an astounding level of detail and clarity.

So far, the find lacks crucial details, such as the creature's species and cause of death, though Oliver Rauhut, curator of Munich's Bavarian State Collection for Palaeontology and Geology will likely reveal this information prior to the fossil's appearance in the Munich Mineral Show later this month.

While this is certainly an impressive find for the archaeologists, and a boon for the science in general, it does raise two important questions:

One, given the tremendous pressures exerted during fossilization and the harsh toll taken by 135 million years underground, how did this skeleton remain so intact? Barring "Kryptonian bones" as an explanation, if we can figure out why this skeleton remained whole, should we not also be able to find other, similarly robust skeletons in areas stricken by the same geological conditions as the Teutonic hole where we found this lil' guy?

Two, what the eff is that bone below its jaw? As far as I know dinosaurs were incapable of growing beards, much less beards that required skeletal support.

Ideas?

Source: New Scientist [http://www.newscientist.com/blogs/shortsharpscience/2011/10/dinosaur-fossil-could-be-most.html]


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[thiosk]

Awesome! Thats just beautiful!

The neck bones connected to the... hm. Time to relearn my anatomy music.

 

[imnot]

/)^3^(\

I love dinosaurs!

 

[Something Amyss]

Three minutes later, creationists rally to deny its existence.

 

[ArchEvilAngel]

Scientists Find "Perfect" Dino Fossil

Two, what the eff is that bone below its jaw? As far as I know dinosaurs were incapable of growing beards, much less beards that required skeletal support.

Ideas?

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Clearly that is the bone of whatever animal this dinosaur was eating when it choked to death.

 

[Jegsimmons]

maby this one is the missing link between raptor like creatures and humans!!!!

Three minutes later, creationists rally to deny its existence.

dude, creationist LOVE dinosaurs, why do you think they want to think we live along with them? Because it's AWESOME!!!!

 

[RA92]

You know, it pains me to process the fact that we'll probably never be able to picture over 90% of the creatures that ever existed on our planet...

 

[GrizzlerBorno]

Great now I can't notice any other part of this beautiful, natural work of art except the Beard bone. Happy?

But seriously, it could just be a collapsed portion of the lower jawbone? Or a beard bone. That could work.

 

[Smooth Operator]

But! Can we clone them yet?

 

[Torrasque]

maby this one is the missing link between raptor like creatures and humans!!!!

Three minutes later, creationists rally to deny its existence.

dude, creationist LOVE dinosaurs, why do you think they want to think we live along with them? Because it's AWESOME!!!!

I love my jesus-riding-a-raptor shirt so much ^_^

You know, it pains me to process the fact that we'll probably never be able to picture over 90% of the creatures that ever existed on our planet...

It gets worse if you study environmental geology, and go into further depth of how humanity is fucking the planet

As to what that bone is, it doesn't appear to be a bone belonging to the dinosaur itself, so it could either be a part of it's kill, or another animal that died near/on top of it. The jaw does not appear to be broken, so /shrug.
As to why the dinosaur is so perfectly intact, it could be because it died in soil rich in clay, which did not exert much force on the skeleton as it hardened. Or it may have fossilized at the same rate as the ground around it hardened into stone.

 

[ShindoL Shill]

/)^3^(\

I love dinosaurs!

you may not be paranoid, but i'm stealing that emotion. mostly. i'm stealing your arms.
(\^c^/)

OT: huzzariah. now they won't have to guess where some of the bones are meant to go.
and maybe the chin-bone is either:
1. the forearm of a dinosaur that manged to kill this one, but had its arm broken off in this one's mouth
or
2. some dinosaurs had retractable bone blades in their faces

 

[Richardplex]

Three minutes later, creationists rally to deny its existence.

Placed by satan to corrupt the non believers, of course.

Clearly that bone is God's message to the true believers that this is just a test of faith, not any kind of true fossil.

Goddamn ninjas...

 

[Spaloooooka]

Eerrrmm one correction. Bones, being mainly Calcium carbonate (CaCO3) are already in crystal form and so don't suffer much deformation during diagensis [ the process of sediment being compressed and crystalizing into solid rock. The pores within the bones are filled with more CaCO3 during the earlier stages of burial. The intactness of the skeletal structure is due to the body not being attacked after (or just before) death.

 

[TakerFoxx]

OT: huzzariah. now they won't have to guess where some of the bones are meant to go.
and maybe the chin-bone is either:
1. the forearm of a dinosaur that manged to kill this one, but had its arm broken off in this one's mouth
or
2. some dinosaurs had retractable bone blades in their faces

A bone shiv that would pop out of their jaws Wolverine style? Ah, hells yeah!

 

[imnot]

/)^3^(\

I love dinosaurs!

you may not be paranoid, but i'm stealing that emotion. mostly. i'm stealing your arms.
(\^c^/)

OT: huzzariah. now they won't have to guess where some of the bones are meant to go.
and maybe the chin-bone is either:
1. the forearm of a dinosaur that manged to kill this one, but had its arm broken off in this one's mouth
or
2. some dinosaurs had retractable bone blades in their faces

Maybe its a cogar the dinosaur made from the bones of its dead enemies?
The poor bugger died of lung cancer.

 

[Scarim Coral]

The condition of that fossil photo is so preserve that it's uncanny! It won't suprise me when someone start making claims that it's fake.

 

[Jack and Calumon]

That bone? His dinner.

Dinosaur got hungry and snatched a sabre toothed chicken. As he saw the Meteor, it fell from his mouth and he died as it fell.

Also, he was sideways, that's how he rolled.

Calumon: Maybe he died because that bone left him?

 

[KeyMaster45]

Two, what the eff is that bone below its jaw? As far as I know dinosaurs were incapable of growing beards, much less beards that required skeletal support.

Ideas?

It's what's left of his Bluetooth headset, poor bastard got hit by Fred Flintstone's car while he was on a conference call.