This, I hope, will be my own little corner of the internetz in which I can post my own commentary on science (specifically those sciences considering Evolution), various forms of media (books, movies, games, ect.), and any news bit that I deem worthy of my attention.
So I present to you, on my very first blog post.... NOTHING, dun dun dun DUUUN!
No, not really. Just to do some catching up, here are few short blurbs:
Spinosaurids were Semi-Aquatic: Long suspected by dino-fans and paleontologists alike, oxygen isotope ratios in Spinosaurus show that the animal was spending a fair amount of time in water. (Please note: this is the part where I speculate like there's no scientific method) This really opens up possibilities for what niche Spino exploited. While there are common comparisons to bears and herons, the fact that it was IN the water more than wading in it, methinks it probably, being huge (estimates vary, I'm going to guess 10 tons) just sat there in wait, akin to a very bird-like alligator snapping turtle. Or maybe it hunted in deep waters and rose up to snatch wandering crocs and fish? This is all baseless speculation, but it is worth some thought....
Copyright Jason Poole
Transformers: War for Cybertron Announced: I'm no big Transfan (lol), but this game looks pretty cool! The movies were okay (the second was a bit too long and ridiculous in some parts), and Animated, despite the questionable animation, managed to have a deep and engaging storyline. I've played Gears of War 2 (this game supposedly takes major props from it), and although a major n00b at it (I was killed in approximately 30 seconds), I quite enjoyed the gameplay. That, coupled with how much reverence the developers seem to treat it with, means we're probably going to get a good package!
The Technicolor Mesozoic(!): Just in case you live under a rock or a scientific illiterate, for the first time the full color pattern of a non-avian (whatever that means) dinosaur has been deciphered! Anchiornis, the little creature that caused BANDits (Birds Are Not Dinosaurs) to receive a pounding headache last year, was the luck winner. Looking at the melanosomes preserved in feathered dinosaurs, we can reconstruct that specimens pigment!
Copyright Michael DiGiorgio/Yale
That's all for now! Hopefully I'll be able to make blogging a regular thing, although posts may not be as substantial as this one. Enjoy!
Hi stygy! Im Big Al aka Milan Luva aka Simple Hand aka "WTF how many names do i use?"
ReplyDeleteI like ur blog! Ill follow it!
Remember this citation from dat paper
ReplyDelete"among theropods, spinosaurid isotope ratios were closer to those of turtles and crocodilians. Siamosaurus specimens tended to have the largest difference from the ratios of other theropods, and Spinosaurus tended to be have the least different"
There r 2 possibilities:
1)Spinosaurus was not DAT aquatic, at least less aquatic than oder spinosaurids
2)Or maybe carcharodontosaurus and oder dinosaurs dat co-lived with spinosaurus were just as aquatic as spinosaurus... XD
LOL
Bdw... WHO KNOWS? :P