Archive for the ‘Skeletons’ Category

New Cousin to the Velociraptor Discovered in China

Thursday, July 23rd, 2015

Liaoning Province in China is known for the substantial amount of dinosaur fossils that’ve turned up in the dirt there. Over the years everything from insects to fish to plants have been discovered in such detail that even skin textures have been left behind in the rock.

Now it appears that a new feathered dinosaur that is cousin to the Velociraptor can be added to the long list of discoveries there.

The new dinosaur with a ridiculous name to try and pronounce, Zhenyuanlong suni, stood at about 5 feet tall, had wings too short to allow them to fly and some of the most complex feathers seen on a dinosaur up to this point. The feathers’ complexity is clearly visible on the rock that the near-complete skeleton has been found in and resemble the feathers of today’s eagles.

Professor Junchang Lü from the Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences’ Institute of Geology:

“The first feathered dinosaurs were found here and now our discovery of Zhenyuanlong suni indicates that there is an even higher diversity of feathered dinosaurs than we thought. It’s amazing that new feathered dinosaurs are still being found.”

It’s also hugely terrifying to think of these semi-flying, feathered 5 foot dinosaurs tracking you down to feed their young.

[Sci News.com]

Posted in Animal, Archaeology, Birds, China, Dino watch, Dinosaur, Dinosaurs, Discovery, Fossils, Jurassic Park, New Species, Predator, Rock, Skeletons | Comments Off on New Cousin to the Velociraptor Discovered in China

50 Prius-Sized Wombat Fossils Discovered in Australia

Thursday, July 26th, 2012

Wombats are like the koala’s derpy ground-dwelling brother. They’re harmless, adorable and just keep their noses to the ground without being a bother to anyone. They’re about the size of a small, fat, over-inflated dog/gopher hybrid that like to build extensive burrows and tunnels.

Almost 200,000 years ago they were still cute and adorable and liked to create burrows with one small difference…

Wombats used to be about the size of a Prius.

In a remote part of the outback in Australia, almost 50 prehistoric mega-wombats called Diprotodons have been discovered in what’s being called a ‘graveyard’ for these giant animals.

As researchers uncover more of the site, the conditions of what brought the animals together in one place is becoming clearer…and creepier.

Also found at the site? The bony back-plates of a massive ancient crocodile and the teeth of an 18-foot-long venomous lizard called megalania.

[Phys.Org]

Posted in Animals, Archaeology, Australia, Dinosaur, Dinosaurs, Fossils, Skeletons | 1 Comment »

Chupacabra Skeleton Under The Floor

Wednesday, April 27th, 2011

Workers unearthed a skeleton from under the floor of an “sinister house” and the first thing that crossed their minds was “Chupacabra”. It apparently has a cat-like head and a rat-like tail and is terrifying the neighborhood.

“In the city of Pucón, Chile, workers were stopped dead in their tracks as they accidentally dug up a bizarre skeleton. The remains are said to be out of this world. Described as having a cat-like head and the tail of a rat, the remains were accompanied by other smaller skulls of local rodents.”

[La Cuarta via GhostTheory]

Posted in Chupacabra, Skeletons | 5 Comments »

14,000-Year-Old Skull Drinking Cups Unearthed

Wednesday, February 16th, 2011

Archaeologists working in Gough’s Cave in Somerset, UK have unearthed three human skulls used as cups, and at 14,700-years-old they are some of the oldest known examples in the world. Much care went into their construction:

“The cut-marks and dents show how the heads were scrupulously cleaned of any soft tissues shortly after death,” says Silvio Bello from London’s Natural History Museum. Later, the face bones and the base of the skull would have been removed, before the cranial vaults were meticulously shaped into cups by retouching broken edges. “All in all,” says Bello, “it was a very painstaking process given the tools available.”

[New Scientist]

Posted in Skeletons | Comments Off on 14,000-Year-Old Skull Drinking Cups Unearthed

The Horrifying Truth Of How 300 People Spontaneously Died Next To An Indian Lake

Monday, May 17th, 2010

skitched-20100517-134448.jpg

If Skeleton Lake is a spooky name, the story behind it is downright terrifying.

The short prologue, a British officer in 1942 happened upon roughly 300 skeletons surrounding a lake in Roopkund, India. But how could this many people seemingly all die at around the same time?

All the bodies had died in a similar way, from blows to the head. However, the short deep cracks in the skulls appeared to be the result not of weapons but of something rounded. The bodies also only had wounds on their heads, and shoulders as if the blows had all come from directly above…

Among Himalayan women there is an ancient and traditional folk song. The lyrics describe a goddess “so enraged at outsiders who defiled her mountain sanctuary that she rained death upon them by flinging hailstones “hard as iron.”

After much research and consideration the 2004 expedition came to the same conclusion. All 300 people died from a sudden and severe hailstorm. Trapped in the valley with nowhere to hide or seek shelter, the cricket ball sized hailstones “hard as iron” came by the thousands and killed the travelers in a sudden and bizarre death. The bodies would lay there for some 1200 years before the astonishing tale of what happened to them would be revealed to the world.

Insane.

[Atlas Obscura]

Posted in death, Legend, Skeletons | Comments Off on The Horrifying Truth Of How 300 People Spontaneously Died Next To An Indian Lake