Friday, 12 November 2010

The destruction of my childhood continues unabated

quote [ One of the best-known dinosaur species may not have really been a dinosaur species at all ]

Damn you meddling scientists! Also, I want Pluto to be a planet again! And bring back crystal Pepsi!

I know, I know, nothing to get in a huff about, just a quick throw-away report. A little old in internet time, but I didn't hear about it until just now. I'd post the full, probably more interesting, New Scientist article but they seem to think their intellectual property is more important than my entertainment and won't give me more than just the cover page.

Triceratops 'Never Existed'
Three-horned fossils are actually juvenile torosauruses
By Rob Quinn, Newser Staff

Posted Aug 3, 2010 9:42 AM CDT
(Newser) – One of the best-known dinosaur species may not have really been a dinosaur species at all, according to new research. Scientists compared triceratops skulls to those of a lesser-known species, the torosaurus, and concluded that the triceratops were actually young torosauruses, New Scientist reports. They believe the three-horned dinosaur's skull changed shape as it aged.

Researchers say the bones of the horns and neck frill in the young dinosaurs remained spongy until they became full adults. "Even in the most mature specimens that we've examined, there is evidence that the skull was still undergoing dramatic changes at the time of death," one of the researchers says. Torosaurus and triceratops will now likely be reclassified as a single species—but don't shed a tear just yet: The name "triceratops" will be the one that stays, the scientists say.
[sci&tech] [by Anti-fuites@6:15amGMT] [+10 Informative]

Comments

CapnSilver said @ 6:24am GMT on 12th Nov [Score:2 Insightful]
Once again, the Ankylosaurus remains the supreme herbivore.
CapnSilver said @ 6:25am GMT on 12th Nov [Score:1 Funny]
Man, friday afternoon posting is something I should avoid.

Things cant remain once again.

Need more weed and or beer.
Sarahbear said @ 6:44am GMT on 12th Nov [Score:2 Insightful]
Screw those, more sex is best.
lilmookieesquire said @ 6:58am GMT on 12th Nov
Hi, I'm lilmookie. I'm a pervert and I think we have a lot in common.
Sarahbear said @ 7:11am GMT on 12th Nov
:D Pleasures mine, purely.
zenviper said @ 7:34am GMT on 12th Nov
plz post meeting pics.
underdog said @ 7:40am GMT on 12th Nov
Can't wait...*faps*
Sarahbear said @ 9:14am GMT on 12th Nov
I prefer a classroom setting than a meeting room... too stuffy.
lilmookieesquire said @ 9:29am GMT on 12th Nov
And all this time I thought the girls weren't into teachers!
TheCooler said @ 10:10am GMT on 12th Nov
Are you two still awake too?
lilmookieesquire said @ 2:21pm GMT on 12th Nov
Was on a weird friend/crush date thing.
Sarahbear said @ 5:54am GMT on 19th Nov
^^^^^
Teacher
CapnSilver said @ 6:59am GMT on 12th Nov
Yes, but I don't need to be reminded.
KingPellinore said @ 1:20pm GMT on 12th Nov
I prefer all three. I mean, who can say sex isn't better after a glass or two of wine and a joint?
symmetrian said @ 10:55pm GMT on 12th Nov
Only a liar.
Todomanna said @ 9:38am GMT on 13th Nov
I can, but only because I've never had any of the three.
oddzer said @ 2:20pm GMT on 12th Nov
Can't it be all three?
KingPellinore said @ 2:31pm GMT on 12th Nov
You posted that at 4:20. Well done.
monkeynuts said @ 3:20pm GMT on 13th Nov
why can't we have more weed and more sex?
Naruki said @ 4:11pm GMT on 12th Nov
Herbivore? I thought ankles were made of meat.
Barnabas_Truman said @ 6:48pm GMT on 12th Nov
Herbivore? I barely know 'er!
Jewbacchus said @ 12:46am GMT on 13th Nov
Ankylosaurus is my favorite and always will be
Barnabas_Truman said @ 12:52am GMT on 13th Nov
Ankylosaurs are awesome.

Also: I vaguely recall reading in a library book years and years ago about a species of ankylosaur that apparently had large claws and patagia, suggesting that it could climb trees and then glide down from them. If this is indeed true then it would be the second most amazing vertebrate in the entire history of the universe. Can anyone confirm or deny my memory?
Ankylosaur said @ 7:44am GMT on 13th Nov
Sarahbear said @ 5:52am GMT on 19th Nov
I was shown that a week ago by a guy on a dating site... somehow I mentioned my nickname "Sarahdactyl" and he wanted to educate me about dinosaurs in a humorous way. :s
Sarahbear said @ 6:45am GMT on 12th Nov
Also, I loved Triceratops as a kid bc I thouht it was like my name...TriSarahtops. :s
NickelJoe said @ 8:24am GMT on 12th Nov [Score:4]
Alright, I'll try it but I'm a reluctant bottom.
lilmookieesquire said @ 2:41pm GMT on 12th Nov
Is that a triceratops bone in your pocket or are you just happy to see her?

Heyyyyoooooooo!
Chop-Logik said @ 7:29pm GMT on 12th Nov
EPT said @ 9:08pm GMT on 12th Nov
dammit, I've been waiting to use that image somewhere. makes me giggle every time
Michael Cera said @ 5:07pm GMT on 12th Nov
I have a little "Sarah" in me,

And so could you.
Chop-Logik said @ 6:48am GMT on 12th Nov
"The name "triceratops" will be the one that stays, the scientists say."

Chill, bro.
Chop-Logik said @ 6:50am GMT on 12th Nov
Teach me to read the extended entry, why not.
Barnabas_Truman said @ 7:56am GMT on 12th Nov
Okay, a) Triceratops was named a year or two before Torosaurus and if two species are decided to be the same thing the earlier name takes priority; b) what's important is that it's a badass elephant-sized reptile with three horns and a frill and if you think the name is what's important then you need to rethink your priorities; c) if Pluto is classified as a planet then we'll also have to allow Ceres, Pallas, Juno, Vesta, Astrea, Hebe, Iris, Flora, Metis, Hygeia, Parthenope, Victoria, Egeria, Irene, Eunomia, Io, Europa, Ganymede, Callisto, Titan, Iapetus, Rhea, Tethys, Dione, Haumea, Makemake, and Eris, and do you really want to make third graders memorize all those? Think of the children!
CapnSilver said @ 8:16am GMT on 12th Nov
We absolutely should! Astronomy is awesome in primary school and now there is a whole new class of things to learn about!

Shit yeah, its the future.
Barnabas_Truman said @ 8:29am GMT on 12th Nov
Oh, I totally agree about Crystal Pepsi, though.
Thathurt said @ 8:37am GMT on 12th Nov
MrChaos said @ 12:41pm GMT on 12th Nov
"You've never seen a taste like this"?

I either have the sense of humor of an early '90s ad writer, or he was almost 20 years before his time.

That or we both had a sense of humor that sucked in vaguely the same direction.
lilmookieesquire said @ 9:11am GMT on 12th Nov [Score:1 Underrated]
Your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn't stop to think if they should.
EPT said @ 10:26am GMT on 12th Nov [Score:1 Underrated]
I'll be dead in the cold ground before I recognise Tethys as a damn planet!
snowfox said @ 9:02am GMT on 12th Nov
A theory gaining in popularity (and has been for years as I heard about it four or five years ago) is this:

There are only about a third as many species of dinosaur as we think. Many of the dinosaurs we thought were related and living at the same time are actually babies, juveniles, and adults of the same species. For instance, it's thought that allosaurus is actually just a juvenile t-rex.

We were missing non-adult forms of a lot of dinosaur species, and this solves that problem rather nicely.
Barnabas_Truman said @ 9:47am GMT on 12th Nov
Weren't Allosaurus and Tyrannosaurus separated by about 80-90 million years though?
MrChaos said @ 12:38pm GMT on 12th Nov
They must have had the most advanced anti-aging cream. And longer arms than we think, lest they can't apply it themselves.
Naruki said @ 4:21pm GMT on 12th Nov
True, and generally considered to be different species.
snowfox said @ 5:51pm GMT on 12th Nov
Got it mixed up. Allosauraus is supposed to be in the same lineage as T-Rex though. I'll have to find the juvenile species.
snowfox said @ 5:55pm GMT on 12th Nov
It was Albertosaurus. Very similar name, easy to mix up.

You guys can keep acting like I'm full of shit if it makes you happy though.
Barnabas_Truman said @ 6:51pm GMT on 12th Nov [Score:1 Funny]
Nah, no worries. I had heard that there was a suspected connection between Allosaurus and something but I knew it couldn't have been Tyrannosaurus because of the difference in time periods.

In other words...

EPOCH FAIL
Chop-Logik said @ 7:30pm GMT on 12th Nov [Score:2]
Barnabas_Truman said @ 12:57am GMT on 13th Nov [Score:1 Insightful]
I thought it was pretty cool that you could name the time ship as if it were one of the playable characters. I named mine the Phoenix (or rather "Fenix" due to space constraints). The problem with this is that, having seen it called the "Fenix" throughout the rest of the game, I completely forgot that it was "Epoch" by default, and thus entirely missed references like the above caption, until I read a walkthrough years later and was reminded of the default name.
Gn0me said @ 2:09am GMT on 13th Nov
That is also what I named it.
Barnabas_Truman said @ 2:36am GMT on 13th Nov [Score:1 Insightful]
It's a good name for an airship or starship, especially one rebuilt after a disaster.
panthera said @ 3:44am GMT on 14th Nov
Fenix Down, I repeat Fenix is Down
Barnabas_Truman said @ 6:20pm GMT on 14th Nov
Wait, cancel that, Fenix is Back Up, repeat, Fenix is Back Up
Barnabas_Truman said @ 9:48am GMT on 12th Nov [Score:4]
Speaking of Tyrannosaurus, look what turned up on Wikipedia:

incpenners said @ 10:43am GMT on 12th Nov [Score:1 Funny]
Dinosaur boning!
azbubz said @ 12:36pm GMT on 12th Nov
the smaller one apparently lost something, and the bigger one is helping him?
symmetrian said @ 9:03pm GMT on 12th Nov
Contact lens.
Naruki said @ 4:14pm GMT on 12th Nov
Talk about your explosive orgasms. Blew the flesh right off.
feeling constipated said @ 11:28pm GMT on 12th Nov
I'm wondering if the "distance between thumb and index finger" theory applies to dino cock?
Barnabas_Truman said @ 12:53am GMT on 13th Nov
Probably not, since they (probably) had neither thumbs nor cocks. Cloacae all the way, man.
snowfox said @ 12:21am GMT on 14th Nov
Things like the brontosaur probably didn't mount like dogs, though. The forces involved with a male mounting a female are apparently too great. They might have had something like a cloaca and rubbed to inseminate (like chickens).
Barnabas_Truman said @ 6:29pm GMT on 14th Nov [Score:1 Informative]
Straight Dope covered this a while back.
lilmookieesquire said @ 3:03pm GMT on 12th Nov
To be honest, I kind of expected Ankylosaur to have strong feelings about this post.
ckfahrenheit said @ 4:53pm GMT on 12th Nov
Gosh, I hope he really existed.
feeling constipated said @ 5:28pm GMT on 12th Nov [Score:5 Funny]
It's basic pokemon evolution, people. Just look a blastoise.

Protosaurus


Triceratops


Torosaurus

CompletelyIrrelevant said @ 11:04pm GMT on 12th Nov [Score:1 Good]
Fuck yeah, DinoRiders!
Supreme_Coconut said @ 3:39am GMT on 13th Nov
Squirtle squirt!
snowfox said @ 12:42pm GMT on 14th Nov
Let me ruin something else:

Animals like the brachiosaurus and brontosaurus (the long-necked dinosaurs), did not reach up into the trees like giraffes. That works fine for giraffes, but they're much shorter than these animals. That funky posture likely comes from the same place as the early postures on pterosaurs: rigor mortis. The head and neck bend back, but for some reason it took researchers a while to start accounting for that.

The tails on these long-necked dinosaurs were generally very long, much longer than you see in illustrations or museums. Once again, it took researchers a while to realize that the tails kept going and there were all these increasingly long, small, thin bones.

This also means they didn't use their tails as weapons. And why would they need to? Once they reached adulthood, there wasn't a lot to fuck with them. The long tails were a counter-balance for the outstretching head and neck. They were foraging over a large area without all that pesky walking, rather than seeking food high above them.

I recall something about them having gizzards and swallowing rocks as well in order to crush plant matter.

Fun Fact: Birds are descended from saurician dinosaurs, not ornithician dinosaurs. The mix-up occurred because the ornthicians display a bird-like hip structure, but early embryonic stages of modern birds show that they start with a saurician hip, and the orientation of the ischium versus the ilium shifts in later stages (from parallel to perpendicular, I think).
snowfox said @ 12:43pm GMT on 14th Nov
Reverse that, I meant to write perpendicular to parallel.
TheCooler said @ 1:53pm GMT on 14th Nov
But.... but... the Tyrannosaurus Rex still had amazing rhythm right?

Barnabas_Truman said @ 6:27pm GMT on 14th Nov
What do you mean "ruin"? A five elephantweight cowlizard that grazes with a 20 foot long swivelmount mouth is way cooler than a giraffe!
Barnabas_Truman said @ 6:27pm GMT on 14th Nov
Probably hell for your lawn though.
snowfox said @ 9:10am GMT on 15th Nov
I wouldn't worry about it. Grass didn't evolve until the late Pleistocene.

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