Cassowaries
Fossil of Tongianlong Limosus.
Posted on 11/10/2016 1:56:32 PM PST by JimSEA
A dinosaur fossil that almost went undiscovered is giving scientists valuable clues about a family of creatures that flourished just before the mass extinction.
The bird-like species, found at a building site in southern China and nicknamed the 'Mud Dragon', was preserved almost intact, lying on its front with its wings and neck outstretched. Scientists speculate that the creature may have died in this pose after becoming mired in mud about 66-72 million years ago.
Scientists have named the new species Tongtianlong limosus, meaning 'muddy dragon on the road to heaven'.
The two-legged animal belongs to a family of feathered dinosaurs called oviraptorosaurs, characterised by having short, toothless heads and sharp beaks. Some, including the newly found species, had crests of bone on their heads that were probably used as display structures to attract mates and intimidate rivals, like modern-day cassowaries.
(Excerpt) Read more at sciencedaily.com ...
Cassowaries
Fossil of Tongianlong Limosus.
Painting. Looks more like a chicken.
http://a57.foxnews.com/images.foxnews.com/content/fox-news/science/2016/11/10/mud-dragon-dinosaur-unearthed-in-china/_jcr_content/par/featured-media/media-0.img.jpg/876/493/1478802038094.jpg?ve=1&tl=1
Funny how it seems 99% of the “feathered dinosaur” fossils that scientists so badly want to find are only found in China, where there is a thriving industry of “fossil hunters” who are known to not be above fakery.
China was one of the few places that when the dino craze hit was isolated so there formations remained intact until recently. Most early dino hunters used dynamite to get at the formations they wanted to look at - thus destroying everything except what survived the explosions.
Chinese fossil hunters are famous for altered fossils. They take fossils and match parts in a way that may use several unrelated fossils put together to seem to be a new species. However the fossils are actual fossils put together in deceptive ways. This does not mean that the fossil field is in any way deceptive. The geology is right for fossils well formed and of great age.
I bet it tasted like chicken...
Interesting. I remember the first time I saw an article in National Geographic about a dinosaur with feathers, I was very surprised. Like most, I thought they were reptiles until then...now it looks like they were closer to birds. Now we know a number of them had feathers and behaved a lot like modern birds too.
That explains one big question I always had though. How did something as big as Tyrannosaurus or Brontosaurus hold itself up, and how did it manage to grow enough muscle to move huge bones that had to be incredibly heavy? They also had hollow bones like birds. Then it made sense...Hollow means stronger and lighter.
My 4YO granddaughter and I are anxiously preparing for Dinosaur roasted for thanksgiving (with savory herb dressing of course).
I had grilled dinosaur just a few nights ago...hard to beat hickory smoke...
And indeed occasionally naïve western museum curators were skunked by them.
However, the original feathered dinosaurs came from Germany, Archaeopteryx:
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