Jurassic Dreams - The Fossil Times RSS

March 14, 2018

The Yeti From 1 Million Years Ago

Jaw recreation in the snow In 1902 the mountain gorilla (Gorilla Beringei) was discovered, we can imagine Robert von Beringe making his way through with his group of explorers through the jungles of the Congo, machete in hand, cutting the brush as if tearing a temporal mantle that separates us from a world to discover. And at the end of that path, an incredible animal, the mountain gorilla. That creature captivated a scientific community eager for knowledge, and it is that the great apes have always caught our attention. It is like being face to face with our primitive...

Read more

February 21, 2018

The Greatest of the Raptors? Dakotaraptor

Before the movie Jurassic Park few knew the Velociraptor, but for the film the size of this species was increased, giving it a more similar aspect to that of a Deinonychus. And is that the Velociraptors are part of a large family. The general characteristic to belong to the club of the "raptors" is to possess a huge claw on the hind legs. Powerful tendons made this nail a formidable and lethal weapon. Now, in 2015, a new member has entered the Raptors club. And he has done it through the big door. Although the first fossils were found in...

Read more

February 02, 2018

Megapiranha

A fragment of the maxilla made reality the dream of any B series filmmaker. Far from epic sizes but big enough to inspire fear, this is the prehistoric piranha discovered in Argentina, called Megapiranha paranensis. By studying their teeth we know that like the current piranhas, they had triangular teeth and serrated on both sides, symmetrical bite that made fit the upper and lower teeth perfectly in a quick and effective bite. Megapiranha maxillary fragment When a large specimen of piranha was discovered, scientists assumed that the climate was warmer and that this habitat was connected...

Read more

January 31, 2018

A Terretrial Crocodile with a Lethal Smile

112 million years ago, a group of "crocodiles" adapted to terrestrial life, their limbs lengthened and they were more vertical with respect to the trunk. This allowed them to be more agile and faster on dry land, and to hunt more efficiently their prey, although not all were carnivores. The discoverers, next to Razanandrongobe jaws If something is curious about this suborder of reptiles called notosuchia, it’s that they have herbivorous, omnivorous and carnivorous forms. Covering several ecological niches and adapting amazingly to their environments. But science now has to correct some aspects of notosuchia as they have...

Read more

January 29, 2018

The Fight For Being The Largest Crocodile

Which was the largest prehistoric crocodile? Depending on whom we ask the question, the answer changes. Unfortunately the fossils of prehistoric giant crocodiles do not appear complete and only isolated parts of the skeleton and fragments form the puzzle of discord. What we are sure of at the moment, is that three species compete for the first place in this peculiar ranking. DEINOSUCHUS Deinosuchus next to a tyrannosaurid It lived 75 million years ago at the end of the Cretaceous period. It should be noted that it is not really a crocodile, being a relative of American alligators....

Read more