(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . Top Comments: Two Newly Reported Fossil Finds [1] ['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.'] Date: 2024-06-23 Here at Top Comments we strive to nourish community by rounding up some of the site's best, funniest, most mojo'd & most informative commentary, and we depend on your help!! If you see a comment by another Kossack that deserves wider recognition, please send it either to topcomments at gmail or to the Top Comments group mailbox by 9:30pm Eastern. Please please please include a few words about why you sent it in as well as your user name (even if you think we know it already :-)), so we can credit you with the find! Two new fossil discoveries caught my attention in recent news about science this week. First, there was the discovery of a new triceratops-like dinosaur in Montana. This dinosaur has a remarkably elaborate headgear (see above). An analysis of the fossil showed it belonged to the ceratopsids, as the horned dinosaurs are known, and was one of the largest of its kind in the region. The team estimates that it was 6.7 meters long and weighed 5 tons. Compared with other ceratopsids, L. rangiformis lacks a nose horn, and its snout is lower and longer. Its ischium, a pelvic bone, has a strong kink in it, compared with the more bananalike ischium from other fossils. And its frill was unlike any described so far: Not only did it sport two large, curved horns, it also boasted two spikes in the middle, one longer than the other. This convinced the team members they were looking at a new species. L. rangiformis would have lived alongside four other horned dinosaur species previously discovered in this region. These dinos look very similar but have distinct variations in their frills, which researchers believe were either used by males to attract females, like some modern birds do, or as a way to recognize individuals of the same and other species. The authors say the discovery provides yet more evidence that the area supported much more animal diversity than previously thought. Thanks to a boom in fossil finds, the number of known horned dinosaur groups in western North America has increased significantly the past 30 years, Sertich says. “And that number is going to only continue to grow.” The name of the species makes reference to the Norse god of mischief because it’s horns resemble those on the costume worn by the Marvel character of the same name. However, some paleontologists think this newly discovered specimen is not a new species, but just an individual of a known species that just had a particularly elaborate frill. “The jury’s out,” Mallon says, “but there’s no denying that [L. rangiformis] looks very similar to other species that we’re already familiar with.” The second fossil sheds light on some weird creatures who lived on Earth approximately contemporaneously with L. rangiformis, but unlike the dinosaurs, some of these creatures still live among us,. These are egg-laying mammals, called monotremes. The only surviving species of monotremes are the platypus and the echidna, both found in Australia. Three new species of monotremes were discovered in 100 million-year-old rocks from Australia, suggesting that the monotremes were both more common and more diverse in that period of geologic history than they are now. This doubles the known fossil species of monotremes. The number of known fossil species of monotremes essentially doubled (from three to six) in the recent discovery. All six are depicted above. Clockwise from lower left: Opalios splendens, or “echidnapus;” pig-sized Stirtodon elizabethae; Kollikodon ritchiei; Steropodon glamani; rat-sized Parvolapus clytiei; and Dharragarra aurora, the earliest known platypus. (PETER SHOUTEN) The three new Cretaceous species, along with new specimens of three previously identified extinct monotremes, were identified from fossil teeth and jaws found in the Lightning Ridge opal fields in New South Wales. These modest fossils, particularly when compared with previously found fossil monotremes, provide a wealth of information, the team notes: the animals’ relative sizes, number and orientation of teeth, even likely position on the family tree. One of the newfound species, officially named Opalios splendens, earned the nickname “echidnapus” for its mix of features, which are found in modern echidnas and platypuses. These traits suggest it was an ancestor of both. Another of the new species, Parvopalus clytei, is among the smallest monotremes ever found, roughly the size of a rat. The third, Dharragarra aurora, is the earliest known species of platypus. Further, the fossil record shows a progression of how the platypus lost its teeth. Comments are below the fold. Top Comments (June 22-23, 2024): From inkstainedwretch: Samanthab responds to JonathanSwiss in Scott Janssen’s recommended diary I’m outta here!!! When right wing extremism invades your workplace. Visiting hospice nurses comforted Mom's body as she slipped into the final stages of Alzheimer's, as her four remaining kids could sit and talk about 30,40,50 year old memories that came back to her. Top Mojo (June 21, 2024): Top Mojo is courtesy of mik! Click here for more on how Top Mojo works. Top Mojo (June 22, 2024): Top Photos: The Top Pictures script is currently not working. Apologies. [END] --- [1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2024/6/23/2248146/-Top-Comments-Two-Newly-Reported-Fossil-Finds?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=more_community&pm_medium=web Published and (C) by Daily Kos Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/