Latest news with #Dinosaur
National Geographic
7 days ago
- Science
- National Geographic
Different dinosaur species may have really traveled together like in the movies
A newly discovered trove of fossilized footprints provides what may be the first evidence of prehistoric diversity in dinosaur herds, though not everyone is convinced. A herd of ceratopsians (Styracosaurus albertensis) accompanied by an ankylosaur (Euplocephalus tutus) walk through an old river channel under the watchful eyes of two tyrannosaurs (Gorgosaurus libratus). Illustration by Julius Csotonyi Across the African savanna, zebras and wildebeests travel together in massive herds often peppered with impalas and gazelles. The larger the herd, the safer its members are from predators like lions, hyenas and African wild dogs. Scientists have wondered whether dinosaurs similarly engaged in mixed-species herding behavior. Children's movies like ' The Land Before Time ' series and ' Dinosaur ' (2000) often depict motley crews of dinosaurs migrating together, like apatosaurs and triceratops or iguanodons and parasaurolophus (despite often living in different time periods). But evidence that different dinosaur species actually travelled with each other was lacking in the fossil record. Now, paleontologists working in the badlands of Dinosaur Provincial Park in Alberta, Canada, have uncovered fossilized footprints they say provide the first evidence of different species of dinosaurs herding together—though not everyone is convinced. The finding was published Wednesday in PLOS One . The 76-million-year-old footprints tell the story of a small group of horned dinosaurs, called ceratopsians, that may have formed a Lord of the Rings-esque traveling party with an armored ankylosaurid and, perhaps, a small two-legged theropod. And like Tolkien's famous fellowship, this band of travelers may have been stalked by fearsome foes: a pair of large carnivorous tyrannosaurs. RTMP technician working on Skyline tracksite Photograph by Dr Brian Pickles, University of Reading In the summer of 2024, Brian Pickles , a paleontologist at the University of Reading in England and his colleague Phil Bell were searching for fossils in the park when they came across something strange sticking out of the ground. 'We'd gone out prospecting for bones and weren't having much luck,' says Pickles. But then Bell, a paleontologist from the University of New England in Australia, came across a raised rim of iron stone. 'He started poking around and realized that it was a dinosaur footprint.' The 48 hours that followed the find were a whirlwind of frantic excavation and profound discoveries that culminated in what he calls 'a revolution in dinosaur paleoecology at Dinosaur Provincial Park.' In a patch of land roughly the size of two parking spaces, the team was able to excavate over a dozen fossilized footprints. Unlike other dinosaur track sites where footprints often overlap, these tracks were evenly spaced and showed no signs of crowding. Based on their size, shape, and direction, the researchers concluded they were likely made by a mixed-species group of at least five dinosaurs walking together. The team also found the fossilized footprints of two large tyrannosaurs that may have been walking side-by-side near the herd. Digital Elevation Model of Skyline tracksite (elevation scale in m) and key tracks (scaled to relative elevation) Illustration by Dr Brian Pickles, University of Reading Were these apex predators working together to hunt? And was the herd formed as a way to defend against such predation? In the grasslands of Africa, lions will often follow mixed species herds of herbivores and work together to hunt them. Could these footprints have captured a similar situation unfolding? 'It's quite evocative to think of this situation as being similar to what we see on the African plains today,' says Pickles. 'We don't know the specific timing. The tyrannosaurs could have been there first.' 'Weak feet?' Some researchers not involved in the work questioned the team's conclusions. Anthony Romilio , a paleontologist at the University of Queensland in Australia, says that although some dinosaurs likely did form mixed-species herds, he disagrees with how the authors interpreted the footprints. 'As researchers, we're naturally drawn to the possibilities these fossils offer—but that excitement can sometimes lead to interpretive overreach,' Romilio says. In his view, the ceratopsian and ankylosaurid tracks look similar in shape, and he thinks they are more likely to be poorly preserved footprints of large-bodied hadrosaurs. 'That interpretation may not be as headline-grabbing, but it aligns better with what we know from both fossil footprints and trackways,' he says. Christian Meyer, a paleontologist from the University of Basel in Switzerland, is also skeptical, and calls the findings "speculative." "I find that the preservation of the tracks, including their taxonomic assignment, is on weak feet, as there are no complete trackways preserved that show also the walking pattern," he says. "Moreover, the interpretation of mixed herding is—given the facts—in my view a bit overstretched." Since the excavation that sparked this new study, Pickles and his colleagues say they have found over ten additional dinosaur trackways. With this many trackways, Pickles says, figuring out whether some dinosaurs formed mixed-species herds is just the beginning. 'There's potentially a lot more going on there than we've been able to expose so far,' he says.
Geek Feed
12-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Geek Feed
Jurassic World Rebirth D-Rex Based on Classic Star Wars Monster
Every Jurassic movie kind of has to introduce a new kind of dinosaur, and with the recent Jurassic World Rebirth , the film introduces a new mutant dino in the form of the D-Rex. As it turns out, director Gareth Edwards actually took some inspiration from a classic Star Wars monster to give the creature its final look. In a recent interview with Collider, Edwards confirms that the D-Rex is partly inspired from the Rancor in Return of the Jedi . He says: 'Basically, you took everything in a melting pot. It's really hard to come up with a monster idea. We put in a little bit of the Rancor from Star Wars. Don't tell people who work on Star Wars.' For context, the Rancor is the creature that lives in Jabba's Palace and was killed when Jabba tried to feed Luke to it; they also made an appearance in The Book of Boba Fett . Of course, the Rancor wasn't the only thing that inspired the D-Rex; the classic T-Rex is still in its DNA, and Edwards also confirmed that there's some inspiration from H.R. Geiger's designs for Alien . Edwards also asked the designers to have a look at David Lynch's Elephant Man to give the D-Rex a kind of 'suffering monster' feel. Some are actually speculating that Edwards wanted to put a Rancor in Rogue One , but just couldn't find a way to until he needed a giant monster for Jurassic World . Admittedly, Jurassic World Rebirth didn't get the most sparkling reviews, but the movie is still tearing it up in cinemas. I guess people just love to watch dinosaurs regardless of what the critics say. Catch Jurassic World Rebirth now screening in theaters.
Glasgow Times
10-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Glasgow Times
Cast and crew spotted filming on Glasgow street for BBC show
Production members and camera equipment lined the street as filming commenced for the new season of BBC comedy, Dinosaur. Created by Matilda Curtis and Ashley Storrie, it follows Nina, a woman in her 30s with autism, who adores her life living with her sister, Evie. The show also stars Kat Ronney as Evie, Kate Dickie and David Carlyle, with Still Game's Greg Hemphill and Sanjeev Kohli and River City's Sally Howitt in supporting roles. Ashley Storrie filming new series of Dinosaur in Glasgow's West End (Image: GordonTerris/Herald&Times) READ MORE: Filming crews take over Glasgow street for new BBC comedy Ashley was seen being filmed at the entrance to a tenement flat and on the streets outside. She was also spotted filming alongside Kat Rooney, who plays Evie in the show. In the previous series, Evie rushes into an engagement after only six weeks and makes Nina her maid of honour, Nina grapples with what this new challenge means, leading to a surprising journey of self-discovery. Kat Rooney and Ashley Storrie on set (Image: GordonTerris/Herald&Times) (Image: GordonTerris/Herald&Times) (Image: GordonTerris/Herald&Times) READ MORE: Still Game and River City stars join cast of sitcom filming in Glasgow READ MORE: Hundreds of homes water supply interrupted for hours In her 2019 Edinburgh Fringe show, Ashley said her own autism is "what makes me me ... I'm very good at hiding it. I've got what's called 'masking'. Ladies are very good at hiding autism, it's when we put on a muggle face and we can pretend to be normal.' BBC Comedy and BBC Scotland picked up the Glasgow-set six-part first series for BBC Three and the BBC Scotland Channel, and it's expected that the second season will be on the same platforms. Road restrictions have been in place since July 6 and will remain in effect until August 1. The restrictions are as follows: Prohibition of waiting, loading and unloadingFrom 15:00hrs on the 6 July 2025 until 20:00hrs on the 7 July 2025 Mansfield Street between property number 22 and Dumbarton Road Prohibition of vehicle movementsFrom 06:00hrs on the 7 July 2025 until 20:00hrs on the 7 July 2025 Mansfield Street between property number 22 and Dumbarton Road Prohibition of waiting, loading and unloadingFrom 15:00hrs on the 7 July 2025 until 21:00hrs on the 10 July 2025 Caird Drive, north side, between property number 20 and Hyndland Street Hyndland Street, west side, between Partickhill Rd and White Street Prohibition of vehicle movementsFrom 07:00hrs on the 8 July 2025 until 21:00hrs on the 10 July 2025 Caird Drive (loop) between property number 4 and 12 Prohibition of waiting, loading and unloadingFrom 15:00hrs on the 31 July 2025 until 19:00hrs on the 1 August 2025 Albert Road, north side, between property number 29 and Victoria Road Langside Road, west side, between property number 300 and Albert Road Langside Road, both sides, between Langside Lane and Albert Drive Prohibition of vehicle movementsFrom 10:00hrs on the 1 August 2025 until 20:00hrs on the 1 August 2025
Time of India
10-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Time of India
All Dinosaur pets in Roblox Grow a Garden
(Image via Roblox) With the new Prehistoric Event in Roblox Grow a Garden, the developers have introduced a brand-new Dinosaur Egg into the game. Through the same, you will be able to get a variety of new Dinosaur pets, including pets like T-Rex, who can turn out to be quite useful. The egg will be only active during the event, and you will have to act quick if you are wanting to get your hands on the Dinosaur-based pets inside Roblox Grow a Garden. Here are all the details regarding the Dinosaur pets in the game. How to get Dinosaur pets in Roblox Grow a Garden ALL DINOSAUR PETS!! in Grow a Garden ROBLOX Dinosaur Egg is the latest introduced in Grow a Garden, and it was made available inside the game on July 5, 2025. It is the primary means using which you will be able to get your hands on the six different Dinosaur pets. To acquire it, you will have to give pets to the designated NPC that is located at the Dinosaur Eggs station. You will have to wait an hour for the output, which can be either the egg or a pet (which has an extremely minimal chance). Apart from obtaining the Dinosaur Egg through this mean, you can also complete the different Dino Quests that are available as part of the Prehistoric Event in Roblox Grow a Garden. After you have received the specific egg inside the game, you can start the hatching procedure. The incubation period for the same is approximately 4 hours and 10 minutes. Once it hatches, you will be receiving any one of the six pets that are available as part of the egg. Here are the exact hatch chances of the six pets: Raptor: 35% chance to hatch Triceratops: 32.5% chance to hatch Stegosaurus: 28% chance to hatch Pterodactyl: 3% chance to hatch Brontosaurus: 1% chance to hatch T-Rex: 0.5% chance to hatch What are the abilities of the Dinosaur pets? Here is a detailed description of their abilities in Roblox Grow a Garden: Raptor: 14.5% increased player movement speed, while also having a 2.5% chance of applying the Amber Mutation to a fruit. Triceratops: Every 3:33 minutes, the pet rams into 3 plants, increasing their growth rate for a period of 33:33 minutes. Stegosaurus: Chance to duplicate harvest fruits, alongside a chance to copy prehistoric-themed fruits. Pterodactyl: Increases player jump height. Additionally, applies the Windstruck Mutation to nearby fruits. There is also a small chance of applying the Twisted Mutation. Brontosaurus: Boosts the base weight for the pets that are hatched. T-Rex: Consumes fruit and copies its mutations to other fruits. This is all you need to know about Dinosaur Pets in Roblox Grow a Garden. For real-time updates, scores, and highlights, follow our live coverage of the India vs England Test match here. Catch Manika Batra's inspiring story on Game On, Episode 3. Watch Here!
CBS News
29-06-2025
- Automotive
- CBS News
Vehicle fire causes wildland fire in Colorado, Highway 40 closed
Authorities in Colorado closed Highway 40 near Dinosaur on Sunday after a vehicle fire sparked a wildland fire in the area. According to the Colorado State Patrol, an RV with a Ford F-150 in tow caught fire on the highway around 1 p.m. near milepost 9, fully engulfing both of them in flames. This sparked a wildland fire, causing the closure of east and westbound traffic on Hwy 40 between Milepost 3 at Dinosaur and Milepost 11 at Blue Mountain. Officials have named the wildland fire the Spencer Fire. RV and truck destroyed by fire on Highway 40 Colorado State Patrol Smoke from Spencer Fire seen from Highway 40 Colorado State Patrol Firefighters working the Horse Draw Fire have responded to help the Artesia Fire Department with suppression efforts. The Moffat County Sheriff's Office asked drivers to avoid the area and allow emergency personnel to battle the fire. The sheriff's office advised drivers heading east to take Highway 64 as an alternate route, and those traveling west to take Moffat County Road 134. No injuries were reported in the vehicle fire.
