Monday, May 2, 2016

A New Baby Ancestor

How large is the baby of one of the largest creatures to walk the planet earth? Not that large as it turns out. In an article in Science, scientists discuss a fossil of a baby long-necked dinosaur (Rapetosaurus) that was recently discovered in Madagascar [1]. Initially mistaken for a crocodile fossil, the partial skeleton of the baby dinosaur suggests that the creature was only a few weeks old when it died, and weighed approximately 7.7 lbs. (3.5 kilograms). This would be a healthy weight for a human baby, but is surprisingly small for the offspring of an animal many times the size of an adult human once fully grown [2].




Despite being comparable in size to the babies of rhinos and hippos, the Rapetosaurus grows to be substantially larger. This discovery is illustrative of the many wonders of animal physiology found on Madagascar, and the lessons we still have to learn from "the eighth contenent." 

-Michal (aka MadaMike)

[1]  http://www.australianetworknews.com/scientists-find-baby-long-necked-dinosaur-in-madagascar/
[2]  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_body_weight


1 comment:

  1. YESSSS!!! The article mentions a provenance of the Maevarano Formation? Not to get our hopes up, but if this formation is where the map below suggests, near Mahajunga, we should keep our eyes open wide as an aye aye's, just in case...

    Map: http://www.macalester.edu/academics/geology/People/Ray/map.jpg

    We never know whom will find what, and when, do we? A farmer found fossils of a distant relative (?) of this Malagasy titanosaur in Patagonia in 2012. So large it doesn't quite fit in one of the American Museum of Natural History's largest rooms, weighing an estimated 10 ELEPHANTS!

    It's amazing that something so large could possibly begin life at a humanoid scale. Thanks for sharing this article, Michael!

    AMNH'S new colossus: http://www.amnh.org/about-the-museum/press-center/gigantic-dinosaur-inspires-new-permanent-exhibit-at-the-american-museum-of-natural-history

    70 tons? http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/massive-titanosaur-biggest-dinosaur-ever-found-squeezes-into-museum-of-natural-history/

    (Emma)

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