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Author Topic:   Pterodactyl Intermediate
New Cat's Eye
Inactive Member


Message 1 of 13 (530706)
10-14-2009 3:19 PM


Darwinopterus: New flying dinosaur discovered that could fill evolutionary gap | Daily Mail Online
quote:
Researchers say the discovery plugs an evolutionary gap in pterodactyls - which has baffled scientists for decades - by explaining how they developed so quickly.
quote:
Darwinopterus was terrifying 2ft long hawk-like creature had huge talons that were used to snare other pterodactyls and flying mammals in mid air and pin them to the ground.
The flying dinosaur then used its powerful head and long jaw with rows of 15cm fangs to tear chunks of flesh from its victims.
Two variations of the reptile have long been known about - the primitive long-tailed forms and their short-tailed descendants.
However they were separated by a large time gap, identified in the time of Darwin, that had never before been filled.
But these skeletons dated around 160million years old has helped fill the gap.
quote:
'What's so incredible about the fossil is that this new group of pterodactyl sits in the middle of the family tree.
'We had the grandfather and grandson type of pterodactyls and we were confused as to how they evolved but now we have the father which had been the missing link between them.
New intermediate... pretty cool.

They go on about modular evolution and the possibility of its involvement in human evolution.
quote:
The discovery shows that large parts of dinosaurs bodies such as the head and body 'morphed' rapidly over a short period of time.
This dispels Darwin's theory that small body parts such as a finger nail or tooth change gradually and could explain how humans developed so quickly from mammals.
Scientists believe that this controversial type of 'modular evolution' will prove that there were hundreds and thousands more dinosaurs alive that have never been discovered.
It could also explain how mammals and humans evolved new body parts so quickly after dinosaurs died out in the Ice Age.

Replies to this message:
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Adminnemooseus
Administrator
Posts: 3974
Joined: 09-26-2002


Message 2 of 13 (530714)
10-14-2009 3:33 PM


Thread Copied from Links and Information Forum
Thread copied here from the Pterodactyl Intermediate thread in the Links and Information forum.

  
Coragyps
Member (Idle past 734 days)
Posts: 5553
From: Snyder, Texas, USA
Joined: 11-12-2002


Message 3 of 13 (530720)
10-14-2009 4:01 PM
Reply to: Message 1 by New Cat's Eye
10-14-2009 3:19 PM


Eeek! That is some crap science reporting!
It could also explain how mammals and humans evolved new body parts so quickly after dinosaurs died out in the Ice Age.
The {two-foot long} flying dinosaur {O RLY?) then used its powerful head and long jaw with rows of 15cm {six-inch} fangs to tear chunks of flesh from its victims.

This message is a reply to:
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Replies to this message:
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 Message 7 by Blue Jay, posted 10-15-2009 8:57 AM Coragyps has not replied

  
New Cat's Eye
Inactive Member


Message 4 of 13 (530721)
10-14-2009 4:05 PM
Reply to: Message 3 by Coragyps
10-14-2009 4:01 PM


Eeek! That is some crap science reporting!
Word.
its not even a dinosaur >.<
And the stuff about human evolution seemed to just be sensationalizing... I didn't even want to post the title of the article.
BUT... I do think that finding another intermediate is pretty cool.

This message is a reply to:
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bluegenes
Member (Idle past 2476 days)
Posts: 3119
From: U.K.
Joined: 01-24-2007


Message 5 of 13 (530723)
10-14-2009 4:07 PM
Reply to: Message 1 by New Cat's Eye
10-14-2009 3:19 PM


Science journalism
Daily Mail "journalist" writes:
The discovery shows that large parts of dinosaurs bodies such as the head and body 'morphed' rapidly over a short period of time.
This dispels Darwin's theory that small body parts such as a finger nail or tooth change gradually and could explain how humans developed so quickly from mammals.
Scientists believe that this controversial type of 'modular evolution' will prove that there were hundreds and thousands more dinosaurs alive that have never been discovered.
It could also explain how mammals and humans evolved new body parts so quickly after dinosaurs died out in the Ice Age.
Interesting stuff, CS. Not your fault, of course, but the Daily Mail is one of our crappiest British rags, unfortunately. This particular "journalist" seems to think that humans are no longer mammals, and that dinosaurs died out in the ice age.
But, thanks to the Royal Society, we can read the actual paper in an online-before-print publication from yesterday.
Evidence for modular evolution in a long-tailed pterosaur with a pterodactyloid skull

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bluegenes
Member (Idle past 2476 days)
Posts: 3119
From: U.K.
Joined: 01-24-2007


Message 6 of 13 (530724)
10-14-2009 4:10 PM
Reply to: Message 3 by Coragyps
10-14-2009 4:01 PM


Coragyps writes:
Eeek! That is some crap science reporting!
I see you beat me to it while I was reading the paper (link above).

This message is a reply to:
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Blue Jay
Member (Idle past 2697 days)
Posts: 2843
From: You couldn't pronounce it with your mouthparts
Joined: 02-04-2008


Message 7 of 13 (530846)
10-15-2009 8:57 AM
Reply to: Message 3 by Coragyps
10-14-2009 4:01 PM


Another crocoduck!
There's a better article here, from ScienceDaily: they stayed away from dinosaurs, the Ice Age and human evolution.
The article also has a picture of Darwinopterus hunting an Anchiornis (the primitive bird that predated Archaeopteryx): I thought that was a nice touch.

-Bluejay (a.k.a. Mantis, Thylacosmilus)
Darwin loves you.

This message is a reply to:
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tuffers
Member (Idle past 5275 days)
Posts: 92
From: Norwich, UK
Joined: 07-20-2009


Message 8 of 13 (530863)
10-15-2009 10:23 AM
Reply to: Message 1 by New Cat's Eye
10-14-2009 3:19 PM


Thank you
Hi Catholic Scientist
I just want to thank you for posting the link to the Daily Mail article. I haven't laughed quite so much at someone's complete ignorance for ages.

This message is a reply to:
 Message 1 by New Cat's Eye, posted 10-14-2009 3:19 PM New Cat's Eye has not replied

Replies to this message:
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 Message 10 by caffeine, posted 10-16-2009 5:55 AM tuffers has replied

  
Larni
Member (Idle past 163 days)
Posts: 4000
From: Liverpool
Joined: 09-16-2005


Message 9 of 13 (530888)
10-15-2009 12:33 PM
Reply to: Message 8 by tuffers
10-15-2009 10:23 AM


Re: Thank you
Makes me proud to be British

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caffeine
Member (Idle past 1024 days)
Posts: 1800
From: Prague, Czech Republic
Joined: 10-22-2008


Message 10 of 13 (531094)
10-16-2009 5:55 AM
Reply to: Message 8 by tuffers
10-15-2009 10:23 AM


The wonders of the Daily Mail
If you want to keep on laughing, just read the Mail regularly or, better yet, check Mail Watch for updates on their most ridiculous articles. A quote from Mail Watch's most recent blog post says all you need to know about the highbrow quality of this paper:
quote:
Suri Cruise is the three-year-old daughter of actors Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes. She’s famous for.being the three-year-old daughter of actors Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes. And yet the Daily Mail sees fit to print pictures of her going about her everyday life on a regular basis.
A quick check on the Mail’s website would reveal 8 stories in the last 3 weeks alone (2 on the 12th October !), featuring such newsworthy stories as Suri playing hide and seek and a downright disturbing article inviting the reader to scrutinise the child’s ‘kitten heels’. In fact, using the Mail’s own Explore Suri Cruise (the irony of the page name is not lost on me) reveals that in her three years, Suri has been referred to in no fewer than 81 stories.

This message is a reply to:
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Replies to this message:
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tuffers
Member (Idle past 5275 days)
Posts: 92
From: Norwich, UK
Joined: 07-20-2009


Message 11 of 13 (531102)
10-16-2009 6:53 AM
Reply to: Message 10 by caffeine
10-16-2009 5:55 AM


Re: The wonders of the Daily Mail
Thanks for that Mail Watch link, I'll put it straight in my "favourites".
Before we get slapped on the wrist for going off-topic, the funniest (or most disturbing) thing I ever saw in the Daily Mail was about 10 years ago. It was during the big media scare about paedophiles running amoke in society. There was a huge front page article about how terrible child pornography is (and I certainly don't disagree on that, although the whole paedophile thing was over-hyped) but then in the Health Section on the centre pages they had a full centre-fold photograph of a naked man holding a naked child against his genitals! I have no idea what that is supposed to do with the subject of Health! The photo was very styled and obviously supposed to be a something the readers would enjoy looking at. What the *@$# was going on there?!?
Your account of their obsession with a 3-year-old girl only seems to emphasise that something very disturbing is going on at that paper.

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New Cat's Eye
Inactive Member


Message 12 of 13 (531166)
10-16-2009 11:18 AM


Dang. I just thought the find was neat. I'd never heard of the Daily Mail before, it was just a link from a link.
I realized the shittiness of the article, but didn't think it become the focus of the thread.
Thanks to those who supplied the better links.
And your welcome to those who got a laugh.

Replies to this message:
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Perdition
Member (Idle past 3237 days)
Posts: 1593
From: Wisconsin
Joined: 05-15-2003


Message 13 of 13 (531205)
10-16-2009 1:35 PM
Reply to: Message 12 by New Cat's Eye
10-16-2009 11:18 AM


Dang. I just thought the find was neat.
I agree, and I was worried that some of the posters laughing at the link would come across as laughing at the find itself. I'm glad to see that isn't the case.

This message is a reply to:
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