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| -Short Attention Span Theater- |
| Dinosaur sucked up food like a vacuum |
| 2007-11-19 |
| Perhaps it was one of those eureka moments, when the scientists realized they had discovered a new dinosaur with mouth parts designed to vacuum up food. The 110 million-year-old plant eater, discovered in the Sahara Desert, was to be unveiled Thursday by the National Geographic Society. Discoverer Paul Sereno named the elephant-sized animal Nigersaurus taqueti, an acknowledgment of the African country Niger and a French paleontologist, Philippe Taquet. So much for carbon dating. It's only 45 years old, the American public has been familiar with it for years, and they refer to it as Rosie O'Donnell. Sereno, a National Geographic explorer-in-residence and paleontologist at the University of Chicago, said the first evidence of Nigersaurus was found in the 1990s and now researchers have been able to reconstruct its skull and skeleton. While Nigersaurus' mouth is shaped like the wide intake slot of a vacuum, it has something lacking in most cleaners -- hundreds of tiny, sharp teeth to grind up its food. Electrolux vacuums had them decades ago. They're called "carpet gleaners". :-| The 30-foot-long Nigersaurus had a feather-light skull held close to the ground to graze like an ancient cow. Sereno described it as a younger cousin of the North American dinosaur Diplodicus. Yeah, about what's been observed of Rosie so far. Its broad muzzle contained more than 50 columns of teeth lined up tightly along the front edge of its jaw. Behind each tooth more were lined up as replacements when one broke off. Using CT scans the researchers were able study the inside of the animal's skull where the orientation of canals in the organ that helps keep balance disclosed the habitual low pose of the head, they reported. Nigersaurus also had a backbone consisting of more air than bone. Much like the skull, I suppose. "The vertebrae are so paper-thin that it is difficult to imagine them coping with the stresses of everyday use -- but we know they did it, and they did it well," Jeffrey Wilson, assistant professor at the University of Michigan and an expedition team member, said in a statement. Yeah, how Rosie's vertebrae don't collapse has been quite a mystery and the subject of many a conversation in the US, too. The dinosaur's anatomy and lifestyle were to be detailed in the November 21 issue of journal PLoS ONE, the online journal from the Public Library of Science, and in the December of National Geographic magazine. You do not want to go into it's anatomy. Trust me. The first bones of Nigersaurus were picked up in the 1950s by French paleontologists, but the species was not named at that time. Sereno and his team honored this early work by naming the species after Taquet. The research was partly funded by National Geographic. |
| Posted by:gorb |
| #7 "Dinosaur sucked up food like a vacuum" C'mon, guys - calling Mikey Moore a dinosaur is rude. He ain't that old.... |
| Posted by: Barbara Skolaut 2007-11-19 22:48 |
| #6 Yeah, how Rosie's vertebrae don't collapse has been quite a mystery and the subject of many a conversation in the US, too. I beg your pardon! Can't collapse what ain't there! |
| Posted by: twobyfour 2007-11-19 19:15 |
| #5 Wilma had one of these trained to vacuum her carpet on the Flintstones. |
| Posted by: Injun Flavise8457 2007-11-19 14:20 |
| #4 I'm sure the female Nigersaurus taqueti was a coveted dinosaur mate... |
| Posted by: tu3031 2007-11-19 10:08 |
| #3 There still remains one clear distinction between Nigersaurus taqueti and Rosie O'Donnell. The dinosaur was probably much more attractive. |
| Posted by: Zenster 2007-11-19 09:46 |
| #2 Using CT scans the researchers were able study the inside of the animal's skull where the orientation of canals in the organ that helps keep balance disclosed the habitual low pose of the head, they reported. they also helped it vocalize: "first time ever, in history, that fire melted steel" |
| Posted by: Frank G 2007-11-19 08:58 |
| #1 Dinosaurs sucked. |
| Posted by: JFM 2007-11-19 08:47 |