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 Posted: Mon Jun 13, 2016 6:06 pm
LunaRei_SilverBlood Hey! This is a two-ticket question, so it requires 6 sentences. You only have 5 currently. Feel free to repost with one more! biggrin LunaRei_SilverBlood Prize Preferences: 2 - reroll Prompt: BONUS What's so interesting about that? You mean aside from the fact that I knew next to nothing about Dinosaurs? XD I guess I never really thought that there was anything the Dinos could evolve from. I mean like, I knew of the what 3 main time periods and for Dinos. But There was life before that, and I know not knowing that will probably sound stupid but it's not really something someone thinks about, you know? Or even the idea of Archosaurs and all of that, The term Dinosaur was always just a generalized term until I start looking things up!
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Posted: Mon Jun 13, 2016 7:55 pm
Mr. Investi-Gator! Did you know that...?
Username: Rita Zyon
Prize Preferences: 5, 6, pass
Prompt: 8
What's so interesting about that? Paleontologists have discovered a variety of interesting things about dinosaurs by studying their fossil bones using histology. In Montana, a new study focused on looking at the histology of bone fossils from Maiasaura peeblesorum to determine the growth and life cycle of these dinosaurs. The paleontologists discovered that the Maiasaura peeblesorum have a growth rate similar to birds. They also discovered that the bone tissues of the Maiasaura peeblesorum are almost the same as the present day's bone tissues for warm-blooded species (very cool!). Due to the amount of information from this study, the Maiasaura peeblesorum could in turn be used as a comparative model for other dinosaur population biology studies.
Information from: http://www.techtimes.com/articles/91571/20151006/dinosaur-fossils-from-montana-reveal-how-the-maiasaura-lived-and-died.htm
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Posted: Tue Jun 14, 2016 10:28 am
Mr. Investi-Gator! Did you know that...?
Username: Celestial Requiem
Prize Preferences: 2, pass
Prompt: 4
What's so interesting about that? More than two-hundred million years is a lot of time for things to change, especially when it comes to evolution. Aetosaurs, for example, were ancient relatives of our modern day crocodilians but they had some characteristics we don't see in their descendants. For starters, they were herbivores and had erect limbs-as opposed to the sprawling limb posture of modern crocodilians. And while initially they were thought to be semi-aquatic, aetosaurs are now classified as having been entirely terrestrial.
Mr. Investi-Gator! Did you know that...?
Username: Celestial Requiem
Prize Preferences: 2, pass
Prompt: 5
What's so interesting about that? Every living creature has it's part to play in the ecosystem, and the same can be said for the ancient relatives of today's crocodilians. Aetosaurs filled the role of large herbivores, feeding predominantly on plants-though some may have eaten meat. Sphenosuchians were much smaller and carnivorous, meaning their diet mostly consisted of insects and other small animals. Rauisuchians are believed to have been one of the top predators of their time, making meals of some of the dinosaurs that roamed during the late triassic.
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Posted: Wed Jun 15, 2016 6:45 am
Mr. Investi-Gator! Did you know that...?
Username: stormflower
Prize Preferences: 2, 7, 1, 3, 4, reroll
Prompt: 1
Crocodiles, alligators, caimans, and gharials are all part of the order Crocodilia. What animals are the closest living evolutionary relatives to crocodilians? How do we know? (1 ticket)
What's so interesting about that? Crocodiles are the closest in relation to todays mostly 'frequent fliers', birds. The share a common ancestor that lived roughly 240 million years ago. A new study was led at UC Santa Cruz with crocodilian genomes finding an exceptionally slow rate of evolution. The research team used these genomes combined with newly published bird genomes to reconstruct a partial genome of the common ancestor of both birds, crocodiles, and even dinosaurs the Archosaurs.
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Posted: Wed Jun 15, 2016 6:46 am
Mr. Investi-Gator! Did you know that...?
Username: stormflower
Prize Preferences: 2, 7, 1, 3, 4, reroll
Prompt: 2
Poposaurids and rauisuchians are very interesting branches of the crocodilian evolutionary tree. Tell me about either poposaurids or rausuchians. Tell me about both for an extra ticket! (1-2 tickets)
What's so interesting about that? Poposaurids/Poposauridae is a family of large carnivorous archosaurs which lived with dinosaurs in the Late Triassic. They are known from found fossil remains found in both North and South America. They were originally thought to be theropod dinosaurs, but with cladistic analysis they were shown to be closer relations to crocodiles. All recent phylogenetic analyses place Postosuchus either as a rauisuchid [4] or a prestosuchid.
Rauisuchians is a group of large Triassic archosaurs belonging to a larger clade called Pseudosuchia. They had an erract gait with their legs beneath the body rather than sprawling outward. They lived throughout the Triassic period; like other large archosaurs the group died out in the Triassic-Jurassic extinction event. Well known rauisuchians include Ticinosuchus, Saurosuchus, and Postosuchus.
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Posted: Wed Jun 15, 2016 9:45 am
Mr. Investi-Gator! Did you know that...?
Username: Celestial Requiem
Prize Preferences: 2, pass
Prompt: 6
What's so interesting about that? Pigment coloration in bird feathers is not reliant on the structure of the feather itself, but instead is caused by colored material in the bird's cells. There are three different types of pigments that result in various colors of feathers: carotenoids, melanins, and porphyrines. Structural coloration, on the other hand, is the result of microscopic structures on the surface of the feathers that change the way light is reflected. This is the reason for iridescence in some feathers. As for knowing the color of dinosaurs based on the pigments found in fossilized feathers, it's a solid maybe. While melanin pigments have been discovered in fossilized feathers, it's questionable whether or not the pigments remained unchanged over hundreds of millions of years. There are other factors to consider when it comes to dinosaur coloration as well, such as diet.
Mr. Investi-Gator! Did you know that...?
Username: Celestial Requiem
Prize Preferences: 2, pass
Prompt: 7
What's so interesting about that? It's not often that much other than bones survives for millions of years, so when it does it's a huge discovery. In 2005 soft tissue containing collagen was discovered in the remains of a T-rex. This led to a surge in the search for soft tissues in other fossils. In the preceding years there have been a number of other finds such as red blood cells, amino acids, and other proteins.
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Posted: Wed Jun 15, 2016 4:04 pm
I have now won both a familiar and a soquili so I need to be removed from the raffle list. Thank you and good luck everyone!
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Posted: Wed Jun 15, 2016 4:14 pm
List updated to here! biggrin
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Posted: Wed Jun 15, 2016 6:55 pm
Thanks for the heads up, I apparently totally missed that DX
Mr. Investi-Gator! Did you know that...?
Username: LunaRei_SilverBlood
Prize Preferences: 2 - reroll
Prompt: BONUS
What's so interesting about that?
You mean aside from the fact that I knew next to nothing about Dinosaurs? XD I guess I never really thought that there was anything the Dinos could evolve from. I mean like, I knew of the what 3 main time periods and for Dinos. But There was life before that, and I know not knowing that will probably sound stupid but it's not really something someone thinks about, you know? Or even the idea of Archosaurs and all of that, The term Dinosaur was always just a generalized term until I start looking things up! I never realized really how complex the idea of dinosaurs was and especially how Crocodiles seemed to be similar to their ancestors from way back then.
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Posted: Thu Jun 16, 2016 9:57 am
Mr. Investi-Gator! Did you know that...?
Username: She-Ra of Etheria
Prize Preferences: 1, 4, 3, 2, 7, 5, 6
Prompt: 1
What's so interesting about that? The closest living relative to the members of the Crocodilia family are birds. We know this because they are the only known survivors of the Archosauria. The Archosauria, appeared about 250 million years ago.It was during the Mesozoic era that they diversified.
Mr. Investi-Gator! Did you know that...?
Username: She-Ra of Etheria
Prize Preferences: 1, 4, 3, 2, 7, 5, 6
Prompt: 2
What's so interesting about that? The group Rauisuchia consists of large Triassic Archosaurs. They belong to the blanch called Pseuadosuchia. They had legs oriented under their body which gave them an erect gait, this gait was often seen in dinosaurs. They lived throughout most of the Triassic period and died out during the Triassic-Jurassic extinction event.
Poposaurids lived during the late Triassic alongside dinosaurs. Their fossil remains are found in North and South America. They were originally believed to be theropod dinosaurs, however study showed they were closer related to crocodiles.
Mr. Investi-Gator! Did you know that...?
Username: She-Ra of Etheria
Prize Preferences: 1, 4, 3, 2, 7, 5, 6
Prompt: 3
What's so interesting about that? An example of an ancient reptile which evolved independently from crocodiles but was quite similar in many ways is the Phytosaur. Phytosaur was a large semi-aquatic reptile which lived during the late Triassic period.Like Crocodiles Phytosaurs evolved differant snout shapes. It is likely that crocodiles and Phytosaurs evolved similar traits due to having a similar diet.
Mr. Investi-Gator! Did you know that...?
Username: She-Ra of Etheria
Prize Preferences: 1, 4, 3, 2, 7, 5, 6
Prompt: 4
What's so interesting about that? Aetosaurs differed from crocodiles because they were entirely terrestrial. There is also evidence that they may have dug for their food, where as crocodiles wait to ambush their prey.
Rauisuchians differ from crocodiles as they had legs oriented beneath their body, while crocodiles have sprawling leg set. Sphenosuchians also had legs oriented under their body.
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Posted: Thu Jun 16, 2016 12:52 pm
Mr. Investi-Gator! Did you know that...?
Username: She-Ra of Etheria
Prize Preferences: 1, 4, 3, 2, 7, 5, 6
Prompt: 5
What's so interesting about that? The ancestors of crocodiles played a fairly important part in the ecosystem of the late Triassic. Creatures like rauisuchids were likely one of the top predators in the area, in the southern hemisphere they contributed to an ecosystem unbalance with too many predators competing for prey . Crocodile relatives in the northern hemisphere were also vying for position as top predators in the area until the Triassic ended and Dinosaurs filled the top predatory spaces in the food chain. The ancestors of crocodiles then moved on to fill the roles of smaller predators along the same lines as foxes and jackals today.
Mr. Investi-Gator! Did you know that...?
Username: She-Ra of Etheria
Prize Preferences: 1, 4, 3, 2, 7, 5, 6
Prompt: 6
What's so interesting about that? Pigment color is independent of the structure of the feather and is created by carotenoids, melanins, and porphyrines. Pigments are colored substances that can be found in both plants and animals. Structural color is created when light is refracted by the proteins of a feather such as the iridescent throat feathers of a hummingbird. Structural color can also be created by barbs or air pockets in feathers which scatter light. Knowing the pigment of dinosaur feathers is not enough to know the exact color that the dinosaur was but it can give us some hints as some pigments are associated with certain color ranges.
Mr. Investi-Gator! Did you know that...?
Username: She-Ra of Etheria
Prize Preferences: 1, 4, 3, 2, 7, 5, 6
Prompt: 7
What's so interesting about that? Reserchers have recently discovered many types of biological molecules from dinosaur fossils. In December 2015 researchers discovered blood vessels and red blood cells along with various other proteins. These samples were found from dinosaurs and other Mesozoic creatures. The dinosaurs from which samples have been obtained include hadrosaur and titanosaur.
Mr. Investi-Gator! Did you know that...?
Username: She-Ra of Etheria
Prize Preferences: 1, 4, 3, 2, 7, 5, 6
Prompt: 8
What's so interesting about that? By studying bone histology scientists have been able to learn a great deal about dinosaurs that could not be learned by simply looking at the shape of the bone. Scientists have used bone histology to learn about dinosaur growth rates and metabolism. Bone Histology has also revealed information about the age of sexual maturity and how old the dinosaur was when it died. Researchers have discovered that Maiasaura had bird like growth rates throughout most of its life but that its bone structure had more in common with modern da largem mammals such as elk.
Mr. Investi-Gator! Did you know that...?
Username: She-Ra of Etheria
Prize Preferences: 1, 4, 3, 2, 7, 5, 6
Prompt: Bonus
What's so interesting about that? Really, everything was interesting! I've know some things about living crocodiles before, being the nature buff that I am, but never really investigated their past. If I had to pick one thing, it would likely be finding out about their ancestors, like the rauisuchids. I had never even heard of them until this event and now I want to learn more. Although, I have to admit, learning about how feather coloring works was also really neat. It would be really awesome to know exactly what they looked like beyond the base shape of body. Overall, this was a great educational experience.
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Posted: Thu Jun 16, 2016 1:58 pm
Mr. Investi-Gator! Did you know that...?
Username: techabyte
Prize Preferences: 7 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 6 | 5 |
Prompt: 1
What's so interesting about that? Birds! I'm like, super shocked about this actually; I never would have known! Semi recently it was descovered that the archosaur evolved into our current corcs and birds. DNA researchers ( not fossil diggers! ) tracked back some species of bird DNA and croc DNA. They discovered that at least three ( saltwater crock, American Alligator, and the Indian Gharial ) were teaming with DNA that connected birds and crocs together. Pretty cool!
Mr. Investi-Gator! Did you know that...?
Username: techabyte
Prize Preferences: 7 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 6 | 5 |
Prompt: 2
What's so interesting about that? Poposaurids - They lived in the late triassic period, and were considered carnivorous dinosaurs. They were originally thought to be theropod dinosaurs, but upon further research turned out to be closer to crocodiles in relation. They're pretty interesting to look at. They appear to be like crocodiles with longer back legs for walking.
Rausuchians - Now these guys are neat! They belong to a larger clade ( or group of organisms ), called Pseudosuchia. Their legs developed under their bodies, rather than outward, giving them a different sort of style than most other dinosaurs. They lived mostly in the Triassic period, with some other archosaurs. After they died out, theropods became the large terrestrial predators.
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Posted: Thu Jun 16, 2016 2:08 pm
Mr. Investi-Gator! Did you know that...?
Username: o-Elixir-o
Prize Preferences: 1, 2, 4, 5, 6,
Prompt: 1
What's so interesting about that?
The closest living evolutionary relative to the crocodillians would be birds. They both share a common anscenstor called the archosaur. The archosaur was a ruling reptile that roamed the earth 250 million years ago. It is said to have looked very reptilian and dinosaur-ish before evolving into what we have today the crocodiles and birds.
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Posted: Thu Jun 16, 2016 2:09 pm
Mr. Investi-Gator! Did you know that...?
Username: o-Elixir-o
Prize Preferences: 1, 2, 4, 5, 6,
Prompt: 2
What's so interesting about that?
The Poposauridae a carnivours archosaur, that lived alongside the dinosaurs during the later triassic age. The fossil remains were discovered in North and South America. They once were believed to be theropod but further analysis showed they were more related to crocodiles. As for the Rauisuchia also a archosaur that lived during the triassic period. They died out along with the dinosaurs during the extinction. After the rauisuchia became extinct the theropod dinosaurs became the sole large predators.
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Posted: Thu Jun 16, 2016 3:59 pm
Mr. Investi-Gator! Did you know that...?
Username: Celestial Requiem
Prize Preferences: 2, pass
Prompt: 8
What's so interesting about that? We can learn a lot just from the tiniest sliver of bone from a fossil. Using this method, one scientist concluded that many dinosaurs could have reached maturity in significantly less time than had been previously thought. Another group of researchers discovered that size doesn't always tell how old a dinosaur was when it died. Instead, they used the growth lines in these thin sections to better determine the dinosaur's age.
Mr. Investi-Gator! Did you know that...?
Username: Celestial Requiem
Prize Preferences: 2, pass
Prompt: 3
What's so interesting about that? Phytosaurs were large, semi-aquatic with long, thin snouts and covered in thick, heavy scales. Sounds a lot like modern day crocodilians, right? And yet, even with all their similarities today's crocs aren't actually descendants of the phytosaurs. There was a gap for large, water-dwelling predators in the late-triassic and phytosaur stepped up to fill that gap. As the ecosystem around it changed, so did phytosaur-adapting and evolving in order to survive.
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