New Dinosaur 'Siats Meekerorum' Discovered In Utah 33
minty3 writes with word of the discovery of a new carnivorous dinosaur from a time when T-Rex's ancestors were the size of small dogs "Named Siats meekerorum, after the man-eating monster from the Ute tribal legend, the fossil belongs to a species of giant meat eaters known as carcharodontosaurs and is the second one discovered in North America. 'This thing is gigantic,' Lindsay Zanno, a paleontologist at North Carolina State University, who discovered the species, said. 'There's simply nothing even close in this ecosystem to the size of this animal that could've been interpreted as an apex predator.'"
CUTE! (Score:4, Funny)
I dunno.
I'm finding it hard to get scared by fuzzy dinosaurs. I mean, look at that picture. So soft and cuddly. You want to pet it. [nationalgeographic.com]
I don't think even Randall would be impressed.
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Just think of it as a petting zoo where YOU feed the animals.
In a way,reminiscent of the Restaurant at the end of the universe where the Beef takes your order .
I would hope it to evolve to pizza parlors with cold beer on tap.
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how about a page without login? (Score:4, Informative)
here you guys go http://www.natureworldnews.com/articles/5036/20131122/siats-meekerorum-new-carnivorous-dinosaur-species-kept-t-rex-check.htm [natureworldnews.com]
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Huh what logon? Wait you don't browse the the web without noscript do you?
Though I agree, this is actually a dick move. I fired the page up in another browser and it won't let you bypass it at all. Very VERY average from a media company like National Geographic which I actually respect somewhat.
Re:how about a page without login? (Score:4, Informative)
So that little "X" up in the upper right corner of the pop up window didn't do it for you?
I read the story without having to register. They made it simple to close the "we'd like you to register" pop up - I've got no complaints about the site.
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if you have visited the site before it won't allow you to close the window and forces you to create an account or login
Ironic, Utah doesn't believe in dinosaurs! (Score:2, Insightful)
Always like when evolution enforcing finds are found in Utah.
Leaps of Imagination (Score:5, Interesting)
It always amazes me, the staggering conclusions not just the media but the scientists themselves draw from such sketchy evidence.
Three-clawed, they say (as opposed to T-Rex's two) .. but with NO, repeat, NO hand bones. Not a trace of the head: do we even KNOW it's a carnivore?
Yeah, I know .. if you want to get published, you have to use a little imagination. Still ...
I submit that Siats probably would enjoy a nice tea and biscuit snack if he were still around.
Re:Leaps of Imagination (Score:4, Informative)
but with NO, repeat, NO hand bones
They have bones from the hands and feet. There is a diagram in the Nature article, which doesn't require the subscription to see.
Not a trace of the head: do we even KNOW it's a carnivore?
The rest of the skeleton is incredibly similar to other carnivores. It is possible some side branch evolved back to not being a carnivore, but it is probably a pretty safe guess that this one didn't deviate that much. A drastic change in diet would be a bigger deal than a change in the number of digits.
Re:Leaps of Imagination (Score:4, Funny)
You must've missed the mention of a steak knife and bottle of A-1 that was also found with the skeleton.
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After I finish a meal, there is sometimes a steak knife and a bottle of A-1 left with a skeleton. This is not generally a reliable indicator that said skeleton originally supported a carnivore.
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They assume that since it appears to be related to another dinosaur it looks like that other dinosaur.
Distinctive anatomic features on the bones mark Siats as a newly recognized type of predator called a neovenatorid, cousins of the earlier, well-known Allosaurus.
It would have been better if they admitted that they really have a time machine, but they aren't talking.
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Okay, tell you what: bury half a human skeleton in your yard, call the cops, and tell them you've found some interesting bones but you're not sure what they are. Be sure to let us know what happens next.
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Because you have no clue how anatomy works?
We have thousands of fossils and skeletons of dinosaurs so we do know how the skeletons of those animals looks like. And it's not like every species is different, all Tetrapods following the same basic skeleton plan. Palaeontologist have enough knowledge and expertise to identify the species of a single bone correctly and if you can find some teeth you already know if it's a carnivore or herbivore.
It's basically Tetrapods>Reptiliomorpha>Amniota>Diapsida
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I would start by using my rope to tie up the idiot who decided to clone a gigantic top predator, put it in a half-assed cage, and invite me over to see a "surprise." Hopefully, while Mr. Meekeycheeks was eating the little snack I left tied up for him, I'll have time to position myself on the opposite side of something much larger, slower moving, and delicious looking.
misread as "SLats' (Score:2)
That way, the name sounds vaguely like a neighborhood bully in a Mike Royko column :-)
New dinosaurs? (Score:1)