[Non-Ceph] Bits 'n Pieces

[um...]

More stuff from the UK...

Here's an article about the oldest known wildfire, a great, uh, conflagration during the Silurian.

It's more interesting than you think.

:x

 

[spartacus]

hi all, with regards to um...'s Silurian wildfire which was accurately described as being more interesting than the title, I recall some theorising over the demise of our dinosaur friends related to falling oxygen levels
Apparently, Cretaceous amber samples containing air bubbles were analysed sorry, tested & found oxygen content to be in the region of 25%. It was also stated that normally aspirated dinosaurs breathed by muscular articulation of the ribs not by use of a diaphragm. The fossil record shows the the dinosaurs were well on their way out prior to the Chicxulub impact & as oxygen levels fell due to various other events, the dinosaurs breathing apparatus was not up to the task & they wheezed & spluttered out of existence, ‘scuse for a sec, I’m filling up !
Absolute accuracy of the above is not guaranteed as is a recollection of data supplied by Auntie on “Horizon”

spanking plesiosaur find by the way.

 

[Phil]

Absolute accuracy of the above is not guaranteed as is a recollection of data supplied by Auntie on “Horizon”

Horizon seems to be emphasising sensationalism over science at the moment, don't you think? the BBC seem to love putting scientists at loggerheads, doubtless misrepresenting their views via judicious editing for the sake to create an on-screen argument. Did you see that one about T-Rex a couple of months ago? I had to laugh when a Triceratops vertebra was shown that had been bitten on the underside, thus "proving" that T-Rex must have been a scavenger rather than a hunter. The argument was that the bite would have been on the top surface on the bone if the T-Rex had attacked it whilst alive. Excuse me, here? What killed the Triceratops in the first place? It might not have been old age!

Oh dear....oh dear....

the dinosaurs breathing apparatus was not up to the task & they wheezed & spluttered out of existence, ‘scuse for a sec, I’m filling up !

He he, reminds of that Larson cartoon!

 

[spartacus]

As our illustrious moderator in Fossils & History, you are absolutely spot on !
Dumbing down is the way to go it seems as we spiral downwards into MDF & reality tv.
As for rash, unscientific claims, I can prove that Jurassic trees grew almost horizontally ! Liar, heretic & blasphemer I hear you cry but no !!
The holes in Durdle Door are where trees once grew in days long past
& in which plane do they lie so ner !
Farley cartoon comes to mind as well.

 

[um...]

And now (finally) something very cool from :

Ancient arthropod caught moulting

 

[Phil]

Thanks um...

It's quite understandable that the public are not allowed to collect from the Burgess Shale, and quite right too given its extreme scientific importance and rarity. Marrella though? I've read that those things are so common that they are just left on the slopes these days uncollected to be frost-cracked into oblivion, which seems a pity. A lot of revenue and interest could be generated from the sale of these unwanted specimens, wouldn't we all like one for a few dollars?

(Just looked it up), this tiny blind arthropod Marrella accounts for nearly 40% of the specimens collected at the Shale and I can't believe no-one has found one moulting before, I expect that there are dozens of them sitting in drawers; after all the Burgess Shale and other Cambrian sites are some of the most studied invertebrate faunas in the world.

Interesting, thanks!

(By the way, Spartacus, Lulworth Cove and Durdle Door are lovely spots. Had a nice day out there a few years ago)

 

[spartacus]

thanks um..., I always find it strange that with each new discovery someone is quoted as saying "we didn't believe this was possible"
I'm a fan of chaos theory where anything can be assumed as possible, no blinkers here

We are blessed in the UK where our primary collecting sites are subject to coastal erosion & I believe all significant finds would be reported by responsible collectors. Who'd turn down the chance of a little glory ?

Phil, I find the whole of the south coast absolutely fascinating. Dr ? Ian West's site is a must for anyone interested geologically or palaeontologically - phew

Geology of the Wessex Coast, Southern England by Ian West - Index and Home Page

 

[Phil]

I am not too keen on discussing vertebrate fossils here because it is obviously a vast subject and we should really stick to molluscs, this being an octopus news magazine afterall.....but I've heard rumblings of an extremely important discovery to be announced later this month or next month.

Lets just say:

Solnhofen
Dinosaur/Bird link
Feathers
We all learned about it at school
Creationists don't like it.

Will post more when it is confirmed.....

 

[spartacus]

This was supposed to be a "Ceph" related post but it was not to be

Sunday 27th June, 11.00am arrived at Hunstanton Cliff car park. The racing Rover panted & gasped for breath as the horses had not been spared during the journey. With wife & son & heir in tow, our aim to peruse & pick the famous "Cretaceous Nougat Formation" in old Hunstanton town for fossiliferous remnants of that period & we were soooooo keen you could bag it & tag it.

We were dressed to suit the wild north Norfolk coast & stoutly suited & booted but it was boiling as this summers Arctic blast (the Freezerbreeze) had failed to arrive, blue rinsed grannies swooned under the shade of Fisons fertilizer bags & teenies frollicked in bikinis

Down on the beach we stood transfixed before the majesty of the towering Nougat cliffs & were greeted by the sounds of the local folk who could be heard enquiring of each other "are yore roit deeya ?" as they huddled in the shade at the base of the crumbling chalk face, discussing genetics, feasting on Bernard Matthews turkey drummers & fanning each other with the notice boards warning them not to sit at the base of the cliffs as they were prone to jettison large particulates, some helped by fulmars nesting in the fissures
Ammonites, a particular fave of mine are noted as being present at the venue but we searched hi & we searched low but dagnabbit, not a sossarge, just some coral & brachiopods dog turds :x & the most monumental cloudburst to be witnessed by modern man this week. Rivulets of precipitation flowed through every gully created where two muscle groups form a gorge
The boy wonder was a shivering drowned rat & a timeout was declared so we popped round to see H.M. Liz II for ginger beer & cucumber sandwiches with real butter in, not "stripey" veg oil & liposuction !

Next week: Levington/Ramsholt perhaps, non-ceph I'm afraid but you can get crabs.

 

[Phil]

Sorry to hear about your lack of success, Spartacus. Perhaps you should have kept a watch behind you though?

Better luck next time.

P

 

[spartacus]

PUKKARAMA wise wizard of the Paintshop Pro-V, majestic !
I realise that you need to mind your back round these parts where livestock both ovine & porcine are fleet of foot but sheesh !

I've been spoiled having started my quest at the Liassic Cathedral of Ammon in Dorset & there are whispers on the wind......

 

[Tintenfisch]

Seems our recently appreciated WK may have had some large forefathers in the UK...

 

[spartacus]

Well done young messenger, you have solved the mystery of the "hush hush something big came out at Pakefield" whispers. It was on my shortlist for a visit but it's probably been sealed off by the Feds now.

We bummed out in the Euro footy but we had the biggest hippos Kiboko Megalogob

 

[Tintenfisch]

More big bones...

 

[spartacus]

Pakefield mystery is still a mystery as Kiboko grande came from inland quarry !? not Pakefield !
is this what Phil was hinting of ? you can never have too many bones, ask any octopus but if they put these together wrong we could see the 1st ever

Velocitortoise