Review and photographs by Brandon

Back in February during the time of the 2009 Toy Fair, Sideshow Toys revealed that they were going to include in addition to their many lines a series of their own called “Sideshow’s Dinosauria.” I was extremely pleased with the first two offerings, Tyrannosaurus rex vs. Triceratops Diorama & the Carnotaurus Maquette. This was truly a treat to behold because not only am I a big Sideshow collector but I adore Prehistoric Life and especially the Dinosaurs. If you don’t know whom Sideshow is, they are tremendous at sculpting and they specialize in 1/6 scale or 12″ figures of Star Wars & G.I. Joe to name a couple and also distribute equally sculpted Hot Toys figures in the same scale. Now, the Brachiosaurus Egg Ornament is different from a maquette and really is unlike anything any company has made previously. It was something that I had to own and in order to obtain it you have two options, one, buy one of their selected items and get it free or actually purchase it for $14.99. I chose the latter. Now, see what My commentary says about it!

The baby Sauropod hatchling Christmas and/or Holiday ornament is stuffed in a familiar Sideshow Dinosauria box with the line’s name within the logo. The packaged plastic bagged piece is protected nicely in two Styrofoams that are taped with a sticker of Sideshow’s customer service number on it. However, it does not indicate what dinosaur is in the box, either this was a rush job or they followed the trend of non-labeled Christmas items? Nevertheless, its an attractive box and protects the hatchling very well!

The size of the ornament is about three and a half inches tall and around two pounds.

The sculpting of the new born “Arm Lizard” is so top notch, its one of the absolute greatest dinosaur pieces I’ve seen! As I previously stated, the Brachiosaurus is a baby, just hatching out of its egg trying to emerge onto the Earth and not only does the prehistoric animal have great sculpting but even the egg does!

This Macronaria member looks totally accurate as if it really is a tiny Brachiosaur lost in time. Sculpted by Sideshow’s Paleoartists, they sure did their homework! This ancient megafauna is almost rolled up in a ball with its long neck & head curled onto its large stomach with its right hind limb & foot showing. The tail is wrapped around its back and located throughout on the body there is many creases and bumps similar like warts. The most fascinating aspect of the entire baby is its head. Its large raised cranium is perfectly visible and the nostrils are placed one on each side and is at a great depth. I completely love that the left eye is closed and the right eye is slightly opened, perhaps for the first time, it adds so much realism!

As I’ve mention previously, the egg itself is also sculpted marvelously. There’s many tiny lumps here and there and some cracks around the shell in the back and the right side but especially the left because there are some major breakage present as if the little one actually did it himself. One thing I really like about the egg is its inner section, the skin is perfectly even with the thickness of the hard shell and the effect is pulled off quite effectively!

The paint applications on the dinosaur as well as on the egg is applied very carefully with no bleeding, blotches, smears or anything to mess it up. The little creature has several colors to him which are green, tan, orange-yellow, and black. He’s got a color scheme mixture of a Micrurus fulvius (Coral Snake) & Panthera tigris (Tiger) going on, of course this is very theoretical that it carries both and its a possibly that this was true because of the theropsid and sauropsid linage split. The egg is colored dark white with dark blue spots almost everywhere on the shell. The inner skin of the egg is of a peachy color depicting a possible correct color from knowing known modern species. The Sideshow’s Dinosauria logo is also painted greatly where you can clearly see the name of the line and also see a hint of a massive Brachiosaurid skeleton! Indeed, I’m quite impressed with the painting on this ornament.

As for the ornament feature, there is a very small metal loop screwed in on the side or behind the baby if you prefer with a strong silver loop to hang on your Christmas tree.

Overall, this is a magnificent piece I’d recommend this to any dinosaur collector and/or lover whether you want it for your collection or for the purpose of hanging it for the holidays or for both reasons. It lightweight, sculpted superbly, painted greatly, appears realistic and its very affordable. To think that all of Sideshow’s Dinosauria collectibles that have been released and upcoming are all from the Cretaceous but it took an ornament to unveil a species from the Jurassic. As I speak, you can currently purchase this cute Brachiosaurus baby at Sideshow right now!

Review and photos by Dan Liebman

Having released their premier piece in the form of the “Tyrannosaurus vs. Triceratops” diorama, Sideshow continues to build on their new Dinosauria product line with this second statue. Choosing the Carnotaurus as a subject matter seems a bit of a surprise, although the species did achieve some level of popular recognition after appearing in Disney’s “Dinosaur” in 2000. Although we know a great deal about the animal’s appearance, the Carnotaurus remains something of a freak among theropod dinosaurs. It possessed a relatively long neck, thin jaw, smallish head, tiny forearms, and forward-facing eyes. The distinctive brow horns are what give the creature its name, which means “flesh-eating bull”.

Interestingly, Sideshow has eschewed the potentially pretentious characteristics of a diorama piece. Instead, the Carnotaurus appears by itself, in what the company refers to as a “maquette” statue. Logistically, this is still a very similar piece. The polystone figure has a sturdy metal peg sticking out the bottom of one foot. This is carefully maneuvered into a hole in the base, which provides all the stability necessary to display a deceptively precarious-looking statue.

This durable design allows the dynamic qualities of the scene to become instantly apparent. The Carnotaurus is posed in a full run, charging forward with jaws agape, powerful legs and massive feet propelling it across a parched, cracked landscape. Sharp-eyed observers will notice a smaller three-toed trackway moving concurrently with the Carnotaur; whether these prints could be from a prey animal remains open to interpretation. A single stray log decorates the earthen base; it is otherwise a monochromatic foundation that keeps the eye appropriately focused on the action at hand.

Naturally, the head of the beast becomes the main focal point, and the artists know this. As such, it is detailed lavishly in knobby osteoderms, bony scutes, and a startling arrangement of genuinely sharp teeth. Both the tongue and the roof of the mouth glisten realistically, while the eyes convey the intangible terror of an ancient predator; something that is not especially intelligent, but doesn’t really need to be.

The notoriously tiny arms of the Carnotaurus point directly toward its posterior. It is hard to say if this animal could comfortably hold its arms in such a position, but given the intensity of the scene, it is likely this aspect was intended to convey the animal’s sudden acceleration. The feet appear appropriately avian, from their leathery texture right down to the dewclaws. While Sideshow’s premier Dinosauria statue seemed to possess a relatively smooth appearance in the feet of the animals, this Carnotaurus is lacking no such detail. Even the toes and ventral surfaces of the animal demonstrate excellent texturing. The toe claws have a slight sheen, impressively simulating the horny sheath that would have formed over the claws in life.

The Carnotaurus sastrei is also one of the few dinosaurs for which fossilized impressions of skin have been discovered. This pebbly surface is visible in many areas of the Carnotaurus maquette, suggesting the artistic team (which included Steve Riojas) has indeed done their homework. The predominantly sandy hue of the animal is complemented by brown patterns across the dorsal surfaces, imitating the “break up” of color that is often seen in ambush predators. One of the more subtle elements of the creature’s palette includes a set of cool colors. Dark blues run down the feet, while the flanks are deeply tinged in green. This further accentuates the primeval characteristics of the Carnotaurus, a massive predator of reptilian lineage that is both believable and beautiful to gaze upon.

Time will tell just how long this reconstruction of the Carnotaurus is considered scientifically accurate. For the time being, there isn’t very much to complain about. It’s the most affordable (and possibly the most impressive) Dinosauria piece Sideshow has to offer so far, and its epic scale lends a total length of 18 inches. Elegant and exciting, this statue will appeal to any serious dinosaur collector willing to shell out the coin for it. From stubby head to spiny tail, this statue is like seeing the Carnotaurus for the very first time.

Available from Amazon.com $169.99

www.detroitzoo.org/Newsflashes/2009_Press_Releases/Dinosaurs_to_be_Extinct_by_Labor_Day/

My younger son’s class took a field trip to the Detroit Zoo  http://www.detroitzoo.org/ a few days before they got out of school. 

One of the things that we got to do was see the dinosaurs, and to be honest, I was a little nervous as to how the kids were going to react.  I remember going to see a dinosaur exhibit when I was about 6, and it was SCARY!  It was in a dimly lit room which seemed scary enough on its own, but then you add huge creatures with sharp teeth, making loud mean sounds and it becomes a lifetime memory, and not necessarily in a good way.  So, as I said before, I was a little nervous about how the kids would react…

(The dinosaur featured above spit water, which my son thought was awesome!)

Well, I must say that the Dinosauria Exhibit http://www.detroitzoo.org/Attractions/Other_Exhibits/Dinosauria_2009/ at the Detroit Zoo was a great way for the kids to experience these amazing creatures. 

When we first went down the path I kind of felt like I was walking into the Jurassic Park movie.  (You know, in the beginning of the movie before everything changes…)  It was sunny, it was inviting, and I am happy to report that I did not hear one scared or crying child the whole time we were there. 

Each dinosaur had a sign that taught you some things about it, and there were even a few carts that had different things that the kids could see, and touch.  They thought that it was neat to see how big a dinosaur claw was compared to how big their hand was.

One of the knowledgeable staff members told us that the Iguanodon was the first dinosaur bones to ever be discovered, and that the man in England that discovered the bones thought that it looked like a large Iguana.  And that my friends is how the Iguanodon got it’s name!

After you visit all of the dinosaurs, there are some sand tables where you can discover dinosaur bones.

They even have some tables and chairs that you can sit at to take a break, or have a snack.

Luckily for me, I didn’t have any children with the “gimmes”, because the exit out of Dinosauria is through the gift shop   

All in all, it was a great experience, and for those of you that are interested in going, the exhibit is open until Labor Day.

(There is an injured triceratops in the exhibit, and there was one dinosaur that had been caught by another.  Some children may be bothered by that part, but it is also a good teaching example about dinosaur life.)

I hope that your summer has been filled with sunshine, lollipops, happiness, and love!

Want to see 20 animatronic, life-like prehistoric creatures with movement and sounds?

Dinosauria will be at the Detroit Zoo from May 13th through Labor Day. 10a-4p. Tickets are $3 at the main gates, or $4 at the exhibit. (Note, this is above normal zoo admission.)

The Wild Adventure Ride simulator will have DinoSimulator. Tickets are $3. (Note, this is above normal zoo admission.)

There will be a DinoStore located at the exhibit. You can buy: Dino clothing, toys and games, as well as many educational tools.

Source: Habitat magazine.

Alcuni ricercatori cinesi hanno riconosciuto nelle piume apparteneti ad un Beipaosaurus (Dinosauria, Theropoda, Therizinosauridae) un morfotipo attualmente associato a piume utilizzate per “esibizionismo” (display) e non per il volo. Questa é la prima volta che viene riscontrata questa peculiarità in Teropodi non aviani.

Beipioaosaurus feathers

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Earliest Feathers for Show, Not Flight

Jan. 12, 2009 — The world’s first feathers probably had nothing to do with flight or staying warm but were instead for showy display purposes, according to a new study that documents the most primitive known version of feathers, which were found on a Chinese dinosaur.

The dinosaur, Beipiaosaurus, sported the likely colorful feathers on its limbs, trunk, tail, head and neck, with the neck feathers resembling a lion’s mane.

Paleontologists now believe feathers evolved very early in archosaurs, the group that included dinosaurs, pterosaurs and relatives of crocodiles, in addition to today’s modern birds, crocodiles and alligators.

“Our analysis suggests that feathers might have a much longer history than previously thought,” lead author Xing Xu told Discovery News.

“The first feathers might have appeared in the fossil record in the Middle Triassic about 235 million years ago,” said Xu, a paleontologist at the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing.

Xu and colleagues Xiaoting Zheng and Hailu You studied the remains of the Chinese dinosaur, which was excavated at the Early Cretaceous Yixian Formation of Jianchang, western Liaoning. They noticed two types of feathers on the specimen: short, thread-like structures, and longer, stiff, broader ones that represent the rudimentary feathers, according to the study.

Both types are described in a paper published in this week’s Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Similar structures have been found on Psittacosaurus, or “Parrot Lizard,” as well as some pterosaurs. The researchers therefore suspect the common ancestor of these creatures — along with Beipiaosaurus, which lived 125 million years ago — had the early feathers too.

Previously documented feathers on dinosaurs were described as having multiple filaments, or many fluff-creating strands. The feathers on the recently documented Chinese dinosaur, however, are believed to represent a much more primitive stage, since the feathers consist of just a single broad filament, but have a different structure than hair.

The morphology and distribution of these early feathers rule out use for flight and helping to keep the dinosaur warm, but instead suggest they were flashed during displays, perhaps for mating, identification and competition purposes.

“Most previous studies suggest that insulation might have been the primary function for the first feathers, but our discovery supports that display represents one of the earliest functions for feathers,” Xu said, adding that “flight function appears very late in feather evolution.”

The discovery negates the prior theory that feathers and flight co-evolved. It instead indicates pterosaurs, birds and other fliers recruited already existing feathers for flight.

Xu and her colleagues aren’t certain how feathers came into being in the first place, but they suspect that at some point, an animal’s skin developed epidermal tissue that gave rise to the thin, tubular protrusions. Members of the opposite sex must have liked what they saw in displays, since the trait stuck and flourished. An average bird today has over 20,000 feathers.

Cheng-Ming Chuong and his team from the Keck School of Medicine at the University of Southern California foreshadowed the recent discovery. Their studies on chickens predicted what these first, more basic, feathers would’ve looked like.

“Just like Rome, feathers are not made in one process,” Chuong said, hinting that a long and colorful history for feathers would likely emerge as more findings, such as the new discovery on Beipiaosaurus, come to light.

He added, “While Darwin’s theory has explained the ‘why’ of evolution, much of the ‘how’ remains to be learned. Evo-Devo (evolution of development) research promises a new level of understanding.”

The remains of the flashy, primitive-feathered Chinese dinosaur are now housed at the Shandong Tianyu Museum of Nature in China.

source: Dicovery channel news

other links:

BBC News Downy dinosaur found in China was an early bird Times Online - 15 ore fa A dinosaur that would have been covered with feathers has been discovered in China, adding to evidence that supports the theory that birds evolved from ancient reptiles. Dinosaur fossil reveals creature of a different feather Science News Paleontologists Find Dinosaur Protofeather Wired News ShortNews.com - LiveScience.com - Discovery Channel - BBC News e altri 10 articoli simili »

IN GERMAN: faz.net

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A new feather type in a nonavian theropod and the early evolution of feathers (PNAS link)

Xing Xu, Xiaoting Zheng and Hailu You

 Abstract

All described feathers in nonavian theropods are composite structures formed by multiple filaments. They closely resemble relatively advanced stages predicted by developmental models of the origin of feathers, but not the earliest stage. Here, we report a feather type in two specimens of the basal therizinosaur Beipiaosaurus, in which each individual feather is represented by a single broad filament. This morphotype is congruent with the stage I morphology predicted by developmental models, and all major predicted morphotypes have now been documented in the fossil record. This congruence between the full range of paleontological and developmental data strongly supports the hypothesis that feathers evolved and initially diversified in nonavian theropods before the origin of birds and the evolution of flight.

Prior to tomorrow’s core-course disussion of Bleak House, which will start by close-reading the opening chapter, I thought I’d post the link to this review in the most recent TLS by Richard Fortey of these two books: Ralph O’Connor The Earth on Show: Fossils and the poetics of popular science, 1802–1856 (University of Chicago Press 2008) and Martin J. S. Rudwick Worlds Before Adam: the reconstruction of geohistory in the age of reform (University of Chicago Press 2008). I’ve not read either one yet, but they do look interesting; and I know some students are thinking about possible essays on ‘deep time’ and the geological revolution in relation to the literature we’re looking at.

Actually, though, this is all a ruse; my real reason for posting this is to give me an excuse to put up these lovely John Martin images of dinosaurs (you’ll see the first paragraph of Fortey’s review talks about Martin).

Splendid, aren’t they? That last one (click for a closer look) is particularly striking, I think: the seadragons’ lamplike eyes, mimicking that slightly hazy but still panoptic full moon. There’s a sort of Gothic sublimity at work, and the weird writhing of saurian flesh is almost orgiastic. I’m not sure it had occurred to me before that the representation of dinosaurs in the nineteenth-century could mediate subconscious sexuality. (Perhaps that still doesn’t occur to you …)

Also of interest (if you’re interested in this) is Louis Figuier’s The World Before the Deluge (1872) which has some very nice steel engravings of megalosauri: the text and pictures are available online here.

Finally, what did the Victorian actually think a Megalosaurus looked like? Well, like this:

Dig that hump, and that rather winning smile. If you live near Crystal Palace, you’ll have seen this splendid fellow already:

“As much mud in the streets as if the waters had but newly retired from the face of the earth, and it would not be wonderful to meet a Megalosaurus, forty feet long or so, waddling like an elephantine lizard up Holborn Hill.” [AR]

martedì, 30 settembre 2008 8.50

Estratto da rocce datate 85 milioni di anni, lungo le rive del Rio Colorado nella provincia argentina di Mendoza, questo predatore lungo 10 metri e che camminava in posizione eretta pesava quanto un elefante e aveva probabilmente le piume, secondo quanto hanno riferito gli scienziati.

Ma il suo apparato respiratorio rende questo dinosauro unico, ha detto Paul Sereno dell’Università di Chicago, che ha scritto della scoperta sulla rivista Plos One.

Al posto dei polmoni che si espandono e restringono, ha detto Sereno, questo animale potrebbe aver avuto delle sacche d’aria che funzionavano come una sorta di soffietto, che spingevano l’aria nei polmoni rigidi, come accade negli uccelli.

Il team di studiosi ha nominato il dinosauro Aerosteon riocoloradensis (“ossa areate del Rio Colorado”), perché le sue ossa hanno una conformazione a spugna nota come “pneumatizzazione”.

Gran parte dei paleontologi pensa che gli uccelli si siano evoluti da piccoli dinosauri carnivori con le piume, e il primo uccello rinvenuto è molto simile a uno di questi animali estinti.

vedi commenti e approfondimenti dal post: link  (dai blog “Theropoda” e SVPOW)

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Evidence for Avian Intrathoracic Air Sacs in a New Predatory Dinosaur from Argentina

Paul C. Sereno^1*, Ricardo N. Martinez², Jeffrey A. Wilson³, David J. Varricchio⁴, Oscar A. Alcober², Hans C. E. Larsson⁵

Abstract

Background

Living birds possess a unique heterogeneous pulmonary system composed of a rigid, dorsally-anchored lung and several compliant air sacs that operate as bellows, driving inspired air through the lung. Evidence from the fossil record for the origin and evolution of this system is extremely limited, because lungs do not fossilize and because the bellow-like air sacs in living birds only rarely penetrate (pneumatize) skeletal bone and thus leave a record of their presence.

http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0003303

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additional links:

MSU paleontologist part of team that discovered new dinosaur (with photos)

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Bus-Sized Dinosaur Breathed Like Birds Do FOXNews - 30 set 2008 By Jeanna Bryner This rendering of Aerosteon shows its lungs (red) and air sacs (other colors) as they might have been in life about 85 million years ago. … Dinosaur fossils may provide evolutionary link to modern birds guardian.co.uk - 30 set 2008 Fossils of a 33-foot-long (10.1-metre-long), previously unknown meat-eating dinosaur discovered in South America are delivering insights to scientists on … New scary, cool dino was Tweety’s great-grandpa Chicago Sun-Times - 30 set 2008 BY DAVE NEWBART Staff Reporter dnewbart@suntimes.com But Aerosteon — a new dinosaur discovery announced Monday by University of Chicago paleontologist Paul … Please Stop, Dad; I’m So Embarrassed Washington Post - 29 set 2008 A new study shows that adolescents use a different part of their brain than adults to process emotions such as guilt or embarrassment. … Dinosaur related to Tyrannosaurus Rex had bird-like breathing system Telegraph.co.uk - 29 set 2008 By Richard Alleyne, Science Correspondent The remains of a new dinosaur that was a distant relative of Tyrannosaurus Rex has been discovered and could … Forget bird-brained Science News - 29 set 2008 By Laura Sanders Paleontologists have discovered a new species of carnivorous dinosaur that possessed an interesting feature: It breathed like a bird. … PHOTOS: Meat Eating Dino had Birdlike Breathing System National Geographic - 29 set 2008 September 29, 2008–This newly found South American dinosaur may have had flesh-ripping teeth, but it had the lungs of a bird, scientists announced Monday. … Birdlike Dinosaur Found in Argentina National Geographic - 29 set 2008 A new predatory dinosaur with a birdlike breathing system found in Argentina may help scientists better understand the evolution of birds’ lung systems. … Dinosaur predator breathed like a modern bird Reuters - 29 set 2008 By Julie Steenhuysen CHICAGO (Reuters) – Scientists have unearthed the remains of a large meat-eating dinosaur with a breathing apparatus much like a modern … New Evidence To Suggest That Dinosaurs Breathed Like Birds Medical News Today - 1 ott 2008 Birds have evolved an unusual breathing system, and clues to its development lie in the remains of a recently-discovered 10-meter-long predatory dinosaur … ‘Air bone’ dinosaur is missing link with birds InTheNews.co.uk - 29 set 2008 A carnivorous dinosaur with a bird-like breathing system has provided more evidence of the connection between the two groups of animals separated by … New meat-eating dinosaur from Argentina had bird-like breathing system EurekAlert (press release) - 29 set 2008 MENDOZA, Argentina—The remains of a new 10-meter-long predatory dinosaur discovered along the banks of Argentina’s Rio Colorado is helping to unravel how … Dinosaur’s fowl breath seals tie to birds ABC Science Online - 29 set 2008 The discovery of air sacs in a new 10-metre-long, meat-eating dinosaur may seal the connection between birds and dinosaurs and explain how birds’ unique … Carnivorous Dinosaur With Bird-Like Lungs Discovered Discover Magazine - 30 set 2008 A 33-foot long, carnivorous dinosaur that lived 85 million years ago had a breathing system similar to that used by modern birds, and researchers say the … Meat-eating dinosaur from Argentina had bird-like breathing system EurekAlert (press release) - 29 set 2008 ANN ARBOR, Mich.–The remains of a 30-foot-long predatory dinosaur discovered along the banks of Argentina’s Rio Colorado is helping to unravel how birds …

In German: