New giant dinosaur species discovered in Tanzania walked the Earth nearly 100 million years ago

[Geza Ulole]

New giant dinosaur species discovered in Tanzania walked the Earth nearly 100 million years ago


The fossils of the new dinosaur, called Shingopana songwensis, date back to the Cretaceous Period.

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By India Ashok

August 28, 2017 10:20 BST

[https://d]Reconstruction of the new titanosaur and the landscape in which it lived, in what is now TanzaniaMark Witton

A new species of giant, long-necked dinosaurs, believed to be a member of the sauropods has been discovered. Recently uncovered fossils of the new dinosaur species, named Shingopana songwensis derived from the Swahili term "shingopana" for "wide neck," which date back to the Cretaceous Period, were unearthed in the Songwe region of the Great Rift Valley in southwestern Tanzania.

The newly discovered dinosaur species, a kind of the titanosaurian dinosaur species, walked the Earth around 70 to 100 million years ago. Part of the Shingopana's fossils were excavated in 2002 by scientists affiliated with the Rukwa Rift Basin Project, as part of an international effort led by Ohio University Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine researchers Patrick O'Connor and Nancy Stevens.

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Later, more portions of the dinosaur's skeletons, including its neck vertebrae, ribs, a humerus and part of the lower jaw were uncovered later.

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"There are anatomical features present only in Shingopana and in several South American titanosaurs, but not in other African titanosaurs," said the research's lead author Eric Gorscak, a paleontologist at the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago. "Shingopana had siblings in South America, whereas other African titanosaurs were only distant cousins."

[https://d]Wide shot of the southwestern Tanzania locality from which the new dinosaur was excavatedEric Roberts

Researchers' analysis of the fossils revealed that Shingopana was related more closely to South American titanosaurs than any other species known to be from Africa or anywhere else.

"This discovery suggests that the fauna of northern and southern Africa were very different in the Cretaceous Period," said Judy Skog, a program director in NSF's Division of Earth Sciences, which supported the research. "At that time, southern Africa dinosaurs were more closely related to those in South America, and were more widespread than we knew."

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"We're still only scratching the surface of understanding the diversity of organisms, and the environments in which they lived, on the African continent during the Late Cretaceous," said O'Connor.

The new research has been published in the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology and is funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF).

[https://d]Excavation of Shingopana songwensis showing ribs and other bones being prepared for plaster-jacketingNancy Stevens


New giant dinosaur species discovered in Tanzania walked the Earth nearly 100 million years ago

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[Lewis254]

Breakthrough as scientists declare Turkana discovery is ‘oldest common ancestor’
By Mercy Adhiambo
Published: Aug 20th 2017 at 14:06, Updated: Aug 20th 2017 at 14:06
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Thirteen million years ago, an infant ape died in Napudet area, West of Lake Turkana. Volcanic eruptions, common in that era covered its body with ash, and it lay there until 2014 when a group of anthropologists discovered its skull.
That discovery, it now emerges, could be what puts into clarity the shared ancestry of apes and man before their lineages split. It could also add a new dimension on the belief that early man evolved from Africa, and not Eurasia as some studies have suggested.
After three years of assessing the fossil, researchers believe it is the oldest common ancestor of human and apes discovered.
It is the most complete fossil ever found, and gives an extraordinary glimpse into early stages of ape evolution and how our ancestors may have looked like.
“This is huge news. Scientists have been getting fragments of fossils, but it is the first time we have gotten a complete one,” Isiah Nengo, anthropologist who led the discovery told the Sunday Standard.
The fossil has been named Nyanzapithecus Alesi by James Ekusi, a member of the research team who stumbled upon the skull while on a wild search. He derived the name ‘ales’ from Turkana word for ancestor. The researchers believe Alesi is a new species, never seen before.
Its molar teeth are similar in shape to species in the genus Nyanzapithecus, which indicates that Alesi belongs to this group. However, its teeth are much larger, suggesting that it was a larger species than the others.
Anthropologists believe apes emerged on earth about 25 million years ago after diverging from monkeys’ ancestors. The apes split into different lineages, but became extinct over time, and only one branch survived.
That branch is what brought forth chimpanzees, gorillas and man. Scientists’ biggest headache and research point has always been reconstructing the branch and finding the common ancestor of all apes. They agree that man evolved from an ape; but how did ancient ape look like before the species started evolving? The answer, it seems, has been lying in Kenya all along – in the skull of Alesi.
The lemon-sized skull discovered by an international team of researchers reveals the species had a small snout, flat face and resembled a baby gibbon. The region of the inner ear responsible for balance however shows it was not as agile and acrobatic in trees like gibbons. Had it grown fully, it is estimated to have weighed about 12 kilograms.
The fossil cold not reveal whether it was male or female, or cause of its death. Studies on its jaws indicate it was slightly below two years old.
An extremely sensitive form of 3-D X-ray imaging at the synchrotron facility in Grenoble, France was used to examine the fossil.
“The quality of our images was so good that we could establish from the teeth that the infant was about one year and four months old when it died,” said Paul Tafforeau of the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility, in a press statement.
The discovery solidifies the belief that important history of the cradle of mankind lies in Africa.
Alesi brings a new narrative into the history of early man, and primate evolution. If explored, it could bring into context activities of a period of time that remains misunderstood. The research was published in this month’s issue of the prestigious journal Nature.

Breakthrough as scientists declare Turkana discovery is ‘oldest common ancestor’

 

[bukoba boy]

It turns out the earth is just 6000 yrs old.

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[ruby garnet]

mmh. simplify your thread. too complex to understand

 

[ruby garnet]

t

It turns out the earth is just 6000 yrs old.

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6000 yrs is according to bible. but according to geology is 4.5 billion the earth started to evolve