image: Scannella & Horner, 2010 Dear Friends of 'APPI, 2010 if it is going to go.
A year full of dreams, joys, and study efforts fortunately well rewarded, but most of all friendship is about to fly away ... to give way to another year that we hope even more surprises in store for the previous year.
to wish you a happy last day of the dawn of the new and improved, inspired by a post by Brian Switek on Dinosaur tracking , do a quick overview of the major discoveries in the field of dinosaur paleontology :
The controversial issue of the evolutionary origins of the dinosaurs is enhanced by some important pieces: traces found in Poland, 249 million years old, belonging to animal related evolutionarily with the dinosaurs, seem to indicate relative diversity of the group already at that time. The reclassification of Azhendosaurus (from prosauropods to archosauromorfo) and the description of dinosauromorfo Asilisaurus .
Among the theropod dinosaurs: Concavenator , the English allosauroide well preserved, with bone sull'ulna similar processes, according to some, to those observed in the forearms of other theropods (like Velociraptor and Meleagris , the Common turkey).
Austrocheirus , abelisauroide the baseline that has a functional hand and not atrophic as members of the most derived clade.
Haplocheirus , one of the most sensational taxon described this year, a baseline alvarezsauro showing us what was the ancestral morphology of the dawn of evolutionary radiation and celurosauria Zuolong , celurosauro a baseline (this area of \u200b\u200btheropods, still full of mysteries). Linheraptor , a specimen of Velociraptor dromeosauro similar to well-preserved, from Mongolia.
Balaur , the Romanian dromeosauro with two hooked claws on the foot and Quipanlong , a Chinese ornitomimosauro the late Cretaceous. The redescription of
Juravenator , a "compsognathide which preserves traces of scales on the underside of the tail and protofeathers on top. The controversial analysis
the teeth of Sinornithosaurus , according to some paleontologists grooves associated with channels such as the poison in some snakes.
Bistahieversor , a large new Tyrannosaur from the Cretaceous of New Mexico.
tests for evidence of cannibalism in Tyrannosaurus , and traces of nutrition of the carcass of a hadrosaur from Tarbosaurus . The review of the epidemiology of caudifemorale Tyrannosaurus : a large Séderon for an extra boost to the hind legs of this giant tyrannosaurid.
But this year was the year of ceratopsi, with many taxa described
horned dinosaurs: Diabloceratops , Koreaceratops, Zhuchengceratops, Utahceratops, Kosmoceratops, Sinoceratops, Ajkaceratops, Titanoceratops . Particolare rilevanza merita lo studio di Scannella e Horner sulla questione Torosaurus/Triceratops (di più avanti).
Fra gli ornitopodi spicca Koreanosaurus , e le relative speculazioni sulle abitudini fossorie di questo taxon.
Nel versante tireoforo: la scoperta di tessuti molli di Stegosaurus , i nuovi studi sulla diversità di questo taxon e sulla postura di questi animali.
Fra i sauropodi: Abydosaurus , Sarhasaurus , Seitaad per non parlare dei titanosauri gondwaniani (e non solo) che sembrano spuntare come funghi : Di un certo rilievo anche la descrizione di nidiate dall'Argentina associati a segni di attività idrotermale (prove di un comportamento specifico di nidificazione?) e di un serpente dal Cretaceo superiore dell'India avvolto intorno ai resti di uova di sauropode (che il serpente mesozoico sia morto mentre banchettava con omelette di sauropodi?).
I dinosauri colorati! Ebbene si, un nuovo metodo di analisi microscopica adesso ci permette di identificare alcuni colori del piumaggio dei dinosauri che conservano queste strutture nei fossili, da Sinosauropteryx ad Anchiornis ...*
Un elogio particolare lo meritano sicuramente i "nostri" Lukas Panzarin, Andrea Cau and Federico Fanti, their description of the cone ornithopodi Iguanocolossus and Hippodraco , and metriorinchide (a crocodile Aquatic Mesozoic) Neptunidraco !
Personally, this day of the year-end if it goes with many reflections on past events, and a host of resolutions, doubts and hopes about what will come.
Scientifically, the question aforementioned Torosaurus / Triceratops represents a conceptual revolution in the field of paleobiology of dinosaurs. I am not saying that the study of Scannella & Horner must be upheld at face value a priori, but no doubt was an earthquake that affects non solo lo studio della sistematica dei ceratopsi. La questione ha messo in risalto delle ferite nel metodo paleontologico( alcune intrinsecamente radicate nell'ambito metodologico della disciplina e quindi di difficile se non impossibile soluzione) ma che aprono scenari interessanti di approfondimento nella conoscenza della (paleo-)biologia di queste forme di vita estinte. Dallo studio dell'ecologia delle popolazioni all'ontogenesi, al discernimento tassonomico interspecifico, questi scenari non possono che eccitare una giovane mente come la mia, vogliosa di immergersi in aree così oscure della scienza ma nondimeno dignitose di un approfondimento. Propositi ambiziosi, è vero, ma comunque degni di essere perpetrati, meglio ancora se insieme ad una famiglia enthusiastic, friendly and dynamic as the JPA.
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
PS: May the words of our Honorary Chairman are of suggestion and stimulus for each of the dreamers who will read this post;)
* In the list of taxa discovered / described this' I will have failed several years (from Tonganosaurus aa Xixiposaurus from Atsinganosaurus to Kukufeldi to, from a. .. Xixianykus NMVP186046, but this was a quick resconto, if you want to add names to the list, as always, you're welcome;)
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