Researchers look a dinosaur in its remarkably preserved face

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January 26, 2023

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Lost and found at sea — Researchers look a dinosaur in its remarkably preserved face Washed out to sea, a giant beast and its armored skin were left in pristine condition.

Jeanne Timmons – Jan 25, 2023 12:30 pm UTC EnlargeRoyal Tyrrell Museum of Palaeontology reader comments 59 with 0 posters participating Share this story Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Reddit

Borealopelta markmitchelli found its way back into the sunlight in 2017, millions of years after it had died. This armored dinosaur is so magnificently preserved that we can see what it looked like in life. Almost the entire animalthe skin, the armor that coats its skin, the spikes along its side, most of its body and feet, even its facesurvived fossilization. It is, according to Dr. Donald Henderson, curator of dinosaurs at the Royal Tyrrell Museum, a one-in-a-billion find.

Beyond its remarkable preservation, this dinosaur is an important key to understanding aspects of Early Cretaceous ecology, and it shows how this species may have lived within its environment. Since its remains were discovered, scientists have studied its anatomy, its armor, and even what it ate in its last days, uncovering new and unexpected insight into an animal that went extinct approximately 100 million years ago. Down by the sea

Borealopelta is a nodosaur, a type of four-legged ankylosaur with a straight tail rather than a tail club. Its finding in 2011 in an ancient marine environment was a surprise, as the animal was terrestrial.

A land-based megaherbivore preserved in an ancient seabed is not as uncommon as one might think. A number of other ankylosaurs have been preserved in this manner, albeit not as well as Borealopelta. Scientists suspect its carcass may have been carried from a river to the sea in a flooding event; it may have bobbed at the surface upside-down for a few days before sinking into the ocean depths.

It would have been kept at the surface by whats referred to as “bloat-and-float,” as the buildup of postmortem gasses would keep it buoyant. Modeling done by Henderson indicates its heavy armor would have rolled it onto its back, a position he suspects may have prevented ocean predators from scavenging its carcass. Advertisement

Once the gasses that kept it floating were expelled, Borealopelta sank to the ocean floor, landing on its back. What’s a nodosaur?
Dr. Caleb Brown at the Royal Tyrrell Museum explains the somewhat confusing designation as follows: There are two families of armored dinosaurs: Ankylosauridae (those with tail clubs) and Nodosauridae (those with shoulder spines and no tail clubs).The group that includes both of these families is called the Ankylosauria. While the term nodosaur generally means an animal with the family Nodosauridae, the term ankylosaur could mean two different things: 1) an animal from the family Ankylosauridae (which would exclude Nodosauridae), or 2) the group Ankylosauria (which includes Nodosauridae).

It is correct to call Borealopelta an ankylosaur (which would mean Ankylosauria) or a nodosaur (which would mean Nodosauridae). You just cant call it an Ankylosaurid, Ankylosaurine, or Ankylosauridae (as these have specific meanings).

We can see it went in water deeper than 50 meters because it was preserved with a particular mineral called glauconite, which is a green phosphate mineral. And it only forms in cooler temperatures in water deeper than 50 meters, explained Dr. Henderson.

He also told Ars that this environment probably also discouraged scavenging, saying, It was probably a region where [long-necked] plesiosaurs and big fish didnt like to go. It was too cold and too dark, and [there was] nothing to eat. And there were very few trace fossils in the sediments around it. So there wasnt much in the way of worms and crustaceans and bivalves and things in there to further digest it. It was just a nice set of conditions in the seabed that had very low biological activity that led to that preservation. Unmet expectations

But none of this was known when the animal was discovered. Although it’s not entirely unusual to find dinosaur remains in marine environments, its also not very common. Henderson and Darren Tanke, also from the Royal Tyrrell Museum, walked onto the site fully anticipating that they would excavate an ancient marine reptile.

The two had consulted on fossil discoveries at other open-pit mines within the province. However, this was their first visit to Suncor, a mine in the northeast of Alberta, Canada. Everything about this mine is enormous. Massive machinery is constantly in motion, scooping out rock, sand, and gravel from surrounding cliffs, while other equipment clears it away, all with the goal of uncovering the deeper oil sands for fuel.

Its just unbelievable, the scale of the place, Dr. Henderson said. And it goes 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

Despite the pace of operations, one particular shovel operator, Shawn Funk, happened to notice something after taking a big chunk out of the cliff. It was thanks to him and several people within Suncor that operations stopped in that area and the Royal Tyrrell was notified. Page: 1 2 3 4 Next → reader comments 59 with 0 posters participating Share this story Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Reddit Advertisement Channel Ars Technica ← Previous story Next story → Related Stories Today on Ars

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Trump ‘very disappointed’ in Russian strikes on Ukraine and calls for Putin to ‘sit down and sign a deal’

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2 hours ago

April 28, 2025

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Trump 'very disappointed' in Russian strikes on Ukraine and calls for Putin to 'sit down and sign a deal'

Donald Trump has said he’s “very disappointed” with Russia as he continues to push for a peace deal to end the war in Ukraine.

On Saturday, the US president met with Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the Vatican for their first face-to-face meeting since their explosive White House summit.

The Ukrainian president said the meeting ahead of Pope Francis’s funeral could end up being “historic.” Hours later, Mr Trump questioned Vladimir Putin’s appetite for peace in a Truth Social post.

Speaking before boarding Air Force One on Sunday, Mr Trump again said the meeting went well, and that the Ukrainian leader was “calmer”.

“I think he understands the picture, I think he wants to make a deal,” he said, before turning to Mr Putin and Russia.

“I want him to stop shooting, sit down and sign a deal,” the US president said, adding he was “very disappointed that they did the bombing of those places (including Kyiv, where nine people were killed in a Russian airstrike on Friday) after discussions”.

However, Mr Trump said he thinks Mr Zelenskyy is ready to give up Crimea, which the Ukrainian leader has repeatedly said he would refuse to do.

He added that “we’ll see what happens in the next few days” and said “don’t talk to me about Crimea, talk to Obama and Biden about Crimea”.

Russia annexed Crimea in 2014, while Barack Obama was president.

Meanwhile, US secretary of state Marco Rubio told Sky’s US partner network NBC News that a peace deal to end the war was “closer in general than they’ve been any time in the last three years, but it’s still not there”.

“If this was an easy war to end, it would have been ended by someone else a long time ago,” he added on the Meet the Press show.

It comes after North Korea confirmed it had deployed troops to fight for Russia, months after Ukraine and Western officials said its forces were in Europe.

State media outlet KCNA reported North Korean soldiers made an “important contribution” to expelling Ukrainian forces from Russian territory, likely to be the Kursk region.

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KCNA said leader Kim Jong Un made the decision to deploy troops to Russia and notified Moscow, and quoted him as saying: “They who fought for justice are all heroes and representatives of the honour of the motherland.”

It also quoted the country’s ruling Workers’ Party as saying the end of the battle to liberate Kursk showed the “highest strategic level of the firm militant friendship” between North Korea and Russia.

Last June, Mr Kim and Mr Putin signed a comprehensive strategic partnership treaty after a state visit – his first to the country in 24 years.

The North Korean leader promised at the time “full support and solidarity to the Russian government, army and people in carrying out the special military operation in Ukraine”.

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40 killed in blast at Iran’s biggest port as Tehran denies explosion ‘linked to fuel for missiles’

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2 hours ago

April 28, 2025

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40 killed in blast at Iran's biggest port as Tehran denies explosion 'linked to fuel for missiles'

At least 40 people have been killed and several hundred more injured after an explosion and fire at Iran’s largest port, according to state media.

The blast, at the Shahid Rajaei container hub near the southern city of Bandar Abbas, happened on Saturday as Iran held a third round of talks with the US in Oman about Tehran’s nuclear programme.

Shipping containers burned, goods inside were badly damaged and the explosion was so powerful that windows several miles away were shattered, reports said.

Helicopters and aircraft dumped water from the air on the blaze and by Sunday afternoon it was 90% extinguished, the head of Iran’s Red Crescent Society told state media.

Officials said port activities had resumed in unaffected parts of Shahid Rajaei.

Out of the 752 people who had received treatment for their injuries, 190 were still being treated in medical centres on Sunday, according to Iran’s crisis management organisation.

Chemicals at the port were suspected to have worsened the blast, but the exact cause of the explosion was not clear.

Iran’s defence ministry denied international media reports that the explosion may be connected to the mishandling of solid fuel used for missiles.

The reports were “aligned with enemy psyops [psychological operations]”, according to a ministry spokesperson, who told state TV the blast-hit area did not contain any military cargo.

According to the Associated Press, British security company Ambrey said that the port in March received sodium perchlorate, which is used to propel ballistic missiles and the mishandling of which could have led to the explosion.

The Financial Times previously reported two Iranian vessels had shipped from China enough of the ingredient to propel up to 260 mid-range missiles.

It was reportedly to help Tehran replenish stocks after its missile attacks on Israel in 2024.

Iran’s military has sought to deny the delivery of sodium perchlorate from China.

Iran’s state-run Irna news agency reported on Sunday that Russian President Vladimir Putin deployed several emergency aircraft to Bandar Abbas to provide help.

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Pilgrims travel to Pope Francis’s tomb to remember the late pontiff

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April 28, 2025

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Pilgrims travel to Pope Francis's tomb to remember the late pontiff

Anna and Irene have already been queuing for an hour or so, and they know they have a long wait still to come.

“Two hours, three hours, ten hours – what does it matter?” says Irena. “This is about eternity.”

They have come to Rome from Slovenia, Catholics who felt “Papa Francis would have wanted us to be here”.

And under the sun outside Santa Maria Maggiore, they are awaiting the opportunity to visit his tomb.

Francis, says Irena, “was like a rainbow” who lit up the world. Anna nods along: “We are so happy to be here.”

The Pope’s tomb has become a new source of pilgrimage.

More than 30,000 people came to view it during the first morning after the Pope’s funeral, the queue snaking from the front of the mighty basilica and then up and down across the square at the back.

Some were curious visitors, others were devout followers – priests and nuns mixing in the queue with tourists and devoted locals.

All of these admired Francis; a very few actually knew him.

Father Alessandro Masseroni is a deacon who came to Rome to train to become a priest. On his phone, he shows me a photo of him and Francis, with the Pope offering words of encouragement.

He says: “I had the honour to serve Pope Francis and to talk to him many times and it was a special experience. I understand why he was so loved by all the people – he was simple and direct.

“He was sunny. St Francis was his role model and when I saw the first picture of the Pope’s tomb, the first thing I thought was of the tomb of St Francis of Assisi.

“Pope Francis will leave a legacy – it doesn’t end with his death but will continue.”

What are your emotions now, as you wait to visit his tomb, I ask. Father Alessandro pauses and smiles.

“Many emotions of course, but mainly, I think… thankfulness.”

That has been a recurring aspect among so many of the people we have met in Rome over the past week – the sense that sadness for Francis’s death is outweighed by the sense that his was a life that should be celebrated.

Volodymyr Borysyak flew in from London on the morning of the Pope’s funeral to make his third pilgrimage to Rome.

Barely had he arrived than his phone was stolen, a crime he responded to by praying for the thief.

Volodymyr is a refugee from western Ukraine who worries that his home country’s plight is being forgotten by some of the world.

Now, the Pope who inspired him has died.

You might imagine that he would be resentful and angry. Instead, he is full of smiles.

“We are happy to be the pilgrims of the world and this is a special day,” he tells me. “I know the pope used to pray in this basilica so that is why we will stay so long here to visit Santa Maria Maggiore.

“I think Pope Francis was, is and will be the pope for the world, because of the mercy of his heart and his love for everybody.”