Researchers look a dinosaur in its remarkably preserved face

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3 years ago

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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Government takes first step in appealing court ruling banning asylum seekers from Epping hotel

Published

57 mins ago

August 22, 2025

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Government takes first step in appealing court ruling banning asylum seekers from Epping hotel

The government has taken the first step in appealing a court’s decision that asylum seekers cannot be housed in an Essex hotel.

The Home Office is seeking permission to intervene in the case, which, if granted, will allow it to appeal the interim judgment handed down last week.

Epping Forest District Council sought an interim High Court injunction to stop migrants from being accommodated at The Bell Hotel in Epping, which is owned by Somani Hotels Limited.

The interim injunction demanded the hotel be cleared of its occupants within 14 days.

In a ruling on Tuesday, Mr Justice Eyre granted the temporary block, but extended the time limit by which it must stop housing asylum seekers to 12 September.

Somani Hotels will now appeal against the court order blocking the use of the hotel as accommodation for asylum seekers, the company’s solicitors have said.

Meanwhile, security minister Dan Jarvis said on Friday that closing hotels housing asylum seekers must be done “in a managed and ordered way” as he unveiled government plans to challenge the High Court’s decision.

He told broadcasters: “This government will close all asylum hotels and we will clear up the mess that we inherited from the previous government.

“We’ve made a commitment that we will close all of the asylum hotels by the end of this parliament, but we need to do that in a managed and ordered way.

“And that’s why we’ll appeal this decision.”

An analysis by Sky News has found 18 other councils are also actively pursuing or considering similar legal challenges to block asylum hotels – including Labour-run Tamworth and Wirral.

Disquiet with the use of asylum hotels is at a high after the latest statistics showed there were more than 32,000 asylum seekers currently staying in hotels, marking a rise of 8% during Labour’s first year in office.

The number of small boat crossings in the Channel is also up 38% on the previous 12 months.

Following the Epping case, a wave of protests is expected outside of asylum hotels across the country in the coming days.

Stand Up To Racism is preparing to hold counter-protests outside the asylum hotels on Friday, including in Bournemouth, Cardiff and Leeds, with further demonstrations expected on Saturday.

In its case, Epping Forest District Council argued that the owners of the Bell Hotel did not have planning permission to use the premises to accommodate asylum seekers.

It argued that the injunction was needed amid “unprecedented levels of protest and disruption” in connection with the accommodation.

Shadow justice secretary Robert Jenrick said the people of Epping who protested and its council have “led the way”, writing in The Telegraph that “our country’s patience has snapped”.

His Conservative colleague Chris Philp, the shadow home secretary, said on Thursday that people have “every right” to protest over asylum hotels in their areas.

Kemi Badenoch, the Tory leader, has urged councils to explore legal challenges – with Conservative-run Broxbourne Council announcing that it would do so.

Hillingdon Council, which is also controlled by the Tories, also said it was exploring its options.

Meanwhile, former Reform chairman Zia Yusuf told Sky News three councils run by his party had the power to mount legal challenges.

He said West Northamptonshire, which Reform seized control of in May’s local elections, would be doing so.

In a further headache for Sir Keir Starmer, Labour-controlled councils are also considering legal action, including Wirral and Tamworth.

Paula Basnett, the Labour leader of Wirral council, said: “We are actively considering all options available to us to ensure that any use of hotels or other premises in Wirral is lawful and does not ride roughshod over planning regulations or the wishes of our communities.”

Carol Dean, the Labour leader of Tamworth Borough Council, said she understood the “strong feelings” of residents about the use of a local hotel to house asylum seekers, and added: “We are closely monitoring developments and reviewing our legal position”.

Labour-controlled Stevenage council added: “The council takes breaches of planning control seriously and we’re actively investigating alleged breaches relating to the operation of hotels in Stevenage.”

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