Re -Train Your Brain To Happiness: Australia

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October 20, 2016

Savannasaurus Elliottorum: Wide-Hipped Dinosaur the Size of a Bus Once Trod Across Australia

Lots of dinosaur discoveries this month!

About 95 million years ago, a bus-size and scaly-skinned sauropod dinosaur with a long tail and even longer neck lumbered across what is now Queensland, Australia, a new study finds.

The hulking, 50-foot-long (15 meters) paleo-beast likely weighed up to 22 tons (20 tonnes) and sported hips that didn't quit, at a girth of some 5 feet (1.5 m) across. And the dinosaur likely ate supersize meals, using its large digestive system to extract nutrients from all kinds of plants, even tough ones, said the study's lead researcher Stephen Poropat, a palaeontologist and research associate at the Australian Age of Dinosaurs Museum of Natural History in Queensland, Australia.

The newly identified species of sauropod is one of the most complete sauropod skeletons ever found in Australia, Poropat said. It's named Savannasaurus elliottorum, for the savannah where it was found and for David Elliott, the first person to find dinosaur bones at the site. [See Images of the Enormous, Newly Identified Australian Sauropod]

The paleontologists also found the first partial sauropod skull on record from Australia. The skull belonged to Diamantinasaurus matildae, Poropat said. The finding is unusual, as paleontologists typically unearth headless sauropods.

"To have had the privilege of describing the first sauropod braincase ever found in Australia has been very humbling," Poropat told Live Science in an email. He explained that sauropod heads are an unusual find because "the bones of the skull were not solidly fused together, meaning that sauropod skulls had a tendency to 'explode' once their owners had died, and they also seem to have detached quite easily from sauropod necks — perhaps [carnivorous bipedal] theropods liked to eat them."

Ho-Hum excavation

One day in 2005, Elliott, who had previously founded the Australian Age of Dinosaurs museum with his wife, Judy, was tending to his sheep when he noticed a few fossils on the ground on his property in Queensland. At first, Elliott thought two of the bones belonged to a theropod dinosaur. But Judy found otherwise when she clicked the two end pieces together, revealing that the fossils were actually the toe bone of a sauropod, Poropat said.

Curious to learn more, David, Judy and a team from the Queensland Museum returned to the area — nicknamed the Ho-Hum site — later that year.
"What they found was stunning: a huge siltstone concretion, filled with dinosaur bones," Poropat said. "It was too big to be extracted whole, so they decided to break it up into hundreds of smaller, more manageable pieces."

It took nearly 10 years for paleontologists to fully prepare the bones, but it was well worth the effort, Poropat said.

The newfound sauropod, dubbed Wade, would have stood almost 10 feet (3 m) tall at its shoulders, and walked on all fours, equipped with five toes on each foot.

But "the most distinctive feature of Savannasaurus was its breadth — across the hips it would have been no narrower than 1.5 m [nearly 5 feet], and it would have been almost as wide across the shoulders, as well," Poropat said. [Photos: Giant Sauropods Plodded Along in Scottish Lagoon]

Family tree

Both S. elliottorum and D. matildae are closely related to titanosaurs, whose bones have been found in South America and Asia. However, little is known about when sauropods made it to Australia, Poropat said.

According to an anatomical analysis, S. elliottorum and D. matildae's ancestors hailed from South America, Poropat said. He and his colleagues suspect that the sauropod's ancestors likely trudged from there to Australia via Antarctica, which was connected to both continents during the Cretaceous Period, Poropat said.

"It is likely that titanosaurs were not able to enter Australia until approximately 105 million years ago, because cool (but not freezing) conditions prevailed in Antarctica from approximately 120 [million to] 105 million years ago," Poropat said. "Although they might have been 'warm-blooded,' sauropods had long necks and tails through which they might have lost a lot of heat when the weather was cold."

The study was published online today (Oct. 20) in the journal Scientific Reports.

By Laura Geggel

With many thanks to Live Science

More on Dinosaurs and Prehistoric creatures:

Walking With Dinosaurs: Feathered, Furry and Fierce

Earliest Big Cat Fossil Found in Tibet

"Chicken From Hell’ Dinosaur Gets A Proper Name

Chinese Jurassic Park Yields Incredible Feathered Dino Find

Dinosaur Bones Found Near Red Sea

The Pelagornis Sandersi: Fossil Find Reveals Largest Flying Bird

Ancient Flying Reptile Named After 'Avatar' Creature

Closest Living Relative of The Ancient Elephant Bird Is Tiny

Two Jurassic Mini Mammal Species Discovered in China

Researchers Say They've Found The Biggest Dinosaur Ever

Kronosaurus Dinosaur Jaw Found In Outback Queensland

The Brontosaurus Is Officially Back

Kunbarrasaurus Ieversi: Australia's Newest Dinosaur

Tiny Bat Wing Dinosaur Discovered

What Killed The Dinosaurs?

Titanosaurs: The Largest Animals Ever To Walk The Earth

Timurlengia Euotica: The Missing Link to Tyrannosaurus Rex

Archaeopteryx: The Transitional Fossil

When Did The Dinosaurs Become Extinct?

Ancient Sea Monster The First Vegetarian Marine Reptile

Spiclypeus Shipporum: New Dinosaur Species Sported Uniquely Spiked Shield

T-Rex Cooed With Mouth Wide Shut

Prehistoric Marsupial Lion Was The Size Of A Squirrel

Jurassic ‘Sea Monster’ From Scottish Loch

Psittacosaurus: Chinese Parrot Lizard Dinosaur First Found To Use Camouflage

Scientists Discover A Mysterious Prehistoric Shark

'Beardog' Discovery Offers Clues As To How Canines Evolved

Austroposeidon Magnificus: Brazil’s Biggest Dinosaur Has Been Rediscovered

Ancient 400-Pound Salmon Fought With Dagger-Like Teeth

Newfound Ancient 'Sea Monster' Is Largest Yet from Antarctica

Dinosaur Tail Found Encased In Amber

September 08, 2016

A History Of The World In 100 Objects Explored In National Museum Of Australia Exhibition

A new exhibition at the National Museum of Australia aims to use 100 objects, including extraordinarily rare artefacts, to tell two million years of human history.

A History of the World in 100 Objects is a touring exhibition from the British Museum, visiting the National Museum in Canberra until January next year.

Objects range from ancient stone artefacts found in Africa, some of the earliest traces of human history, to US election badges and credit cards.

Director of the National Museum of Australia, Dr Mathew Trinca, said the head of a bronze statue of first Roman Emperor Augustus stands out in the extraordinary collection.
"Any of these objects in their own right is a treasure," he said.

Brass Hebrew Astrolabe, 1345–1355 CE, probably from Spain.

"But when I look at something like the bronze head of Augustus, which rarely leaves the British Museum, I really think how lucky we are to have it here in Australia."

The collection also includes the Lewis Chessmen, found on the Isle of Lewis in Scotland and dated to the 12th century, and an Assyrian clay tablet telling a pre-Christian version of the story of Noah's Ark.

Dr Trinca said the exhibition was laid out chronologically, allowing visitors to journey across time through the individual objects.
"I want people to be inspired by it," he said.

"Inspired by the idea that by looking at things, we can reach into the lives of others.
"Whether those others are separated by time and space from us, they're still the lives of human beings who've experienced life on this planet."

The exhibition visited Perth earlier this year, and has also travelled through Japan and Abu Dhabi.

It was inspired by a popular BBC Radio program, discussing human history through 100 objects from the museum.

Dr Belinda Crerar from the British Museum said it was an ambitious premise for an exhibition.
"I can't recall any other exhibition that has quite such a broad scope, it covers two million years of history all around the globe," she said.

She said given how rare many of the objects were, and the difficulty in removing and transporting them from the British Museum, it was a unique collection.

"It is really exceptional to have all of these pieces together in one room," she said.
The exhibition also features the world's oldest wi-fi technology from the National Museum's own collection - to feature as a 101st object.

A History of the World in 100 Objects runs until January 29, 2017.

Above - The NMA contributed the world's first wi-fi technology as the 101st object in the collection.

By Tom Lowrey

With many thanks to ABC
Top picture - Statue of Mithras, marble, 100–200 CE, Rome, Italy.
More on archeology here.
More on art here.

What Was the Enlightenment?

A History Of Rituals

The Memory of Mankind Archive: The Greatest Time Capsule Ever

July 19, 2016

Humpback Whale Puts On A Spectacular Show As Tourists Look The Other Way

Photographer John Goodridge snapped the moment the whale breached, its huge body leaping from the waves just five metres from the tourist vessel as the people on board peered in the wrong direction.

“You can see the people on the boat looking the other way, they didn’t even see it breach,” he told the Daily Telegraph. “You can bet they heard it land, though. Yhat boat bobbed around like a cork.

“Those whales weight about 40 tonnes, when they displace 40 tonnes of water it’s an incredible feeling.

“It’s very rare to shoot a whale that close to a boat which gives it some perspective.”

Mr Goodridge said around 12 whales were breaching near Dee Why on Sydney’s northern beaches on Tuesday as they swam up the NSW coast on their northerly migration.

With many thanks to The Australian

Whale-watching in Australia

Blue Whales Numbers Recover To Pre-hunting Days Says Study

May 31, 2016

Australia: Heart Of The Nation Photo Series: A Selection

Something about the (complex) way this photo was taken makes it strangely compelling.

Picture: Peter Solness

A portrait of a firefighter looks out across the Winton Wetlands, near Wangaratta, Victoria.

Picture: Rene Martens

Kelly Brooks grew up on a beef farm at Rubicon in Victoria’s High Country, tearing around on motorbikes with her two brothers and playing guitar around the campfire. She is now an aspiring country singer, based in Queensland with her kelpie, Dusty.

Picture: Luke Marsden.

Why do some creatures get a bad rap even though they’re amazing? Take this native fish, which is found in freshwater habitats all along the east coast of Australia. This one’s in the pond at Sydney’s Royal Botanic Gardens, where it will lead a pretty mundane life preying on crustaceans, insects, fish and ducklings for the first 90 per cent of its existence.

Picture: Matty Smith

Grumblebum developed a taste for beer when his owner, Crockett Paterson, inadvertently poured him one one hot summer day. It’s now a weekly treat, and XXXX Gold is his preferred bevy.

Picture: David Sproule

A blessing of the fleet, featuring statues of the Virgin Mary, a throng of people and an archbishop, who prays for a safe and bountiful year. Sounds like medieval Italy, doesn’t it? In fact, it's in hip, modern Fremantle.

Picture: Tony McDonough

Human endeavours always look different from the air. Take the St Ives gold mine near Kambalda, WA. Photographed from a plane, the mine’s tailings dump resembles an abstract charcoal artwork, with tiny flecks of colour that turn out to be bulldozers.

Picture: Sheldon Pettit

It takes a certain type of courage to step out over a 200m abyss.

Picture: Richard McGibbon

Click to enlarge.

With many thanks to The Australian

May 03, 2016

Argyle Violet Diamond Expected To Fetch Up To $4m At Auction

Rio Tinto has discovered a rare 2.83-carat violet diamond at its Western Australian mine, the largest of its type from the operation, which could sell for more than $4 million.

The oval shaped diamond, known as the Argyle Violet, will be the centrepiece of the 2016 Argyle Pink diamonds tender, which is the annual showcase of the rarest diamonds from the mine.

The tender attracts private bids and while the price for the rare gem is yet to be decided, it could attract offers anywhere from $1m to $2m a carat.

DIAMONDS FOREVER: De Beers warns of looming shortage.

Rio Tinto said that violet diamonds were rarely seen. In 32 years of operation, Argyle had produced only 12 carats of polished violet diamonds for its annual tender.
The mine has only ever produced one other significant violet-coloured diamond of 1 carat or more, which was discovered in 2008.

“This stunning violet diamond will capture the imagination of the world’s leading collectors and connoisseurs,” Argyle Pink Diamonds manager Josephine Johnson said.

More than 90 per cent of the world’s rare pink diamonds come from the Argyle mine and it is the only source of hydrogen-rich violet diamonds. The Argyle Violet was discovered in August last year.

It took more than 80 hours to polish the Argyle Violet to form its shape from the 9.17 carat rough diamond — which was said to look like a meteorite with deep etching, pits and crevices.

The 2016 Argyle Pink diamonds tender will commence private trade viewings in June and travel to Copenhagen, Hong Kong and New York.

By Sarah-Jane Tasker
With many thanks to The Australian

I am sure the late Dame Elizabeth Taylor would have loved it as it is the colour of her eyes.