Saturday, 19 January 2008
Sunday, 6 January 2008
ORCA MAX'INUX
Orca, Black Fish or Killer Whale — these toothed whales in the oceanic dolphin family are one of the most recognized species in the world.
These large marine mammals are easily distinguished by their black-and-white colouration, large dorsal fin and a sleek, streamlined body. You can often get a peek at their top fin and just enough of their distinctive white eye patch to id
Their genus name Orcinus means "of the kingdom of the dead."
In the Kwak̓wala language of the Kwakiutl or Kwakwaka'wakw, speakers of Kwak'wala, of the Pacific Northwest, orca or killer whales are known as max̱'inux̱.
Thursday, 3 January 2008
Burgess Shale 2008
BURGESS
SHALE
2008
For those of you who are interested in seeing the magnificent fossils of the Burgess Shale or hiking to the Mt. Stephen Fossil Beds, here is the updated information for 2008:
Reservations are taken at 9AM to Noon and 1PM to 3PM local time on Mondays to Fridays. General Information for registering for the Guided Hikes to the:
Burgess Shale – Walcott Quarry
Mt. Stephen Fossil Beds and the
Climate Change Hike
Payment must be made at the time of registering for each hike. There is a no refund policy and the fee for making changes to the schedule of the hike once the registration has been made is $20 CAD per person. There is no answering machine on the 1-800-343-3006, if you wish to leave a message please phone the administration number at: 250-343-6006. Office hours during weekdays only.
The residential mailing addresses with postal/zip code is required for each person in your group. At the time of registering the name and address of the person registering is required and the additional names and addresses can be emailed to: info@burgess-shale.bc.ca at a later date, but prior to the date of the hike. The method of payment is master card, visa or personal cheques approved by the Director. Cheques must be received within one week from the date of registration or the registration will be cancelled. You can fax your credit card information to: 250-343-6426 no cover page is required.
The payment for the hike will be processed and you and a confirmation and waiver form will be emailed to you. The confirmation form provides you with the details of the hike, the meeting places and times and what you need to bring with you during the hike. The waiver form must be filled in, signed in the appropriate places and witnessed by a friend or neighbour. Bring the completed waiver form with you and hand it to your guide on the morning of the hike. Do not mail the waiver form. A legal guardian must sign for children under the age of 19 years.
Please provide us with the place you are staying and a contact phone number of where you can be reached on the night prior to the hike. This is necessary in the event that bad weather results in delays or cancellation of the hike or we need to change the meeting place. Sorry, cell phones do not work in here in Field. If the Foundation cancels the hike for whatever reason, you will be provided with a full refund.
Burgess Shale – Walcott Quarry
Mt. Stephen Fossil Beds and the
Climate Change Hike
Payment must be made at the time of registering for each hike. There is a no refund policy and the fee for making changes to the schedule of the hike once the registration has been made is $20 CAD per person. There is no answering machine on the 1-800-343-3006, if you wish to leave a message please phone the administration number at: 250-343-6006. Office hours during weekdays only.
The residential mailing addresses with postal/zip code is required for each person in your group. At the time of registering the name and address of the person registering is required and the additional names and addresses can be emailed to: info@burgess-shale.bc.ca at a later date, but prior to the date of the hike. The method of payment is master card, visa or personal cheques approved by the Director. Cheques must be received within one week from the date of registration or the registration will be cancelled. You can fax your credit card information to: 250-343-6426 no cover page is required.
The payment for the hike will be processed and you and a confirmation and waiver form will be emailed to you. The confirmation form provides you with the details of the hike, the meeting places and times and what you need to bring with you during the hike. The waiver form must be filled in, signed in the appropriate places and witnessed by a friend or neighbour. Bring the completed waiver form with you and hand it to your guide on the morning of the hike. Do not mail the waiver form. A legal guardian must sign for children under the age of 19 years.
Please provide us with the place you are staying and a contact phone number of where you can be reached on the night prior to the hike. This is necessary in the event that bad weather results in delays or cancellation of the hike or we need to change the meeting place. Sorry, cell phones do not work in here in Field. If the Foundation cancels the hike for whatever reason, you will be provided with a full refund.
For information regarding group bookings please call Randle Robertson at 1-800-343-3006.
If you require additional information please refer to our website: http://www.burgess-shale.bc.ca/
If you require additional information please refer to our website: http://www.burgess-shale.bc.ca/
Monday, 31 December 2007
CARCHARDONTOSAURUS GOES EXTINCT TWICE
Carcharodontosaurus iguidensis from the Cenomanian of Nigeria and published in this months issue Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. This fellow almost had the misfortune of going extinct twice!
Tooth fragments collected by Charles Depéret and J. Savornin in 1927 were misplaced before this meat-eater could ever be described and when additional material was collected in Egypt in the 1930’s it also came to an unfortunate end. Sent to German paleontologists in Munich to describe, the fossils were lost in the rubble as Allied Forces bombed the building in which they were housed during WW II.
But the rocky history and luck of Carcharodontosaurus iguidensis improved when paleontologist Paul Sereno found cranial material on a Moroccan dig in 1996. That find combined with material collected the following year in Nigeria were examined by Sereno and Steve Brusatte, a paleobiologist at the University of Bristol in England, and Paul Sereno and determined to be a new species, not C. saharicus as originally thought.
The massive skull, neck and bone fragments belonged to Carcharodontosaurus iguidensis, one of the largest dinosaurs ever found. Carcharodontosaurus differs from C. saharicus, his smaller Saharan coursin, both in the maxilla and braincase. Carcharodontosaurus iguidensis walked upright and was a massive beast, weighing in at an impressive 3.2 tons.
Extending upwards of 14 meters (44 ft), nearly as long as Tyrannosaurs, alive today they could easily peer through a second story window - a menacing thought as they were well-equipped hunters with sizable teeth.The climate was much warmer when Carcharodontosaurus iguidensis and C. saharicus roamed the Earth and the seas much higher. Beyond geographic distance, the raised sea level may have been what set these therapods apart. Shallow seas separated what is now Morocco and Nigeria and this separation may have prompted the development of the unique characteristics define the two species.. Perhaps more abundant prey and favorable conditions allowed Carcharodontosaurus iguidensis to grow to their huge size while C. saharicus remained a smallish 1.6 meters (5.2 ft).
While not a reptile, C. saharicus has been compared with modern Crocodylia, another group who first appeared in the Cretaceous, as they share similar inner ear anatomy and cerebrum size relative to total brain. Like many therapods prior to the 1930’s, the African species were originally misgrouped into the genus Megalosaurus. Paleontologist Ernst Stromer von Reichenbach corrected this error.
After taking a closer look at their anatomy, particularly their dentition, he renamed them Carcharodontosaurus in 1931 citeing their "mainly Carcharodon-like teeth", which were "not recurved, almost bilaterally symmetrical but with convex edges” The Carcharodontosaurids were a group of gigantic carnivorous carcharodontosaurid dinosaurs that lived 98 to 93 million years ago.
Carcharodontosaurus means 'shark lizard', after the shark genus Carcharodon, an apt handle as they were ominous killers with enormous jaws and long, serrated teeth, some as long as eight inches.
Tooth fragments collected by Charles Depéret and J. Savornin in 1927 were misplaced before this meat-eater could ever be described and when additional material was collected in Egypt in the 1930’s it also came to an unfortunate end. Sent to German paleontologists in Munich to describe, the fossils were lost in the rubble as Allied Forces bombed the building in which they were housed during WW II.
But the rocky history and luck of Carcharodontosaurus iguidensis improved when paleontologist Paul Sereno found cranial material on a Moroccan dig in 1996. That find combined with material collected the following year in Nigeria were examined by Sereno and Steve Brusatte, a paleobiologist at the University of Bristol in England, and Paul Sereno and determined to be a new species, not C. saharicus as originally thought.
The massive skull, neck and bone fragments belonged to Carcharodontosaurus iguidensis, one of the largest dinosaurs ever found. Carcharodontosaurus differs from C. saharicus, his smaller Saharan coursin, both in the maxilla and braincase. Carcharodontosaurus iguidensis walked upright and was a massive beast, weighing in at an impressive 3.2 tons.
Extending upwards of 14 meters (44 ft), nearly as long as Tyrannosaurs, alive today they could easily peer through a second story window - a menacing thought as they were well-equipped hunters with sizable teeth.The climate was much warmer when Carcharodontosaurus iguidensis and C. saharicus roamed the Earth and the seas much higher. Beyond geographic distance, the raised sea level may have been what set these therapods apart. Shallow seas separated what is now Morocco and Nigeria and this separation may have prompted the development of the unique characteristics define the two species.. Perhaps more abundant prey and favorable conditions allowed Carcharodontosaurus iguidensis to grow to their huge size while C. saharicus remained a smallish 1.6 meters (5.2 ft).
While not a reptile, C. saharicus has been compared with modern Crocodylia, another group who first appeared in the Cretaceous, as they share similar inner ear anatomy and cerebrum size relative to total brain. Like many therapods prior to the 1930’s, the African species were originally misgrouped into the genus Megalosaurus. Paleontologist Ernst Stromer von Reichenbach corrected this error.
After taking a closer look at their anatomy, particularly their dentition, he renamed them Carcharodontosaurus in 1931 citeing their "mainly Carcharodon-like teeth", which were "not recurved, almost bilaterally symmetrical but with convex edges” The Carcharodontosaurids were a group of gigantic carnivorous carcharodontosaurid dinosaurs that lived 98 to 93 million years ago.
Carcharodontosaurus means 'shark lizard', after the shark genus Carcharodon, an apt handle as they were ominous killers with enormous jaws and long, serrated teeth, some as long as eight inches.
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