{"id":124002,"date":"2024-11-09T22:13:55","date_gmt":"2024-11-09T15:13:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/?p=124002"},"modified":"2024-11-09T22:13:55","modified_gmt":"2024-11-09T15:13:55","slug":"dinosaurs-unearthed-in-china-may-have-ended-with-a-collapse-not-a-catastrophe-npr","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/?p=124002","title":{"rendered":"Dinosaurs unearthed in China may have ended with a collapse, not a catastrophe : NPR"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <script async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-3711241968723425\"\r\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script>\r\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\r\n     style=\"display:block\"\r\n     data-ad-format=\"fluid\"\r\n     data-ad-layout-key=\"-fb+5w+4e-db+86\"\r\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-3711241968723425\"\r\n     data-ad-slot=\"7910942971\"><\/ins>\r\n<script>\r\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n<\/script><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div id=\"storytext\">\n<div id=\"resg-s1-33469\" class=\"bucketwrap image large\">\n<div class=\"imagewrap has-source-dimensions\" data-crop-type=\"\" style=\"&#10;        --source-width: 2153;&#10;        --source-height: 1736;&#10;    \">\n        <picture><source srcset=\"https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/2153x1736+0+0\/resize\/1100\/quality\/85\/format\/webp\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F76%2Fbf%2Fe0ea5ef84970ba95e0ee00a1ef77%2F4-psittacosaurus.jpg\" class=\"img\" type=\"image\/webp\" data-template=\"https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/2153x1736+0+0\/resize\/{width}\/quality\/{quality}\/format\/{format}\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F76%2Fbf%2Fe0ea5ef84970ba95e0ee00a1ef77%2F4-psittacosaurus.jpg\" data-format=\"webp\"\/><source srcset=\"https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/2153x1736+0+0\/resize\/1100\/quality\/85\/format\/jpeg\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F76%2Fbf%2Fe0ea5ef84970ba95e0ee00a1ef77%2F4-psittacosaurus.jpg\" class=\"img\" type=\"image\/jpeg\" data-template=\"https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/2153x1736+0+0\/resize\/{width}\/quality\/{quality}\/format\/{format}\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F76%2Fbf%2Fe0ea5ef84970ba95e0ee00a1ef77%2F4-psittacosaurus.jpg\" data-format=\"jpeg\"\/><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/2153x1736+0+0\/resize\/1100\/quality\/85\/format\/jpeg\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F76%2Fbf%2Fe0ea5ef84970ba95e0ee00a1ef77%2F4-psittacosaurus.jpg\" class=\"img\" alt=\"Two complete skeletons of the dinosaur Psittacosaurus from one of the sites analyzed by the research team. Some scientists say these fossils show evidence of preservation due to their burrows collapsing.\" data-template=\"https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/2153x1736+0+0\/resize\/{width}\/quality\/{quality}\/format\/{format}\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F76%2Fbf%2Fe0ea5ef84970ba95e0ee00a1ef77%2F4-psittacosaurus.jpg\" data-format=\"jpeg\"\/>\n        <\/picture>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"credit-caption\">\n<div class=\"caption-wrap\">\n<div class=\"caption\" aria-label=\"Image caption\">\n<p>\n                Two complete skeletons of the dinosaur <em>Psittacosaurus<\/em> from one of the sites analyzed by the research team. Some scientists say these fossils show evidence of preservation due to their burrows collapsing.<br \/>\n                <b class=\"credit\" aria-label=\"Image credit\"><\/p>\n<p>                    Liu Jun<\/p>\n<p>                <\/b><br \/>\n                <b class=\"hide-caption\"><b>hide caption<\/b><\/b>\n            <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>            <b class=\"toggle-caption\"><b>toggle caption<\/b><\/b>\n    <\/div>\n<p>    <span class=\"credit\" aria-label=\"Image credit\"><\/p>\n<p>        Liu Jun<\/p>\n<p>    <\/span>\n<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>For decades, a few hundred miles northeast of Beijing, the Yixian Formation has offered up a treasure trove of exquisite dinosaur fossils dating back to the early Cretaceous (about 145 to 66 million years ago).<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt gives us this extraordinary window into the past and into this time where there were very diverse dinosaurs,\u201d says <a href=\"https:\/\/eesc.columbia.edu\/content\/paul-e-olsen\"><u>Paul Olsen<\/u><\/a>, an earth scientist at Columbia University. \u201cWe\u2019re looking at this snapshot of an ecosystem.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Most researchers have said the remarkable preservation of many of these specimens was due to volcanic activity. But in research published in the journal <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pnas.org\/doi\/10.1073\/pnas.2322875121\"><em><u>PNAS<\/u><\/em><\/a>, Olsen and his colleagues argue an alternative explanation \u2014 that, over time, their burrows collapsed, suffocating them. This would have happened repeatedly over some 90,000 years.<\/p>\n<aside id=\"ad-backstage-wrap\" class=\"ad-wrap backstage\" aria-label=\"advertisement\">\n<\/aside>\n<p>\u201cIn no way does this diminish these fantastic fossils,\u201d says Olsen. \u201cIn fact, for me, it makes them even more marvelous that we get this deep view of diversity so many millions of years ago.\u201d<\/p>\n<div id=\"resg-s1-33472\" class=\"bucketwrap image large\">\n<div class=\"imagewrap has-source-dimensions\" data-crop-type=\"\" style=\"&#10;        --source-width: 3264;&#10;        --source-height: 2448;&#10;    \">\n        <picture><source srcset=\"https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/3264x2448+0+0\/resize\/400\/quality\/85\/format\/webp\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fe5%2F45%2Fdfa4c2674a77abbba45a8d16ace9%2F2-lujiatun-site-2012.jpg 400w,&#10;https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/3264x2448+0+0\/resize\/600\/quality\/85\/format\/webp\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fe5%2F45%2Fdfa4c2674a77abbba45a8d16ace9%2F2-lujiatun-site-2012.jpg 600w,&#10;https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/3264x2448+0+0\/resize\/800\/quality\/85\/format\/webp\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fe5%2F45%2Fdfa4c2674a77abbba45a8d16ace9%2F2-lujiatun-site-2012.jpg 800w,&#10;https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/3264x2448+0+0\/resize\/900\/quality\/85\/format\/webp\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fe5%2F45%2Fdfa4c2674a77abbba45a8d16ace9%2F2-lujiatun-site-2012.jpg 900w,&#10;https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/3264x2448+0+0\/resize\/1200\/quality\/85\/format\/webp\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fe5%2F45%2Fdfa4c2674a77abbba45a8d16ace9%2F2-lujiatun-site-2012.jpg 1200w,&#10;https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/3264x2448+0+0\/resize\/1600\/quality\/85\/format\/webp\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fe5%2F45%2Fdfa4c2674a77abbba45a8d16ace9%2F2-lujiatun-site-2012.jpg 1600w,&#10;https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/3264x2448+0+0\/resize\/1800\/quality\/85\/format\/webp\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fe5%2F45%2Fdfa4c2674a77abbba45a8d16ace9%2F2-lujiatun-site-2012.jpg 1800w\" data-template=\"https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/3264x2448+0+0\/resize\/{width}\/quality\/{quality}\/format\/{format}\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fe5%2F45%2Fdfa4c2674a77abbba45a8d16ace9%2F2-lujiatun-site-2012.jpg\" sizes=\"(min-width: 1300px) 763px, (min-width: 1025px) calc(100vw - 496px), (min-width: 768px) calc(100vw - 171px), calc(100vw - 30px)\" class=\"img\" type=\"image\/webp\"\/><source srcset=\"https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/3264x2448+0+0\/resize\/400\/quality\/85\/format\/jpeg\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fe5%2F45%2Fdfa4c2674a77abbba45a8d16ace9%2F2-lujiatun-site-2012.jpg 400w,&#10;https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/3264x2448+0+0\/resize\/600\/quality\/85\/format\/jpeg\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fe5%2F45%2Fdfa4c2674a77abbba45a8d16ace9%2F2-lujiatun-site-2012.jpg 600w,&#10;https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/3264x2448+0+0\/resize\/800\/quality\/85\/format\/jpeg\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fe5%2F45%2Fdfa4c2674a77abbba45a8d16ace9%2F2-lujiatun-site-2012.jpg 800w,&#10;https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/3264x2448+0+0\/resize\/900\/quality\/85\/format\/jpeg\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fe5%2F45%2Fdfa4c2674a77abbba45a8d16ace9%2F2-lujiatun-site-2012.jpg 900w,&#10;https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/3264x2448+0+0\/resize\/1200\/quality\/85\/format\/jpeg\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fe5%2F45%2Fdfa4c2674a77abbba45a8d16ace9%2F2-lujiatun-site-2012.jpg 1200w,&#10;https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/3264x2448+0+0\/resize\/1600\/quality\/85\/format\/jpeg\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fe5%2F45%2Fdfa4c2674a77abbba45a8d16ace9%2F2-lujiatun-site-2012.jpg 1600w,&#10;https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/3264x2448+0+0\/resize\/1800\/quality\/85\/format\/jpeg\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fe5%2F45%2Fdfa4c2674a77abbba45a8d16ace9%2F2-lujiatun-site-2012.jpg 1800w\" data-template=\"https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/3264x2448+0+0\/resize\/{width}\/quality\/{quality}\/format\/{format}\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fe5%2F45%2Fdfa4c2674a77abbba45a8d16ace9%2F2-lujiatun-site-2012.jpg\" sizes=\"(min-width: 1300px) 763px, (min-width: 1025px) calc(100vw - 496px), (min-width: 768px) calc(100vw - 171px), calc(100vw - 30px)\" class=\"img\" type=\"image\/jpeg\"\/><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/3264x2448+0+0\/resize\/1100\/quality\/50\/format\/jpeg\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fe5%2F45%2Fdfa4c2674a77abbba45a8d16ace9%2F2-lujiatun-site-2012.jpg\" data-template=\"https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/3264x2448+0+0\/resize\/{width}\/quality\/{quality}\/format\/{format}\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fe5%2F45%2Fdfa4c2674a77abbba45a8d16ace9%2F2-lujiatun-site-2012.jpg\" class=\"img\" alt=\"Nanjing Institute of Geology and Paleontology team at Lujiatun site where many 3-D dinosaurs, especially Psittacosaurus and several mammals have been excavated,\" loading=\"lazy\"\/>\n        <\/picture>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"credit-caption\">\n<div class=\"caption-wrap\">\n<div class=\"caption\" aria-label=\"Image caption\">\n<p>\n                The Nanjing Institute of Geology and Paleontology team at a site where many three-dimensional dinosaur fossils have been excavated.<br \/>\n                <b class=\"credit\" aria-label=\"Image credit\"><\/p>\n<p>                    Paul Olsen<\/p>\n<p>                <\/b><br \/>\n                <b class=\"hide-caption\"><b>hide caption<\/b><\/b>\n            <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>            <b class=\"toggle-caption\"><b>toggle caption<\/b><\/b>\n    <\/div>\n<p>    <span class=\"credit\" aria-label=\"Image credit\"><\/p>\n<p>        Paul Olsen<\/p>\n<p>    <\/span>\n<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<h3 class=\"edTag\">A Chinese Pompeii?<\/h3>\n<p>The Yixian Formation has yielded a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/2023\/07\/18\/1188275701\/this-fossil-of-a-mammal-biting-a-dinosaur-captures-a-death-battles-final-moments\"><u>stunning array<\/u><\/a> of fossils over the years. \u201cIt\u2019s produced the majority of the spectacular feathered dinosaurs of China,\u201d says Olsen. These flattened fossils are very well preserved.<\/p>\n<p>There\u2019s also a whole suite of 3-dimensional fossils of both carnivorous dinosaurs and plant-eating dinosaurs, \u201cwhich include distant relatives of animals like triceratops,\u201d Olsen says. \u201cThey\u2019re astoundingly complete down to the very, very last bone. And they\u2019re often in positions that look like they were just frozen in an instant.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s this appearance, combined with the deposits being rich in volcanic ash, that has led many researchers to conclude, \u201cthat the animals were catastrophically entombed by either volcanic mud flows or killed by volcanic ash or some sort of major catastrophe,\u201d says Olsen.<\/p>\n<p>But that didn&#8217;t really make sense to Olsen. He reflected on the people who died in Pompeii when Mount Vesuvius erupted and quickly buried the city. \u201cThey are in really contorted positions that tell you they were in extreme discomfort when they died,\u201d says Olsen. \u201cThey\u2019re all bunched up and they have their fists clenched.\u201d<\/p>\n<aside id=\"ad-secondary-wrap\" class=\"ad-wrap secondary\" aria-label=\"advertisement\">\n<\/aside>\n<p>Many of the dinosaur fossils unearthed in this part of China, however, look like they\u2019re sleeping peacefully. There are no visible signs of discomfort from fiery volcanic activity.<\/p>\n<p>Paleontologists have also found clutches of baby dinosaurs clustered together. \u201cHow would those animals ever stay together if they were enveloped in a massive flowing mass of material?\u201d asks Olsen. \u201cIt\u2019s not a mystery what happens to organisms when they get caught up in these things. They get ripped to shreds.\u201d<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"edTag\">A different view<\/h3>\n<p>Olsen and his colleagues studied the sediment surrounding and inside two three-dimensional fossils of <em>Psittacosaurus<\/em>. \u201cThe sediment inside the animal in both dinosaurs was much finer grained than the sediment outside of it,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n<p>That observation indicated to Olsen that the animals were buried with their skin and muscles still intact, since the flesh would have only allowed fine grained material to flow slowly into the body cavity, filtering out anything coarse. Olsen and his collaborators argue that such a burial would not have been the result of catastrophic volcanic flows. He says burrow collapse is a more straightforward conclusion.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMaybe some of them collapsed because a big sauropod dinosaur walked by,\u201d says Olsen. \u201cOr maybe it was an earthquake. Or maybe it was just the water-logged mud simply collapsed.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Olsen says that other animals were likely entombed in sediments at the bottom of a series of deep lakes. No volcanic activity would have been required there either.<\/p>\n<p>But some researchers are skeptical of the new assessment.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe paper is good,\u201d says <a href=\"https:\/\/es.nju.edu.cn\/_s234\/jby_en\/list.psp\"><u>Baoyu Jiang<\/u><\/a>, a paleontologist at Nanjing University who wasn&#8217;t involved in the research. \u201cBut they only analyzed two dinosaur fossils. They even didn\u2019t study the fossil in the lake.\u201d Olsen disputes this, explaining that he and his colleagues did analyze ash samples from the lake sediments.<\/p>\n<aside id=\"ad-third-wrap\" class=\"ad-wrap third\" aria-label=\"advertisement\">\n<\/aside>\n<p>Jiang finds the results unconvincing and speculative. \u201cSometimes you find fossils in normal sediment like they found,\u201d he says. \u201cBut most of the time, the feathered dinosaurs, they were preserved closely associated with volcanic ashes. There are many kind of possibilities.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>For Olsen, the takeaway is straightforward.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe should be careful in our attempts to understand the deep past not to make up stories that involve extraordinary catastrophic events,\u201d he says, \u201cwhen, in fact, very simple mundane ones can explain the same thing.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-3711241968723425\"\r\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script>\r\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\r\n     style=\"display:block\"\r\n     data-ad-format=\"fluid\"\r\n     data-ad-layout-key=\"-fb+5w+4e-db+86\"\r\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-3711241968723425\"\r\n     data-ad-slot=\"7910942971\"><\/ins>\r\n<script>\r\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n<\/script><br \/>\n<br \/><div data-type=\"_mgwidget\" data-widget-id=\"1660802\">\r\n<\/div>\r\n<script>(function(w,q){w[q]=w[q]||[];w[q].push([\"_mgc.load\"])})(window,\"_mgq\");\r\n<\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/2024\/11\/09\/nx-s1-5183916\/dinosaurs-unearthed-in-china-may-have-ended-with-a-collapse-not-a-catastrophe\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Two complete skeletons of the dinosaur Psittacosaurus from one of the sites analyzed by the research team. Some scientists say these fossils show evidence of preservation due to their burrows &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/?p=124002\" class=\"more-link\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8628],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-124002","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-science","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/124002","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=124002"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/124002\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=124002"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=124002"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=124002"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}