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Dedman College of Humanities and Sciences Dedman College Research Earth Sciences Faculty News

Oldest Fossil of Sea Reptile Dating Back 94 Million Years Found in Utah

Newsweek – I knew right away we had something special, especially considering it was so old,” said Michael Polcyn, a vertebrate paleontologist and mosasaur expert at the Southern Methodist University in Dallas. The discovery of the oldest fossil of a marine reptile, dating back 94 million years, is shedding new light on the evolution of […]

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Dedman College of Humanities and Sciences Dedman College Research Earth Sciences Institute for the Study of Earth and Man

Mosasaurs and Mardi Gras: Smithsonian’s ancient creature exhibit inspires Chief Shaka Zulu’s Mardi Gras suit

SMU NEWS- Internationally-known for his exquisite Black Masking Mardi Gras suits, Chief Shaka Zulu got his inspiration for this year’s suit from an unlikely source: fossils of ancient creatures discovered in Angola. Chief Shaka saw the remains from the large, prehistoric marine reptiles in an exhibit at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History. The […]

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Dedman College of Humanities and Sciences Dedman College Research Earth Sciences Undergraduate News

Meet the SMU student who is an international dinosaur origami champion

Dallas Morning News: In the basement of SMU’s Heroy Science Hall, Travis Nolan cups an origami reptile in the palm of his hand. Technically, it’s not a dinosaur, though it looks like one. Nolan says the reptile, called a dimetrodon, walked the earth before dinosaurs even existed. The dimetrodon he’s holding has a small beige […]

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Dedman College of Humanities and Sciences Dedman College Research Earth Sciences Faculty News

New dinosaur species distinguished by its fearsome claws

A new dinosaur species identified by paleontologist Tony Fiorillo and SMU Ph.D. graduate Yoshitsugu Kobayashi was covered by the Mirror,  Earth.com and LiveScience.  

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Dedman College of Humanities and Sciences Dedman College Research Earth Sciences Faculty News

New dinosaur species used fearsome claws to graze along the coast

SMU News Therizinosaurs were a large group of primarily herbivorous theropod dinosaurs (dinosaurs with hollow bones and three-toed limbs). Therizinosaurs were first discovered in Asia; the fossil records in Asian countries such as China and Mongolia are rich in therizinosaurus fossils, and fossil fragments have also been reported from Japan. Scientists from Japan and the […]

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Dedman College of Humanities and Sciences Dedman College Research Earth Sciences Faculty News

New dinosaur species used fearsome claws to graze along the coast

SMU News JAPAN (Hokkaido University) and DALLAS (SMU) – Therizinosaurs were a large group of primarily herbivorous theropod dinosaurs (dinosaurs with hollow bones and three-toed limbs). Therizinosaurs were first discovered in Asia; the fossil records in Asian countries such as China and Mongolia are rich in therizinosaurus fossils, and fossil fragments have also been reported from […]

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Dedman College of Humanities and Sciences Dedman College Research Earth Sciences Faculty News

On a trek for Arctic dinosaur footprints in Alaska preserve

Washington Post Originally Posted: July 24, 2021 ‘Did you find one?” Tony Fiorillo yelled to his colleague, Yoshitsugu Kobayashi. The two paleontologists were climbing over dumpster-sized sandstone boulders, scanning the long, rocky beach of Aniakchak National Monument & Preserve at low tide for dinosaur footprints. “I think so,” Kobayashi called back. They have been coming […]

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Dedman College of Humanities and Sciences Dedman College Research Earth Sciences Faculty News

New duckbilled dinosaur discovered in Japan

Eureka Posted: April 27, 2021 An international team of paleontologists has identified a new genus and species of hadrosaur or duck-billed dinosaur, Yamatosaurus izanagii, on one of Japan’s southern islands. The fossilized discovery yields new information about hadrosaur migration, suggesting that the herbivors migrated from Asia to North America instead of vice versa. The discovery […]