Paleo story of the week

[TheBeardedDude]

Agreed.

[TheBeardedDude]

http://news.yahoo.com/closest-human-ance...06435.html

A NEW HUMAN ANCESTOR FOUND!!!! A very interesting find that indicates new finds about brain development, hand development, hip development and foot development. Quick rundown: 1)The brain is not very large but may indicate a better developed frontal lobe (used for multi-tasking) suggesting human brains may have first increased in complexity before a rapid increase in size. 2) The hands may also suggest tool use. The cave the specimens were found in has not yet been searched for tools. 3) Foot development is unique. A combination of ape-like features and human-like features. 4) The hips of human females have long been thought to be one of the keys needed for the development of larger brains. If the hips are not wide enough then birthing a large brained baby would be very difficult. The hips in this specimen are very human-like and suggest (coupled with the small brain) that large hips came first. Suggesting that the hips provided and improvement in locomotion that later served the purpose of an increase in infant brain size. 5) Last but not least, this was discovered by a 9 year old. I wish I had a discovery like that at 9!

[Observer]

(09-09-2011 07:16 AM)TheBeardedDude Wrote:  4) The hips of human females have long been thought to be one of the keys needed for the development of larger brains. If the hips are not wide enough then birthing a large brained baby would be very difficult. The hips in this specimen are very human-like and suggest (coupled with the small brain) that large hips came first. Suggesting that the hips provided and improvement in locomotion that later served the purpose of an increase in infant brain size.

Nice info...
I hips. Whoever said that paleontology is boring was a fool...



How do you find these articles BeardedDude?

[TheBeardedDude]

I want to like that post more than once.

[FSM_scot]

(09-09-2011 07:16 AM)TheBeardedDude Wrote:  The hips of human females have long been thought to be one of the keys needed for the development of larger brains. If the hips are not wide enough then birthing a large brained baby would be very difficult. The hips in this specimen are very human-like and suggest (coupled with the small brain) that large hips came first.

I thought that the widening of the hips was due to the increase in brain size. It goes to show that I still have alot to learn about our origins.

Nice find BeardedDude

[TheBeardedDude]

(09-09-2011 04:46 PM)FSM_scot Wrote:  

(09-09-2011 07:16 AM)TheBeardedDude Wrote:  The hips of human females have long been thought to be one of the keys needed for the development of larger brains. If the hips are not wide enough then birthing a large brained baby would be very difficult. The hips in this specimen are very human-like and suggest (coupled with the small brain) that large hips came first.

I thought that the widening of the hips was due to the increase in brain size. It goes to show that I still have alot to learn about our origins.

Nice find BeardedDude

That is what most assumed, but this shows the exact opposite! Good stuff!

I have another article I will post later this afternoon.

[TheBeardedDude]

http://news.discovery.com/animals/shark-...10908.html

A very interesting story about Shark eggs in a freshwater nursery.

[TheBeardedDude]

http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/philadelphia...15743.html

Too many good ones lately. This is really just a teaser until more info is released.

[TheBeardedDude]

Okay, I have some more good ones that are too good to wait until Monday.

http://news.discovery.com/animals/dinosa...10915.html
Dinosaur feathers in amber. Various pics.

http://news.discovery.com/animals/pre-di...10913.html
Triassic tetrapod burrows.

http://news.discovery.com/animals/huge-c...10914.html
42 foot snake and an ancestral crocodile from the Paleocene.

[TheBeardedDude]

Busy couple of weeks and more to come. I will try to keep some fresh articles in but they may be more irregular for a bit.

Here is a good one about reconstructing the colors of beetles from the Cenozoic. It is related to the dinosaur feather article, in that we are starting to find ways of reconstructing more information about the physical appearance of fossilized organisms.
http://news.discovery.com/animals/prehis...10927.html