Extinct colours

A problem for those reconstructing a world long gone (paleontologists, trying to reconstruct extinct life forms) is the fact that their reconstructed world tends to be in black an white. Sure there are colour reconstructions - many, in fact. But colours are sophisticated guesses inthe best case, based on the world of today. We can imagine the colour of an extinct seabird, perhaps, to be greyish and white beneath. That is functional and many sea birds ghave that today. But the colour of a dinosaur or a trilobite is less easy to guess. And who would have guesses the colour pattern of a malayan tapir or an okapi or giraffa, only having bones at hand?

It is very interesting therefore that scientists have been able to show that certain pigments fossilize. Paleontologists at Yale have been able to analyse pigmentation in a 100 million year old bird feather (Lower Cretaceous, Brasil). They could see the striped pattern of the fossil woodpecker, caused by the pigment melanine. Similar patterns were found on an Eocene bird from Denmark. (see http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/07/080708182536.htm). This opens possibilities for looking for melanine in more fossils.
Perhaps feathered dinosaurs and even other animals long extinct will cet colours and patterns. New techniques give a thrilling insight in lost worlds.

The tetrapod link

The evolution from fish to tetrapod (four-legged animals, land animals) has always been a subject of debate, not the least in the creationist discussion. The last few years, much has become clearer about the transition from fish to tetrapod (amphibian). Classical Ichthyostega from Greenland, which is a devonian aphibian with a number of fish characteristics, is nevertheless a clear tetrapod. It is no longer however the most fish-like one. Nature reports new findings on Ventastega curiona, found in Latvia. (See Science Daily) The species has been known for some time, but newly described fossils (by among others Per Ahlberg from Upsala) shedsnew light on the animals limbs. This devonian tetrapod can be considered the most fish-like of them all. From the fish side, a very tetrapod like fish Tiktaalik was described from the devonian of Canada in 2006. Thus, the gap between tetrapods and fish is closing as we have more intermediate forms and better understand the development from fish extremities to tetrapod limbs.
Creationists may find that difficult, but I would say that my admiration for the Creators creativity only grows.

Teenage Dinosaur pregnancy

Researchers at Berkeley, California, have found that large dinosaurs were sexually mature before they were full-grown. The analysis of bones of both predatory Allosaurus and plant-eating Tenontosaurus show this pattern. Studied individuals laid eggs when only 10 resp 8 yrs of age. See http://www.berkeley.edu/news/media/releases/2008/01/14_teendinos.shtml
The growing pattern of those dinosaurs was similar to that of mammals and birds rather than reptiles. A fast growing phase, slowing down at adolescence. Just like large mammals, including man, sexual maturity was reached just at the end of the fast growing phase. Small mammals like mice and birds reach sexual maturity only after becoming full-grown.

These results once again confirm the image of dinosaurs as creatures quite unlike big repriles like crocodiles, more living like birds and mammals. Resaerch of the last years shows that dinosaurs were agile creatures, with well developed social life, closely related to birds rather than to reptiles. The classical image of slow and unintelligent giants has been abandoned by scientists for quite some time now.