Latest news with #NewMexicoMuseumofNaturalHistory&Science
Yahoo
29-03-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
NM paleontologist on team researching new dinosaur species
Mar. 27—More than 90 million years ago, a creature with a long neck and two claw-baring fingers roamed the Earth, grabbing plants and sinking its sharp, small leaf-shaped teeth into the greenery hanging from trees. This new species of dinosaur was found in 2012 by an international research team that included New Mexico Museum of Natural History & Science Executive Director Anthony Fiorillo. The scientists published a research paper on the Duonychus tsogtbaatari this week in the scientific journal iScience. "This work not only opens up new possibilities for research on a little-understood family of dinosaurs," Fiorillo said in a news release, "but it also showcases how international partnerships play a key role in our museum's research." The discovery started in southern Mongolia when a construction crew noticed something strange while putting down water pipelines. When they realized what was beneath the ground wasn't rock, but large bones, the crew called authorities at the Institute of Paleontology at the Mongolian Academy of Sciences in Ulaanbaatar — the capitol of Mongolia. The claw of the dinosaur was fully intact and completely fossilized, something that does not commonly occur, Fiorillo said in an interview. The discovery also suggests that dinosaurs seemed to generally evolve toward a reduction of digits. "The fact that we have a left and right hand when we recognized that there were only two fingers on each hand, that's when the light bulb went on, it's like, wow, this is not supposed to be the case," Fiorillo said. "That's what started us to get really excited by what we had." The newly discovered dinosaur is believed to have been a herbivore or omnivore and part of a group of theropod dinosaurs that lived in central and eastern Asia and western North America, including New Mexico. "In New Mexico, there are remains of this group of dinosaurs," Fiorillo said. "Not specifically duonychus, but therizinosaurus in general have been found here. This dinosaur does actually shed some light on dinosaurs within our own state." Fiorillo was selected to be part of the research team by his former student — Yoshitsugu Kobayashi — who Fiorillo collaborated with to release the research paper titled "Didactyl therizinosaur with a preserved keratinous claw from the Late Cretaceous of Mongolia," after unveiling the new dinosaur species. "Now that we have this paper, we have to figure out what we want to do next," he said. "We have to decide if we want to investigate this rock unit further and see if we can find other examples of this animal. We also need to get this knowledge out to the public and frame it in the context of what it means for New Mexico."
Yahoo
11-03-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
This extinct tree-dwelling mammal may be among humans' closer relatives
The planet's earliest mammals are an important part of our evolutionary history, yet remain shrouded in mystery. One of them, Mixodectes pungens lived in western North America during the early Paleocene–about about 66 to 56 million years ago. It was first discovered over 140 years ago by paleontologist–and 1881 Popular Science profile subject–Edward Drinker Cope. But most of what we know about them came from tiny jawbone fragments and fossilized teeth collected in the years since. Now, we may have some answers, thanks to a well-preserved 62 million-year-old skeleton. This particular Mixodectes pungens specimen represents a mature adult that weighed about three pounds, lived in trees, feasted on leaves, and may be among our closer evolutionary relatives. The findings are detailed in a study published March 11 in the journal Scientific Reports. 'A 62-million-year-old skeleton of this quality and completeness offers novel insights into mixodectids, including a much clearer picture of their evolutionary relationships,' study co-author and Yale University anthropologist Eric Sargis said in a statement. 'Our findings show that they are close relatives of primates and colugos–flying lemurs native to Southeast Asia– making them fairly close relatives of humans.' Mixodectes belonged to an extinct family known as mixodectids and lived during the Paleocene epoch. This geological epoch followed the Cretaceous-Paleogene extinction event that killed off non-avian dinosaurs about 66 million years ago. Many scientists believe that this mass extinction paved the way for the rise of mammals. The skeleton in this study was collected in New Mexico's San Juan Basin by study co-author and New Mexico Museum of Natural History & Science paleontology curator Thomas Williamson. The specimen includes a partial skull with teeth, spinal column, rib cage, forelimbs, and hind limbs. By the anatomy of its limbs and claws, the team believes that it lived in trees and could vertically cling to tree trunks and branches. Its molar teeth had crests that are used to break down abrasive material, which suggests an omnivorous diet heavy on the leaves. 'This fossil skeleton provides new evidence concerning how placental mammals diversified ecologically following the extinction of the dinosaurs,' study co-author and Brooklyn College paleontologist Stephen Chester, said in a statement. 'Characteristics such as a larger body mass and an increased reliance on leaves allowed Mixodectes to thrive in the same trees likely shared with other early primate relatives.' According to the team, Mixodectes was rather large for a tree-dwelling mammal in North America during the early Paleocene. For example, the Mixodectes skeleton in this study is significantly larger than a partial skeleton of Torrejonia wilsoni. This small arboreal mammal from an extinct group of primates called plesiadapiforms was discovered alongside it. While Mixodectes primarily ate leaves, Torrejonia mostly ate fruit. The authors believe that these distinctions in both size and diet suggest that mixodectids likely occupied a unique ecological niche in the early Paleocene that set them apart from their tree-dwelling contemporaries. Mixodectids were also euarchontans, a group of mammals that consists of treeshrews, primates, and colugos. To clarify just where Mixodectes fits on the evolutionary tree, the team conducted two phylogenetic analyses. One analysis supported that they were archaic primates, while the other did not. However, the latter analysis did verify that mixodectids are primatomorphans. This group Euarchonta was made up of primates and colugos, but not treeshrews. 'While the study doesn't entirely resolve the debate over where mixodectids belong on the evolutionary tree, it significantly narrows it,' Sargis said.
Yahoo
10-03-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Albuquerque museum to host total lunar eclipse viewing event
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – This week, Albuquerque skygazers will get an opportunity to watch the moon take on an orange or reddish hue during a total lunar eclipse. During the eclipse, the moon will move into the inner part of Earth's shadow. Some of the sunlight passing through Earth's atmosphere will reach the moon's surface, lighting it dimly. The more dust or clouds in Earth's atmosphere during the eclipse, the redder the moon will appear, according to NASA's website. ABQ BioPark moves some birds indoors to protect them from avian flu Anyone in the Western Hemisphere will have a chance to see the eclipse on March 13/14, depending on cloud cover and weather. No special equipment is needed to view the 'blood moon,' but if you are in Albuquerque and want to get an up-close look, the New Mexico Museum of Natural History & Science is holding a viewing event. Telescopes will be set up on the museum's Observatory Deck from 11:30 p.m. Thursday to 1:30 a.m. Friday. There will also be live broadcasts of the eclipse from other locations, moon-related activities, and a presentation in the planetarium that will explain how eclipses happen and what to look for during this celestial event. There will be another total lunar eclipse before dawn next year; however, this eclipse will be the last one that begins in the evening as seen from New Mexico until 2029. The New Mexico Museum of Natural History & Science will share updates about the event on Facebook. To learn more about the 2025 Total Lunar Eclipse, visit NASA's website here. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
15-02-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
‘A 300-million-year journey': Ancient Life exhibit opening at NM Museum of Natural History & Science
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – A new exhibit featuring nearly 300 never-before-seen fossils will open at the New Mexico Museum of Natural History & Science on Saturday. The Bradbury Stamm Construction Hall of Ancient Life completes the museum's exploration of life in New Mexico by telling the story of 300 million years of evolution. 'This really sets people up to learn what happened in New Mexico before the dinosaurs, what was living here, what New Mexico looked like,' said Matt Celeskey, curator of exhibits at the New Mexico Museum of Natural History & Science. Story continues below Local: Bryan Cranston makes surprise visit to Albuquerque 'Breaking Bad' store Crime: 12 horses at All American Futurity had illicit drug in their system DWI Scandal: Prominent ABQ attorney admits to running 'DWI Enterprise' scandal Guests who start at the entrance to the exhibit will be able to essentially 'walk through' the Paleozoic Era, which is when life crawled out of the sea for the first time and amphibians, reptiles, and arthropods all evolved. 'I want to believe most people will be surprised about how different New Mexico was during the Paleozoic,' said Dr. Spencer Lucas, curator of paleontology and curator of the new exhibit at the New Mexico Museum of Natural History & Science. 'You know, today we live in New Mexico; it's a high desert. We're almost a thousand miles away from the sea, and it's a very dry, you know, kind of climate. And to realize that New Mexico in the Paleozoic was at or very near the equator that seas came and went.' The fossils on display from that time period include ancient fish, amphibians, invertebrates, reptiles, and more. Two of the largest fossils on display are the remains of a Dracopristis shark that was found near Tijeras and a partial Gordodon skeleton that was found near Alamogordo. Visitors to the exhibit will be able to see the fossils alongside life-size models of what researchers believed they looked like. The walls of the exhibit are also covered in murals depicting some of the environments that once existed in the state, like jungles and beaches. 'It's very rewarding because it brings to life a world that I could only imagine in my mind,' said Lucas. 'And now I can look at all this fantastic artwork and the sculptures and all that and really see what we think things were like.' At the end of the exhibit hall, visitors will learn about the end of the Paleozoic Era, which was marked by the Permian extinction. According to the museum, the Permian extinction is the largest extinction event in known history and eventually paved the way for dinosaurs to evolve. 'Then they can continue into our dinosaur halls and then our fossil mammal halls and our volcanoes and caves,' Celeskey added. Before leaving the Hall of Ancient Life, guests are encouraged to check out the interactive digital displays, including one where visitors can take a photo and create their own virtual postcard to digitally download on their own devices. 'We've come together to pull all these resources together and create something that we're really excited about showing off. It's very gratifying to see it really taking shape and all the final pieces falling into place,' said Celesky. The Bradbury Stamm Construction Hall of Ancient Life is the first major exhibit hall to open at the museum in about 16 to 17 years. It replaced the 'Origins Hall' on the second floor of the museum and marks the first renovation of this space since 1987, just a year after the museum opened to the public. Saturday, the exhibit will be open to members only from 9 a.m. and 12 p.m. After that, members of the public will be able to enter. On Sunday, the museum will have free admission for New Mexico residents. For more information, click here. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
