Latest news with #northeasternChina
New York Times
29-07-2025
- Business
- New York Times
Apple Is Shutting a Store in China, Its First Closure in the Country
Apple will close a store in northeastern China in August, the first time it has shuttered one of its retail locations since it opened its first outlet in the country in 2008. The company said on Monday that it would close its store in Dalian City's Parkland Mall on Aug. 9. On social media, locals have described the mall as struggling, noting that other brands like Michael Kors and Armani had closed their stores there. 'Given the departure of several retailers at the Parkland Mall, we have made the decision to close our store,' said Brian Bumbery, an Apple spokesman. 'We love serving the Dalian community, and all of our valued team members will have the opportunity to continue their roles with Apple.' The closure is the latest sign of how China's economy continues to be challenged by tepid consumer spending. The government has poured large sums into programs designed to spur purchases of smartphones, washing machines and electric vehicles. The trade-in programs have gotten people to spend more but economists say the impact on consumption could be short-lived. The pullback also reflects Apple's ongoing business troubles in China, which is its second-largest market. Apple has reported declining sales in China for six quarters. Last year, it reported total revenue in the country of $66.95 billion, nearly 10 percent less than its peak of $74.2 billion in 2022. Chinese rivals like Huawei, Xiaomi and Vivo have eroded Apple's share of the world's largest smartphone market. Last year, Apple's share of sales of smartphones in China fell to 15.5 percent from 17.9 percent a year earlier, according to Counterpoint Research, a tech research firm. Apple will continue to operate its other store in Dalian at another shopping mall, Olympia 66. The iPhone maker plans to open a new store in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen this month. With that opening, the company expects to finish 2025 with the same number of stores, 58, as it had at the beginning of the year, even after the Parkland Mall closure. Joy Dong contributed reporting from Hong Kong.
Yahoo
25-07-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Ancient Voice Box Finally Reveals How Dinosaurs May Have Sounded
Despite what the movies tell us, dinosaurs probably didn't roar at their prey. It's more likely that they chirped like birds, based on a well-preserved new fossil with an intact voice box. A team of researchers from the Chinese Academy of Sciences discovered an almost-complete skeleton of a new dinosaur species in northeastern China. This two-legged, 72 centimeter (2.4 foot) long herbivore was named Pulaosaurus qinglong after Pulao, a tiny dragon from Chinese mythology that, the story goes, cries out loudly. Related: That namesake is no coincidence – Pulaosaurus is one of very few dinosaurs for which we have some idea of the noises it could have made. That's because the fossil is extremely well-preserved. Not only are most of the bones present and accounted for, but so are parts we don't usually find, including structures in the larynx. There's even some impressions of what could be its final meal visible in its gut. Leaf-shaped, cartilaginous structures in the larynx are very similar to modern birds, the researchers write, which suggests that Pulaosaurus could have communicated through complex chirps and calls. Sadly, don't expect to be able to listen to a reproduction any time soon. "Due to the compression of the Pulaosaurus mandible, the exact width of the mandible is unknown, so acoustic calculations of Pulaosaurus cannot be made," the researchers write. Finding a fossilized larynx in a dinosaur is extremely rare – in fact, this is only the second time one has been identified. The other was in a very different type of dinosaur: an armored ankylosaur known as Pinacosaurus. Intriguingly, these two examples are very distantly related and separated by about 90 million years of evolution. That means this kind of larynx structure could have been widespread among dinosaurs. So why haven't we found more? The team suggests that either these fragile structures don't fossilize very often, or perhaps they're being mistakenly classified as other parts of the throat. "Reanalysis of vocal anatomy within non-avian dinosaurs needs to be carried out to assess the accuracy of identification among curated specimens," the researchers write. Maybe with more examples we'll get a better understanding of how dinosaurs really sounded. The research was published in the journal PeerJ. Related News Stunning Grand Canyon Fossils Reveal Evolution's Weird Experiments Neither Scales Nor Feathers: Bizarre Appendage Discovered on Reptile Fossil America's Largest Crater Has Surprise Link to Grand Canyon, Study Finds Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
21-07-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Dinosaur-era flying reptile's fossil reveals first direct evidence of plant diet
A recent fossil discovery is offering new insights into what pterosaurs actually ate, challenging long-held assumptions about these ancient rulers of the skies. In a study published in the peer-reviewed journal Science Bulletin, researchers from China and Brazil revealed the first direct evidence of stomach contents in a pterodactyloid pterosaur. The fossil belongs to a species of pterosaur called sinopterus atavismus, unearthed in northeastern China. According to the study, its stomach contained phytoliths—tiny, rigid mineral structures produced by plants—suggesting it had been feeding on vegetation. Scientists also found small quartz crystals, which the reptile may have ingested to help break down its food, similar to modern birds that swallow stones for digestion. Prehistoric flying reptile had stones and plants in its stomach For millions of years before birds took to the skies, pterosaurs dominated the airspace as the first vertebrates to achieve powered flight. These extinct flying reptiles lived from the Late Triassic period about 240 million years ago until the end of the Cretaceous period around 66 million years ago. While often mistaken for dinosaurs, species such as pterodactyls and pteranodons belonged to their own distinct group. "The first occurrence of phytoliths, associated with gastroliths, in the stomach contents confirms the herbivory of Sinopterus. It is the first time that such structures have been discovered in pterosaurs," the team behind the study stated in the research paper. Researchers from the Institute of Vertebrate Palaeontology and Paleoanthropology (IVPP) at the Chinese Academy of Sciences informed that among the several questions surrounding these flying reptiles is their dietary habit, which remains poorly understood, the South China Morning Post reported. The team explained that scientists have long debated what pterosaurs ate, with theories ranging from insects, fish, meat and plants, and even the possibility that some species filter-fed like whales—an uncertainty that has persisted because fossilized evidence of their meals is extremely rare. Fossil preserved in shale slab, captured delicate details Although paleontologists have studied pterosaur fossils for decades, only five confirmed cases of stomach contents have been identified in earlier, non-pterodactyloid species and those mostly contained fish remains. The exceptionally rare, nearly complete specimen of sinopterus was unearthed by researchers from IVPP in China's Liaoning province, within a Lower Cretaceous geological formation. This species belongs to the tapejaridae family, a group of toothless pterosaurs. The fossil was preserved in a fine shale slab, a type of compacted mudstone known for capturing even the most delicate details of ancient life. The research team, which included experts from Shenyang Normal University and the National Museum of Brazil, used specialized 3D X-ray imaging to analyze the fossil. Inside the body cavity, the team found a fine, claylike material that looked like undigested plant matter. This material contained tiny rigid structures known as phytoliths, which form inside plant cells and can survive long after the rest of the plant has decayed. According to David Martill, a paleontologist at the University of Portsmouth who was not involved in the research, this extraordinarily rare discovery—the kind that happens once in a century—overturns the long-held belief that these fierce-looking winged reptiles were purely carnivorous. You can view the study here. Solve the daily Crossword
The Independent
21-07-2025
- Science
- The Independent
Chinese Pterosaur fossil sparks debate on what giant flying reptiles really ate
A first-of-its-kind pterosaur fossil unearthed in China with its gut content intact has revealed what the dinosaur-era flying reptile ate, settling a long-standing debate about whether its diet was plant or meat-based. The pterosaur is considered the first vertebrate animal to achieve powered flight, but exactly what constituted the giant reptile's diet has remained elusive. Until now, most studies have theorised their diet mainly based on anatomical features revealed by fossils, such as the structure of their beak. Some prior research has found partially digested food remains in pterosaur fossils, either within the stomach or the mouth, suggesting they ate fish and insects. While a few species of the giant beast had beak shapes indicating they might have eaten plants, fruits, nuts, and seeds, direct evidence has been lacking. Now, a new study, published in the journal Science Bulletin, provides the first direct evidence that pterosaurs also ate full meals consisting of plants. The findings are based on an analysis of a well-preserved young pterosaur of the species Sinopterus atavismus, which grew up to a wingspan of two to four meters in adulthood. The remains were unearthed at the famous Jehol Biota in northeastern China, a fossil site dated to about 145 million years ago to 100.5 million years ago. Studies suggest this region was once home to several lakes and wetlands with nearby volcanoes that periodically blanketed the area in ash. Researchers, including those from Beijing's Chinese Academy of Sciences, found the pterosaur fossil with stomach remains containing an abundance of tiny plant cell particles. These particles, called phytoliths, have previously been found in the stomachs of plant-eating dinosaurs, but never in pterosaurs before. Since phytoliths were not found anywhere else in the immediate fossil site region, researchers concluded these particles originated from the pterosaur's stomach. Scientists also found small stones called gastroliths inside the stomach remains of the giant reptile, which have been found in the guts of other herbivorous dinosaurs. These tiny stones are well known to have aided plant-eating dinosaurs in digesting plant parts by grinding them in the gut. Overall, researchers uncovered 320 phytoliths from inside the pterosaur specimen. However, scientists have yet to determine the species of plants the pterosaur likely consumed. "Phytolitholith morphologies in the stomach contents, with this high diversity, are nearly impossible to attribute to one single taxon based on the recent knowledge, which suggests that Sinopterus might have consumed a diverse range of plants,' they wrote in the study. The findings conclude a long-standing debate that at least some species of pterosaurs ate full meals consisting only of plants.
South China Morning Post
20-07-2025
- Science
- South China Morning Post
Dino-era diet debate: Chinese pterosaur fossil rewrites menu of ancient flying reptile
Scientists in China and Brazil have found the first evidence of a plant-eating pterosaur, the ancient flying reptiles that coexisted with dinosaurs The rare find sheds light on the mysterious diets of the creatures that ruled the skies before birds and renews a contentious debate among palaeontologists. 'We report the first evidence of stomach contents of a pterodactyloid pterosaur,' the team said in a paper published in the peer-reviewed journal Science Bulletin on July 1. The fossil of the Sinopterus atavismus – a species of pterosaur – was found in northeastern China. Its stomach was found to contain phytoliths, a rigid, microscopic mineral deposit that forms in some plants, as well as small quartz crystals possibly swallowed to aid digestion, the team said. Quartz is commonly present in gastroliths – or mineralised 'stomach stones' that many living animals, including birds and lizards, keep in their gizzards or stomachs to help grind up tough foods like plants. 'The first occurrence of phytoliths, associated with gastroliths, in the stomach contents confirms the herbivory of Sinopterus. It is the first time that such structures have been discovered in pterosaurs.'
