Paleontology - New Discoveries Summer 2014

1. GREENWICH, CONN.-  Bruce Museum scientist Daniel Ksepka identifies world's largest-ever flying bird Scientists have identified the fossilized remains of an extinct giant bird that is likely to have the largest wingspan of any bird ever to have lived. A paper announcing the findings, “Flight Performance of the Largest Volant Bird,” was published July 7 in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, and is authored by Dr. Daniel Ksepka, the newest Curator of Science at the Bruce Museum in Greenwich.
More Information: http://artdaily.com/news/71317/Bruce-Museum-scientist-Daniel-Ksepka-identifies-world-s-largest-ever-flying-bird#.U8BZkFfb4Sk[/url]

2. BUENOS AIRES (AFP).- Paleontologists in Argentina's remote Patagonia region have discovered fossils of what may be the largest dinosaur ever, amid a vast cache of fossils that could shed light on prehistoric life. The creature is believed to be a new species of Titanosaur, a long-necked, long-tailed sauropod that walked on four legs and lived some 95 million years ago in the Cretaceous Period. Researchers say the plant-eating
dinosaur weighed the equivalent of more than 14 African elephants, or about 100 tonnes, and stretched up to 40 meters (130 feet) in length. .....
 http://artdaily.com/news/70168/Paleontologists-in-Argentina-s-remote-Patagonia-find-fossils-of--largest--dinosaur-#.U78wjf5OXVk

3. LONDON - A new study published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences

identifies a newly discovered 3- to 5-million-year-old Tibetan fox from the Himalayan Mountains, Vulpes qiuzhudingi, as the likely ancestor of the living Arctic fox (Vulpes lagopus), lending support to the idea that the evolution of present-day animals of the Arctic region is intimately connected to ancestors that first became adapted for life in cold regions in the high altitude environments of the Tibetan Plateau.
 http://artdaily.com/news/70729/New-paper-published-by-museum-scientists-suggests-High-Tibet-was-cradle-of-evolution#.U8A8vFfb4Sk