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Fossil May Have been Ancestor of all Modern Mammals A half-inch-long fossil skull of an animal that lived 195 million years ago in the age of dinosaurs was found in China. According to scientists, it had more sensitive ears and a larger brain than any of its know contemporaries. Hadrocodium wui is being examined because the middle ear bones have detached from the rest of the jaw, allowing it to hear clearly while chewing. The middle ear bones of other mammals were still joined to the lower jaw. Until this discovery, paleontologists thought the advanced ear structure evolved 40 million years later. Scientists Examine Dinosaur Bites Technology and scanning devices are being used at the University of Cambridge to calculate the bite force of Allosaurus. They claim its bite was four times weaker than Tyrannosaurus rex or an alligator. Finite element analysis (FEA) which is used by engineers and industrial designers, was used to construct a digital model. Dinosaur Found in Madagascar Named for Rock Singer Paleontologists from the University of Utah under the leadership of Scott Sampson announced the discovery of a small dinosaur. They selected the name Masiakasaurus knopfleri because they listened to a lot of music by Dire Straits while conducting their field work in the tropical climate of Madagascar. The lead singer and guitarist is Mark Knopfler. The dinosaur has distinctive hooked teeth and the bones indicate that it was about the size of a German shepherd dog. Dinosaur Tracksite Discovered in Massachusetts Tracks of Grallator and Anchisauripus were found in Holyoke, Massachusetts by a landowner who was excavating for a fish pond. These were found in an area known to be rich in fossil tracks. In 1802, the first dinosaur foot prints documented in North America were found just a few miles away. The site is unusual because other layers of tracks were located every few inches. The animals predate Herrerasaurus, the current "oldest" dinosaur found in Argentina. |