Quetzalcoatlus and Maribous
Published on 6 Jun 2008 at 11:23 pm.
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Filed under Dinosaurs, Paleontology.
(The painting above is by Mark Witton click here for better image)
The Quetzalcoatlus is a giant pterosaur from the late Cretaceous Period with a 30 foot wingspan… the size of a small airplane. Many of the smaller pterosaurs, which populated the edges of the Western Interior Seaway of North America of old (now the Great Plains region), probably ate fish like modern gulls and pelicans. But it is not clear how the Quetzalcoatlus behaved. Their neck was probably too long and unwieldy to fish like gulls and pelicans, but it has been suggested that they might have behaved like skimmers skimming the water for their prey. Other ideas have included scavanging like vultures.
In a recent New Scientist article, Mark Witton and Darren Naish of the University of Portsmouth, UK, found that this group of pterosaurs ”lacked all 30 specialised adaptations for skimming seen in the head and neck of the modern avian skimmer”.
Instead they suggest that the stiff neck of the Quetzalcoatlus and their great height (15 feet… taller than a giraffe) would work well for hunting small prey on the ground or in shallow water much like herons or storks. Since Quetzalcoatlus fossils are found in inland regions, they reason that these animals probably behaved like Maribou Storks (more links to images here), which inhabit the dry savannahs of Africa and eat just about anything (dead or alive) that they can get their beaks on.
Here is a painting of hunting Quetzalcoatlus by Mark Witton
(better image here)
Further reading:
Kevin Knuth
Albany NY
Phoenix from Space
Published on 1 Jun 2008 at 12:15 am.
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Filed under Astronomy, Exploration, Mars, Robotics, Software, Space.
Two great images from the HiRISE camera!
This is the Phoenix probe parachuting into Mars’ north polar region from orbit with Heimdall Crater in the background. A larger image can be seen at Astronomy Picture of the Day.
This image shows the Phoenix probe on the ground.
At this point, a camera under Phoenix may have found a hard icy substrate underlying the topsoil (story here).
Kevin Knuth
Albany NY
The Money Shot!
Published on 26 May 2008 at 7:46 pm.
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Filed under Astronomy, Mars, Robotics, Space, Technology.
The High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment camera on NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) caught the Phoenix probe parachuting in to its landing site!
SWEEEEET!!!
Kevin Knuth
Albany NY
Phoenix Images
Published on 25 May 2008 at 10:32 pm.
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Filed under Astrobiology, Astronomy, Exploration, Mars, Robotics, Space, Uncategorized.
These guys are publishing these images faster than I can blog!
This image shows the horizon. This is again a very flat region, but there is interesting patterning on the surface. Perhaps this is due to freezing/thawing mechanisms.
Here is the link to the incoming images at the Phoenix Mission site.
Enjoy!
Kevin Knuth
Albany NY
Phoenix Footpad Image!
Published on 25 May 2008 at 10:26 pm.
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Filed under Astrobiology, Astronomy, Exploration, Robotics, Space.
Here is the first image back from Phoenix.
It is an image of the footpad. Clearly, the proble has landed on a level surface. No obvious sign of ice… yet?
Kevin Knuth
Albany NY
