The Boneyard #3

Welcome, everyone, to the 3rd edition of the paleo-carnival The Boneyard. The posts have been weathering out of the blogosphere almost faster than they could be jacketed and prepared, but here’s what we have on display for this week’s edition.

Crested pterosaur from the AMNH (taken within the last year)

John McKay treats us with a post about visit to the Wenas Creek mammoth dig. It’s a great post covering geology, taphonomy, paleoecology, and plenty of other aspects about the site, so be sure not to miss this one.

Matt from the Hairy Museum of Natural History has penned a set of absolutely wonderful posts about fossil hunting Synder Quarry in New Mexico. These posts are especially relevant considering many of the discoveries coming out of New Mexico and other southwestern states, and they represent some of the best paleo-blogging I’ve ever seen.

Stories from Snyder Quarry #1
Stories from Snyder Quarry #2
Stories from Snyder Quarry #3
Stories from Snyder Quarry #4

Walt from Prehistoric Pulp has a near-encyclopedic knowledge of paleo-fiction, and he’s compiled a great 8-point overview of how writers “bring ’em back alive” when it comes to long-gone critters. Definitely worth a look if you want want to have a look at the good, bad, and ugly of paleo-fiction.

Speaking of paleo-lit, Chris Clarke of Creek Running North has a stunning piece on a pack of Procyon Eucyon and a Miocene volcanic eruption. Some of the writer’s mentioned in Walt’s post could learn a thing or two from Chris excellent post.

Within the past two weeks, however, some of the biggest news has been about the cover story of the latest issue of the journal Nature, providing evidence that Homo habilis and Homo erectus lived at the same time, at least for a bit. Many bloggers have weighed in on the significance of the story, as well as the overblown media coverage.

The Primate Diaries – A Family Reunited
Afarensis – The Ileret Skulls: My Two Cents
John Hawks – Man Bites Dog
Pharyngula – Two New Homo Fossils
The Questionable Authority – New Fossils and Our Understanding of Human Evolution
Evolution Blog – New Hominid Fossils Reported
Gene Expression – Why can’t we get along like habiline and erectine?
Anthropology.net – The Ileret Fossils

Eric from The Primate Diaries also has a post about an even-earlier primate found in Catalonia, Spain, having implications for our relationship with orangutans.

Although they’re old, among the more iconic images of dinosaurs are the 19th-century sculptures made by Waterhouse Hawkins for the Crystal Palace in England. The Victorian Peeper fills us in an the great news that these historic landmarks have been upgraded in status, keeping the dinosaurs safe for years to come (now if we could just find the Hawkins sculptures buried under Central Park…) [Hat-tip to Michael for the link]

Julia has an interesting post about the changing face of science in the UK, as well as her own experiences with trying to continue her work in paleontology despite the opposition faced.

Neil’s got the news about sequencing the entire mitochondrial genome of a Mastodon, as well as a funny revised version of the “blind men around the elephant” routine.

And last but not least, Zach Miller has some specially-prepared illustrations for this edition of The Boneyard, featuring some weird and wonderful ancient creatures. His rendition of Arizonasaurus alone is worth a look, so do yourself a favor and have a look.

That does it for this edition of The Boneyard. The next edition will be coming up Zach’s When Pigs Fly Returns, so be sure to get those links in within the next two weeks.