Glib nonsense hurtling through the dark

Check out our new podcast: The Universe and Beyond with Alexander Vilenkin

Recent developments in cosmology suggest that the Big Bang was not a unique event in the cosmic history, and that other Big Bangs constantly erupt in remote parts of the universe, producing new worlds with a great variety of physical properties. Cosmologist Alexander Vilenkin discusses the origin of this new worldview, how we can test its possibility, and its implications for the beginning and the end of the universe.

look at this precious thing oh my goodness

they are a bit cranky but they are just too cute

don’t talk shit though or it will end you

this has been a chubby bird appreciation post

New Long Tailed Microraptor Discovered in China

by James Morgan

A new four-winged dinosaur has been discovered, with exceptionally long feathers on its tail and “hindwings”.

Changyuraptor yangi was a gliding predator which lived in the Cretaceous period in what is now Liaoning, China. Its remarkable tail feathers - measuring up to 30cm - are the longest in any non-avian dinosaur.

This unusual plumage helped the creature to slow down during flight and land safely, say scientists writing in Nature Communications. C. yangi is a new species of microraptorine, a group related to early avians.

These ancient creatures offer clues to the origin of flight - and the transition from feathered dinosaurs to birds…

(read more: BBC News)

Time for another old drawing of mine: this time Therizinosaurus, here with its panda-like pattern.

Therizinosaurus ( /θɛˌrɪzɨnɵˈsɔrəs/; ‘scythe lizard’, from the Greek therizo meaning ‘to reap’ or ‘to cut off’ and sauros meaning ‘lizard’) is a genus of very large theropod dinosaur. Therizinosaurus lived in the late Cretaceous Period (late Campanian-early Maastrichtian stages, around 70 million years ago), and was one of the last and largest representatives of its unique group, the Therizinosauria. Its fossils were first discovered in Mongolia and they were originally thought to belong to a turtle-like reptile (hence the species name, T. cheloniformis — “turtle-formed”). It is known only from a few bones, including gigantic hand claws, from which it gets its name.

Schyte Lizard, 2012.

Coloured with Tria Markers. Based on ostrich and giant panda.

References: Scott Hartman, Greg Paul, Jaime A. Headden

Hugh Highlander on Twitter

In celebration of our new film, Great White Shark, now playing in 3D and 2D at the Museum, today’s peek into the archives is a mouthful.

“Seated in fossil shark jaw restoration” was taken by H.S. Rice in January, 1927, after the restoration of the jaws of the fossil shark, Carcharodon megalodon. 

Learn more about the prehistoric predator, Carcharodon, and our new film, Great White Shark.