For the Desert Tortoise, a Threat and an Opportunity

In an article in Wednesday’s Times, I write about how the fortunes of big solar power plants in the desert Southwest can hinge on the way developers handle imperiled wildlife in the path of their projects.

The protected desert tortoise has become the totemic animal for environmentalists fighting to ensure that the huge solar farms don’t eliminate essential habitat for the long-lived reptile and other wildlife, like the bighorn sheep and flat-tailed horned lizard.

The tortoise has been in decline for decades, and the rampant development of the desert – from casinos and strip malls to subdivisions and off road recreational vehicle areas – took their toll long before construction began late last month on the Ivanpah solar power plant, the first large-scale solar thermal project to be break ground in the United States in 20 years.

T. Rex’s Big Tail Was Its Key to Speed and Hunting Prowess

T. rex‘s athleticism (and its rear end) has been given a makeover by University of Alberta graduate student Scott Persons. His extensive research shows that powerful tail muscles made the giant carnivore one of the fastest moving hunters of its time.

As Persons says, “contrary to earlier theories, T. rex had more than just junk in its trunk.”

One of France’s Largest Dinosaur Fossil Deposits Found in the Charente Region

The first excavations at the Audoin quarries in the town of Angeac, in the Charente region of south-western France, have confirmed that the site is one of the richest dinosaur fossil deposits in the country. Coordinated by the Musée d’Angoulême and the Géosciences Rennes laboratory (CNRS / Université de Rennes 1), the project involved researchers from CNRS and the Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle (French Natural History Museum). With more than 400 bones brought to light, this site is remarkable both for the quantity of discoveries and their state of preservation.

Hallan un fémur de dinosaurio con 120 millones de años

Los especialistas han hallado en el yacimiento de Ana de la localidad de Cinctorres (Castellón) un fémur del grupo de dinosaurio saurópodo de la familia de los titanosauriformes correspondiente al Cretácico Inferior de hace 120 millones de años. Los estudios posteriores permitirán establecer si se trata concretamente de un titanosaurio. Se trata de una familia caracterizada por tener cabezas pequeñas, cuellos y colas largos y en algunos casos, placas óseas en su espalda. La Conselleria de Cultura y Deporte de la Generalitat Valenciana ha presentado este martes el descubrimiento en un acto al que ha asistido la directora general de Patrimonio Cultural Valenciano, Paz Olmos, el director territorial de la Conselleria de Cultura, Francisco Medina, el alcalde de Cinctorres, Antonio Ripollés, y el paleontólogo, Andrés Santos-Cubedo.