Penny Higgins - Storyteller • Artist • Scientist
Combining Science and Joyful Creativity
#365papers for April 19, 2017
What’s it about?
This lengthy paper is a summary of the types of biofuels (that is liquid fuels produced from crops) that can replace ethanol and diesel in common engines used for transportation and agriculture. It goes into the sources of such fuels, some of the mechanisms to make the fuels, and efficiencies.Continue reading “Biofuels for Our Engines – #365papers – 2017 – 109”
O is for Ourayia
Ourayia is a fossil primate, which, like Notoparamys, is related to tarsiers. Like many fossil mammals, it is best known for its teeth.
#365papers for April 17, 2017
What’s it about?
Isostylomys is (was) a giant rodent from the Miocene of Uruguay. By giant, I mean larger than the largest rodent today. I mean huge.
The authors here discuss the status of the genus and its relationships with other rodents. Importantly, they show how it is very possible that some species of South American large rodents might be juvenile forms of giant rodents like Isostylomys.Continue reading “Isostylomys: A Rodent of Unusual Size – #365papers – 2017 – 107”
#365papers for April 18, 2017
What’s it about?
Elasmosaurids were marine reptiles that are considered a sub-group of the plesiosaurs. Distinctive features of elasmosaurids are their very long necks and small heads. Here, a new species of elasmosaurid is described that had a relatively short neck and was also fairly small.Continue reading “The Shortest-Necked of the Long-Necked Elasmosaurs – #365papers – 2017 – 108”
#365papers for April 16, 2017
What’s it about?
Ichthyosaurus is (or was) a type of marine reptile that looked sort of dolphin-like.
Here, the authors work to distinguish between three common species of Ichthyosaurus, I. communis, I. intermedius, and I. breviceps. The authors also present a better definition for the genus Ichthyosaurus.Continue reading “What Really Is Ichthyosaurus? – #365papers – 2017 – 106”
#365papers for April 15, 2017
What’s it about?
Modern sloths are tiny, tree-dwelling herbivores that dangle below the branches and move very, very slowly. However, in the past, there were enormous sloths that ranged across the landscape.
This paper discusses both anteaters and sloths, the modern components of which have adaptations for eating diets of low nutrition. The fossil record of both closely related groups are studied, and the relationships between great size and inferred metabolic rate and diets are considered.Continue reading “Body Size, Metabolic Rate, and Body Temperature in Giant Sloth Evolution – #365papers – 2017 – 105”
N is for Notoparamys
Notoparamys was a marmot-sized rodent that lived in the earliest Uintan. It is a member of the rodent group Ischyromyidae, which included some arboreal (climbing) rodents.
M is for Macrotarsius
Macrotarsius is a fossil primate closely related to and similar in appearance to modern tarsiers.
Modern tarsiers are unique in the structure of their back foot, specifically the ankle bones (the tarsals), hence their common name of ‘tarsier.’
L is for Leptotragulus
Leptotragulus was a hoofed mammal that would have roughly looked like a deer, but were more closely related to camels and llamas. They were a member of a group called the Protoceratidae, that were unique in having horns on their snouts.
Here is a relative of Leptotragulus, Synthetoceras:
#365papers for April 14, 2017
What’s it about?
Procerberus is a genus of mammal that lived mostly just after the extinction of the dinosaurs. There is some confusion about the distinctions among the several species of Procerberus and the relationship of this genus to other groups of mammals. This paper is about sorting that all out.Continue reading “Who (or What) is Procerberus – #365papers – 2017 – 104”
Penny Higgins - Storyteller • Artist • Scientist