Dinosaur killed in asteroid strike found!

[Isopod]

TL;DR Summary

Tanis: Fossil of dinosaur killed in asteroid strike found, scientists claim

Scientists have presented a stunningly preserved leg of a dinosaur.
The limb, complete with skin, is just one of a series of remarkable finds emerging from the Tanis fossil site in the US State of North Dakota.
But it's not just their exquisite condition that's turning heads - it's what these ancient specimens purport to represent.
The claim is the Tanis creatures were killed and entombed on the actual day a giant asteroid struck Earth.
Full story: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-61013740

"Sir David will review the discoveries, many that will be getting their first public viewing.
Along with that leg, there are fish that breathed in impact debris as it rained down from the sky.
We see a fossil turtle that was skewered by a wooden stake; the remains of small mammals and the burrows they made; skin from a horned triceratops; the embryo of a flying pterosaur inside its egg; and what appears to be a fragment from the asteroid impactor itself.
"We've got so many details with this site that tell us what happened moment by moment, it's almost like watching it play out in the movies. You look at the rock column, you look at the fossils there, and it brings you back to that day," says Robert DePalma, the University of Manchester, UK, graduate student who leads the Tanis dig"

I can't wait to see a documentary about this!

 

[pinball1970]

Summary:: Tanis: Fossil of dinosaur killed in asteroid strike found, scientists claim

View attachment 299525

Scientists have presented a stunningly preserved leg of a dinosaur.
The limb, complete with skin, is just one of a series of remarkable finds emerging from the Tanis fossil site in the US State of North Dakota.
But it's not just their exquisite condition that's turning heads - it's what these ancient specimens purport to represent.
The claim is the Tanis creatures were killed and entombed on the actual day a giant asteroid struck Earth.
Full story: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-61013740

View attachment 299526

"Sir David will review the discoveries, many that will be getting their first public viewing.
Along with that leg, there are fish that breathed in impact debris as it rained down from the sky.
We see a fossil turtle that was skewered by a wooden stake; the remains of small mammals and the burrows they made; skin from a horned triceratops; the embryo of a flying pterosaur inside its egg; and what appears to be a fragment from the asteroid impactor itself.
"We've got so many details with this site that tell us what happened moment by moment, it's almost like watching it play out in the movies. You look at the rock column, you look at the fossils there, and it brings you back to that day," says Robert DePalma, the University of Manchester, UK, graduate student who leads the Tanis dig"

I can't wait to see a documentary about this!

Very exciting.
I wonder if Iridium will play a part as a marker?

 

[Isopod]

Very exciting.
I wonder if Iridium will play a part as a marker?

The clay layer which defines the K-pg boundary in the site is very rich in Iridium (so it has been tested for that) . Last year, the layer was used to help pinpoint the time of year that the dinosaurs went extinct to a specific time in the year (turns out the dinosaurs went extinct in late Spring/early Summertime): https://www.manchester.ac.uk/discov...ointed-as-the-season-for-dinosaur-extinction/

 

[Isopod]

I am so fascinated by the Tanis site, here are some more photographic evidences for various fascinating discovered in the site, such the molten impact sphericals thrown up by the asteroid which then rained down and became trapped in the lake fishes gills:

(Views of sphericals trapped in fossil fish gills in situ)

http://sciencythoughts.blogspot.com/2022/03/determining-time-of-year-when-chicxulub.html

Articulated prehistoric fish fossils from the Tanis site, entombed in mud together by a huge tsunami created by the asteroid impact:

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/scie...ng-impact-its-only-beginning-story-180971868/

Impact spherical in focus from the Tanis fish fossil site:

https://www.livescience.com/65132-cretaceous-death-pit-tanis.html

View attachment Tanis dinosaur 4.webp
Article on the "Glass Rain" that became trapped in the Tanis fishes gills on the day of the asteroid impact that caused the extinction of the dinosaurs: https://www.archyde.com/the-dead-fish-of-tanis/

And a more detailed breakdown on the fishes movements and evidence that fateful date: https://timescavengers.blog/2019/04...-contention-in-the-paleontological-community/

Image of the super-rare Pterosaur egg embryo found at the Tanis site, which may (or may not) date to the date of the extinction of the dinosaurs (its a great find either way!):

 

[Isopod]

I am so fascinated by the Tanis site, here are some more photographic evidences for various fascinating discovered in the site, such the molten impact sphericals thrown up by the asteroid which then rained down and became trapped in the lake fishes gills:

View attachment 299577
(Views of sphericals trapped in fossil fish gills in situ)

http://sciencythoughts.blogspot.com/2022/03/determining-time-of-year-when-chicxulub.html

Articulated prehistoric fish fossils from the Tanis site, entombed in mud together by a huge tsunami created by the asteroid impact:
View attachment 299578


https://www.smithsonianmag.com/scie...ng-impact-its-only-beginning-story-180971868/

Impact spherical in focus from the Tanis fish fossil site:

View attachment 299581
https://www.livescience.com/65132-cretaceous-death-pit-tanis.html

View attachment 299579
Article on the "Glass Rain" that became trapped in the Tanis fishes gills on the day of the asteroid impact that caused the extinction of the dinosaurs: https://www.archyde.com/the-dead-fish-of-tanis/

And a more detailed breakdown on the fishes movements and evidence that fateful date: https://timescavengers.blog/2019/04...-contention-in-the-paleontological-community/

Image of the super-rare Pterosaur egg embryo found at the Tanis site, which may (or may not) date to the date of the extinction of the dinosaurs (its a great find either way!):
View attachment 299580

I apologise for the masses of spelling/grammar mistakes in this post, I was very tired when I made it and I tend to struggle a lot more with the symptoms of my Dyspraxia etc when I'm tired. I hope this post made sense 😅

Just wanted to post this video on the discovery, shows footage of the finds as well as some CGI animations:



"Prehistoric Pompei"!

 

[neilparker62]

I apologise for the masses of spelling/grammar mistakes in this post, I was very tired when I made it and I tend to struggle a lot more with the symptoms of my Dyspraxia etc when I'm tired. I hope this post made sense 😅

"Prehistoric Pompei"!

Really interesting - thanks for posting!

 

[DrDu]

This fascinating story about Tanis was first - and quite unusually - published in "The New Yorker", and not in a scientific journal. A following scientific publication in PNAS did not contain many of the claims made in the New Yorker. Paleontologists seem to be rather sceptical concerning DePalmas findings. Would be interesting to see a list of really peer reviewed publications on the topic.

 

[Isopod]

This fascinating story about Tanis was first - and quite unusually - published in "The New Yorker", and not in a scientific journal. A following scientific publication in PNAS did not contain many of the claims made in the New Yorker. Paleontologists seem to be rather sceptical concerning DePalmas findings. Would be interesting to see a list of really peer reviewed publications on the topic.

​

I've seen research done by different universities which increasingly agree that the Tanis site does in fact contain remains from the day of the impact that wiped out the dinosaurs.

"66-million-year-old deathbed linked to dinosaur-killing meteor"​

Fossil site preserves animals killed within minutes of meteor impact​

Date: March 29, 2019
Source: University of California - Berkeley
Summary: Paleontologists have found a fossil site in North Dakota that contains animals and plants killed and buried within an hour of the meteor impact that killed the dinosaurs 66 million years ago. This is the richest K-T boundary site ever found, incorporating insects, fish, mammals, dinosaurs and plants living at the end of the Cretaceous, mixed with tektites and rock created and scattered by the impact. The find shows that dinosaurs survived until the impact.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/03/190329144223.htm

"Fate of the dinosaurs sealed in spring"​

Date: February 23, 2022
Source: European Synchrotron Radiation Facility
Summary: The asteroid that killed nearly all dinosaurs struck Earth during springtime, according to researchers who analyzed the remains of fishes that died just after the impact.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/02/220223111233.htm

"Dinosaurs’ last spring: Study pinpoints timing of Chicxulub asteroid impact"​

Groundbreaking study confirms time of year when asteroid wiped out dinosaurs and 75 percent of life on Earth
Date: December 10, 2021
Source: Florida Atlantic University
Summary: Scientists conclusively confirm the time year of the catastrophic Chicxulub asteroid, responsible for the extinction of dinosaurs and 75 percent of life on Earth 66 million years ago. Springtime, the season of new beginnings, ended the 165-million-year reign of dinosaurs and changed the course of evolution on Earth.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/12/211210103157.htm

"The last day of the dinosaurs"​

Date: February 23, 2022
Source: Uppsala University
Summary: The asteroid which killed nearly all of the dinosaurs struck Earth during springtime. This conclusion was drawn by an international team of researchers after having examined thin sections, high-resolution synchrotron X-ray scans, and carbon isotope records of the bones of fishes that died less than 60 minutes after the asteroid impacted.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/02/220223111235.htm

 

[Oldman too]

One version of the events goes like this, the New Yorker wasn't supposed to publish the story prior to the PNAS release and there were certain edits done that didn't help the situation.
Thats one side of the story... I've also seen rumors that DePalmas colleague, J. Smit is publishing his own paper in addition to https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.1817407116
but all drama aside, it appears that in spite of the New Yorker fiasco, DePalma hit the jackpot and will likely be vindicated. (I wonder what Jack Horner thinks of the issue?)

The AAAS and Nature articles begin addressing the controversies.
https://www.science.org/content/art...eroid-hit-excavators-controversial-site-claim
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-022-00511-x <<<Edit, fixed broken link.

https://news.berkeley.edu/2019/03/29/66-million-year-old-deathbed-linked-to-dinosaur-killing-meteor/

And the obligatory Wiki link, (the "papers" section is worth a glance) https://en.wikipedia.org › wiki › Tanis_(fossil_site)

This, on the surface seems to be the heart of the "controversial" issue. A valid concern but that's only on the surface.
https://theaggie.org/2019/06/07/in-...or-weighs-in-on-proper-journalistic-practice/

Looking further into the "controversial" issue, this article brings up an interesting point concerning Tanis and associated finds.
https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/who-owns-the-dinosaurs-it-all-depends-on-where-you-find-them/

 

[Astronuc]

I had heard about the Hell Creek formation exploration and Paleontologist Robert DePalma, and separately about Tanis.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tanis_(fossil_site)

The Tanis site is found in the Hell Creek Formation, one of the richest deposits of fossils in the world. It's in this same formation, southeast of Tanis, that the T. Rex named Sue was found.

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/scie...ay-in-the-life-of-an-edmontosaurus-180979932/

I happened to come across a couple of articles about the fate of dinosaurs and birds in the Smithsonian Magazine.

Last day of a dinosaur (I don't know how 'scientific' the book is.
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/scie...ay-in-the-life-of-an-edmontosaurus-180979932/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edmontosaurus

Why Birds Survived, and Dinosaurs Went Extinct, After an Asteroid Hit Earth
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/scie...t-extinct-after-asteroid-hit-earth-180975801/

I haven't spent much time on them.

 

[Oldman too]

I had heard about the Hell Creek formation exploration and Paleontologist Robert DePalma, and separately about Tanis.

One of the more interesting aspects of Tanis, compared to most dig sites is that this one is on private property. Most of the the hell creek formation is on federal land, a big difference as far ownership of specimens and access to the site.

 

[Oldman too]

The youtube link for the PBS Nova feature.

 

[Oldman too]

Hello @bob012345 , I just wanted to let you know how much I value skepticism, it's an important part of any research.