X-rays solve mystery of prehistoric creature
In today’s newsletter, we find clues to a mystery prehistoric animal, discover the scandalous roots of ballroom dancing, learn why the Cherokee say they deserve their own member of Congress, find the Irish ‘hell caves’ where Halloween was born … and suffer alongside a photographer seeking the elusive helmeted hornbill.
For more than a century, scientists have been puzzled by the fossils found in Scottish sandstone. They pointed to a creature that roamed the Earth 231 million years ago with what looks like an oversized head, a short neck, bizarrely slender short ribs, and long hindlimbs.
Today, scientists report that high-resolution X-ray scans have filled out the creature's known anatomy, solving a paleontological riddle in the process. It turns out that the mystery creature belongs to a sister group to the pterosaurs, the flying reptiles that lived alongside the dinosaurs. What does this mean for our understanding of ancient life?
Read the full story here.
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Pictured at top, a 3D rendering of the skull of the creature, known as the Scleromochlus taylor. Above, its full skeletal system. Read more. Also, see our in-depth feature on how paleontologists are reimagining dinosaurs in a golden age of discovery.
STORIES WE’RE FOLLOWING
• Dancing with the stars? How the waltz and tango began.
• The Irish ‘hell caves’ where Halloween was born
• Pictures of everyday crops through a powerful microscope
• The U.S. agreed in 1835 to a Cherokee member of Congress. The Cherokee want it now.
• Are there new traces of the ‘real’ Jesus?
• A photographer follows miners into the heart of an active volcano
• Landmines took their limbs. Soccer brought them glory.
IN THE SPOTLIGHT
Lemurs catch TB: A recent outbreak of tuberculosis in a Madagascar zoo has killed eight lemurs, including several that are critically endangered. “It is not known if these animals can transmit the disease to one another or to humans,” says Jonah Ratsimbazafy, a primatologist. The zoo remains open despite calls to close immediately. (Pictured above, a black-and-white ruffed lemur.)
PHOTO OF THE DAY
Live from a tree: The Instagram video starts and it’s raining. Photographer and Nat Geo Explorer Tim Laman is suspended in a tree, patiently waiting for wildlife to visit his perch in Indonesia’s Gunung Palung National Park. Luckily, rhinoceros hornbills stop by and Laman captures an adult male tossing back a fig at 20 frames per second. Discover how an assignment in 2018 to capture the helmeted hornbill almost ended in disappointment.
A QUEST TO FIND HELMETED HORNBILLS
LAST GLIMPSE
Hidden legends: Many quiet wonders and relics can be found along Ireland’s uncrowded southern coast. There you’ll meet foragers who swear by the benefits of seaweed or a rock that can make your curses come true. Also there: ruined mines from past booms (pictured above), the remains of a saint, and a town allegedly once saved by a generous goblet of wine, Nat Geo reports.
