Tracks and Traces 03.13.11

A new, fearsome reconstruction of the giant alligatoroid Deinosuchus is making the rounds in Utah schools.

Paleontologist Mike Taylor explains the story of scientific discovery behind the newly-described dinosaur Brontomerus.

Your weekly does of weird: a local op-ed suggests that the ‘Jersey Devil’ is a living, non-avian dinosaur

SV-POW! looks into a neglected paleo-art subgenre: sauropods wailing on theropods

David Orr chats with artist Glendon Mellow about science, art, and dinosaur carcasses

Just as I was blogging about maned wolf pee, Jason Goldman was posting about fox territoriality. See his post for more on smelly canids, and check out these cute maned wolf pups to see what inspired my essay.

Ed Yong explains how elephants give each other a helping trunk

Photographers dive into the Okavango Delta’s crocodile caves

Why do flamingos sometimes drop out of the Siberian sky? NPR’s Robert Krulwich wonders.

Behind the scenes at the Smithsonian: Briana Pobiner, Dietary Detective

Phil Plait explains why the “supermoon” had nothing to do with the massive earthquake that struck Japan a few days ago

Photos of the Day:

#52: A mini Mamenchisaurus in a model of the upcoming ‘World’s Largest Dinosaurs’ AMNH exhibit http://twitpic.com/46stcd

#53: A spotted hyena skull at the temporary AMNH ‘Extreme Mammals’ exhibit (2009) http://twitpic.com/4783vy

#54: A reconstruction of the dinosaur Falcarius at the Utah Museum of Natural History http://twitpic.com/47jwea

#55: A maned wolf at the National Zoo in Washington, D.C. (April 2009) http://twitpic.com/48ac9h

#56: A pika, photographed in Wyoming’s Grant Teton National Park (summer 2009) http://twitpic.com/48wta5

Top image from Edward Hitchcock’s Ichnology of New England.