Cretaceous

Majungasaurus was an average sized (compared to it’s close relatives) theropod dinosaur that lived in Madagascar from 70 to 66 million years ago, at the end of the Cretaceous Period. Like other abelisaurids (members of the family Abelisauridae) , the Majungasaurus was a two-footed predator with a short snout. Although the forelimbs are not completely known as of yet, they were very short, while the hind limbs were longer and quite stocky. It can be distinguished from other dinosaurs in it’s…

tested with the indentation method in this experiment. Both samples are quartz rich and silty shales which contain about 45 to 50% of quartz, 40 to 45% of clays and about 5% of plagioclase. Wilcox shale sample is from Louisiana and formed in upper Cretaceous while Pottsville shale samples are from Alabama and formed in upper Pennsylvanian. These two type of shale rocks are chosen because they are “local” rocks which was abundant and available in the lab, also they have very similar mineralogical…

Mysogynistic views can be traced back to the earliest of times; from the Cretaceous period where men were the brute hunters and females were the gentle gatherers, to a modern setting where media and literature portray the average workspace to include a stern, male, CEO and cute, female, receptionist. With time, these marginal differences have become less and less evident due to society’s increased awareness and acceptance of both genders and their equal roles in life. However, gender roles are…

Varanus komodoensis more commonly known as the Komodo Dragon is a testament to animal adaptation. Based on fossil records, the Varanidae family of lizards appeared around 100 million years ago, during the Cretaceous period. Then, about 3.8 million years ago, the direct ancestor of the Komodo Dragon first evolved on or near Australia. (Hocknull et al. 2009) It was previously thought that the Komodo Dragon evolved in Indonesia. In 1912, Pieter Antonie Ouwens, a Dutch scientist, was the first…

For each sample, provide a detailed description, as precise of a rock name as you can, and an interpretation of the (possible) environment of formation. Quaternary: This is an igneous rock known as Tuff pyroclastic, which is a volcano-clastic rick composed mainly of volcanic ash. This conclusion makes sense as the quick cooling would cause the porous structures. This rock possesses sand to mud sized grains; therefore it is fine grained. This rock has interlocking crystals as well as a…

was a few holes and fallen trees, but the terrain didn't seem like it wanted to kill them. When the kids passed the jungle, they gazed upon the magnificent land before them. They saw animals that people only dreamed to have seen. "We're in the Cretaceous Era, the age of the dinosaurs!" Matt exclaimed. Matt was always a fan of dinosaurs. When he was little, Matt always wanted to be an archeologist, but now he is seeing them in their prime. They ran down the hill and into the field. The kids…

An isotope is an atom containing different numbers of neutrons, differing in atomic mass. Basically an atom with a different atomic mass. What’s special about radioactive isotopes is that a radioactive isotope has a nucleus that decays spontaneously giving off particles and energy. 6. Radioactive tracers are used in science to label certain chemical substances, so metabolic processes can be followed and substances can be located in an organism. Radioactive tracers are important diagnostic…

Simon was seven when he saw ripples in the waters of Loch Ness. Over the next weeks, he filled pad after pad of paper with crayon sketches of inky water and a dinosaur-like creature; gripped with the need to know what it was, exactly, that he saw. Tossing around theories of animals, living and extinct alike, did nothing to answer the query. During a skeptical phase two years later, Simon convinced himself that the Loch Ness Monster was nothing but a tree trunk floating on the loch. Moreover,…

everywhere, the Earth started creating new and different environments and biomes for these specimens to thrive and expand in. Some ways this happened was the Continental drift. The Continental drift occurred around 94 million years ago during the late Cretaceous period, and it was the global separating of the super continent Pangea. Other ways Earth was terraformed by were the formation of mountains and continental glaciation. (Young, 2016) The changes of the Earth's surface didn't affect the…

The Badlands formed from a complex geologic setting. The topography that we see today is formed from erosion of the soft and not well-consolidated rocks. The oldest rocks found at The Badlands National Park are the Upper Cretaceous mudstones of the Pierre Shale (Graham, 2008). Overlying the Pierre Shale is the Fox Hills Formation, and overlying the Fox Hills Formation is the Tertiary White River Group. The White River Group contains a paleosol that are bright red. Overlying the Fox Hills…