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What 'Jurassic Park' got wrong about venomous dinosaurs

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Science Ask Us Anything What'Jurassic Park' got wrong about venomous dinosaurs And what did'Spinosaurus' really do with that sail? Dilophosaurus didn't have a frill or spit venom. Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent six days a week. We all know dinosaurs were scary. While not strictly a dinosaur, the ancient shark was four times longer than the biggest great white. Now, imagine one of those big bad dinos had venom. That'd be the last thing we need, but it very well could've been a reality. In a new episode of's Ask Us Anything podcast, we dig into the fossil record to see just how likely a venomous dinosaur would've been.


A Tyrannosaurus tooth embedded in dinosaur skull tells a violent story

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First discovered 20 years ago, the rare fossil combo reveals a Cretaceous meal in the making. Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent six days a week. A rare dinosaur fossil on display at the Museum of the Rockies in Bozeman, Montana, tells a gory story. The skull from a large plant-eating has a tooth lodged into it, indicating that it may have met its final moments as a meal. The tooth in question belongs to one of the most famous dinosaurs on earth-- .


Ancient bees laid eggs inside bones

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A 20,000 year old fossil uncovered in a tarantula-filled cave has paleontologists stunned. Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent every weekday. Bees are frequently associated with large queen-serving colonies featuring hundreds if not thousands of insects . They lay their eggs in small cavities, and they leave pollen for the larvae to eat," explained paleontologist Lazasro Viñola López . "Some bee species burrow holes in wood or in the ground, or use empty structures for nests." Viñola López, a researcher at Chicago's Field Museum, added that some European and African species even construct nests inside vacant snail shells. That said, a beehive inside a bone is a new one even for seasoned researchers. Estimated to be around 20,000 years old, this newly discovered specimen is also the first known example of such a home, past or present. The findings are detailed in a study published on December 16 in the journal . Researchers located the unique find while exploring the many limestone caves that dot the southern Dominican Republic. Sinkholes are common across the Caribbean island of Hispaniola, and are often so well sheltered from the elements that they function like underground time capsules. These windows into the past are largely thanks to the work of the island's owls . The predatory birds often make their nests inside these caves, where they regularly cough up owl pellets filled with the undigested bones of their prey. Over thousands of years, these layers of bones fossilize atop one another across carbonate layers created from rainy periods. "The initial descent into the cave isn't too deep-we would tie a rope to the side and then rappel down," Viñola López said. "If you go in at night, you see the eyes of the tarantulas that live inside." After proceeding past the large spiders through about 33 feet of underground tunnel, the paleontologists began finding various fossils. Many belonged to rodents, but there were also bones from birds, reptiles, and even sloths for a total of over 50 different animal species. "We think that this was a cave where owls lived for many generations, maybe for hundreds or thousands of years," said Viñola López. "The owls would go out and hunt, and then come back to the cave and throw up pellets.


A 'spectacular' dinosaur dome heads for the Smithsonian

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Science Dinosaurs A'spectacular' dinosaur dome heads for the Smithsonian The famously thick-headed Pachycephalosaurus lived during the Late Cretaceous. Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent every weekday. A remarkably well-preserved dinosaur fossil has arrived at the Smithsonian's National Museum of National History. According to the institution's announcement, the nearly complete skull of a is set to make its public debut on December 22 in the FossiLab -the museum's working specimen preparation laboratory. "This skull is by far the most spectacular specimen of this type of dinosaur that we have at the museum," said Matthew Carrano, a paleontologist and the museum's Dinosauria curator.


Mosasaurs may have terrorized rivers as well as oceans

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The Late Cretaceous apex predator easily grew to the size of a great white shark. Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent every weekday. Nearly 70 million years ago, mosasaurs were the stuff of nightmares. Multiple species of the apex marine reptiles lived during the Late Cretaceous, often growing anywhere from 30 to 40 feet-long. But as dangerous as the ancient, great white shark-sized were for their prehistoric ocean prey, paleontologists have long assumed mosasaurs stuck to saltwater.


Were there any venomous dinosaurs?

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Were there any venomous dinosaurs? There's been speculation, but no solid proof. Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent every weekday. It's one of the most memorable scenes in the original movie: the dinosaur spreads the frill around its neck and sprays deadly venom from its jaws. The frill (inspired by Australia's frilled lizard) is pure Hollywood fantasy.


This tiny T. rex is actually a new species

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Science Biology This tiny T. rex is actually a new species Nanotyrannus settles a big and'acrimonius' paleontology debate. Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent every weekday. For decades, paleontologists have argued about size. Specifically, whether or not certain fossils found in Montana belonged to a young or a completely separate, smaller species. Researchers at North Carolina State University and Ohio University now say they can settle the debate.


Ancient humans butchered giant elephants with thumb-sized tools

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Amazon Prime Day is live. See the best deals HERE. Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent every weekday. Mammoths were not the only enormous beasts ancient humans hunted. Elephant ancestors were also on the menu.


Cat-sized Jurassic reptile had the jaws of a python

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'Breugnathair elgolensis' also sported stubby gecko legs. The ancient animal may have been on a distinct evolutionary path separate to snakes and lizards. Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent every weekday. What do you get when you cross a snake with a lizard? It's a newly discovered creature from the Jurassic Period, whose name is a tribute to its confusing physical characteristics.


2,000-pound megaraptor died while snacking on a crocodile

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'Joaquinraptor casali' was one of the Cretaceous Era's last apex predators. Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent every weekday. Paleontologists have discovered a carnivorous dinosaur in central Patagonia that they believe occupied the top of the Late Cretacean food chain. For additional proof, they point to its likely final meal. According to new analysis published on September 23 in the journal, appears to have died with an ancient, nearly 8-inch-long crocodile leg next to its jaws.