208 lines
5.4 KiB
Plaintext
Executable File
208 lines
5.4 KiB
Plaintext
Executable File
science
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dinosaurs
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6858791
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-----
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# Dinsoaurs 'had venomous bite'
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## Dinosaurs from a species related to the Velociraptor have been found to
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have had a poisonous bite.
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8:00PM GMT 21 Dec 2009
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Scientists have discovered a fossil of a feathered ''raptor'' with grooved
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fangs that almost certainly delivered venom.
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They believe other members of the dromaeosaur family may have also killed or
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immobilised their prey with poison.
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Sinornithosaurus was a close relative of the Velociraptor, one of the stars of
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the movie Jurassic Park.
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Although bird-like and about the size of a turkey, it did not fly and was not
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an early bird. But scientists believe it may have preyed on ancient birds 128
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million years ago, using its long fangs to penetrate their plumage.
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A well-preserved skull and partial skeleton of the dinosaur was found at the
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site of a prehistoric forest in north-east China.
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Sinornithosaurus had teeth similar to those of rear-fanged snakes and venomous
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lizards such as the Gila Monster of Mexico. A series of fang-like teeth on the
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upper jaw bore grooves that are thought to have channelled poison.
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US and Chinese scientists also found depressions in the jaw bone on each side
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of the face that may have housed poison glands.
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Rather than delivering a killer bite with a powerful dose of venom, the
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dinosaur may have paralysed or immobilised its prey, rendering it helpless.
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David Burnham, from the University of Kansas in Lawrence, said: ''You wouldn't
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have seen it coming. It would have swooped down behind you from a low-hanging
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tree branch and attacked from the back.
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''It wanted to get its jaws around you. Once the teeth were embedded in your
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skin the venom could seep into the wound. The prey would rapidly go into
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shock, but it would still be living, and it might have seen itself being
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slowly devoured by this raptor.''
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A description of Sinornithosaurus appears today in the journal Proceedings of
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the National Academy of Sciences.
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The dinosaur had a narrow snout and wide gape, consistent with the use of
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venom.
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One of its close relatives was the four-winged glider Microraptor, which the
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scientists now believe may also have been poisonous.
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Sinornithosaurus appears to have been specially adapted for preying on birds.
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Its fangs were long enough to penetrate thick feathers and pierce the skin
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beneath to a depth of four to six millimetres - sufficient for getting poison
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into the bloodstream.
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A tooth from a small dromaeosaur has also been discovered embedded in a limb
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bone from a pterosaur, one of the flying reptiles that lived alongside the
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dinosaurs.
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http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/dinosaurs/6858791/Dinsoaurs-had-venomous-
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bite.html
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Telegraph
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## [Dinosaurs][6]
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* ### [News »][7]
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* ### [UK News »][8]
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In science
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[![A bizarre dinosaur with a ''crown of horns'' has been discovered by
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[![Mojoceratops, a relative of the triceratops which lived 75 million years
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### [The 'Mojoceratops' is named][16]
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Share:
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* [ ][1]
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var puffs_8255319 = new Array();
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