| Malagasy rift
teems with prize fossil fauna
Paleontologists
have discovered a potential mother lode of Triassic fossils in western
Madagascar, promising a window on a pivotal and little understood period
of evolution that includes the rise of the dinosaurs.
References:
Flynn, J.J. . .
. and A.R. Wyss. 1999. A Triassic fauna from Madagascar, including
early dinosaurs. Science 286(Oct. 22):763.
Further Readings:
Monastersky, R.
1999. Eruptions cleared path for dinosaurs.
Science News 156(April 24):260.
______. 1993. The
accidental reign. Science News 143(Jan. 23):60.
Information on
Madagascar biogeography is available at http://www.animalinfo.org/country/madagasc.htm#Biodiversity.
A geological
time-line with dinosaur links can be found at http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/help/timeform.html.
Sources:
Hans-Dieter Sues
University of Toronto
Royal Ontario Museum
Department of Palaeobiology
100 Queen’s Park
Toronto, Ontario M5S 2C6
Canada
André R. Wyss
University of California, Santa Barbara
Department of Geology
Santa Barbara, CA 93106
From Science
News, Vol. 156, No. 17, October 23, 1999, p. 262. Copyright © 1999,
Science Service. |