Smithsonian.com

A child poses next to the skeleton of a hadrosauroid dinosaur. From Flickr user Clover 1.

Time is running out for paleontologists studying a Cretaceous fossil site in North Arlington, Texas. As reported by CBS 11, paleontologists from the University of Texas only have about five months to finish their work before they will have to make way for a huge development project. This is unfortunate, especially because the site may hold the remains of a mystery dinosaur.

The 1,700-acre site was discovered in 2003 by Art Sahlstein and his daughter Olivia. It seemed like a promising place to dig, conveniently placed for University of Texas students, but it took about four years before paleontologists received permission to excavate. When they were finally able to search the locality, the paleontologists found that most of the bones belonged to a hadrosauroid dinosaur, perhaps Protohadros. They have yet to find a skull, however, and researchers working the site have stated that finding one is essential to knowing whether these dinosaurs were Protohadros or something new. They only have the summer to find out.

A lithograph showing some of the first Hadrosaurus fossils. From Wikipedia.

Digging up fossils can be hard work, and it is important for any fossil hunter to pack a hearty lunch to keep their strength up. Apparently that is what the 19th century amateur paleontologist William Parker Foulke did. As reported in the Philadelphia Inquirer, Foulke’s lunchbox has recently been found, and it was big enough to hold a whole modern dinosaur.

It all started about 10 years ago when someone gave the lunchbox to Englishman Crosby Brown. Brown was an aficionado of railroad history and his friend thought that the lunchbox, marked “W. Parker Foulke, Haddonfield, NJ,” had belonged to a 19th-century railway worker. Brown couldn’t find anything about anyone named Foulke connected to the railway, but after he did a web search a few weeks ago he realized that it had belonged to the New Jersey paleontologist.

By coincidence, the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia has been running an exhibition honoring Foulke. Called “Hadrosaurus foulkii: The Dinosaur That Changed the World,” the display focuses on Foulke’s discovery of Hadrosaurus, one of the most significant finds in all of dinosaur paleontology. The lunchbox will be on display there until the exhibit closes in May, after which it will be presented to the living relatives of W.P. Foulke.

The Dinostory sandstorm display in Australia. Courtesy of Flickr user sandyfeet

If you live in the vicinity of Frankston, Victoria in Australia, you still have a few days to see gigantic dinosaurs made from sand. This year the theme for the Sand Sculpting Austrlia exhibition was “DinoStory,” and an international team of sand sculptors has etched dinosaurs into the sand. They are very impressive, and look even better at night. If you want to see them, you will have to move fast. The exhibition closes on Saturday, April 25.

The Fossiliced molds.

Summertime is quickly approaching, and I look forward to sitting on my porch with a glass of lemonade. This year, though, I am not going to have just any old ice in my glass. Anyone can make ice cubes, but what about ice dinosaurs?

The creators of Fossiliced have provided dino fans with a cool way to chill their favorite bevarages. They have created two molds, a Tyrannosaurus and a Triceratops, that make skeleton-shaped ice. The bits are not all connected, otherwise it might be a challenge getting the dinosaur in the glass, but the trays make it easy to make dinosaur-shaped treats. Right now there are just the two dinosaurs, but I hope we see some more soon!

Cavemen and dinosaurs never met, despite this humorous sculpture. From Flickr user sundancekid.

Right about this time in 2007, the creationist cartoonist Johnny Hart, creator of the “The Wizard of ID” and “B.C.,” passed away. While many people have placed cavemen and dinosaurs together out of ignorance or artistic laziness, Hart truly believed that his cartoon B.C. contained at least a minor reflection of reality (even if it ran against all we have learned from paleontology). That’s why I have mixed feelings about plans to honor Hart by placing dinosaurs, and cavemen, around the city of Binghamton, New York.

According to a report released over the weekend, the city of Binghamton is going to honor Hart, who lived nearby, by putting up 100 five-foot-tall sculptures of a caveman riding Gronk the dinosaur in 2010. (Coincidentally, Hart believed that the world might end in 2010. Maybe cavemen riding dinosaurs are a sign of the Apocalypse.) The sculptures will be painted by selected local artists and sponsored by local businesses. If one catches your eye you can even buy one, although it will set you back about $5,000.

I am glad fans of Hart’s art have found a way to celebrate his work, but honestly if I passed by a sculpture of a caveman riding a dinosaur I would cringe a little. I would rather see a display of some beautifully painted feathered dinosaurs, but that might be a harder sell.