#30DaysOfScikuChallenge
Looking Good — New Dinosaur!
Day 28 Prompt: A Paleontology Inspired Sciku
Truly impressive one-of-a-kind dinosaur Ubirajara jubatus
We are almost nearing the end of our #30daysofSciKuChallange and it wouldn’t really be complete without talking about dinosaurs — so here it is — a very flashy new Dinosaur — Ubirajara jubatus — Ubirajara means “lord of the spear” in Tupi and Jubatus is Latin for “maned.”
Ubirajara jubatus is the first non-avian dinosaur to be described from Brazil’s Crato Formation, a shallow inland sea laid down about 110 million years ago.
This is a remarkable new discovery and scientists believe this is to-date the most elaborately dressed-to-impress dinosaur ever described. This discovery could shed some new light on how birds such as peacocks inherited their ability to dazzle mates or intimidate foes.
“Ubirajara is the most primitive known dinosaur to possess integumentary display structures. It represents a revolution in dinosaur communication, the effects of which we can still see today in living birds.” Source: Science Daily.
The lead author of the study, Eberhard Frey describes the structures on its neck and its furlike covering as akin to “a teddy bear -but with rather fierce claws.”
This roughly chicken-size dino with a furlike mane is also in news over an ethical debate over whether the specimen may have been exported illegally — According to the authors of the study, the fossil specimen was exported from Brazil to Germany in 1995 with all necessary permits, based on a 1942 law governing fossil collecting.
However, the Brazilian paleontology counterparts are not convinced and would like the fossil returned to Brazil. For now, the two sides are trying to figure out a solution — where scientific advances are made in the most ethically sound manner.
Ethics is an integral part of science and scientists have an ethical responsibility to act with fairness.— after all, science is most helpful when it supports the basic need for us all — to help us pursue health, happiness, and equality for all who inhabit our planet whether from the years past, present or in the future.
Stay engaged and keep learning — and Thank you for reading.
**This is Day 28 of the #sciku challenge — science-inspired haiku-like poetry( so #sciku?) prompts to get you inspired — Our dear readers — why not spend some time each day creating and having a little fun — if you do — publish it anywhere on medium, just tag it with — #30DaysOfScikuChallenge.
*Tagging Lynn E. O’Connor, Ph.D., Laura Griffith Machado, PsyD Rita Hitching, ASeiler, Jen Eve and anyone else who feels inspired to follow and/or play along with this fun #30DaysOfScikuChallenge and today’s prompt: Paleontology Research
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