Pompeii-style volcano in China preserved treasure trove of fossilized dinosaurs

[unhappycamper]

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2014/02/04/pompeii-style-volcano-in-china-preserved-treasure-trove-of-fossilized-dinosaurs/



Pompeii-style volcano in China preserved treasure trove of fossilized dinosaurs
By Agence France-Presse
Tuesday, February 4, 2014 14:07 EST

A treasure trove of fossilised dinosaurs and other long-extinct species in northeastern China was created, Pompeii-style, by an erupting volcano, scientists said Tuesday.

~snip~

It has yielded the remains of dinosaurs, pterosaurs, early birds and mammals, as well as turtles, lizards, freshwater fish, frogs, plants and insects, which inhabited a long-gone vista of lakes and conifer forests.

Many of the specimens are astonishingly well preserved, revealing even scales, feathers, hair or skin — a precious find indeed for palaeontologists.

The secret of the preservation, according to a study led by Baoyu Jiang of Nanjing University in Jiangsu, lies in a brutal volcanic episode that extinguished life all around and then buried it in dust, locking it away for eternity.

[BlueMTexpat]

1. B-b-b-but ...

the Earth is only 6,000 years old!

Seriously, thanks for the post!

[Orrex]

4. That joke is older than Creationist Earth.

[SCVDem]

2. +1

Beat me to it!

I hope some pigmentation was preserved.

[RedstDem]

3. wow, an archaeological wet dream

the creationist are spinning on their heads after seeing this....

[denbot]

5. Umm .. You mean Paleontological wet dream..

Meh, close enough

[Curmudgeoness]

6. You obviously have not tried to discuss this with a true creationist.

The newest argument is that God buried bones to confuse us.

Good job, God.

[RedstDem]

8. Sky Santa hoodwinking us?

if that's the case, how do they figure such a being would be worthy of worship.....

[Curmudgeoness]

12. LOL, the unanswerable question.

We need you in the Atheists and Agnostics group. Anyone who calls god "Sky Santa" is definitely welcome.

[siligut]

9. And here, I was always taught that Satan was the prince of lies . . .

Good thing I can think for myself or I would be confused, just the way god wants us.

Okay, THAT is confusing.

[Curmudgeoness]

13. I like that one.

Next time I am confronted with the absurdity of "god did that to confuse the scientists", I must remember this.

[yodermon]

7. "locking it away for eternity."..um

Until they were found, of course

[siligut]

10. Seems to me that there is a movie monster that looks a lot like a pterosaur

[URL=.html][IMG][/IMG][/URL]

Maybe those blood-sucking things from that Vin Diesel movie, Pitch Black:

[URL=.html][IMG][/IMG][/URL]

No, not really . . .

[siligut]

11. Should we be surprised that birds are so intelligent?

They have survived through periods of adaptation humans have yet to see.