Researcher: Texas dinosaur misidentified

[shain from kane]

http://www.dallasnews.com
The Associated Press


DALLAS --Bones discovered in the 1990s that spurred the Legislature to declare the pleurocoelus the state's official dinosaur were misidentified and actually came from a different species, according to a student's research.

The findings of Peter Rose, a former graduate student at Southern Methodist University, were published recently in "Palaeontologia Electronica," an online journal of the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology.
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"I'm one of those ones who presumed the bones were pleurocoelus, and now I'm convinced he is right," said Jacobs, adding that the new species should be promoted to Official Dinosaur of Texas.

Rose studied the bones for three years as part of his master's thesis. His comparison of the bones with a pleurocoelus (pronounced pluro-SEE-lus) specimen at the Smithsonian Institution revealed that the leg and shoulder bones were significantly different.
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"But in the process of describing the bones, I came to the conclusion that it had to be something really different."
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Jacobs said the original identification of the bones was based more on assumption than systematic study. The bones
were covered in limestone, making them difficult to identify.

"They couldn't see the bones very well, and they assumed that anything of that size and age had to be pleurocoelus," Jacobs said.
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Walter said the museum will petition the Legislature to designate the paluxysaurus as the state's rightful official dinosaur.
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Who knew what Peter Rose was up to nowadays?

[xchrom]

1. it's really cool the way they keep looking at the bones

and finding new things - or mistakes in nomenclature or other things.

just fascinating.

[MrModerate]

2. The "Official Dinosaur of Texas"?

Clearly the legislature has too much time on its hands. They should *require* rather than *permit* Texas legislators to go armed into the chamber. Not only would it be entertaining in its own right, and lead to a whole different character to the debate, but be positively Darwinian in its side effects.

[Esra Star]

3. Maybe it's related to the

Retentivus Analus Bushus

[shain from kane]

4. I can't believe that it took almost 20 minutes for your comment to surface. I have been busting a

gut laughing about the original article, wondering when someone would make the connection.

Lameous Duckus.