Dinosaur Skull Changed Shape During Growth

[Smaug]

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/03/100331141621.htm

(morp-H-ing)

Edited April 1, 2010 by Smaug

[Nicholas]

Living transformers!

[Auspex]

In another case, there is thinking now that both Dracorex and Stygimoloch might be growth stages of Pachycephalosaurus.

[Wakaritai]

I love reading about things like this. It reminds me about how little we actually know, and how much work there is to do.

Sexual Dimorphism is another area to consider. Take, for instance, Dasymutilla occidentalis. This species is common in TN and for a very long time the females and males were thought to be two separate species. It is important to keep in mind that the people who originally categorized them incorrectly were experts in the field, working with perfect specimens, not fossils. Imagine what all we have wrong about the ancients...

Pics of Dasymutilla occidentalis for reference. The female is bright red, has a powerful sting (and huge stinger, can sting through soles of some shoes), an amazingly strong exoskeleton (that withstands many stomps from said shoes), no wings, and is nocturnal. The male has a very different color pattern and body, no stinger, and it flies. I don't know about male's exoskeleton or whether it is diurnal or nocturnal.

Edited April 2, 2010 by Wakaritai