shaarona
01-27-2014, 05:36 AM
First dinosaur bones in Saudi Arabia discovered By Daisy Carrington (https://twitter.com/CarringtonDaisy), for CNN
updated 11:44 PM EST, Sun January 26, 2014
Excerpt:
Jacobs explains that when the fossils were first buried, Saudi Arabia was part of Gondwana (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gondwana) -- the subcontinent that made up the southern half of Pangaea (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pangaea), and included parts of modern-day Africa.
Read more: How not to do a desert expedition (http://www.cnn.com/2013/12/22/world/meast/modern-day-adventurers-desert-crossing/index.html?iid=article_sidebar)
"India started out much further south, and through time it moved north and slammed into Asia, creating the Himalayas. But it passed by the Arabian Peninsula about the time that dinosaurs lived," explains Jacobs.
"Part of the interest in dinosaurs from Arabia is to get at that relationship between Gondwana and India during that time."
Several factors explain the scarcity of dinosaur-related material in the Arabian Peninsula.
One issue is that the richest sites aren't always the most accessible. Fragments have previously been found in Syria (currently a no-go zone) and Yemen, which discourages certain travelers. Meanwhile, visitors to Saudi Arabia need a sanctioned invite.
Kear notes that in Saudi Arabia part of the problem is that the most prevalent types of rocks aren't the right types for capturing millennia-old land-based animals. He also notes that until recently, the country suffered from a lack of interest in this type of research.
"Let's say the geological view has been skewed in the past towards oil exploration," he says. Still, he says, paleontological research is gaining more traction, as evidenced by the government-run Saudi Geological Survey (http://www.sgs.org.sa/english/Pages/default.aspx)recently adding a palaeontology division.
"For the first time, you can see the work is going somewhere, and leading to a lasting legacy. In the future, we can expect to see Saudi dinosaur displays and museums so people inside the country can understand the riches they possess."
http://www.cnn.com/2014/01/26/world/meast/when-dinosaurs-roamed-saudi-arabia/
updated 11:44 PM EST, Sun January 26, 2014
Excerpt:
Jacobs explains that when the fossils were first buried, Saudi Arabia was part of Gondwana (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gondwana) -- the subcontinent that made up the southern half of Pangaea (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pangaea), and included parts of modern-day Africa.
Read more: How not to do a desert expedition (http://www.cnn.com/2013/12/22/world/meast/modern-day-adventurers-desert-crossing/index.html?iid=article_sidebar)
"India started out much further south, and through time it moved north and slammed into Asia, creating the Himalayas. But it passed by the Arabian Peninsula about the time that dinosaurs lived," explains Jacobs.
"Part of the interest in dinosaurs from Arabia is to get at that relationship between Gondwana and India during that time."
Several factors explain the scarcity of dinosaur-related material in the Arabian Peninsula.
One issue is that the richest sites aren't always the most accessible. Fragments have previously been found in Syria (currently a no-go zone) and Yemen, which discourages certain travelers. Meanwhile, visitors to Saudi Arabia need a sanctioned invite.
Kear notes that in Saudi Arabia part of the problem is that the most prevalent types of rocks aren't the right types for capturing millennia-old land-based animals. He also notes that until recently, the country suffered from a lack of interest in this type of research.
"Let's say the geological view has been skewed in the past towards oil exploration," he says. Still, he says, paleontological research is gaining more traction, as evidenced by the government-run Saudi Geological Survey (http://www.sgs.org.sa/english/Pages/default.aspx)recently adding a palaeontology division.
"For the first time, you can see the work is going somewhere, and leading to a lasting legacy. In the future, we can expect to see Saudi dinosaur displays and museums so people inside the country can understand the riches they possess."
http://www.cnn.com/2014/01/26/world/meast/when-dinosaurs-roamed-saudi-arabia/