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Pre-reptile may be earliest known to walk upright on all fours

Wandering an arid region of the ancient supercontinent of Pangea about 260-million years ago, the pre-reptile Bunostegos akokanensis is the oldest known creature to have walked upright on all fours, according to a newly published study.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] — A newly published analysis of the bones of Bunostegos akokanensis, a 260-million-year-old pre-reptile, finds that it likely stood upright on all fours like a cow or a hippo, making it the earliest known creature to do so. (more…)

As Next Supercontinent Forms, Arctic Ocean, Caribbean will Vanish First

By Guest PostFebruary 13, 2012Scienceamasia, ancient rocks, arctic ocean, asia, caribbean sea, collision, continental blocks, david a d evans, earth, eurasia, Europe, extroversion, formation, geographic center, geologist, introversion, magnetism, north, north pole, northward migration, nuna, orthoversion, pangea, rodinia, ross n mitchell, south america, supercontinent, taylor m kilian, yale university

Geologists at Yale University have proposed a new theory to describe the formation of supercontinents, the epic process by which Earth’s major continental blocks combine into a single vast landmass. The new model radically challenges the dominant theories of how supercontinents might take shape.

In a paper published Feb. 9 in the journal Nature, Yale researchers introduce a process called orthoversion, in which each succeeding supercontinent forms 90 degrees from the geographic center of its ancient predecessor. Under the theory, the present-day Arctic Ocean and Caribbean Sea will vanish as North and South America fuse during a mutual northward migration that leads to a collision with Europe and Asia. (more…)

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Pre-reptile may be earliest known to walk upright on all fours

As Next Supercontinent Forms, Arctic Ocean, Caribbean will Vanish First