New Dinosaur Species Dubbed "Eye of Sauron" | |
Eye see what he did there. So, where is this dinosaurs one ring to rule them all? | |
This is brilliant, they should make a special version of the Hobbit where this Dinosaur jumps out and fights Smaug. | |
That name is all kinds of awesome. :) | |
Says the dinosaur was a giant meat eater in an area rich with food. Shows a photo/painting of the dinosaur in a desert. #paleologic | |
How did that fossil piece remind them of Sauron? Well ok if you rotate it so that slit it pointing down I guess it kind of resemble the eye but still... | |
I'd say that this is probably just another case of two fossils getting stuck together, like with the brontosaurus, but it sounds like they really don't have all that much to be confused about. I mean, if it's just part of a skull, how do we know it isn't just a t-rex with down syndrome or something? | |
So THAT's what happend to the Dinosaurs! It wasn't an asteroid, they just got really horny and tried to mount Doom. | |
Ha, and people say dinosaurs are not cool, they rival unicorns and cats. | |
I cant take the film version of the eye of sauron seriously. It looks like a giant vaj... Its cool how we will never find out everything though. These new discoveries will keep on coming. | |
I'd recommend less psychedelic drugs during sex, but then I guess that is half the fun. | |
Well.. He IS eating in the picture... A lot of things change after several million years, it might have been a desert rich with food. | |
I'm the 13th post, and there isn't a single "One does not simply..." post or image. I'm shocked. Maybe even a little disappointed. | |
That's Boromir's thing, can't you see? | |
I'd have said it looks more like the male "Jap Eye" myself. | |
It's finally happened: nerds are woven into society deep enough that we can expect such names. I hope the next element on the periodic table will be called "jedium." I would have said midicholrium, because it sounds a bit better, but I don't think anyone would be happy about that. captcha"wing it" | |
I didn't know Sauron ate meat.
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are you suggesting for some reason he was a vegetarian ? "THE RING IS IN THE POSSESSION OF A HOBBIT NAMED BAGGINS, BRING IT TO ME!...also some quorn mince and tufu and some of that spicy parsnip soup..." :\ | |
Im so happy that current generation science still knows how to have fun. | |
Why do I get the feeling this name is all because another group of Paleontologists named another new breed of dino Dracorex hogwartsia (which unlike this one makes sense as it looks dragonish) and these guys were all like fuck no those HP nerds cant have their own dino if there isnt a LOR one http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dracorex serously if we are giving ancent animals nerdy names can we name the next horse fossil after FIM? | |
Regarding these articles with scientific news, could you perhaps in the future also include links to the actual papers? (This one is here: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0195667112001395) | |
Admit it: how many of you read "man-eating dinosaur"? Was I the only one? Oh, okay, sorry then | |
Well that sounds pretty awesome. Looking very much forward to the point when (if ever) they get a full skeleton. It sounds purdy. Reeeeal purdy. (totallydon'twantthisasmyawesomeattackdinosaurmounttoterrorisethecitywithnooooothat'snotmyplanatall) | |
God, I love nerds. | |
Why that name? Does it really remind them of Sauron? Oh well, love how new things get discovered! Here's hoping we find moar! | |
WHO THE HELL SAID THAT!? | |
I've had adults tell me I should stop playing games and playing with ideas like dinosaurs because it is childish/get a job. NEVER I say, I will always game and be fun. | |
...Yikes, that sounds like something I wouldn't want to make mad... | |
Or get a job making dinosaur games, x2 win. | |
Also you have the coolest job in the world | |
Ive only been at uni a few months, studying rocks mostly... not fun. | |
I got confused for a second there, that's my cat's name and I was just like... WUT? Anyway, on topic, where did they find this again? BECAUSE THAT'S WHERE MORDOR USED TO BE. | |
Yet another awesome thing I wish we could use as a mount. | |
Considering Sauron was most likely planning on recruiting Smaug, this is highly unlikely. This is the whole reason for the adventure. Gandalf wants Smaug dead before Sauron can use him. Besides, Smaug would wipe the floor with any dinosaur. | |
"had a distinctive bump on the front of its head, possibly used for head-butting during mating rituals." The fuck did they get that from?! | |
New Dinosaur Species Dubbed "Eye of Sauron"
The discovery of a skull fossil in Morocco has revealed a new species of giant, meat-eating dinosaur.
Paleontologists have found the fossil of a previously unknown species of dinosaur that roamed the planet 95 million years ago. More specially, it was native to North Africa, and the meat-eater was as big as the Tyrannosaurus rex. The fossil was discovered in Morocco in 2007, and a research paper on the discovery has just been published. Paleontologists went with the name Sauroniops pachytholus, which is Greek for "eye of Sauron."
The eye of Sauron, of course, is a prominent symbol from J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings. The species was given the name due to its fossilized eye socket. Because paleontologists only found part of its skull, that was the fossil's most defining characteristic. According to Andrea Cau, the paper's lead author, "The idea of a predator that is physically known only as its fierce eye reminded me of Sauron, in particular as depicted in Peter Jackson's movies."
Despite only finding a skull fragment, paleontologists were still able to tell quite a bit about what Sauroniops was like. It was a big eater that likely had "a long and deep skull bearing dozens of bladelike teeth," and lived among other giant dinosaurs in an area rich with food. The skull was "broad and particularly thick" and revealed that Sauroniops had a distinctive bump on the front of its head, possibly used for head-butting during mating rituals. The Dark Lord of Mordor could not be reached for comment.
Source: Huffington Post via The Mary Sue
Image: National Geographic
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