The Boneyard XV

It's been two weeks since the last Boneyard weathered out of the blogosphere. Here's a look at what present excavations have revealed over the past two weeks;

• Carnivorous mammals have evolved saber-teeth many times in the past, but just how they used their teeth to kill prey has been more difficult to ascertain. Nimravid presents a short review of how creatures so equipped may have caught and killed their prey.

• Paleontology isn't only focused on nightmarish creatures that ripped other extinct animals to shreds; the Ethical Palaeontologist reports on an amazing fossil of a Triassic-age leaf from China, although details have yet been difficult to come by.

• Shortly after receiving a PhD in paleontology last year, Marcus Ross revealed that he was a young-earth creationist. This year the #1 scandal has centered around Spencer Lucas and Aetogate. The Lab Lemming asks which of the two you prefer (so far, Ross is beating Lucas hands-down).

• Over at The World We Don't Live In, the Wizard Lizard covers one of my most favorite groups of extinct mammals; the Protoceratids.

• At The Dragon's Tales, Will covers a recent story about falling sea levels at the end of the Cretaceous. Was it climate, or was it tectonics?

• The Everything Dinosaur blog features a concise summary of the Ordovician.

• John Hawks covers the continuing controversy over a potential Younger Dryas impact event.

• The title says it all: "Mad Neanderthal Disease?"

• This past week ReBecca helped welcome "Homer," the juvenile Triceratops, to the Burpee Museum.

• It's a mammal! It's a bird! It's a... stem haematotherm?!

• A new paper came out this week proposing that the minuscule Flores "hobbits" were not a distinct species but rather iodine-deficient humans. Greg and Afarensis smell something funny about the research and explain why it misses the mark.

• Many theropod dinosaurs were covered with feathers, but how feathers evolved in the first place is still a question that needs research. Palaeoblog abstracts some recent research on how the ancestors of Archaeopteryx might have got their downy coats.

• Speaking of feathered dinosaurs, Zach has a critique of a recent NOVA documentary focused on Microraptor

• And last, but not least, Anne-Marie covers some new research into the radiations of ancient bats at Pondering Pikaia.

The next edition of The Boneyard will be unveiled in two weeks at The Dragon's Tales.

[Post-Script: Dinosaurs and the Bible: A Creationist's Fairy Tail is having a giveaway contest in celebration of nearing 100,000 visits. Check out this post for a look at the swag that's up for grabs.]