New Type of Dinosaur Unearthed

MileHighScience writes to mention that a new type of sauropod has been discovered by scientists from Utah's Brigham Young University. Dubbed Abydosaurus mcintoshi, the new addition to the long necked dinosaur family was discovered at Dinosaur National Monument. "The circumstances of its discovery were both unusual and dramatic. The researchers stumbled on four skulls in a quarry at the preserve. Two were still intact. Sauropod skulls are rarely found in the fossil record because the soft tissue from which they are constructed is unlikely to be preserved after death. 'Their heads are built lighter than mammal skulls because they sit way out at the end of very long necks,' Brooks Britt, a BYU paleontologist said in a news release. 'Instead of thick bones fused together, sauropod skulls are made of thin bones bound together by soft tissue.' Of more than 120 known species of sauropods, there have been only eight instances in which scientists have been able to recover intact skulls."

Comments

Gary Larson inquires:

[Thud457]

yeah, but does it have a thagomizer?!

This is my theory, which is mine.

[MillionthMonkey]

The following is MY theory.
*ahem*
*ahem* *ahem*
This was the type of dinosaur that wore a saddle, so that people from the Bible could ride it around, and with that long neck it could have easily reached up to get the forbidden fruit from the Tree of Life for that bitch Eve. *Ahem*

in related news

[Tumbleweed]

Another dinosaur, Windowsaurus Mobelius, has also been identified in the fossil remains of early Silicon Valley users. It seems this dinosaur was replaced in its ecosystem by a smarter, faster breed called Googlesaurus Androidius, which went on to compete for resources with the Applesaurus iPhonius, which survived only as a brightly-coloured niche dinosaur, despite competing claims that its extinction was inevitable, and that its dominance was assured. Neither of these outcomes predicted for the iPhonius turned out to be true, and the Androidius eventually evolved into sentient killing machines.

All hail, etc.

Re:in related news

[levell]

Recent reports also note that the Nokiasuarus Maemonicus has been evolving in a new strain: Meegoasaurus Rex which prefers open spaces

Thesaurus?

[fahrbot-bot]

Thesaurus: Small dinosaur that uses flowery language to extricate itself from dangerous situations. - Dennis Miller

Re:BYU has a Paleontology department?

[CorporateSuit]

BYU has one of the largest collection of Jurassic dino bones in the world.

Does that not fit into what your science teacher told you about people who aren't your science teacher?

Actually

[riboch]

More specifically it was a U of M graduate student:
http://www.ns.umich.edu/htdocs/releases/story.php?id=7537

Re:BYU has a Paleontology department?

[CorporateSuit]

I like to read, and unlike the rest of my classmates, I have some scientific background concerning the world in general. And thus, when I heard that BYU, founded on principles of racism, moral superiority, and hatred of atheists, I was surprised they had abandoned enough of their core principles to have a paleontology department that accurately dated fossils.

Apparently, you shouldn't believe everything that you read, or is just it a personal bias that makes you lash out so?

Right into the trap...

[copponex]

"I hope to see an Academy established in Provo that shall do honor to our Territory, and at which the children of the Latter-day Saints can receive a good education unmixed with the pernicious atheistic influences that are found in so many of the higher schools of the country." -Brigham Young

But, you got me on one point. There is a process for "beard exemption":

A student who wishes to obtain a beard exception must visit a BYU Student Health Center doctor by appointment (422.5156). The doctor will fax his recommendation. The student then needs to come to the Honor Code Office to fill out some paperwork and receive the letter allowing the growth of the beard, if approved. If a yearly beard exception is granted, a new Student ID will be issued after the beard has been fully grown, and must be renewed every year by repeating the process.

http://honorcode.byu.edu/content/what-process-obtaining-beard-waiver

That's literally the funniest thing I have read in the last 24 hours.

But wait! There's more!

Are Mixed Gender Camping Trips allowed?
http://honorcode.byu.edu/content/mixed-gender

Fear of Gays!
Homosexual behavior and/or advocacy of homosexual behavior are inappropriate and violate the Honor Code. Homosexual behavior includes not only sexual relations between members of the same sex, but all forms of physical intimacy that give expression to homosexual feelings. Advocacy includes seeking to influence others to engage in homosexual behavior or promoting homosexual relations as being morally acceptable.

Fear of the Female Body!
A clean and well-cared-for appearance should be maintained. Clothing is inappropriate when it is sleeveless, strapless, backless, or revealing; has slits above the knee; or is form fitting. Dresses, skirts, and shorts must be knee-length or longer. Hairstyles should be clean and neat, avoiding extremes in styles or colors. Excessive ear piercing (more than one per ear) and all other body piercing are not acceptable. Shoes should be worn in all public campus areas.

Forced religion!
Students are required to be in good Honor Code standing to be admitted to, continue enrollment at, and graduate from BYU. In conjunction with this requirement, all enrolled continuing undergraduate, graduate, intern, and Study Abroad students are required to obtain a Continuing Student Ecclesiastical Endorsement for each new academic year. Students must have their endorsements completed, turned in, and processed by the Honor Code Office before they can register for fall semester or any semester thereafter. To avoid registration delays, endorsement should be submitted to the Honor Code Office by March 15. Those applying to BYU should use the new-student Admissions Application Part 3 endorsement and submit to Admissions, D-155 ASB.

I mean, this shit sounds like something you'd find the Taliban advocating. Read it for yourself:
http://saas.byu.edu/catalog/2009-2010ucat/GeneralInfo/HonorCode.php#HCOfficeInvovement

Re:Right into the trap...

[EL_mal0]

You must have some grudge against the LDS church to be trolling so much on this thread. Nevertheless, I'm going to respond to a couple of your points.

First point: the beard thing. I agree, this is pretty lame. The dress and grooming standards have changed over the years, and hopefully one day neatly trimmed beards will be allowed. I've heard that the anti-beard regulations came about in the 60's when the hippies wore beards, and were thought of as some sort of representation of the counter culture, which doesn't really jive with LDS doctrines. Times have changed. I must say, though, that if that's the funniest thing you've read in the last 24 hours, you must be starved for entertainment.

Second point: mixed gender field trips. They are allowed, you just need to make sure the men and women aren't sharing tents. As you probably know, premarital sex is against LDS doctrine. This is a small measure to ensure students aren't breaking the rules while on official business. Dress and grooming standards are along this same line.

Third point: "fear" of gays. BYU is a church school. LDS doctrine states that homosexuality is bad, so the church's school isn't going to allow anybody to encourage behavior that goes against church doctrine.

Fourth point: Ecclesiastical endorsements. BYU is a church school. They strive for a religious, education along side the more secular one. There is no requirement that you be a practicing member of ANY particular religion, just that you get "cleared" from your own ecclesiastical leader. If you don't belong to any particular church (presumably even if you're an atheist) you can meet with LDS leaders to get an endorsemnt. This is mainly to ensure that the students will abide by the school's honor code, which you find so humorous and offensive.

I'm a graduate of the BYU geology department. I got a fantastic education that prepared me well for grad school and a career in science. I am happy to see the department get this press. I'm less happy at douche bags like yourself using this platform to spread half-truths and misinformation about my alma mater. If you don't like the standards, nobody's going to force you to live them, or even go near the BYU campus.

Re:Right into the trap...

[copponex]

a term you clearly picked to deprave those you obviously don't understand

No disagreement there. Being terrified of women and certain styles of grooming and atheists and homosexuals is certainly something I don't understand. And I say terrified, since they aren't allowed to be any of those things near the "clean" students at BYU. All, of course, except for the beards. I guess beards aren't so scary.

Never do they force others to be their religion, or to be a member of any other.

You didn't read. It's important:

LDS students may be endorsed only by the bishop of the ward (1) in which they live and (2) that holds their current Church membership record.

Non-LDS students are to be endorsed by (1) the local ecclesiastical leader if the student is an active member of the congregation, (2) the bishop of the LDS ward in which they currently reside, or (3) the nondenominational BYU chaplain.

So, how does an atheist stay within the honor code?

Re:Right into the trap...

[SirWinston]

>And they certainly don't advocate killing others to enforce
>what they believe.

Really? They did comparatively recently:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mountain_Meadows_massacre

I for one would never support any religion capable of such an atrocity, much less one which would conspire at all levels to cover it up instead of seeking forgiveness and making reparations. The world would be a much better place if primitive religions were treated as the bunkum they are. Why tax fuels, carbon, tobacco, or alcohol, when the real danger is the superstition and intolerance emanating from the pulpit? We should be taxing churches instead of making them tax-exempt.

>Feel free to compare them to Islam if you like (and there's
>some interesting comparisons there)... but drawing on the
>Taliban? Come on!

Hmm, Mormons and the Taliban... They both hate gays, check. They each treat women as subordinate to men, check. They each have a history of violent intolerance of outsiders, check. They both have a bizarre fixation on facial hair, check. They both use religious schools to indoctrinate the young, check. They both dictate special clothing (burqas, sacred underwear), check.

Yep, Mormons (and other intolerant fundamentalist sects) are the American Taliban.

Re:Where is the half-truth?

[copponex]

But the other two?

Shall I tell you the law of God in regard to the African Race? If the White man who belongs to the chosen seed mixes his blood with the seed of Cain, the penalty, under the law of God, is death on the spot. This will always be so. -Brigham Young

I am here to answer. I shall be on hand to answer when I am called upon, for all the counsel and for all the instruction that I have given to this people. If there is an Elder here, or any member of this Church, called the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, who can bring up the first idea, the first sentence that I have delivered to the people as counsel that is wrong, I really wish they would do it; but they cannot do it, for the simple reason that I have never given counsel that is wrong; this is the reason. -Brigham Young

Read on! Enlightenment awaits...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Book_of_Mormon_anachronisms