A team of Montana State University paleontologists have identified several new types of dinosaurs from fossil evidence discovered in eastern Idaho, demonstrating the presence of a much more diverse group of theropods in the area than was previously known.

The findings were published earlier this month in Historical Biology: An International Journal of Paleobiology. MSU doctoral student L.J. Krumenacker in the MSU College of Letters and Science’s Department of Earth Sciences was the lead author of the study. Others who contributed to the work were Krumenacker’s adviser, MSU paleontology professor David J. Varricchio, MSU graduate student Garrett Scofield and current Boise State University adjunct professor and former MSU graduate student Jade Simon.

The fossils, found in the Wayan Formation, which occurs on lands administered by Caribou-Targhee National Forest, represent at least three newly discovered types of theropod – the family of dominantly carnivorous dinosaurs which include animals such as Tyrannosaurus rex. In fact, these formerly unrecognized dinosaurs, which date back to about 95 million years ago, include small- to mid-sized tyrannosauroids, Krumenacker said. Based mostly on fossilized teeth, he estimates the possible larger tyrannosauroid was about the size of a horse, with the small tyrannosauroid being similar in size to a retriever-sized dog.

Also among their findings were a pair of fossilized eggs of a large oviraptorosaur –the largest dinosaurs known to have existed in Idaho. The eggs are the first evidence that oviraptorosaurs lived in the area at that time.

The discoveries are significant, Varricchio said. Dinosaur fossils are rare to find in Idaho and these are some of the few that date back to the middle Cretaceous period.

“We don’t really have many dinosaurs from this time period,” he said. “This new evidence is really filling in the time, temporal and spacial gap.”

Krumenacker, who hails from Idaho, has been searching his home state for dinosaur remains for more than a decade – since he was an undergraduate at Idaho State University.

“He’s made himself the expert on Idaho dinosaurs,” Varricchio said. “He’s largely been the person to describe the Idaho dinosaurs.”

But aside from fossilized evidence of Oryctodromeus cubicularis – a burrowing dinosaur that lived around the same time as these newly discovered tyrannosauroids – the Idaho finds have been limited at best.

“It’s just disappointing,” Krumenacker said. “You’d like to find more. But it just drives me to look more. Persistence pays off – now we’ve found these other fossil localities giving a lot of more data on the animals present at the time.

“The challenge is identifying the animals based on the fragmentary specimens we find,” he added. “I put my best effort into it. It’s possible I could discover some identifications are wrong if we find more complete remains later. But I’d be thrilled because then we’d have an even better understanding. I’d really like to find more.”

The specimens will be curated at the Idaho Museum of Natural History in Pocatello, which holds the permit that allowed the collection of these fossils. A permit is required for all vertebrate fossils collected from federal lands.

This press released is derived, in part, from an article published in Historical Biology on Feb. 1, 2016 © Taylor & Francis, available online: http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/08912963.2015.1137913.

Montana State University and Wilcoxson’s Ice Cream have partnered to create Bobcat Batter, a new Bobcat-branded ice cream flavor available in Montana stores.

Bobcat Batter features a cake batter ice cream with a blue frosting wave. It is now available in half-gallon cartons at grocery stores across Montana, including at Rosauers, Heeb’s and Albertsons in Bozeman.

Bobcat Batter first debuted last fall in MSU’s renovated Miller Dining Hall as part of the university’s Montana Made Program, which seeks to increase access to local food products. At the time, the new ice cream flavor didn’t yet have a name, so the university sponsored a community-wide naming contest.

“We are thrilled to see that the product we debuted at Miller is now available at Montana supermarkets, said Michael Kosevich, general manager of MSU University Food Services.

Matt Schaeffer, president of Livingston-based Wilcoxson’s Ice Cream, said he is proud of the partnership that has been developed between his company and MSU.

“I feel privileged to be a part of this,” Schaeffer said. “I like being associated with MSU. I think it’s a great combination.”

Julie Kipfer, MSU director of trademarks and licensing, agreed the new ice cream flavor showcases a great partnership.

“Working with University Food Services and Montana-based Wilcoxson’s, we were able to develop a locally sourced product that creates excitement with a new generation of Bobcat fans and engages our alumni across Montana,” Kipfer said. “We love to see Montana businesses succeed and benefit from these collaborations.”

Gallatin County Regional Park saw action this past weekend that had yet to shake things up in Bozeman! On Saturday and Sunday, skier and riders competed in the first ever Duckworth Montana Classic Skijoring Race.

This was the first such completion to be held in Bozeman, according to event organizer Whitni Ciofalo. Along with being the current Bozeman race director, she is also a Founding Board Member of Skijor America.



82 teams signed up on Friday night to compete in Saturday’s races. 32 of those teams were in the Novice Category, which competed first. Some of the skiers I spoke to had tried the sport before, or had a least practiced a few times but there was more than one brave soul who had never attempted before!

When asked what appealed to them about skijoring, the most popular answer from skiers was “the speed.” Bozeman resident Glenn said his reason for wanting to give it a try for the first time was, “It just looks fun!” When I caught up with him after his first run, Glenn was grinning as he told me “It was easier than I thought.” Glenn’s rider was his friend Rick who explained all horses respond differently to towing a rope and skier. Rick’s horse Pepper was indifferent about the experience, a result of being a horse used in Mounted Cowboy Shooting Competitions.

Experienced skijorer Darren Anderson traveled to Bozeman from Vail, Colorado to compete in this weekend’s races. He said the Duckworth Montana Classic was the second stop of the Skijoring America Circuit. Although there was also an event taking place in Driggs, Idaho that weekend, his rider chose Bozeman’s event so he came here because “You go where your horse and rider want to go.”

The races were well attended by skijoring enthusiasts but also many Bozemanites who weren’t familiar with the sport. Some folks were simply out walking their dogs at the park, saw the horses and went over to see what all the fuss was about! No one appeared to be disappointed in what they saw! Crowds cheered as teams raced over ramps and flinched when there was a wreck.

According to the Skijor America website, the history of the sport as it exists today can be traced back to Colorado in the late 1940’s. Two close friends “were impressed by the prospect of skijoring, however, they couldn’t understand why anyone would want to go that slow!”

And so, what was originally used as a form of transportation has transformed into a fast, thrilling, and sometimes dangerous sport. Leave it to Bozeman, a home for many skiers and equestrians, to embrace the sport and finally get it the attention it deserves!

Since 2012, Museum of the Rockies has hosted Cub Scouts and Girl Scouts from around the region in its annual Scout Day event.
 
On Saturday, March 5, from 9am to 2pm, Scout Day will return once again, and it promises to be one of the most exciting ever. Scout Day 2016: Trek Through Time will focus on MOR's world-renown paleontology collections and feature the Museum's Curator of Paleontology, Jack Horner.  It will also feature MOR's two new exhibits, Across the Andes and National Geographic's 50 Greatest Photographs.

Scouts, and their families, will be able to meet Jack Horner during a special presentation about dinosaurs, and watch a custom-produced program at MOR's Taylor Planetarium. These special activities have limited seating. Tickets are required and will be available during registration.
 
Scouts will also be able to fulfill badge requirements as they participate in engaging activities, including a mock dinosaur dig, creating a constellation, playing a rock cycle game, geocaching, digital photography and more. More information is available on the Museum's website, museumoftherockies.org.

 
The first 300 scouts to register for Scout Day 2016: Trek Through Time will receive a commemorative participation patch. Pizza lunch will be available for purchase between 11am-1pm during the event.
 
Scouts from around the region, as well as non-scouts, are invited to attend. Scouts may come as a pack or troop, or individually with families.
 
Scout Day 2016: Trek Though Time is free to scouts and families who are members of MOR. Non-museum members who are active members of the Cub Scouts or Girl Scouts will receive a special discount of $6.50 per Scout and $9.50 Scout Leader. Regular MOR pricing applies for non-members who are not scouts.

 
Pre-registration is required by Friday, February 26, 2016, and late registrations will not receive program discount.  Registration fees for this program are non-refundable.
 
Scout Day 2016: Trek Though Time is presented by Museum of the Rockies in partnership with the Girl Scouts of Montana and Wyoming and the Boy Scouts of America, Montana Council.

Montana radio listeners can now tune in to a weekly, live radio segment about physics, astronomy and the cosmos with Montana State University Assistant Professor Nico Yunes and well-known Bozeman radio personality Chris Griffin of AM 1450 KMMS.

Each Wednesday from 8-8:30 a.m., Griffin and Yunes will discuss everything from theories about black holes and the big bang to the physics behind the Global Positioning Systems that have become ubiquitous in consumer electronics.

“There can be no physics without communication. I love to reach out and share my love for the amazing world of physics,” said Yunes. “Chris has been so gracious to invite me to his show to have an engaging and exciting dialogue about the science that surrounds us everyday without us even noticing it.”

Yunes is an internationally recognized leader both in his area of specialty, Einstein’s theory of general relativity, and in public outreach and education about physics.

Among his many accomplishments, in 2015 Yunes earned the Young Scientist Award in General Relativity and Gravitation from the International Society on General Relativity and Gravitation. In 2013, he was awarded a $500,000 National Science Foundation Career Award, and in 2010 he was chosen as one of NASA’s Einstein Fellows.

He is also well known for leading the team that created “Celebrating Einstein,” a science festival that commemorated Einstein’s 100th birthday in 2013 with public presentations, art installations, film and music  performances that blended art and science. The next year, Yunes followed up by organizing and performing at “Rhythms of the Universe,” which combined spoken word poetry and physics.

Yunes is co-director of the MSU eXtreme Gravity Institute as well as MSU’s Gravity Research Group.  

A new study co-authored by Raina Plowright, assistant professor in Montana State University’s Department of Microbiology and Immunology, reports that bat deaths worldwide are markedly rising due to human causes largely unique to the 21st century. Specifically, collisions with wind turbines and the outbreak of white-nose syndrome – a fungal disease that infects the skin of hibernating bats – lead the reported causes of mass death in bats since 2000.

The research, funded by the National Institutes of Health and led by United States Geological Survey scientists, was published this week in Mammal Review.

Plowright was one of five scientists who combed through more than 200 years of scientific literature dating back to 1790 in search of reports of mass mortality events of bats. The researchers found 1,180 such incidents worldwide, more than half caused by humans.

That’s significant, said Plowright, who has degrees in veterinary medicine, epidemiology and ecology.

Plowright said bats are long-lived, slow-breeding mammals that play vital roles in most of Earth’s ecosystems. Bats are important pollinators and seed dispersers in tropical regions, and they serve as the main predators of night-flying insects in most parts of the world. Insect-eating bats are estimated to save farmers billions of dollars each year by providing natural pest control.

But the causes of bat mortality have not been reviewed since 1970. And because bats are well-adapted to survive in their natural habitat, human-caused mortalities can be more devastating than naturally occurring ones, which tend to be more diffuse.

“Many of the 1,300 species of bats are already considered threatened or declining,” said Tom O’Shea, a USGS emeritus research scientist and the study’s lead author. “The new trends in human-related mortality may not be sustainable.”

Researchers found that prior to the year 2000, intentional killing by humans caused the greatest proportion of mortality events in bats globally; the reasons varied with region, but bats were hunted for human consumption, killed as pests, to control vampire bats, and to protect fruit crops. Although the proportion of intentional killing reports declined in recent times, such acts continue in some parts of the world.

Since 2000, however, collisions with wind turbines worldwide and white-nose syndrome in North America are the primary reported causes of mass mortality in bats. In additions, storms, floods, drought and other weather-related factors also historically caused mass mortality, and could increase in the future due to climate change.

Surprisingly, the authors did not find convincing evidence that bats regularly die in large proportion due to infectious diseases caused by viruses or bacteria.  This finding comes at a time when increasing evidence points to bats as natural reservoirs of several viruses that cause disease in humans. Despite often being more social than other animals, bats may somehow avoid deaths from diseases that sweep through dense populations, the researchers said.

Plowright, who hails from Australia, is concerned about the future health of the world’s bat populations.

“Bats cannot easily rebound from mass mortality events, and climate change may create additional stressors on bat populations,” Plowright said.

The researchers conclude that bats could “benefit from policy, education and conservation actions targeting human-caused mortality.”

Plowright, who joined MSU’s faculty in fall 2014, teaches in the WIMU Regional Program in Veterinary Medicine, which is a cooperative program between MSU, Washington State University, the University of Idaho and the Utah State University.

“Raina brings an absolutely unique, internationally recognized infectious disease ecology research program to the department and MSU,” said Professor Mark Jutila, head of the Department of Microbiology and Immunology. “Her research is focused on emerging diseases of wildlife with potential for spillover into livestock and humans, which is of particular relevance in Montana.”

The MSU Department of Microbiology and Immunology is housed in the College of Agriculture and College of Letters and Science.

In addition to Plowright and O’Shea, co-authors of the study were Paul M. Cryan with USGS, David T.S. Hayman with Massey University in New Zealand and Daniel G. Streicker with University of Glasgow in Scotland.

 If you love Montana, music and artwork, we’d love to see how you can bring it all together for the official 6th Red Ants Pants Music Festival poster!
 
Beginning today through March 1st, 2016, folks can submit artwork through the Red Ants Pants Music Festival website here: http://redantspantsmusicfestival.com/join-the-colony/poster-contest/

The Red Ants Pants Music Festival poster has become a keepsake for fans and one more way the festival can help promote creativity in the arts. The winner's work will be featured as the backdrop for the 2016 Music Festival Poster.

We print thousands of these posters and distribute them throughout the region and US as part of our marketing efforts. This contest is a great way to get your beautiful artwork the attention it deserves!

The winner will receive six (6) weekend passes to the 2016 Red Ants Pants Music Festival, and will be announced at our Lineup Release Party on Saturday, April 2nd 2016! All submissions are due by Tuesday, March 1st... good luck!

SLAM is seeking local sculptors to create functional bike racks as part of their community art installation program.

Designs will be selected based on creativity and functionality and will be installed in parks around the Bozeman area in the spring/summer of 2016.  Proposals will be accepted until midnight on Wednesday, January 20, 2016.

Guidelines for the project:
 
The proposed design must be constructed of metal, or some other weather-resistant and durable material.

It must accommodate a minimum of 10 bicycles.

It must contain elements in the design that will allow it to be bolted to a concrete pad.
 
Please submit proposals with your design, cost per bike rack, timeline, and examples of your work to info@slamfestivals.org or SLAM P.O. Box 2008 Bozeman, MT  59771

Nominations will be accepted through March 13, 2016.  Information and nomination forms can be found at: highplainsbookawards.org.The list of the 2015 winners and other past recipients is also available on the website.
 
The 2016 Awards include twelve categories: Best Medicine and Science Book; Best Children's Book, Best Fiction; Best Nonfiction; Best Creative Nonfiction; Best Poetry; Best First Book; Best Woman Writer; Best Art & Photography; Best Short Stories; Best Culinary and Best Young Adult.
 
Nominated books must have been published for the first time in 2015. Winners receive a $500 prize and are invited to participate in the annual High Plains BookFest in October 2016.
 
All nominated books are read and evaluated by community readers.  Finalist books in each category will be announced by June 2016. Winners in each category will be determined by a panel of published writers with connections to the High Plains region.
 
Winners will be announced at an Awards Banquet in October, 2016, in Billings, Montana. The Awards Banquet is held in conjunction with the annual High Plains BookFest. Writers interested in participating in the 2016 High Plains BookFest should contact Writer's Voice director Corby Skinner via email: corby@skinnerbenoit.com.

Questions concerning the nominations process should be directed to: Dee Ann Redman, Billings Public Library, 510 North Broadway, Billings, MT 59101, email: hpba@ci.billings.mt.us.