All posts by Cathy Palmer-Lister

Dinosaurs and Company

Ankylosaur footprints from Canada are first of their kind in the world

Three-toed prints from B.C., Alberta fill gap in fossil record

Emily Chung · CBC News ·
Woman with fossil footprints in a rock
Victoria Arbour, curator at the Royal B.C. Museum, with Ruopodosaurus prints (far left for the foot and middle for the hand) in the field at Wolverine River near Tumbler Ridge, B.C., in August 2023. (Royal B.C. Museum)

The new species, which has been named Ruopodosaurus clava, would have been an armoured dinosaur about five to six metres long, reports a new study published this week in the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology.

Victoria Arbour, curator of paleontology at the Royal B.C. Museum and lead author of the new study, said Ruopodosaurus would have lumbered through the coastal redwood forests between the Rocky Mountains and an inland sea that covered Saskatchewan and Alberta during the Middle Cretaceous, about 100 million to 94 million years ago. Previously identified footprints suggest the other creatures it lived alongside: giant crocodiles, duck-billed dinosaurs and bird-like dinosaurs — and a related group of four-toed ankylosaurs.

But no bones of three-toed, club-tailed ankylosaurs have ever been found in North America from the Middle Cretaceous, which, until now, suggested they may have gone extinct during this time, before reappearing about 84 million years ago, perhaps by the migration of populations from Asia. The tracks from this new species suggest otherwise.

This species, Arbour said, is “new for North America. It’s new for the world…. And it really helps us fill in this gap in the fossil record.”

Royal B.C. Museum fossil preparator Calla Scott and former University of Victoria MSc student Teague Dickson apply a glue to a slab containing the fossil ankylosaur footprints to prepare it for making a silicone mould of the tracks in August 2024. (Royal B.C. Museum)

More to read: https://www.cbc.ca/news/science/ankylosaurid-footprints-1.7511766

Astronomy News

Scientists find ‘strongest evidence yet’ of life on distant planet

Scientists find ‘strongest evidence yet’ of life on distant planet

Pallab Ghosh, Science Correspondent BBC

Cambridge University The bottom half of the frame shows a large blue planet with a shimmering atmosphere. Above it is space with a small red star above the planet
Cambridge University: Artwork of K2-18b, a faraway world that may be home to life

Scientists have found new but tentative evidence that a faraway world orbiting another star may be home to life.

A Cambridge team studying the atmosphere of a planet called K2-18b has detected signs of molecules which on Earth are only produced by simple organisms.

This is the second, and more promising, time chemicals associated with life have been detected in the planet’s atmosphere by Nasa’s James Webb Space Telescope (JWST).

But the team and independent astronomers stress that more data is needed to confirm these results.

The lead researcher, Prof Nikku Madhusudhan, told me at his lab at Cambridge University’s Institute of Astronomy that he hopes to obtain the clinching evidence soon.

“This is the strongest evidence yet there is possibly life out there. I can realistically say that we can confirm this signal within one to two years.”

For more, click the link: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c39jj9vkr34o
Awards

2025 Hugo Award Finalists

To view the full list of nominees, go directly to https://seattlein2025.org/wsfs/hugo-awards/2025-hugo-award-finalists/

2025 Hugo Award Finalists

Seattle Worldcon 2025, the 83rd World Science Fiction Convention, is delighted to announce the finalists for the 2025 Hugo Awards, Lodestar Award for Best Young Adult Book, and Astounding Award for Best New Writer.

1,338* valid electronic nominating ballots were received by the deadline of March 14 at 11:59 p.m. PDT and counted from the members of the 2024 and 2025 World Science Fiction Conventions for the 2025 Hugo Awards. ​​Unfortunately, two mailed ballots were received 2.5 weeks later on April 3 after the deadline of receipt. Voting on the final ballot will open during April 2025.

Only Seattle Worldcon 2025 WSFS members will be able to vote on the final ballot and choose the winners for the 2025 Awards. The 2025 Hugo Awards, the Lodestar Award, and the Astounding Award will be presented on Saturday evening, August 16, 2025, at a formal ceremony at Seattle Worldcon 2025.

Questions about the Hugo Awards process may be directed to hugo-help@seattlein2025.org.

* Initial publication had an error of 1,738 ballots instead of the correct number of 1,338.

Seattle Worldcon 2025 Hugo Award Finalists

Best Novel

  • Alien Clay by Adrian Tchaikovsky (Orbit US, Tor UK)
  • The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley (Avid Reader Press, Sceptre)
  • Service Model by Adrian Tchaikovsky (Tordotcom)
  • Someone You Can Build a Nest In by John Wiswell (DAW)
  • A Sorceress Comes to Call by T. Kingfisher (Tor)
  • The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennett (Del Rey, Hodderscape UK)

1078 ballots cast for 554 nominees, finalists range 90 to 157

Best Novella

  • The Brides of High Hill by Nghi Vo (Tordotcom)
  • The Butcher of the Forest by Premee Mohamed (Tordotcom)
  • Navigational Entanglements by Aliette de Bodard (Tordotcom)
  • The Practice, the Horizon, and the Chain by Sofia Samatar (Tordotcom)
  • The Tusks of Extinction by Ray Nayler (Tordotcom)
  • What Feasts at Night by T. Kingfisher (Nightfire)

739 ballots cast for 209 nominees, finalists range 75 to 135

Best Novelette

  • “The Brotherhood of Montague St. Video” by Thomas Ha (Clarkesworld, May 2024)
  • “By Salt, By Sea, By Light of Stars” by Premee Mohamed (Strange Horizons, Fund Drive 2024)
  • “The Four Sisters Overlooking the Sea” by Naomi Kritzer (Asimov’s, September/October 2024)
  • “Lake of Souls” by Ann Leckie in Lake of Souls (Orbit)
  • “Loneliness Universe” by Eugenia Triantafyllou (Uncanny Magazine, Issue 58)
  • “Signs of Life” by Sarah Pinsker (Uncanny Magazine, Issue 59)

394 ballots cast for 188 nominees, finalists range 36 to 58

Best Short Story

  • “Five Views of the Planet Tartarus” by Rachael K. Jones (Lightspeed Magazine, Jan 2024 (Issue 164))
  • “Marginalia” by Mary Robinette Kowal (Uncanny Magazine, Issue 56)
  • “Stitched to Skin Like Family Is” by Nghi Vo (Uncanny Magazine, Issue 57)
  • “Three Faces of a Beheading” by Arkady Martine (Uncanny Magazine, Issue 58)
  • “We Will Teach You How to Read | We Will Teach You How to Read” by Caroline M. Yoachim (Lightspeed Magazine, May 2024 (Issue 168))
  • “Why Don’t We Just Kill the Kid in the Omelas Hole” by Isabel J. Kim (Clarkesworld, February 2024)

610 ballots cast for 673 nominees, finalists range 32 to 110

Best Series

  • Between Earth and Sky by Rebecca Roanhorse (Saga Press)
  • The Burning Kingdoms by Tasha Suri (Orbit)
  • InCryptid by Seanan McGuire (DAW)
  • Southern Reach by Jeff VanderMeer (Farrar, Straus and Giroux)
  • The Stormlight Archive by Brandon Sanderson (Tor Books)
  • The Tyrant Philosophers by Adrian Tchaikovsky (Ad Astra)

621 ballots cast for 201 nominees, finalists range 57 to 90

Best Graphic Story or Comic

  • The Deep Dark by Molly Knox Ostertag (Graphix)
  • The Hunger and the Dusk: Vol. 1 written by G. Willow Wilson, art by Chris Wildgoose (IDW Publishing)
  • Monstress, Vol. 9: The Possessed written by Marjorie Liu, art by Sana Takeda (Image)
  • My Favorite Thing Is Monsters, Book 2 by Emil Ferris (Fantagraphics)
  • Star Trek: Lower Decks: Warp Your Own Way written by Ryan North, art by Chris Fenoglio (IDW Publishing)
  • We Called Them Giants written by Kieron Gillen, art by Stephanie Hans, lettering by Clayton Cowles (Image)

265 ballots cast for 259 nominees, finalists range 13 to 37

Astronomy News

A STRONG GEOMAGNETIC STORM IS UNDERWAY

https://spaceweather.com/

A STRONG GEOMAGNETIC STORM IS UNDERWAY: A G3-class (Strong) geomagnetic storm is underway on April 16th, with a slight chance of intensifying to category G4 (Severe). This is happening because a CME hit Earth’s magnetic field on April 15th. It may have been a Cannibal CME–a pile-up of two closely-spaced CMEs, in which one overtook the other. Cannibal CMEs contain shock waves and enhanced magnetic fields that do a good job sparking auroras.

“The CME delivered!” reports Sebastian Sainio from Finland. “It sparked a great, although not so long-lasting show on the night between the 15th and 16th of April.”

“The scenic landscape on the island of Raippaluoto in western Finland gave extra vibe to the photos,” he says. “The water was also exceptionally calm that night.”

If today’s storm persists at current levels (a big IF), auroras would appear across Canada and some northern-tier US states during the night of April 16-17. Aurora alerts: SMS Text

more images: from Gregory Ash of Ely, Minnesota; from Kristian Eli Eli Zachariasen of the Faroe Islands; from Thierry Garcia of Fishburn, Durham, England; from Jeff Dykstra of Búðardalur, Iceland

Awards, CSFFA / Aurora Award / Hall of Fame, Reading

2025 AURORA AWARDS BALLOT

2025 AURORA AWARDS BALLOT

This ballot is for works originally done in 2024 by Canadians. The Aurora Awards are nominated by members of the Canadian Science Fiction and Fantasy Association (CSFFA). The top five nominated works were selected. Additional works were included where there was a tie for fifth place. An online awards ceremony will be held on Sunday, August 10th, 2025, at 5pm EDT, with hosts Mark Leslie Lefebvre and Elizabeth May Anderson. 

BEST NOVEL
Blackheart Man, Nalo Hopkinson, Saga Press
Pale Grey Dot, Don Miasek, Ravenstone
The Siege of Burning Grass, Premee Mohamed, Solaris
The Tapestry of Time, Kate Heartfield, Harper Voyager
Withered, A.G.A. Wilmot, ECW Press

BEST YOUNG ADULT NOVEL
The Door in Lake Mallion, S.M. Beiko, ECW Press
Heavenly Tyrant, Xiran Jay Zhao, Tundra Books
The Lost Expedition: The Dream Rider Saga, Book 3, Douglas Smith, Spiral Path Books
Misadventures in Ghosthunting, Melissa Yue, Harper Collins
Spaced!, C.L. Carey, Renaissance

BEST NOVELETTE/NOVELLA
The Butcher of the Forest, Premee Mohamed, Tordotcom
“Carter’s Refugio“, Hayden Trenholm, Analog SF&F, Sept/Oct
Countess, Suzan Palumbo, ECW Press
The Dragonfly Gambit, A.D. Sui, Neon Hemlock Press
“Zebra Meridian“,Geoffrey W. Cole, Zebra Meridian and Other Stories, Stelliform Press

BEST SHORT STORY
“A World of Milk and Promises“, R H Wesley, Clarkesworld, Issue 216
“And When She Shatters“, Kerry C. Byrne, Heartlines Spec, Issue 4
“Blood and Desert Dreams“, Y.M. Pang, Beneath Ceaseless Skies, Issue 408
“BUDDY RAYMOND’S NO-BULLSHIT GUIDE TO DRONE HUNTING“, Gillian Secord, Diabolical Plots, #108A
“Desolation Sounds“, Geoffrey W. Cole, Zebra Meridian and Other Stories, Stelliform Press

BEST GRAPHIC NOVEL/COMIC
Cemetery Kids Don’t Die vol. 1 (#1-4), Zac Thompson, illustrated by Daniel Irrizari, Gegé Schall, and Brittany Peer, Oni Press
Into the Goblin Market, Vikki VanSickle, illustrated by Jensine Eckwall, Tundra Books
It Never Rains, Kari Maaren, webcomic
Star Trek Lower Decks: Warp Your Own Way, Ryan North, art by Chris Fenoglio, IDW Publishing
Wheetago War: Roth, Richard Van Camp, illustrated by Christopher Shy, Renegade Arts Entertainment
A Witch’s Guide to Burning, Aminder Dhaliwal, Drawn and Quarterly
Zatanna: Bring Down the House, Mariko Tamaki, DC Comics

BEST POEM/SONG
“Angakkuq“, Shantell Powell, On Spec Magazine, Vol 24, Issue 130
“Cthulhu on the Shores of Osaka“, Y.M. Pang, Invitation: A One-shot Anthology of Speculative Fiction
“Her Favourite“, Beth Cato and Rhonda Parrish, Star*Line, Vol 47, Issue 4
“Horizon Events“, J.D. Dresner, Polar Starlight, Issue #15
“A Thirst for Adventure“, Lynne Sargent, Polar Borealis, Issue #28
“Trip Through the Robot“, Carolyn Clink and David Clink, Giant Robot Poems: On Mecha-Human Science, Culture & War

BEST RELATED WORK
Augur Magazine Vol 7, Issues 7.1-7.3, Kerry C. Byrne, Toria Liao, André Geleynse, Frankie Hagg, and Conyer Clayton, Augur Society
Bury Your Gays: An Anthology of Tragic Queer Horror, Sofia Ajram, Ghoulish Books
Northern Nights, Michael Kelly, Undertow Publications
On Spec Magazine, Vol 34, Issues 127-130, Diane L. Walton Managing Editor, The Copper Pig Writers’ Society
Year’s Best Canadian Fantasy and Science Fiction: Volume Two, Stephen Kotowych, Ansible Press

BEST COVER ART/INTERIOR ILLUSTRATION
Augur Magazine, Issue 7.1,  cover art, Martine Nguyen
Augur Magazine Issue 7.2, cover art, Frances Philip
Augur Magazine, Issue 7.3, cover art, Lorna Antoniazzi
Captains of Black and Brass, cover art, James Beveridge, On Spec Magazine, Vol 34, Issue 129
Northern Nights, cover art, Serena Malyon, Undertow Publications

BEST FAN WRITING AND PUBLICATION
Clubhouse Canadian Speculative Fiction reviews, R. Graeme Cameron, Amazing Stories Magazine
James Nicoll Reviews, James Davis Nicoll, online
Polar Starlight Magazine, Issues 13-16, Rhea E. Rose, editor
SF&F Book Reviews, Robert Runté, Ottawa Review of Books
Speculating Canada, Derek Newman-Stille

BEST FAN RELATED WORK
murmurstations, Sonia Urlando, Augur Society, podcast
Scintillation 2024, co-chairs, Jo Walton and René Walling, Montreal
Two Old Farts Talk Sci-Fi Podcast, Troy Harkin and David Clink
Wizards & Spaceships Podcast, Rachel A. Rosen and David L. Clink
The Worldshapers Podcast, Edward Willett

 

Ver 1.0, April 15, 2024

Astronomy News

TWO CMEs ARE HEADING FOR EARTH

GEOMAGNETIC STORM WATCH (G2): Geomagnetic storms are likely on April 16th when a pair of closely-spaced CMEs is expected to hit Earth’s magnetic field. NOAA forecasters say storm levels could reach category G2 with auroras across Canada and northern-tier US States. The CMEs were hurled toward Earth by a double eruption on the sun; see below. 

A DOUBLE ERUPTION ON THE SUN: Explosions on the sun do *not* require sunspots. Spotless explosions occurred twice over the weekend when these two magnetic filaments lifted off the sun:

Magnetic filaments are tubes of dense plasma held above the sun’s surface by magnetic forces. The two pictured above are about 400,000 km long–longer than the distance between Earth and the Moon. These massive structures can erupt when their magnetic underpinnings become unstable. That happened twice in quick succession on April 12th and 13th–a rare double blast.

Fragments of the exploding filaments ripped through the sun’s atmosphere to produce a pair of closely-spaced CMEs, now heading for Earth. A one-two punch from these CMEs could spark a G2-class geomagnetic storm on April 16th. CME impact alerts: SMS Text.

Fanzines

Fanzine Roundup

Quite a few zines to catch up on.

First, updates from Bill Burns:

New today at https://efanzines.com:

  • Leybl Botwinik’s CyberCozen – March 2025
  • Opuntia #594, edited by Dale Speirs
  • Christopher J. Garcia’s Claims Department #83
  • Garth Spencer’s The Obdurate Eye #49
  • Perry Middlemiss’s Perryscope #52
  • Tom Becker’s Energumdex on Taral Wayne’s Energumen page
  • Octothorpe #131, a regular fannish podcast by John Coxon, Alison Scott and Liz Batty, is now on line
  • Andy Hooper’s CAPTAIN FLASHBACK #76
  • Nic Farey’s This Here…#85
  • Heath Row’s The Stf Amateur, April 2025 (apazine bundle)
  • Opuntia #595, edited by Dale Speirs

From Africa, Probe – Gorgeous cover!- Gail writes: Please find attached the 203rd issue of PROBE. I have also attached the documents needed to enter the Nova short story competition for 2025. If you wish you may post these to advertise this year’s Nova.

Thank you, Gail Jamieson, Editor PROBE, www.sffsa.org.za

From the N3F :

The latest issue of The National Fantasy Fan is attached. Please NOMINATE for the Laureate Awards. TNFF202503

From Nic Farey, TH 85r 

From Garth Spencer, who writes: Happy Belated April Fool’s Day! ObdurateEye50

 

Books

Locus List of Forthcoming Books

APRIL 2025

  • NEAL ASHER • Dark Diamond • Macmillan/Tor UK, Apr 2025 (hc, eb)
  • ROBERT JACKSON BENNETT • A Drop of Corruption • Penguin Random House/Del Rey, Apr 2025 (hc, eb)
  • ROBERT JACKSON BENNETT • A Drop of Corruption • Hodder & Stoughton UK/Hodderscape, Apr 2025 (hc, eb)
  • OLIVIE BLAKE • Gifted & Talented • Macmillan/Tor UK, Apr 2025 (hc, eb)
  • OLIVIE BLAKE • Gifted & Talented • Tor, Apr 2025 (hc, eb)
  • PATRICE CALDWELL • Where Shadows Meet • St. Mar­tin’s/Wednesday Books, Apr 2025 (ya, v, hc, eb)
  • KACEN CALLENDER • Chaos King • Tor Teen, Apr 2025 (ya, hc, eb)
  • VAJRA CHANDRASEKERA • Rakesfall • Rebellion/Solaris UK, Apr 2025 (1st UK, tp, eb)
  • P. DJÈLÍ CLARK • Abeni and the Kingdom of Gold • Tor/Starscape, Apr 2025 (hc, eb)
  • C.S.E. COONEY • Saint Death’s Herald • Rebellion/Solaris UK, Apr 2025 (tp, eb)
  • ISAAC FELLMAN • Notes from a Regicide • Tor, Apr 2025 (hc, eb)
  • DANIEL M. FORD • Advocate • Tor, Apr 2025 (hc, tp, eb)
  • DARYL GREGORY • When We Were Real • Simon & Schuster/Saga Press, Apr 2025 (hc, eb)
  • JIM C. HINES • Kitemaster • Arc Manor/Caezik SF & Fantasy, Apr 2025 (tp, eb)
  • TANYA HUFF • Direct Descendant • Astra House/DAW, Apr 2025 (h, hc, eb)
  • AI JIANG • A Palace Near the Wind: Natu­ral Engines • Titan Books UK, Apr 2025 (hc, eb)
  • MARK LAWRENCE • The Book That Held Her Heart • Ace, Apr 2025 (hc, eb)
  • SHARON LEE & STEVE MILLER • Diviner’s Bow • Baen, Apr 2025 (hc, eb)
  • JEFFREY ALAN LOVE • The Last Battle at the End of the World • Flesk Publications, Apr 2025 (gn, art, tp, hc)
  • NNEDI OKORAFOR • One Way Witch • Astra House/DAW, Apr 2025 (na, hc, eb)
  • DANIEL PINKWATER • Jules • Penny, & the Rooster, Tachyon Publications, Apr 2025 (na, ya, tp, eb)
  • NATASHA PULLEY • The Hymn to Dionysus • Orion UK/Gollancz, Apr 2025 (hc, eb)
  • EDEN ROYCE • Psychopomp and Circumstance • Tordotcom, Apr 2025 (na, hc, eb)
  • NGHI VO • Don’t Sleep With the Dead • Tor­dotcom, Apr 2025 (na, hc, eb)
  • KHAN WONG • Down in the Sea of Angels • Angry Robot UK, Apr 2025 (tp, eb)
  • RITA WOODS • The Edge of Yesterday • Tor/Forge, Apr 2025 (hc, eb)
  • TIMOTHY ZAHN • The Icarus Coda • Baen, Apr 2025 (hc, eb)
Dinosaurs

Unique two-clawed dinosaur discovered in the Gobi Desert

Unique two-clawed dinosaur discovered

Tim Dodd, Climate and science reporter

A tall brown dinosaur stands in a forest, its ostrich-like head almost in the tree canopy, grasping trees with hands containing two very large claws and sets of orange feathers on the arms.  The dense rainforest is a dark green mixture of tropical-looking hardwood trees and fern-like plants. Duonychus tsogtbaatari would have been adept at grasping vegetation

Artist’s impression by Masato Hattori

A rare new species of two-clawed dinosaur has been discovered by scientists in Mongolia’s Gobi Desert.

The species, named Duonychus tsogtbaatari, was unique within a group of dinosaurs called Therizinosaurs, which stood on their hind legs and usually had three claws.

It was medium-sized, with an estimated weight of approximately 260kg.

Researchers believe the species’ long, curved claws and its ability to strongly flex them would have made it an efficient grasper of vegetation.

Yoshi Kobayashi, Hokkaido University– Researchers believe the dinosaur weighed approximately 260kg

Therizinosaurs were a group of either herbivorous or omnivorous theropod dinosaurs that lived in Asia and North America during the Cretaceous Period, which began 145 million years ago and ended 66 million years ago.

They are exemplified by the massive, long-clawed form Therizinosaurus, featured in the film Jurassic World Dominion, and were “awkward looking”, according to one of the study’s authors Dr Darla Zelenitsky, associate professor at the University of Calgary.

The specimen was recovered from the Bayanshiree formation in the Gobi Desert of Mongolia, which dates back to the Late Cretaceous period (between 100.5 to 66 million years ago).

Unesco, the UN’s Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, calls the Mongolian Gobi Desert the largest dinosaur fossil reservoir in the world.

The region is an especially important source of fossils from the later Cretaceous period, which is the last of the main three periods of the dinosaur age, representing the final phase of dinosaur evolution.

Kobayashi et al —  The claws may also have been used as formidable weapons

At nearly a foot long, the claws themselves were much larger than their underlying bone, the study revealed.

Besides better grasping, the two-fingered hands may have been used for display, digging, or as formidable weapons.

The most famous two-fingered theropods are species within the group tyrannosaurids, which includes Tyrannosaurus rex, but Duonychus evolved its two-fingered hands separately from them and from other two-fingered theropods.

The specimen also preserves the first keratinous sheath of a therizinosaur, an element that covers the claw much like human fingernails, aiding defence, movement, or prey catching.