Episode 291: How Tyrannosaurus grew right into a bone crusher


Episode 291 is all about Opisthocoelicaudia, a late cretaceous titanosaur that will have been in a position to rear up on its hind legs.

Massive due to all our patrons! Your help means a lot to us and retains us going! In the event you’re a dinosaur fanatic, be a part of our rising neighborhood on Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/iknowdino.

You may hearken to our free podcast, with all our episodes, on Apple Podcasts at:
https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/i-know-dino/id960976813?mt=2

On this episode, we focus on:

Information:

  • A brand new evaluation of dozens of tyrannosaur specimens splits its development into 5 main phases supply
  • The asteroid that worn out the dinosaurs hit at simply the appropriate angle to do probably the most potential harm supply
  • The dueling dinosaurs seem like going completely to the floor rights house owners supply
  • A set of chinese language “rooster claw prints” turned out to be Jurassic dinosaur tracks supply
  • Japanese researchers declare to have discovered the world’s smallest dinosaur egg fossil supply
  • The NHM in London shared particulars about Qhemegha, South Africa and its significance in dinosaur paleontology supply
  • The TV present Dinosaurs is coming to Disney+ this fall supply
  • Dinosaur Batman makes use of the title B. rex for one character, it’s not a shoebill or the T. rex specimen MOR 1125 that go by the identical title supply
  • Filming for Jurassic World Dominion has resumed supply

The dinosaur of the day: Opisthocoelicaudia

  • Sauropod that lived within the Late Cretaceous in what’s now Mongolia (Gobi Desert)
  • Estimated to be about 37 to 43 ft (11.4 to 13 m) lengthy
  • Many alternative weight estimates, starting from 8.4 tonnes to 25.4 tonnes
  • Had a small head, lengthy neck, and quadrupedal
  • Had a medium-length neck about 16 ft (5 m) lengthy
  • Gregory Paul in 2019 discovered there have been 10 dorsals, the quantity present in titanosaurs
  • Had a protracted tail
  • Had a versatile again, and a powerful pelvic area
  • Had bony projections on the highest of its backbone (like Diplodocus)
  • Had quick limbs, proportionally, and forelimbs had been about 2/3 the size of the hindlimbs, that had been pretty versatile
  • Foot claws had been all about the identical measurement
  • Might have used its tail like a 3rd leg when it reared up, which meant it had a versatile tail (the thick pelvis, might present it was robust sufficient to rear up)
  • Initially thought to have a straight again, however in 2007 Daniela Schwarz and others discovered the again might have dipped in direction of the rear, and that the shoulder blade inclined at a steeper angle
  • Sort species is Opisthocoelicaudia skarzynskii
  • Genus title means “posterior cavity tail” and refers back to the opisthocoelian construction of the anterior caudals, which implies the vertebrae on the anterior (dealing with ahead) of the tail had been concave on their posterior (dealing with rearward) sides and convex on their anterior sides, to kind ball-and-socket joints
  • Due to this, might have been in a position to rear on to its hindlegs
  • Species title is in honor of Wojciech Skarzynski, who ready the sort specimen
  • Practically full skeleton discovered (no head or neck) in 1965 throughout a joint Polish-Mongolian expedition
  • Holotype was an grownup, and located on its again, with most vertebrae nonetheless linked, although left limb and rib bones had been discovered to the appropriate of the physique, and the appropriate limb and rib bones and had been discovered on the left aspect of the physique
  • Tooth marks on the skeleton, most likely means massive carnivores ate the carcass and should have eliminated the lacking components (head and neck)
  • Chunk marks discovered within the pelvis and proper femur
  • Due to the completeness of the skeleton, most likely died near the place it was discovered, potential there was a flood that moved the physique and lined it in sediment
  • A juvenile a part of shoulder additionally discovered
  • A part of a tail and are available claws even have been referred to Opisthocoelicaudia
  • Described by Maria Magdalena Borsuk-Bialynicka in 1977
  • Discovered within the Nemegt Formation
  • Laborious to maneuver the fossils, had stone blocks that needed to be moved about 1900 ft (580 m) on steel sledges manufactured from petrol drums, then put onto vehicles
  • Packed skeleton into 35 crates, that weighed 12 tons
  • Holotype was a part of the gathering on the Institute of Paleobiology in Warsaw, then later went again to Mongolia, and is now on the Institute of Geology of the Mongolian Academy of Sciences in Ulaanbaatar
  • Different sauropod present in Nemegt is Nemegtosaurus, recognized from one cranium
  • Opisthocoelicaudia cranium isn’t recognized, so some scientists assume Opisthocoelicaudia and Nemegtosaurus are synonymous (if synonymous, could be named Nemegtosaurus as a result of Nemegtosaurus was named first, in 1971)
  • Nemegtosaurus present in the identical expedition, however regarded as from a unique clades (Nemegtosaurus initially categorised as Dicraeosaurinae, Opisthocoelicaudia as Camarasauridae). Now each dinosaurs regarded as titanosaurs and Opisthocoelicaudia is now categorised as Saltisauridae
  • Phil Currie and others in 2018 discovered some postcranial fossils within the quarry the place Nemegtosaurus was discovered, which can have belonged to the holotype. Helped help the concept that Nemegtosaurus and Opisthocoelicaudia had been synonymous
  • Different scientists assume femora discovered are Nemegtosaurus and that the femora is completely different from Opisthocoeliucaudia, making them two distinct dinosaurs
  • Sauropod footprints have been discovered within the Nemegt Formation, with pores and skin impressions, most likely both Opisthocoelicaudia or Nemegtosaurus
  • Pores and skin impression of the foot print present non-overlapping scale, additionally claw impressions
  • Footprints discovered had been very massive, so most likely made by a dinosaur bigger than the sort specimen of Opisthocoelicaudia
  • Different dinosaurs that lived on the similar time and place embody tyrannosaurid Tarbosaurus, ornithomimosaur Deinocheirus, sauropod Nemegtosaurus, troodontid Borogovia, ankylosaur Tarchia
  • Different animals that lived on the similar time and place included fish, turtles, crocodiles, and birds

Enjoyable Truth:
Plenty of dinosaur motion pictures present sauropods avoiding stepping on small animals, however it might have been arduous for them to concurrently watch their toes and the place they had been going.



Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *