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Episode 246 is all about Nigersaurus, the Darth Vader vacuum cleaner of the Cretaceous.
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On this episode, we focus on:
Information:
- A brand new Psittacosaurus species from Mongolia, amitabha, was described with gastroliths and an ideal cranium supply
- A ten 12 months previous boy in Guangdong Province, China stumbled upon a nest of 11 dinosaur eggs supply
- A school pupil In North Dakota discovered a Triceratops cranium whereas on a paleontology dig supply
- Guests to the Denver Museum of Nature and Science can now see volunteers engaged on making ready a Triceratops on their lab supply
- A 6.6 ft (2 m) lengthy sauropod femur was discovered close to Cognac, France supply
- In New York, on Lengthy Island, two new points of interest lately opened up on the WAC Lighting Corridor of Science supply
The dinosaur of the day: Nigersaurus
- Rebbachisaurid sauropod that lived within the Cretaceous in what’s now the Republic of Niger (Elrhaz Formation)
- Quadrupedal, and had thick hind legs and a big tail
- About 30 ft (9 m) lengthy, with a brief neck (solely 13 vertebrae)
- Weighed about 4 tons (much like a contemporary elephant)
- Scientists have discovered a fossilized jawbone of a hatchling, Paul Sereno stated it was so small it might “match on high of a silver greenback”
- Evenly constructed, with numerous air areas within the skeleton (extremely pneumatised)
- Tail was stable (in contrast to a lot of the remainder of the physique)
- Entrance legs have been about 2/3 the size of the hind legs
- Nigersaurus was described as a “Mesozoic cow”
- Paul Sereno has described it as one thing between Darth Vader and a vacuum cleaner
- Paul Sereno additionally described it as a “hammerhead shark with legs” and a “Mesozoic lawnmower” due to its enamel
- Had greater than lively 500 enamel in its mouth (perhaps as much as 1000 enamel), and changed enamel about each 14 days (quicker than a hadrosaur)
- The five hundred enamel have been positioned in 50 vertical columns, and the enamel have been organized in broad, horizontal rows on the entrance of the snout (the world the place its enamel have been are wider than the remainder of the cranium)
- Enamel have been slim and needle formed
- All enamel have been situated far to the entrance of the mouth
- Had a really broad jaw, with a flat edge
- Snout was extra broad than hadrosaurs
- Had giant nostrils and a fleshy snout
- Might have had a keratinous sheath round its jaws
- Had a proportionately brief snout
- Jaws have been wider than the cranium
- Jaw was mild weight and had a couple of fenestrae
- Had weak jaw muscle groups
- Had a weak chew, probably one of many weakest sauropod bites
- Jaw most likely moved in up and down motions
- Gathered and sliced delicate vegetation
- Most likely ate delicate plans, like immature ferns, horsetails, and angiosperms (scientists assume no matter plant it was was widespread, since Nigersaurus and the iguanodontian Lurdusaurus have been the commonest megaherbivores round of their time)
- Most likely was a low browser, and ate meals with its head near the bottom
- Most likely saved its head down, although there’s debate
- Sereno and others did a research in 2007 which discovered Nigersaurus saved its head rotated about 70 levels downwards (totally different in comparison with the standard horizontal place of different sauropods)
- In 2009, Mike Taylor, Mathew Wedel, and Darren Naish discovered that Nigersaurus might have eaten meals with its head and neck on the 67 diploma angle, however didn’t assume Nigersaurus all the time saved its head at that angle (discovered that fashionable animals have a large variation of semicircular canals, which aren’t dependable to find out head posture). In 2013 Jesús Marugán-Lobón and others discovered that Sereno and his group’s strategies have been imprecise, and Nigersaurus most likely saved its head horizontal like different sauropods
- Had many hole bones, together with within the neck vertebrae
- Jeffrey Wilson stated “The vertebrae are so paper-thin that it’s tough to think about them dealing with the stresses of on a regular basis use—however we all know they did it, and so they did it effectively”
- Due to its mild backbone, would have been laborious to elevate its head a lot
- Some scientists assume Nigersaurus’ vertebrae allowed it to have extra vary of movement, so it might have saved its head extra horizontal more often than not
- In 2017, Lucio M. Ibiricu and others discovered the rebbachisaurids had pneumatic skeletons to assist lower the quantity of power wanted to strikes its physique and reduce the quantity of warmth generated in doing so (they tended to reside in scorching tropical and subtropical areas)
- Cranium was small and in addition mild, with giant fenestrae (openings) and skinny bones
- Based on Sereno and his group, Nigersaurus cranium was designed as “most energy with minimal materials”
- Had giant eyes
- Had a small sized mind in comparison with its physique
- Had small oflactory bulbs, so regardless that it had a big, fleshy snout, didn’t have an ideal sense of odor
- Kind species is Nigersaurus taqueti
- Fossils present in a 1965-72 expedition by Philippe Taquet
- Fossils described in 1976 however wasn’t named till 1999, after extra fossils have been discovered
- Named in 1999 by Paul Sereno and others
- Paul Sereno and group discovered extra fossils in 1997 and 2000 (wanted extra fossils to explain, the penumacity of the skeleton made them more durable to protect). Apparently a few of the fossils within the cranium have been so skinny you could possibly see a powerful beam of sunshine via them
- Fossils are within the Nationwide Museum of Niger
- Genus identify means “Niger reptile”
- Species identify is in honor of Philippe Taquet
- Most likely lived in floodplains
- One of the vital frequent dinosaurs present in its space
- Lived amongst giant theropods and crocodylomorphs
- Sereno stated that Nigersaurus was straightforward prey, particularly for Sarcosuchus, a crocodyliform
- Lived round iguanodontian Lurdusaurus, and different herbivores together with Ouranosaurus and Elrhazosaurus, and theropods like Suchomimus and Kyptops. Different animals within the space included pterosaurs, fish, and sharks
Enjoyable Reality:
Dinosaurs had crops within the Early Cretaceous (if not earlier).