Episode 473: Dinosaurs on Trial. Is T. rex overrated? Is Stegosaurus responsible of killing Thag? Did Parasaurolophus disturb the peace? Is Utahraptor too massive for a raptor? We put these dinosaurs on trial to find out their fates. Plus solutions to many different questions.
Sponsors:
The dinosaur of the day: Caenagnathasia
- Caenagnathid oviraptorosaur theropod that lived within the Late Cretaceous in what’s now Uzbekistan (Bissekty Formation)
- To not be confused with Caenagnathus (lined in episode 417)
- As an oviraptorosaur, would have had feathers, a beak, a protracted neck, and lengthy limbs
- Fossils discovered embrace jaw bones, vertebrae, and a femur
- Primarily based on the items of jaw discovered, cranium estimated to be about 3 in (7.6 cm) lengthy
- Small, estimated to be about 2 ft (0.61 m) lengthy and weigh 3 lb (1.4 kg)
- Sort species is Caenagnathasia martinsoni
- Named and described by Phil Currie and others in 1994
- Genus identify means “current jaw from Asia”
- Genus identify refers back to the dinosaur being a caenagnathid and being present in Asia
- Species identify is honor of Gerbert Genrikhovich Martinson
- Holotype contains the decrease jaws
- Two specimens discovered at first, and each are adults
- One specimen present in a layer round 90 million years outdated, which makes it the oldest recognized caenagnathoid
- Extra fossils discovered later (in expeditions between 1997 and 2006) from the identical space the place the holotype was discovered, and one specimen could also be an immature particular person
- Contains one other dentary bone (decrease jaw) and a few disassociated postcranial bones (bones from the skeleton, like vertebrae, a part of a femur, and extra)
- Assigned the disassociated bones to Caenagnathasia as a result of it’s the one recognized oviraptorosaurian from the Bissekty Formation
- There’s additionally an unnamed specimen from Kazakhstan (Bostobe Formation) that was described in 1988 and may additionally be Caenagnathasia
- In 2015 scientists, Yao Xi and others described a partial pair of fused decrease jaws from the Iren Dabasu Formation of Nei Mongol, China that they referred to Caenagnathasia (present in a 2012 expedition)
- Now 4 recognized dentaries
- Latest discover helps present that Caenagnathasia lived in a bigger extra extensive ranging space than beforehand thought, and lasted longer
- Youngest specimen, by about 10 million years
- Within the paper, stated the specimen was extra doubtless a brand new species of Caenagnathasia, however “given the restricted nature of the fabric, nonetheless, we chorus from formally erecting a brand new species”
- Stated discovering extra full specimens could assist make clear the potential new species
- Both method, reveals that Caenagnathasia lasted a minimum of 10 million years, “representing one of many longest-lived theropod genera”
- Primarily based on jaws, doubtless ate eggs, along with different meals
- Different dinosaurs that lived across the similar time and place included the ceratopsian Turanoceratops, the ankylosaur Bissektipelta, theropods such because the alvarezsaur Dzharaonyx, the dromaeosaur Itemirus, the tyrannosauroid Timurlengia, sauropods similar to Dzharatitanis, and enantiornithines
- Different animals that lived across the similar time and place included turtles, molluscs, fish, plesiosaurs, mammals, pterosaurs, lizards, crocodylomorphs, and amphibians
Enjoyable Truth:
Garret’s favourite enjoyable details: The time period “thagomizer” originated in a far aspect cartoon by Gary Larson, in his 1982 comedian; And we’re nearer in time to when T. rex lived than T. rex was to Stegosaurus
Thanks Patrons!
Your assist 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 patreon.com/iknowdino