Episode 59 is all about Falcarius, one of many earliest theropods to change from consuming meat to consuming vegetation.
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On this episode, we focus on:
- The dinosaur of the day: Falcarius
- Title means “sickle cutter”
- Falcarius is known as for its sharp claws
- A therizinosaurian dinosaur that lived within the early Cretaceous in Utah
- Falcarius bones have been first present in 1999 by Lawrence Walker (a industrial fossil collector). He advised paleontologist James Kirkland, and in 2001 Kirkland and a crew from the Utah Geological Survey helped uncover bones in Utah’s Cedar Mountain Formation
- Lawrence Walker offered fossils on the black market, however he thought Falcarius was an essential discover, so he got here ahead (and spent 5 months in jail and paid a $15,000 superb). Kirkland stated “He would be the first particular person to ever go to jail for fossil theft on public land.”
- Two bonebeds have been discovered, of hundred (perhaps 1000’s) of Falcarius people (in 2006, estimated there have been not less than 300 people, in 2005, greater than 2,000 specimens excavated, many disarticulated bones, additionally juveniles); in 2010 there have been over 2,700 people discovered, by the top of 2010 over 3,000
- A second web site was present in 2008 (Suarez Quarry) with many adults, presumably a barely completely different sort of Falcarius
- Each graveyard websites could have been related to a spring (motive for thus many people there), and should have died on account of drought, poisonous gasses, or micro organism (all of them come togehter at these springs, not less than periodically)
- As a result of there are such a lot of people of various sizes and ages, it is going to be nice for analysis and discovering out how briskly they grew, after they matured, how a lot variation was between them
- Falcarius was first described in 2004, although it wasn’t formally named till Could 2005. Co-authors, together with Scott Sampson and Lindsay Zanno (however not Jim Kirkland) stated that Falcarius “is the lacking hyperlink between predatory dinosaurs and the weird plant-eating therizinosaurs.”. Lindsay Zanno additionally stated Falcarius is “The final word in weird: a cross between an ostrich, a gorilla, and Edward Scissorhands.”
- Kind species is Falcarius utahensis
- Falcarius helps to indicate the early evolution of Therizinosauria (its group) and their relationship to different theropods (Falcarius exhibits a transition between older theropods and Therizinosauridae)
- Falcarius exhibits the change from a meat eater to a plant eater (some suppose it was an omnivore)
- Not clear why these dinosaurs switched from consuming meat to consuming vegetation (particularly since they have been tailored to achieve success meat eaters)
- Falcarius lived across the time of the primary flowering vegetation within the fossil file (may very well be a motive to change)
- Therizinosaurs advanced from raptorlike group of dinosaurs (Maniraptora)
- Falcarius appears to be proof that therizinosaurs advanced from raptor-like dinosaurs, although in a roundabout way from Velociraptor, however from a typical ancestor not but identified
- Within the Nineteen Nineties Kirkland discovered the primary therizinosaur in North America, Nothronychus, which was youthful than the oldest therizinosaurs from Asia (in order that they initially thought therizinosaurs began in Asia and migrated on the land bridge between Alaska and Siberia to get to North America)
- Falcarius is 125 million years previous, as previous because the oldest identified Asian therizinosaur, Beipaiosaurus, and is extra primitive (additionally, some proof that the land bridge didn’t exist 125 million years in the past)
- Falcarius is essentially the most primitive dinosaur within the therizinosaur group, and exhibits they most likely used to reside all around the northern hemisphere
- So, therizinosaurs could have originated in North America after which gone to Europe and Asia (probably migrated by way of Europe, some paleontologists suppose we could sometime discover a therizinosaur in England)
- Falcarius was an in-between therizinosaurid: had a protracted neck, small head, and tooth for consuming vegetation, but in addition had a protracted tail, propubic pelvis, and lengthy leg and foot with one toe that didn’t contact the bottom (like different theropods)
- One of many earliest theropods to eat vegetation
- Scientists know this as a result of it had a big intestine (extra proof it digested robust plant matter)
- Huge pelvis to accomodate the bigger intestine (used to get vitamins from vegetation)
- Digesting vegetation is tougher than digesting meant (want greater digestive programs to course of vegetation)
- Earlier than Falcarius, it was very uncommon to see the transition between meat eaters and plant eaters
- Lengthy neck, so may doubtlessly eat leaves about 5 ft (1.5 m) off the bottom
- Tooth good for shredding leaves (just like fashionable iguanas)
- Had not less than 16 tooth within the maxilla of the higher jaw, and 28 tooth within the decrease jaw
- Tooth have been leaf-shaped, and maxillary tooth have been finely serrated (confirmed it ate plant materials)
- The entrance 5 tooth of its decrease jaw are longer, straighter, and extra pointed (could have been omnivorous–consuming small animals resembling lizards)
- “Craniocervical Myology and Purposeful Morphology of the Small-Headed Therizinosaurian Theropods Falcarius utahensis and Nothronychus mckinleyi” by David Ok. Smith, printed Feb 2015
- The research reconstructed craniocervical musculature in Falcarius and Nothronychus based mostly on Tyrannousaurs, Allosaurus, and a few extant birds as fashions
- Figuring out this data makes it simpler to know their feeding conduct
- Had a lowered chunk pressure, in comparison with carnivorous theropods
- Could have eaten at a continuing stage or low grazing
- In all probability used its arms quite a bit for gathering meals
- Bipedal herbivore/omnivore
- About 12-13 ft (3.7-4m) lengthy and simply over 4 ft (1.2 m) tall
- Gregory S. Paul estimated it weighed about 220 lb (100 kg)
- Smallest juvenile discovered was about 1.6 ft (0.5 m) lengthy
- Small head and lengthy neck and tail
- And had pretty lengthy arms
- Hand claws that have been massive, barely recurved (4-5 in or 10-13cm) lengthy claws, most likely used for protection
- Not a lot identified about its head. Small, and elongated
- Had comparatively massive braincase
- Comparatively lengthy leg, so may simply run
- Thigh bones have been longer than shin bones (may run quick, tailored for operating after prey, in comparison with later therizinosaurids with lengthy shin bones, and possibly waddled round)
- Had three-weight bearing toes in foot (first toe didn’t contact the bottom)
- Based mostly on kin from China, paleontologists suppose Falcarius had downy feathers
- Can see Falcarius on the Utah Museum of Pure Historical past
- Falcarius is a part of Therizinosauridae
- They’d large hips, a fairly large braincase, and lengthy necks
- Asian Therizinosauridae had quill-like feathers
- Most therizinosaurs have been present in Asia
- Just one different therizinosaur present in North America thus far: Nothronychus
- For years therizinosaurs have been regarded as large sea turtles, or long-necked sauropods
- Scientists have in contrast them to large sloths (large and sluggish)
- Enjoyable Reality: Based on a paper in 2006 in PNAS, Steve Wang and Peter Dodson said that 527 dinosaur genera had been described thus far and estimated that there have been about 1300 left to find. They present a predicted S curve within the article which exhibits us within the steep improve thus we’re within the “golden age.” And in keeping with the “Dinosaur Genera Checklist,” there are at present 1007 properly established dinosaur genera. Only for enjoyable: Evaluate that to the variety of (clearly fictional) Pokemon at 721