I Know Dino Podcast Present Notes: Mapusaurus (Episode 70)

Episode 70 is all about Mapusaurus, one of many largest carnivorous dinosaurs discovered to this point.

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On this episode, we talk about:

Kind species is Mapusaurus roseae, named after the rose-colored rocks the place Mapusaurus was discovered and for Rose Letwin, who sponsored the fossil excavation
Lived within the Cretaceous in what’s now Argentina
First found in 1995

Excavated between 1997 to 2001 as a part of the Argentinian-Canadian Dinosaur Venture
Phil Currie and Rodolfo Coria described Mapusaurus in 2006
Discovered within the Huincul Formation, which was an arid surroundings

Bone mattress with Mapusaurus had no less than seven people (completely different ages); could also be due to a predator entice or as a result of they lived collectively
Bone mattress could have been a results of the bones being carried downstream in a flood (no different dinosaurs discovered within the bone mattress)
They could have hunted in packs, however it’s unclear for sure

Different websites have been discovered with many carnivorous dinosaurs in Alberta, Mongolia, and the U.S., which suggests within the Cretaceous there could have been pack habits
Smallest particular person discovered within the bone mattress was 18 ft (5.5 m) lengthy
Some as giant as 33 ft (10.2 m) lengthy and weighing 3 tons (some sources say as much as 8 tons); comparable in dimension to Giganotosaurus, a detailed relative

Coria and Currie in 2006 mentioned they discovered bigger femur bones comparable in dimension to a Giganotosaurus that was 40 ft (12.2 m) lengthy and in Drew Eddy and Julia Clarke in 2011 discovered a pubic shaft that was even bigger than the Giganotosaurus so that they mentioned Mapusaurus could have been so long as 41 ft (12.6 m), and even bigger
Mapusaurus stands out as the greatest carnivorous dinosaur discovered to this point
6 ft (1.84m) lengthy cranium

Just like Giganotosaurus however the cranium was somewhat completely different (thicker, wider, flatter)
Cranium is decrease and lighter than Giganotosaurus
Lived alongside Argentinosaurus and Cathartesaura, in addition to the abelisauroids Skorpiovenator and Ilokelesia

Unclear what Mapusaurus would have hunted, if it hunted (as an alternative of scavenged)
Grownup Argentinosaurus may weigh as much as 100 tons (125 ft or 40 m lengthy); too giant to hunt alone
Could have gone after a juvenile Argentinosaurus (as a gaggle)

Enamel are much like Giganotosaurus (flat, curved with a serrated edge, that are good for slicing, in comparison with T-rex which had conical enamel, good for crunching bone)
Could haven’t been capable of chunk by way of Argentinosaurus bone (as a pack, a number of bites so Argentinosaurus would lose blood or get contaminated), then they may eat it when it’s weaker
From 2013: Palaeopathological Survey of a Inhabitants of Mapusaurus (Theropoda: Carcharodontosauridae) from the Late Cretaceous Huincul Formation, Argentina on PLOS One: Scientists studied all of the Mapusaurus discovered within the bonebed and appeared for ailments and trauma (paleoepidemiology). They discovered two damaged and re-healed ribs (led an lively life-style, however no skeletal abnormalities (to this point, research of theropods present low numbers of abnormalities)

Mapusaurus is a carcharodontosaurid
Carcharodontosaurids (title means “shark-toothed lizards) had been carnivorous theropods
Ernst Stromer named the household in 1931

Household contains Giganotosaurus, Mapusaurus, Carcharodontosaurus, and Tyrannotitan (all about identical dimension or bigger than T-rex)
Carcharodontosaurids and spinosaurids had been the biggest predators in Gondwana within the early and center Cretaceous
Mapusaurus is a part of the subfamily Giganotosaurinae (carcharodontosaurids extra intently associated to Giganotosaurus and Mapusaurus than Carcharodontosaurus)

Enjoyable truth: In line with Nationwide Geographic cassowaries and Harpy eagles have the longest claws of any dwelling hen at about 4 to five in (~10-13 cm) lengthy. However these claws are literally two elements, a bone after which a pointy keratin masking excessive. Claw sheaths not often fossilize since they’re constructed from keratin so we’re often simply left with the bone beneath the claw sheath. So while you go to a museum and see a mounted skeleton, until they add an extrapolated sheath to the fossil you’re seeing a claw that’s considerably shorter, and sure extra boring, than the total claw would have been.

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