Episode 166 is all about Minmi, an ankylosaur from Australia that had scutes and osteoderms throughout its physique.
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On this episode, we talk about:
Information:
- New Jurassic dinosaur, Caihong juji, with iridescent feathers discovered
- Researchers studied hole bones to grasp dinosaur’s respiratory system
- Scientists analyzed an Edmontosaurus bonebed
- A dinosaur tail from Morocco was auctioned off in Mexico Metropolis to fundraise to reconstruct faculties broken by earthquakes, however the tail might not be genuine
- A Rajasaurus narmadensis dinosaur egg was present in Balasinor, Gujarat, India
- China is creating a new dinosaur theme park in Yunyang County
- The Paleon Museum in Glenrock, Wyoming, is totally run by volunteers
- Utahraptor might turn out to be the state dinosaur in Utah
- Captain Flinn and the Pirate Dinosaurs are again, and acting at Storyhouse in Chester, UK on February 20
- New cell survival sport, Dino Struggle, is out in a closed check beta
- A gaggle of individuals gathered in Portland, Maine, to dance in T. rex costumes
The dinosaur of the day: Minmi
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- Ankylosaur that lived within the Cretaceous in what’s now Queensland, Australia
- Described in 1980 by Ralph Molnar
- Dr. Alan Barholomai discovered the skeleton in 1964, close to Minmi Crossing, in Queensland
- Just one species: Minmi paravertebra
- Genus title refers to Minmi Crossing, and should imply a big lily within the native Aboriginal language, however may additionally come from min min, a will-o-the-wisp
- Species title refers back to the bone parts discovered alongside the vertebrae
- For twenty-four years, Minmi had the shortest dinosaur title (till Mei was named in 2004)
- Holotype consists of a partial skeleton, no cranium, however again vertebrae, ribs, proper hindlimb, and plates of the stomach armor
- Extra full skeleton present in 1989 that has the cranium and articulated physique armor, and was referred to Minmi, however in 2015, it was named its personal genus, Kunbarrasaurus
- Different specimens discovered between 1989 and 1996 had been referred to Minmi, and so they had osteoderms, pelvis, ribs, partial thighbone, and partial shinbone
- Estimated to be about 3 m (9.8 ft) lengthy and weigh 600 lb (300 kg)
- Had lengthy limbs, which it could have use to search out cowl beneath brushes to cover from massive predators that will have been in a position to flip it on its again
- Herbivorous, quadrupedal, and armored
- Didn’t have a clubbed tail
- Had scutes throughout its again, and bigger osteoderms on the neck, head, shoulders, and hips
- Had horizontally oriented plates alongside the perimeters of its vertebrae, not like different ankylosaurs
- Horizontal osteoderms (which had been skinny, bony rods) ran parallel to the vertebra, as a substitute of the ribs (the way it acquired its title)
- In 1980 Molnar mentioned these plates had been ossified tendons, however mentioned they appeared just like the pathological tendon aponeurosis (sheet of tissue) of recent crocodiles. In 2014 Victoria Arbour mentioned this was unlikely and solely discovered one distinctive trait within the holotype, however in 2015 Arbour and Philip Currie discovered it wasn’t distinctive, which might imply the holotype had no diagnostic options and the Minmi was a nomen dubium. However, the 2015 description of Kunbarrasaurus mentioned that there have been new distinctive Minmi traits and it needs to be thought-about legitimate
- Molnar positioned Minmi in ankylosauria in 1980, although a brand new evaluation in 2011 discovered it was the basalmost identified ankylosaurid. Arbour and Currie later discovered it to be too primitive to be in ankylosauridae or nodosauridae. In 2010, Gregory Paul advised it was a part of Minmidae, a really basal ankylosaur group that was remoted on Gondwana and included Antarctopelta
- Minmi intestine contents had been discovered (cololite). A cololite is a meals pellet that was in its abdomen and exhibits what meals it ate. This pellet confirmed Minmi ate seeds, fruit, steams, leaves, and plant tissue with spores. The fibrous tissues had been minimize into small items, which helps present that it chopped meals up with its tooth, after cropping with its beak, and didn’t use gastroliths. If that’s the case, Minmi most likely had cheeks
- All Minmi specimens have been present in marine rocks. When Minmi lived, its habitat was coated by a shallow sea, and carcasses generally drifted out after floods
- One specimen was discovered with tooth of small bramble sharks, so it’s doable the sharks ate among the useless dinosaur because it laid the other way up on the ocean flooring
Enjoyable Reality:
Plural of Tyrannosaurus rex is Tyrannosaurus rex (like sheep). You possibly can say tyrannosaurids, however that may additionally consult with totally different species inside the genus, if there are any.
Sponsor:
This episode is dropped at you partly by TRX Dinosaurs, which makes lovely and real looking dinosaur sculptures, puppets, and displays. You possibly can see some wonderful examples and works in progress on Instagram @trxdinosaurs.