Skip to content

Episode 271: An enormous new Brachiosaurus bone and the duo who discovered it

    [ad_1]

    Episode 271 is all about Juravenator, a tiny non-avian juvenile from the identical formation as Archaeopteryx.

    We additionally interview Matt Wedel & Brian Engh. Matt Wedel is a vertebrate paleontologist at Western College and co-founder of Sauropod Vertebra Image of the Week. Brian Engh is a paleoartist and creator of the Jurassic Reimagined. Matt & Brian just lately discovered a well-preserved monumental Brachiosaurus humerus in Utah.

    Huge because of all our patrons! Your assist means a lot to us and retains us going! When you’re a dinosaur fanatic, be part of our rising neighborhood on Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/iknowdino.

    You’ll be able to take heed to our free podcast, with all our episodes, on Apple Podcasts at:
    https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/i-know-dino/id960976813?mt=2

    On this episode, we focus on:

    Information:

    • The brand new spinosaurid, Vallibonavenatrix, was described in Spain supply
    • Two Drugs Dinosaur Heart are engaged on constructing a 135-ft lengthy animatronic Amphicoelias supply

    The dinosaur of the day: Juravenator

    • Coelurosaurian theropod that lived within the Late Jurassic in what’s now Bavaria, Germany
    • Small, bipedal carnivore
    • Just one juvenile specimen has been discovered
    • About 29.5 in (75 cm) lengthy
    • Adults might have grown one other 6 inches
    • Cranium is proportionately massive
    • Had three-pronged claws and serrated enamel
    • Didn’t have many maxillary enamel (holotype has 8)
    • Had a brief humerus
    • Had a protracted fenestra within the cranium
    • Could have been nocturnal, based mostly on the scleral rings
    • Could have eaten bugs or small lizards
    • Uncommon discover, and probably the most full theropods described in Europe
    • Second non-avian theropod discovered within the area of Solnhofen
    • Exhibits the variety of predatory dinosaurs within the Late Jurassic in southern Germany
    • Patch of fossilized pores and skin from the tail has scales and traces of what may be easy feathers
    • Xu Xing mentioned the scales on the tail might imply there was extra selection in feathers of early feathered dinosaurs than in fashionable birds. Additionally thought the scales might be a primitive trait, and that Juravenator and different primitive feathered dinosaurs might have had extra scales than fashionable birds
    • A comply with up research of Juravenator supported Xu Xing’s ideas, and located faint impressions of probably primitive feathers had been on the highest of the tail and hips
    • One other research by Helmut Tischlinger in 2010 appeared on the fossils in ultra-violet mild, and located extra filament-like buildings, much like primitive feathers discovered on different compsognathids, akin to Sinosauropteryx. Additionally discovered extra patchs of sentimental tissue on the snout and decrease leg, and collagen fibres within the tail vertebrae
    • Not utterly coated by a fluffy feathers (like child chicks), which can imply that feathers appeared on some elements of the dinosaurs’ our bodies earlier than others
    • Kind species: Juravenator starki
    • Described in 2006 by Ursula Göhlich and Luis Chiappe
    • Genus identify comes from the Jura mountains, the place it was discovered, and venator means “hunter”
    • Species identify in honor of the Stark household, who owns the quarry the place it was discovered
    • Jura-Museum Eichstätt at Eichstätt had a gathering program from 1989 to 1998 for a close-by quarry. Two volunteers, brothers Klause-Dieter and Hans-Joachim Weiss, discovered a slab with vertebrate stays. The staff discovered the top of a small theropod, but it surely was too tough to extract the fossils. In order that they did a CT-scan to see if it made sense to dig the remainder up. They noticed solely the neck and a part of the decrease again and determined to not proceed, although the discover was reported in 1999. In 2001 there was some publicity across the fossil, which was nicknamed Borsti (a reputation usually given to bristle-haired canine), as a result of it was thought to have bristly protofeathers. In 2003, the direct of the museum Martina Kölbl-Ebert, determined to complete making ready the fossil. Pino Völkl took 700 hours to arrange the fossil, which had nearly the entire articulated skeleton (finish of tail is lacking) and comfortable tissues
    • Initially regarded as a part of Compsognathidae, and a detailed relative of Compsognathus
    • In 2012, Achim Reisdorf and Michael Wuttke described the taphonomy of Juravenator
    • Taphonomy: Juravenator specimen might have floated for a short while then sunk to the underside of the basin after it died. Present in a wierd rotated place (the best way the pelvis is rotated with respect to the torso). In all probability some predation or scavenging of the carcass, however nonetheless doesn’t clarify the bizarre rotation

    Enjoyable Truth:
    The 5 report longest animal humeri are all from Brachiosaurus and Giraffatitan.

    Sponsors:

    Our comfortable dinosaur garments can be found in three superior designs! There’s a Gorgosaurus, Parasaurolophus, and an Allosaurus. Get them on Hoodies, tanktops, and plenty of different gadgets by going to bit.ly/iknowdinostore



    [ad_2]