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Episode 323: Child Tyrannosaurs & Wading Spinosaurs

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    Episode 323 is all about Mantellisaurus, an iguanodontian dinosaur identified from a remarkably full holotype mounted subsequent to Dippy’s former dwelling within the Pure Historical past Museum, London.

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    On this episode, we focus on:

    Information:

    • The almost certainly method Spinosaurus hunted (spoiler alert: it’s not swimming like a shark) supply

    • A brand new megalosauroid from the comparatively unknown Center Jurassic Xintiangou formation in China supply
    • Three child tyrannosaur finds fill in gaps about their early lives & nesting habits supply
    • Work has began on the Mary Anning statue, the objective is to unveil it on Might 21, 2022 (her birthday) supply

    • The videogame Stardew Valley options dinosaur eggs that may be found and hatched into residing dinosaurs supply
    • Colin Trevorrow stated that there received’t be “folks driving dinosaurs with shotguns” in Jurassic World Dominion supply

    The dinosaur of the day: Mantellisaurus

    • Iguanodontian that lived within the Early Cretaceous in what’s now western Europe (present in Belgium, England, Spain, and Germany)
    • Seems like Iguanodon, initially regarded as Iguanodon (when you noticed it would assume it was Iguanodon)
    • Extra evenly constructed than Iguanodon, and extra carefully associated to Ouranosaurus

    • Most likely extra derived than Iguanodon
    • Most likely semi-quadrupedal, and walked on all fours when standing nonetheless or shifting slowly
    • Wrists fused collectively

    • Arms appear to be hooves, so may most likely stroll on them
    • Forelimbs have been shorter proportionally to Iguanodon bernissartensis (about half the size of its hindlimbs)
    • The arm bone, humerus, had a ridge generally known as the deltopectoral crest, which most likely means it had highly effective deltoid and pectoral muscle tissue

    • Estimated to be 23 ft (7 m) lengthy
    • Weighed about 1650 lb (750 kg)
    • Had a low cranium

    • Had an hourglass formed head, when seen from above
    • Herbivorous
    • Had enamel as much as 1.5 in (40 mm) tall

    • Had dental batteries
    • Had a big beak
    • Had tall neural spines with ossified tendons, could have had a ridge alongside its again

    • Had massive thumb claws/spikes, probably used for protection (however arms have been fairly brief, so possibly used to battle with different Mantellisaurus, or to dig out roots or tear bark off bushes or open fruit)
    • Trackways present in the identical space because the holotype, and will present they travelled in teams (juveniles and adults)
    • Kind and solely species is Mantellisaurus atherfieldensis

    • Was once generally known as Iguanodon atherfieldensis
    • Genus title means “Mantell’s lizard”
    • Genus title in honor of Gideon Mantell, who found Iguanodon

    • Gideon Mantell had a tragic story. He grew to become obsessive about dinosaurs and stopped his medical observe. He wrote books that didn’t actually promote, and although he bought fossils to the British Museum, he couldn’t make a residing as a paleontologist, so his spouse and youngsters ultimately left him. He died very bitter, with a spinal harm, on November 10, 1852
    • Species title is in honor of Atherfield, the village on the Isle of Wight the place the holotype was discovered
    • Holotype, NHMUK R5764, was present in 1914 by beginner paleontologist Reginald Walter Hooley in southern England, and reported in 1917

    • Hooley posthumously named it Iguanodon atherfieldensis in 1925
    • Named by Gregory Paul in 2007
    • A lot of full and practically full skeletons discovered

    • Iguanodon has been described as a wastebasket taxon (Darren Naish and David Martill stated in 2008 it was “taxonomic dumping grounds”); additionally been known as a taxonomic seize bag
    • Discovered in lots of components of Europe, and has passed by many names
    • The Maidstone specimen (talked about in episode 87, Iguanodon)

    • Present in a quarry in Maidstone, Kent in 1834. A part of it was blown aside by gunpowder and scattered, however lots of it was on a big slab of “Kentish Rag” sandstone. William Harding Bensted owned the quarry and excavated the fossils, then wrote to Gideon Mantell. Mantell stated it was an Iguanodon, primarily based on enamel, and he provided to pay £10. Bensted requested for £25. Took a pair months, then Mantell and his pals bought the cash and purchased what they known as the “Mantell-piece”, which ultimately grew to become the dinosaur on Maidstone’s coat of arms
    • Mantell primarily based his Iguanodon restoration on the Maidstone specimen, however he made some errors (thought there was a horn on the snout)
    • Extra Iguanodon specimens discovered later made it clear that horn belonged on the thumb

    • The Maidstone specimen was thought of to be Iguanodon anglicus (now on the Pure Historical past Museum in London). Seems, it got here from a sort locality a lot larger than the place the unique Iguanodon enamel got here from, so it most likely can’t be. In 1888 Richard Lydekker stated the specimen was the lectotype of Iguanodon mantelli however Iguanodon mantelli was named two years earlier than the Maidstone specimen was discovered (in order that wasn’t accepted)
    • Maidstone specimen now categorised as probably Mantellisaurus atherfieldensis (cf, which suggests very unsure)
    • Dollodon bampingi, present in Belgium, is taken into account to be a junior synonym of Mantellisaurus atherfieldensis

    • Initially, this specimen was regarded as Iguanodon mantelli (named in 1881 by George Albert Boulenger), then regarded as Iguanodon atherfieldensis (1986, David Bruce Norman), then named new genus Dollodon bampingi by Gregory Paul in 2008 primarily based on being extra quadrupedal in comparison with Mantellisaurus, which had shorter forelimbs proportionally and a bigger pelvis and due to this fact extra more likely to be bipedal. Then in 2010 Kenneth Carpenter and Yusuke Ishida synonymized Dollodon with Iguanodon seeli, primarily based on a specimen from Wessex Formation, England. Then in 2012, Andrew McDonald and David Norman stated Dollodon was Mantellisaurus
    • Specimens additionally present in Sauerland, Germany (disarticulated) and in Spain (articulated hindlimb from Las Hoays, three specimens from the Arcillas de Morella Formation, and a specimen from the Rubielos de Mora locality)
    • Fossils present in Sauerland have been regarded as Vectisaurus valdensis, then in 1990 David Norman discovered them to be juvenile Iguanodon atherfieldensis

    • A few of the locations it was discovered, there was most likely a flash flood or mudslides, comparable to in Sauerland
    • Fossils present in Haute-Marne, France have been initially known as Heterosaurus neocomiensis, named by Jacques Cornuel in 1850 and regarded as completely different as a result of it’s enamel have been completely different from Iguanodon, Hylaeosaurus, and Megalosaurus (full title means “completely different lizard from the Neocomian”); specimen was medium sized. In 1968 it was redescribed and saved with Iguanodon materials, then in 1992 Valérie Martin and Eric Buffetaut discovered it to carefully resemble Iguanodon atherfieldensis
    • Mantellisaurus (holotype) is on show in a glass case in Hintze Corridor, on the Pure Historical past Museum in London

    • Recognized by the nickname Mantelli
    • Had been within the corridor since 2017, and earlier than that was hung from the ceiling within the Dinosaurs gallery
    • Initially the Pure Historical past Museum in London had Mantellisaurus standing like a kangaroo with its tail dragging, then proven as semi-quadrupedal, with its tail lifted, to assist present motion

    • The skeleton was eliminated quickly in 2019 to scan all of the bones to review them and make the information accessible to scientists all over the world
    • Did all of the scans in three days. They waited for the museum to shut one night then took the bones from the mount
    • The staff used laser and handheld scanners to construct high-resolution digital fashions of the fossils

    • A few of the bones have been left within the mount as a result of they’re hooked up to it (pelvic space), in order that they used a handheld scanner
    • The skeleton is almost 86% actual bone, and casts make up the remainder (have the left arm, however not the correct arm, for instance)
    • Actual cranium shouldn’t be on show, and as a substitute saved within the basement

    • Susannah Maidment, who was answerable for the scanning, stated they discovered some variations between previous descriptions of Mantellisaurus and what they noticed with the scans, so there will probably be a redescription of the holotype

    Enjoyable Truth:
    In Chinese language, Velociraptor is typically translated as Xunmenglong (the brand new compsognathid we talked about final week). The Jurassic Park sequence makes use of that translation as effectively, which is certain to additional confuse followers about what Velociraptor actually seemed like.



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