Skull of Andrewsarchus from AMNH’s travelling exhibit “Extreme Mammals”, on display at NHMLA.

Andrewsarchus is a genus of large, carnivorous artiodactyls (a relative of hippos and whales) from Eocene China. It contains only one known species; Andrewsarchus mongoliensis, which is only known from its skull. The skull itself is approximately 83 cm in length.

Velociraptor, afflicted with a severe case of not alive disease

tattoo comission for @fluffyvelociraptor !

Kuehneosaurus latus

By Tyler Young

Etymology: Kuhne’s Reptile 

First Described By: Robinson, 1962 

Classification: Biota, Archaea, Proteoarchaeota, Asgardarchaeota, Eukaryota, Neokaryota, Scotokaryota Opimoda, Podiata, Amorphea, Obazoa, Opisthokonta, Holozoa, Filozoa, Choanozoa, Animalia, Eumetazoa, Parahoxozoa, Bilateria, Nephrozoa, Deuterostomia, Chordata, Olfactores, Vertebrata, Craniata, Gnathostomata, Eugnathostomata, Osteichthyes, Sarcopterygii, Rhipidistia, Tetrapodomorpha, Eotetrapodiformes, Elpistostegalia, Stegocephalia, Tetrapoda, Reptiliomorpha, Amniota, Sauropsida, Eureptilia, Romeriida, Diapsida, Neodiapsida, Sauria, Lepidosauromorpha?, Kuehneosauridae 

Status: Extinct 

Time and Place: Between 216 and 202 million years ago, from the end of the Norian through the Rhaetian ages of the Late Triassic

Kuehneosaurus is known from the Steinmergel Group in Luxembourg, the Cromhall Quarry in Gloucestershire, and the Panty-y-ffynnon Quarry of Wales.

Physical Description: Kuehneosaurus is a true weirdo, alright - a small, lizard-like reptile, you almost can squint and pretend its normal until you notice the expanding ribs on the side of the creature - and you realize that Kuehneosaurus is not normal in the slightest. While gliding lizards are not something we’re totally unfamiliar with - the genus Draco, today, for example - Kuehneosaurus and its relatives took it to new heights by being huge. Insanely huge. Kuehneosaurus was probably around 72 centimeters long, as opposed to the modern Draco which is closer to 20 centimeters in body length. Kuehneosaurus had a large body, with long limbs and a small head, and a ridiculously long tail. However, its wings - for lack of a better word - were much smaller than those of its close relative Kuehneosuchus; instead of jutting out by up to 30 centimeters, they only went out as many as 15 centimeters from the body. As a non-Avemetatarsalian reptile, it would have been covered in scales, probably similar to those of Lepidosaurs, though that is just conjecture. 

Diet: Based on its size and other early Lepidosauromorphs of the time - and the modern gliding lizards - Kuehneosaurus was probably an insectivore, using small pointed teeth to catch insects in its mouth. 

Behavior: Because of its small wings, Kuehneosaurus would not have been able to glide. However, it would have been able to parachute down from the trees in its environment with extensive agility and control. It would have been able to descend at a 45 degree angle, going between 10 and 12 meters per second down toward the ground. It could also control the angle and pitch of the wings by moving flaps of skin attached to the back of the throat. Since it lived alongside other gliding reptiles, this made the environment of Kuehneosaurus filled with little lizard-esque reptiles falling with style all over the forest. Given its common nature, it probably lived in loose social groups; whether or not it showed more complex social behavior, including parental care, is unknown but more unlikely than not. It would have most likely been cold blooded as well, making it more sluggish than other airborne creatures of the time (ie, the flighted Ornithodirans). It’s also possible that those wings would have been colorful, and used for display, though this is somewhat conjecture. 

Ecosystem: Kuehneosaurus lived in the dense, dry forests of northern Pangea at the tail end of the Triassic period. Obviously, it took clear advantage of these forests, dropping down from tree to tree in search of food. It wasn’t alone here, to be sure - in fact, during its tenure, it shared its time with many other Triassic oddities. In Luxembourg, it shared its environment with some sharks and fish from the nearby sea - including Perleidus, Saurichthys and Rhomphaiodon - as well as freshwater lungfish like Ceratodus. Temnospondyls featured Plagiosaurus and Cyclotosaurus. Synapsids were present too, including a Morganucodont and the Therapsid Pseudotriconodon. As for other reptiles, there was the Tuatara Clevosaurus, the pterosaur Eudimorphodon, and other mystery creatures. In England, it lived with the Trilophosaurid Variodens, Clevosaurus once more as well as the other Tuataras Sigmalam Diphydontosaurus, Pelcymala and Planocephalus, as well as potential mammals, the suchian Terrestrisuchus, and potential Drepanosaurs and Pterosaurs. And in Wales, it lived alongside Diphydontosaurus and Clevosaurus again, as well as Aenigmaspina and the dinosaur Pantydraco. In short, it was surrounded by a variety of other animals - and may have even used its fancy falling to escape from pterosaurs in its forest. 

Other: What is Kuehneosaurus? For a while, it has seemed that Kuehneosaurus and its relatives were Lepidosauromorphs - relatives of modern lizards, snakes, and tuatara. This was important, because the ancient relatives of archosaurs - the Archosauromorphs - make up the vast majority of Triassic weirdos and were extremely diverse throughout the Triassic period. One could even call the Triassic the golden age of these animals. However, Lepidosauromorphs are a lot less weird - by and large - and a lot less diverse until you get to ones that are noticeably like living members (ie, there were a lot of Triassic Tuatara - but they were Tuatara, not weird offshoots). Kuehneosaurus and its gliding relatives were really the most distinctive Weird Lepidosauromorph Experiments from the period. 

And… they might be Archosauromorphs after all. Recent studies of these animals have indicated they might be Archosauromorphs, just another tally in the great list of weird little crocodile/dinosaur/pterosaur cousins. While this is preliminary, it does indicate - what the heck were Lepidosauromorphs even doing? We may never know, but the fun adventures of Kuehenosaurus remain with us. 

~ By Meig Dickson

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Triopticus primus

By Tyler Young/ @cry-olophosaurus​

Etymology: Three eyes

First Described By: Stocker et al. 2016

Classification: Biota, Archaea, Proteoarchaeota, Asgardarchaeota, Eukaryota, Neokaryota, Scotokaryota Opimoda, Podiata, Amorphea, Obazoa, Opisthokonta, Holozoa, Filozoa, Choanozoa, Animalia, Eumetazoa, Parahoxozoa, Bilateria, Nephrozoa, Deuterostomia, Chordata, Olfactores, Vertebrata, Craniata, Gnathostomata, Eugnathostomata, Osteichthyes, Sarcopterygii, Rhipidistia, Tetrapodomorpha, Eotetrapodiformes, Elpistostegalia, Stegocephalia, Tetrapoda, Reptiliomorpha, Amniota, Sauropsida, Eureptilia, Romeriida, Diapsida, Neodiapsida, Sauria, Archosauromorpha, Crocopoda, Archosauriformes incertae sedis

Referred Species: T. primus

Status: Extinct 

Time and Place: 227 to 226 million years ago, in the Norian of the Late Triassic

Triopticus is known only from the Otis Chalk in Texas, the United States

Physical Description: Triopticus is a very puzzling and frustratingly enigmatic reptile, primarily because it is only known from the back portion of its skull and nothing else, leaving the shape of its body and even the size and shape of its snout a complete and utter mystery. We can’t even rely on phylogenetic bracketing to give us a guide of how it may have looked because its relationships cannot be pinned down beyond Archosauriformes. Even its body size is unclear, but it wasn’t a very big animal at least—the back of its skull could fit in the palm of your hand, so maybe around a metre long.

Nonetheless, the piece of skull that is known is very odd indeed. The back of its skull is remarkably similar to those of pachycephalosaurid dinosaurs, in that Triopticus was also a “bone head” with a thick bony “dome” over its head—it even flares out over the back and sides of the head like in pachycephalosaurs. Unlike pachycephalosaurs, however, the “dome” of Triopticus was not a single smooth structure, but was actually made up of five fused bosses on the bones of the skull that have clumped together to form a single bony dome-like structure. But, of course, the dome of Triopticus is even stranger than that of the pachycephalosaurs’. Right in the centre of the dome, between the bosses, there is a hole that drops right down to the roof of the skull. Like a doughnut. Why? No one knows. The hole happens to sit over right where the pineal gland could have been, and so the hole may have opened for a “third eye” on the top of its head, like many modern lizards and the tuatara have (this is where it gets its name!). And yet, the opening for the third eye was lost in the ancestor of Archosauriformes, so we shouldn’t expect Triopticus to have one in the first place. For that matter, the texture of the bone inside the hole is exactly the same as it is on the inside, implying it was covered in hard, opaque keratin like the rest of the dome. So Triopticus probably really did just have a hole in its head, you have to wonder how it kept that thing clean, or stop it from collecting rainwater.

As for the rest of the body, as frustratingly unclear as its relationships are, we can at least make an educated guess based on other archosauriforms. It was probably quadrupedal, with not very long sprawled to semi-erect legs, a long tail, and maybe some osteoderms running down its back. Of course, considering how weird just the back of its head is, and how other Triassic Weirdos have surprised us, I wouldn’t be surprised if Triopticus turned out to be weird all over. Maybe it was a biped with tiny forelimbs to really take the mickey out of the pachycephalosaur-convergance, who knows. (As it happens, the shape of its inner ear might suggest it really was bipedal, but the evidence is tenuous.)

Diet: Without any jaws and teeth, the diet of Triopticus is a mystery. All other known non-archosaur archosauriforms were carnivores, so it’s quite possible Triopticus was too. But there’s a first time for everything, and maybe the rest of its skull was just as abberant as its dome.

Behavior: Any and all speculations on the behaviour of Triopticus has to revolve around its dome. Fortunately, domes are interesting structures in animals, so there’s a decent amount to say. The obvious interpretation is that the dome convergently evolved for the same purposes suggested for pachycephalosaurs: head-butting. The utility of pachycephalosaur domes has been hotly debated, and presumably the same arguments apply here. Alternatively, the dome could have been just used for display. Either case implies Triopticus were social animals, either using the dome for visual communication or in confrontations between them. Triopticus had particularly big eyes and optic nerves for an archosauriform, so good vision must have been important for whatever it was doing. As before, any other behaviours are a mystery, although as an archosauriform we can reasonably speculate that it laid eggs and probably cared for its young to an extent.

Ecosystem: In the Otis Chalk, Triopticus co-existed with various other stem-archosaurs, including the herbivorous allokotosaur Trilophosaurus, the heavily armoured and boxy Doswellia, the phytosaurs Parasuchus and Angistorhinus, and three species of aetosaur. It also coexisted with at least four dinosaurmorphs, including the lagerpetid Dromomeron, a silesaurid, and the predatory theropods Chindesaurus and Lepidus. There was also the large predator Poposaurus, and even an ornithomimid-like shuvosaurid here too. This ecosystem in some ways was almost like a premonition of the later Cretaceous ecosystems, with phytosaur-like crocodiles, aetosaur-like ankylosaurs, poposaurid-like theropods, shuvosaurid-like ornithomimids, and even the Triopticus-like pachycephalosaurs. Whether Triopticus filled a similar ecological role to the pachycephalosaurs, and not just visual, is up for debate, and its lifestyle remains unknowable.

Other: The discovery of Triopticus and its uncanny similarity to pachycephalosaurs prompted a statistical analysis comparing the body types of various Triassic archosaurs and stem-archosaurs to those of Cretaceous dinosaurs. What they found was substantial overlap, so the eerie similarity between certain Triassic reptiles and dinosaurs wasn’t just people seeing things. The fact simply seems to be that Triassic stem- and crown-archosaurs had already evolved many of the distinctive body-types first known in—and thought to be characteristic of—dinosaurs. Triopticus now adds pachycephalosaurs into the “Triassic did it” roster, which at the time of discovery left only the giant sauropodomorphs, maniraptorans, and ceratopsians as the only ones not represented in the Triassic. Then Shringasaurus rolled around…

~ By Scott Reid

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Morganucodon

By Scott Reid

Etymology: Tooth from Glamorgan (a county in Wales)

First Described By: Kühne, 1949

Classification: Biota, Archaea, Proteoarchaeota, Asgardarchaeota, Eukaryota, Neokaryota, Scotokaryota Opimoda, Podiata, Amorphea, Obazoa, Opisthokonta, Holozoa, Filozoa, Choanozoa, Animalia, Eumetazoa, Parahoxozoa, Bilateria, Nephrozoa, Deuterostomia, Chordata, Olfactores, Vertebrata, Craniata, Gnathostomata, Eugnathostomata, Osteichthyes, Sarcopterygii, Rhipidistia, Tetrapodomorpha, Eotetrapodiformes, Elpistostegalia, Stegocephalia, Tetrapoda, Reptiliomorpha, Amniota, Synapsida, Eupelycosauria, Sphenacodontia, Sphenacodontoidea, Therapsida, Eutherapsida, Neotherapsida, Theriodontia, Eutheriodontia, Cynodontia, Probainognathia, Chiniquodontoidea, Prozostrodontia, Mammaliaformes, Morganucodonta, Morganucodontidae

Referred Species: M. watsoni, M. oehleri, M. tardus, M. peyeri, M. heikuopengensis

Status: Extinct 

Time and Place: Morganucodon is known from the Kayenta Formation of Arizona, the Forest Marble Formation of England, the Varangeville Conglomerate of France, the Gruhalde Member of the Klettgau Formation of Austria, and the Lufeng Formation of Yunnan, China. Please note that only the Chinese, Austrian, and French locations are of Triassic origin.

Morganucodon lived from the Rhaetian of the Late Triassic to the Bathonian Middle Jurassic of Eurasia, from around 205 million years ago until 167 million years ago.

Physical Description: While Morganucodon itself is not known from many body fossils, its appearance can be inferred from its relatives, such as Megazostrodon, that have been better preserved. Its body would have been elongated and low to the ground, somewhat resembling a shrew. It may have sprawled somewhat with its forelimbs, but its hind legs and hips were much closer to those of mammals. Morganucodon’s skull was long and flat on top. It had two types of teeth, premolars and molars, similar to later mammals. The mammaliaform also replaced its teeth once in its lifetime: it had “baby” (or “milk”) teeth and “adult” teeth, like its modern relatives.

Diet: Morganucodon was almost certainly insectivorous. Study of its teeth showed that its jaws could stand up to more stress and that its bite was relatively forceful, allowing members of the genus to hunt “tougher” prey items than its contemporaries. It may have eaten beetles, which are known from its environment.

Behavior: These animals were probably nocturnal, as evidenced by heightened senses of hearing and smell, as well as comparisons with similar modern animals.

Ecosystem: Due to its wide distribution, Morganucodon would likely have inhabited a range of environments. The first fossils were discovered in what were once fissures on an early Jurassic or late Triassic limestone island, St. Bride’s Island. It was a small landmass of about 20 square km (7.7 square mi) with a karst environment of sinkholes and caves. It would also have been warm, supporting plants such as clubmosses, bennetites, ferns, and cycads. Morganucodon would have shared its environment with other mammaliaforms, such as Kuehneotherium, and as such likely experienced niche partitioning (different species occupying different niches in ecosystems, which reduces competition). Other animal species known from the same areas include ancient reticulated beetles, the sphenodontian Gephyrosaurus, and another mammal relative, Oligokyphus. 

The Swiss fossils were unearthed in marine deposits, though it is likely that it was washed out to sea. Other terrestrial animals known from these beds include the pterosaur Peteinosaurus, the trilophosaur Variodens, a few rhynchocephalians, and several species of cynodonts. The environment of the French specimens is less well-documented, but likely similar, with therapsids, temnospondyl amphibians, pterosaurs, and phytosaurs all being documented.

Other: This small mammaliaform has helped to illuminate the evolution of mammalian ears. Our lower jaws, and those of our modern mammalian cousins, are unique in that they are made up of only one bone: the mandible. In other animals, this structure is made up of multiple different bones, which are used to help with chewing. Somewhere along the line in mammal evolution, most of our lower jaw bones shrunk in size and moved to our ears, enabling us to have a complex system of hearing. Morganucodon represents an intermediate step in this process: it still had many of the jaw bones of more basal amniotes, albeit much more reduced. 

It would also likely have been warm-blooded, as evidenced by its secondary palate. This feature of the skeleton separates the nasal cavity from the mouth, allowing animals with it to quickly breathe while using their mouths for feeding. Morganucodon also had a bone structure that suggested rapid growth. Other shared traits with modern mammals include the likely presence of mammary glands and a relatively large brain.

~ By Jasper Barnes

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Just a portrait of a big fluffy nothronychus.

TRIAAAASSIIIIIC MADNESS!

The Triassic

A time period from 251.9 million years ago, 

Through 201.3 million years ago 

Sandwiched by mass extinctions

It is one of the weirdest times in Earth’s history

But also 

A foundational time, where many of today’s modern animal groups got their earliest beginnings 

This year, 2020, we will be watching these weirdos and pioneers 

COMPETE! FOR! DOMINANCE!  In TRIASSIC MARCH MADNESS! 

For the next two months, we’ll be posting about all sorts of interesting Triassic animals here on wtf-triassic! We’ll be covering everything from pseudosuchians to weird shrimpy things. 

Dinosaurs from the Triassic will also periodically show up over on @a-dinosaur-a-day! 

After that, they’ll all face off in this year’s March Madness, where YOU get to decide: Which. Is. The. BEST? 

We hope you enjoy the A-Dinosaur-A-Day’s Team’s final hurrah as we celebrate the weird and wonderful Triassic, before we go on our official Hiatus 

GET EXCITED. 

Palaeoblr is about to get WEIRD. 

AND BE SURE TO FOLLOW WTF-TRIASSIC! 

If you are interested in helping draw or write for this project, contact the ADAD team via ask or direct messaging @jewish-kulindadromeus. Thanks! 

So, now that school has come to an end and I have free time again, I’ve started delving back into the more stylised, angular art that I did a lot of a while ago. Particularly, I’ve been refining the style and making it a bit simpler, which I think helps keep the silhouette and colours clear without cluttering it up with more sharp lines.

I’m not sure why I chose to make ceratopsids a theme with these, maybe because of their diverse headgear and the opportunities for doing fun stuff with colour that it presents? I just really like ceratopsians but I suck at drawing them ordinarily so doing them in a more simplified style was a bit more comfortable. They’re just an excellent shape.

For references, I used Scott Hartman’s Albertaceratops and Chasmosaurus skeletals, and GetAwayTrike’s Eotriceratops skull. Made digitally with Krita.

Today is another odd pterasaur with Nyctosaurus, a hand-less pterasaur with a massive crest.

WWD20; Episode 1: New Blood

The first episode of the series was a great kick-off! It featured a harsh, dry landscape, where only few animals were able to make a living. And the animals that could, early dinosaurs, pterosaurs, and stem-mammals, were shown to be opportunistic animals that, while struggling, could very well be successful in the future. Even the animals that didn’t exactly fare well, like Postosuchus and Placerias, were treated as majestic creatures.

The scene that I did is the one where a Coelophysis siezes a baby cynodont, and the angry parent gives chase. There were plenty of scenes that I could have done, but I like this one, mainly because I like the composition. Obviously, the biggest edit is the addition of feathers to the dinosaur, but I also gave the cynodont a more mammalian colour scheme.

When assembled with gastralia, the T. rex reveals its ultimate form: chonky

More on avian respiration here

-

Transcript under the cut.

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A Timeline

1850s: Some scientists notice the connection between dinosaurs & birds and think birds might have evolved from dinosaurs, given similarity between Archaeopteryx and many dinosaurs, as well as between dinosaurs and living birds  

1960s: Deinonychus is discovered. Scientists starting to realize birds did evolve from dinosaurs; other ideas become fringe hypotheses 

1970s: More dinosaurs are discovered that point to dinosaur behavior being more like birds than reptiles 

1980s: Scientists begin using evolutionary relationships (ie, cladistics) to classify life, rather than Linnean Taxonomy (Kingdom-Phylum-Class etc.), especially for extinct creatures, because it really doesn’t apply to extinct life like, at all. Coelophysis, an early dinosaur, is speculatively depicted with feathers. Some very bird-like dinosaurs are debated on whether they are birds or dinosaurs. 

1993: Birds are straight-up called dinosaurs in the famous film “Jurassic Park,” which is one of the first pieces of media to depict dinosaurs as extremely birdlike; changes public perception of dinosaurs dramatically  

1996: Sinosauropteryx, the first feathered non-avian dinosaur, is revealed to the public. Birds determined to have evolved from dinosaurs, full stop; BANDits (birds-are-not-dinosaurs scientists) now a backwards, on-par-with creationists group. Since we classify dinosaurs based on their evolutionary relationships, we start calling birds dinosaurs, because they evolved from dinosaurs. 

1999: Sinornithosaurus, the first raptor (ie, cousin of Velociraptor) dinosaur found with feathers, is described. Many other feathered dinosaurs are described as well, from all over the group closely related to birds. The Walking With Dinosaurs landmark documentary series calls birds dinosaurs. 

2000: Microraptor, a raptor dinosaur with full wings on its arms and legs, is described 

2001: Velociraptor is given… “feathers” in Jurassic Park III. Velociraptor also portrayed as more bird-like than ever. When Dinosaurs Roamed America, another groundbreaking dinosaur documentary, shows all members of the group closely related to birds (except T. rex) with feathers, including Deinonychus, all over their bodies. Also calls birds dinosaurs. 

2002: A specimen of Psittacosaurus, a dinosaur about as far away from birds as you can get, is described with quills on its tail very similar to feathers 

2004: Dilong, a small relative of T. rex, is found with feathers and display structures like modern birds 

2007: Many feathered dinosaurs are now known from the group most closely related to birds. A specimen of Velociraptor with feather attachment sites on the arms for wing feathers is now known. Velociraptor now known to be definitely, no question, feathered 

2009: Tianyulong, another dinosaur from a group very far from birds, is found with fluffy quills covering all over its back 

2012: Feathered dinosaurs now coming out many times a year. Yutyrannus, a large and closer relative to T. rex, found with shaggy feathers all over its body 

2014: Kulindadromeus, another dinosaur from the group very far from birds, is named. It has fluffy covering like that of Sinosauropteryx all over its body, rather than quills. Feathers determined to be mostly likely ancestral to all dinosaurs and lost secondarily in larger species (especially if fluff known on closest relatives, pterosaurs, is also feathers - see below). 

2015: Zhenyuanlong, a close relative of Velociraptor the same size as Velociraptor, is found with extremely large wings. Raptor dinosaurs inferred to have large wing feathers unless anatomy indicates otherwise (such as having short wings). Jurassic World comes out, making dinosaurs less bird-like than in the original Jurassic Park - with lizard-like tails and behavior, and no feathers at all. Essentially, a huge step backwards. 

2018: Branched fluffy covering very similar to feathers described now on multiple pterosaurs, the group most closely related to dinosaurs (think Pterodactyls). Fluffy covering considered ancestral to all members of the Pterosaur-Dinosaur group, if not all animals more closely related to birds than to crocodilians. 

We have known birds are dinosaurs since before many people reading this were born - since before I was born. We have known dinosaurs had feathers since the mid-1990s. We have known Velociraptor was fluffy and had wings since the mid-2000s. This isn’t news. This isn’t up for debate. Please grow up. Thank you! 

AMBOPTERYX: the YIQUEL

(Click the image for better quality)

Another illustration I did a while ago also featuring recently extinct megafauna from South America, this time Brazil. Only the alligators remain. It’s amazing (and a little sad) how much our fauna changed in so little time.

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Hmm….

That skeleton is pretty clearly a Brachiosaurus. The life reconstruction is more like a diplodocid, though it should have more columnar hands and a less humped back, as well as a tail that’s straighter at the base and with more well-defined muscles.

Either way - neither of these is a Tyrannosaurus.

I feel as though this a case of someone opening the box and replacing the inside contents with something else.

This is what the actual contents this box is meant to have in it:

Also according to the Wild Republic website, the sauropods in the box are meant to be Diplodocus. 

Regardless, these are still far from accurate reconstructions.

Do I understand this meme? No, but I’m going to capitalise on its success nonetheless.

all the dinosaurs with discovered pigments with their accurate (to my knowledge) colors!