Episode 198 is all about Alectrosaurus, A medium sized cretaceous tyrannosaur that lived along side Gigantoraptor.

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In this episode, we discuss:

News:

• Three juveniles of a new iguanodontian species named Choyrodon barsboldi were found in Mongolia source
• A new Amargasaurus relative named Pilmatueia faundezi was found in Argentina source
• A fire destroyed most of the National Museum of Brazil in Rio de Janeiro taking with it part of the Iritator holotype, Maxakalisaurus, and many other important fossils source
  • They have requested anyone with photos of the exhibits to send them to t[email protected]
• The Museum of Prehistory in Brabant, Netherlands, will be presented with a new Diplodocus skeleton on October 10 source
• Cincinnati Museum Center in Ohio is getting a 55% complete 30 ft long Torvosaurus skeleton in November source
• A T. rex skeleton nicknamed Roosevelt is on display at the Erin Martin Design showroom in Napa County, CA source
• A single industrial park in China is responsible for most of the dinosaur animatronics created in the world source
• A family in Great Falls, Montana created a mini sauropod sculpture source
• Google Chrome created a birthday edition of the running T. rex to celebrate its 10th anniversary source
• Mattel released an interactive robotic velociraptor toy called “Alpha Training Blue” source

The dinosaur of the day: Alectrosaurus

• Tyrannosaurid that lived in the Cretaceous in what is now Inner Mongolia, at the Iren Dabasu Formation
• Only one species: Alectrosaurus olseni
• Name means “Alone lizard”
• Found in 1923 as part of the Third Asiatic Expedition of the American Museum of Natural History, led by Walter W. Granger
• Named in 1933 by Charles Gilmore
• Species name in honor of George Olsen, assistant paleontologist, who discovered the fossils, including a nearly complete right hindlimb, part of the right femur, tibia, fibular, toes, hand, and part of the pubis
• Olsen also found a second specimen nearby (included humerus, fingers, vertebrae)
• Other fossils have been referred to Alectrosaurus, found in China and Uzbekistan
• Medium-sized, bipedal carnivore
• Could grow up to 16.4 ft (5 m) long, and had a similar body shape to T. rex
• One of the top predators of its time, along with Gigantoraptor
• Probably preyed on ornithischians, such as Bactrosaurus and Gilmoreosaurus
• Tibia and femur were similar in length (different from other tyrannosauroids, where the tibia is longer)
• Also, the hind foot and ankle were closer in size to the tibia than other tyrannosauroids (hind foot is usually longer)
• Some scientists have thought Alectrosaurus olseni was a species of Albertosaurus, but Carr in 2005 said Alectrosaurus had a number of distinguishing characteristics, and was its own genus

Fun Fact:

“odon” is historically one of the most common dinosaur name endings, but it is used much less often these days.

Sponsors:

This episode is brought to you in part by TRX Dinosaurs, which makes beautiful and realistic dinosaur sculptures, puppets, and animatronics. You can see some amazing examples and works in progress on Instagram @trxdinosaurs