Episode 287 is all about Callovosaurus, a Dryosaurid which is featured in some editions of Jurassic Park (the first book).

We also interview Dr. Steve Poropat from Swinburne University & Research associate at Australian Age of Dinosaurs and Adele Pentland PhD candidate at Swinburne University & Research associate at Australian Age of Dinosaurs.

Here’s an artistic rendering of the new elaphrosaur in action. Can you spot Nessy in the image below? (Hint: It’s not in the water, zooming required)

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In this episode, we discuss:

News:

• A fetal Lufengosaurus shows us where Diplodocus probably got its teeth source
• The Montana Supreme Court has confirmed that the Dueling Dinosaurs are not included in generic “mineral rights” source
• The Jurassic Coast has new rules for fossil collectors source
• Mary Anning’s biopic, “Ammonite” starring Kate Winslet and Saoirse Ronan has been delayed source
• Dinosaur Discover Site at Johnson Farm reopened recently but with limited hours source
• An international student allegedly broke unto the Australian Museum in Sydney and took selfies next to the dinosaur exhibits source
• The Crystal Palace Megalosaurus has been damaged, you can donate to help pay for repairs source

The dinosaur of the day: Callovosaurus

• Iguanodontian that lived in the Middle Jurassic in what is now England (Oxford Clay Formation)
• Known from a nearly complete left thigh bone (0.92 ft or 28 cm long)
• Partial tibia (shin bone) found near by may be Callovosaurus
• Estimated to be 8.2 ft (2.5 m) long
• Herbivorous
• Type species is Callovosaurus leedsi
• Genus name means “Callovian lizard”
• Callovian is an age and stage in the Middle Jurassic, fossil found in middle Callovian
• Described in 1889 by Richard Lydekker, originally named Camptosaurus leedsi
• Species name in honor of the collector Alfred Nicholson Leeds
• In 1980, Peter Galton analyzed the fossil and named it as a new genus, Callovosaurus
• Some scientists thought it was a dubious iguanodontian
• Femur was found in a brick pit near Fletton
• Femur was originally complete, and now is in three pieces that fit together
• Cast of the femur made in 1888
• In 1909, Gilmore said that Camptosaurus leedsi was similar to Camptosaurus but “if referable at all to an American genus, its closest affinities, as indicated by the femur, are with Dryosaurus”
• In 2006, Jose Ignacio Ruiz-Omeñaca and others found it to be a valid genus, and the oldest known dryosaurid
• Originally classified as Camptosauridae, now Dryosauridae
• Femur is similar to Dryosaurus and Valdosaurus
• Closest relative is Dryosaurus
• Other animals that lived around the same time and place included ichthyosaurs, plesiosaurs, crocodyliforms, pterosaurs, the sauropod Cetiosaurus, the stegosaurs Loricatosaurus and Lexovisaurus and the ankylosaur Sarcolestes
• Replaces Microceratus in some editions of the first novel, Jurassic Park
• One of the dinosaur toys in Jurassic World Attack Pack

Fun Fact: Birds have skulls with many features of their baby Mesozoic dinosaur counterparts (bird skulls are paedomorphic).

Sponsors:

This episode is brought to you by Columbia University Press. Their book The Story of the Earth in 25 Rocks: Tales of Important Geological Puzzles and the People Who Solved Them by Donald Prothero is now available in paperback at bit.ly/earthin25rocks use promo code CUP30 to get 30% off the purchase price.