Episode 411: A huge find from Africa and a dinosaur egg full of crystals. A bonebed of over two dozen iguanodontians from a new species, a new ceratopsian, and much more

News:

• At least 27 iguanodontians from the new genus, Iyuku, were discovered in a South African bonebed source
• New chasmosaurine ceratopsid dinosaur Bisticeratops froeseorum was discovered. source
• Scientists named a new type of dinosaur egg (which was found full of crystals). source
• Scientists found a pathology in a titanosaur egg that could tell us more about dinosaur reproductive behavior. source
• A bunch of dinosaur tracks and trackways were found in Alberta, Canada, that may show dinosaurs being sociable. source
• Another Tyrannosaurus rex is going on auction. source
• Scientists found new dinosaur tracks in Alaska thanks to an earthquake. source
• The Badlands Dinosaur Museum found baby dinosaurs this summer. source

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The dinosaur of the day: Oxalaia

• Spinosaurid that lived in the Late Cretaceous (about 100.5 to 93.9 million years ago) in what is now northeastern Brazil (Alcântara Formation)
• Not many bones found, but probably looked like other spinosaurs
• Closely related to Spinosaurus, and may be a junior synonym of Spinosaurus
• Had an elongated jaw
• Probably had short back legs, robust arms, and a long tail
• Unclear if it had a sail on its back, because no fossils found (unless it turns out it is a junior synonym to Spinosaurus)
• Skull estimated to be 4.4 ft (1.35 m) long
• Spinosaurus skull has been estimated to be between 5.25 to 5.75 ft (1.6 to 2.1 m) long. Learn more in episode 300
• Estimated to be 39 to 46 ft (12 to 14 m) long, based on comparing the snout to the snout of MSNM V4047 (a very large Spinosaurus cf., found in 2005)
• Estimated to weigh 5 to 7 tons
• Teeth were not serrated
• Probably ate fish, but may have also eaten dinosaurs and pterosaurs (based on evidence from other spinosaurids)
• Fossils found in 1999 on Cajual Island
• Found two partial skull bones
• Described in 2011 by Alexander Kellner and others
• Type and only species is Oxalaia quilombensis
• Genus name refers to the African deity Oxalá. According to the paper describing Oxalaia, “the most respected masculine deity in the African pantheon, introduced in Brazil during slavery”
• Species name refers to the Brazilian quilombo settlements (where descendants of former Brazilian slaves live), some of which were on Cajual Island
• Holotype found in situ, and includes the fused premaxillae (front of the snout)
• Also referred an incomplete left maxilla (upper jaw)
• Holotype was a rare find because strong tides eroded many fossils at the site where it was found
• Hundreds of spinosaurid teeth found in the same area
• Partial skull and teeth had distinct features, such as two replacement teeth in each socket, and a more rounded tip of the snout
• Recent spinosaurid teeth paper (episode 409), talked about how spinosaurids had two replacement teeth, so not sure how distinct a feature this still is
• Had seven premaxillary teeth
• MSNM V4047 only had six premaxillary teeth
• Robert Smyth and others in 2020 found Oxalaia didn’t have enough distinct features to be its own taxon, and instead any differences were due to individual variation and that it was a junior synonym of Spinosaurus (which would mean Spinosaurus had a wider distribution than previously thought)
• Fossils were at the National Museum of Rio de Janeiro, but they may have been destroyed in the 2018 fire
• Lived in a tropical, forested area, with lots of conifers
• Area surrounded by an arid landscape
• Other dinosaurs that lived around the same time and place include carcharodontosaurids, dromaeosaurs, sauropods, theropods
• Other animals that lived around the same time and place include pterosaurs, crocodylomorphs, turtles, fish
• Similar animals and plants found in the Kem Kem Beds of Morocco from the same time period (Africa and South America used to be connected as Gondwana, and parts were still connected during this time period)
• Can see Oxalaia in the game Jurassic World: Primal Ops

Fun Fact:

If dinosaurs had NASA, they might have avoided extinction (see Double Asteroid Redirection Test).

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