Episode 247 is all about Patagonykus, The “Patagonian claw” alvarezsaur from the Cretaceous.

We also interview Annalisa Berta, a paleontologist and professor emerita at San Diego State University. She’s also the co-author, along with Dr. Susan Turner, of the upcoming book Women in Vertebrate Paleontology, which is a history of women bone hunters beginning in the late 1700s.

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In this episode, we discuss:

News:

• Elektorornis chenguangi was named based on its fuzzy foot, which was found in amber source
• Elektorornis may have used its toe fuzz like birds use their facial bristles today source
• A team of paleontologists found the first ever Tyrannosauripus footprint in China source
• The Great Plains Dinosaur Museum is offering a dinosaur dig program for adults and kids in Malta, Montana source
• Leeds city centre, in the UK, has five animatronic dinosaurs for the next few weeks source
• In Fortnite Season X, there are weekly missions, including finding dinosaurs source
• The new anime series “Jurassic!” will combine a modern world and prehistoric animals source

The dinosaur of the day: Patagonykus

• Alvarezsaur that lived in the Cretaceous in what is now Neuquen Province, Argentina (Portezuelo Formation)
• Estimated to be 6.5 ft (2 m) long
• Holotype is incomplete, and includes vertebrae, partial forelimb, pelvic girdle, and hindlimbs (no skull)
• Probably ate insects
• Alvaresaurs are small, bipedal, and probably ate insects
• Alvaresaurs also had short, robust forelimbs
• Type species is Patagonykus puertai
• Genus name means “Patagonian claw”
• Described in 1996 by Novas
• A second specimen was found in 2003, but only one digit from its finger
• Other dinosaurs that lived around the same time and place include Megaraptor, Rinconsaurus and Antarctosaurus

Fun Fact: By looking at Tarbosaurus teeth, it appears that what is now the Gobi dessert was once a forest full of conifer trees (things like redwood, pine, & cedar).