Episode 429: A mini ankylosaur and a giant hadrosaur. Plus Lindsey Kinsella joins to discuss his new book “The Lazarus Taxa” which includes scientists traveling to the Cretaceous and encountering many interesting dinosaurs.
News:
- A new tiny ankylosaur from Patagonia, Patagopelta source
- Baby tyrannosaurs may have been walking friends source
Interview:
Lindsey Kinsella, a paleontology enthusiast, and writer & author of the sci-fi novel The Lazarus Taxa which includes scientists time traveling to the Late Cretaceous. Connect with him on facebook, instagram, twitter, or tiktok.
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The dinosaur of the day: Magnapaulia
- Lambeosaurine hadrosaurid that lived in the Late Cretaceous in what is now Baja California, Mexico (El Gallo Formation)
- Very large hadrosaur, with a crest on top of its head, a bulky body that walked on four legs and had a tall tail
- Originally estimated to be between about 49 to 54 ft (15 to 16.5 m) long and weigh up to 8.8 tons
- In 2012, Prieto-Márquez and others estimated it to be around 41 ft (12.5 m) long
- Type species is Magnapaulia laticaudus
- Described in 1981 by William Morris
- Originally Morris referred the fossils to Hypacrosaurus altispinus, based on the long neural spines of the tail, but then he changed it to cf. Lambeosaurus, based on details of the premaxilla (upper jaw), and then he named it Lambeosaurus laticaudus (based on its large size and the tall neural spines in the tail)
- Later scientists suggested Lambeosaurus laticaudus could be Hypacrosaurus, or not a valid taxon
- Named by Albert Prieto-Márquez, Luis Chiappe, and Shantanu Joshi as Magnapaulia in 2012
- Genus name means “large” and “paulia” is in honor of “Mr. Paul Haaga for his outstanding support to the research and public programs of the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County and its Dinosaur Institute”
- Species name means “broad tail”
- Fossils found in an excavation by the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County between 1968 and 1974
- Holotype includes parts of the jaw, vertebrae, parts of the leg, parts of the pelvis, and parts of the arm
- 24 referred specimens found, all within 3 m of where the holotype was found. Fossils include partial skeletons, and skin impressions
- Morris thought Lambeosaurus laticaudus spent its time in the water, because it was so big and it had such a tall, narrow tail (good for swimming? could give it a push), weak connections in the hips, and a healed broken thigh bone that he thought would have been too difficult of an injury to survive on land (easier to recover in the water, less weight on the leg)
- Prieto-Márquez et. al said that adult hadrosaurids were between 7 to 10 m long, and Magnapaulia was much longer (“one of the largest known hadrosaurid species, not only in North America, but in the world”), which makes it a “giant” hadrosaurid
- Chiappe wrote on his site that “The size was so impressive that it could have been mistaken for an Apatosaurus!”
- Had a proportionately slender femur
- Only fragments of the crest have been found
- Had elongated chevrons and vertebral spines, similar to Hypacrosaurus, which meant it had a tall tail
- Tail of one specimen found (LACM 17712) had skin impressions with large scales up to 4 cm wide, surrounded by 1 cm wide hexagonal and rounded scales
- Closely related to Velafrons, which was also found in what is now Mexico (covered in episode 324)
- Other dinosaurs that lived around the same time and place include dromaeosaurs, tyrannosaurs, hadrosaurs, and ankylosaurs
- Other animals that lived around the same time and place include lepidosaurs, mammals, and amphibians
Fun Fact:
Ankylosaurs like Patagopelta made it from North to South America across Panama during the “First American Biotic Interchange.”
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I don’t like most paleontology podcasts because they are so ridiculous. They have people singing and talk about dumb stuff and act like they are three. I love that you stick to facts and actually talk about the anatomy of the new finds, and why they are important. I don’t mind you talking about Prehistoric Planet or Jurassic world, or cool museums, etc. My other 2 favorite paleo sites are PBS Eons and Common Descent, because they don’t dumb things down. I love the show, but respectfully, I do not like the dinosaur connection part. I could care less about farming, or pokemon etc. I’m not saying never joke or have fun but don’t be like the Terrible Lizards podcast. I like your interviews better than most because you actually let them talk about the dinosaurs in an intelligent way. The Cary Woodruff interview was awesome. Thank you for your tiime. Want to become a patron but between my family and support of other charities is tough right now. But you are on the list of things I am trying to get to.
Thank you so much for the feedback and support! You’re not alone in your dislike of the dinosaur connection challenge–we’re still experimenting with ways to improve the show 🙂