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The Big Dinosaur Podcast

The Big Dinosaur Podcast

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I Know Dino Podcast Show Notes: Shuvuuia (Episode 237)

Episode 237 is all about Shuvuuia, a Mongolian alvarezsaurid that was probably covered in dino fuzz.

We also interview David Armsby, the creator of the YouTube channel Dead Sound. You may have seen his excellent short animated movie Sharp Teeth. If you haven’t seen it, it’s definitely worth a look. You can also see the video version of our interview on YouTube.

Big thanks to all our patrons! Get our latest book by joining our Tyrannosaurus level at: https://www.patreon.com/iknowdino.

You can listen to our free podcast, with all our episodes, on Apple Podcasts at: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/i-know-dino/id960976813?mt=2

In this episode, we discuss:

News:

  • A new study found that the Triassic sauropodomorph Mussaurus crawled on all fours as a hatchling source
  • A high school senior from the Webb Schools published on a young Edmontosaurus femur—supporting a life-long quadrupedal stance source
  • The Royal Gorge Dinosaur Experience has life-size skeletons and a Dinosaur Walk source
  • The Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History has a new animatronic T. rex and baby Ankylosaurus source
  • Granger, Washington, residents helped build a Sauropelta for their Dino-N-A-Day event source
  • Tammy and the T. rex is getting a re-release on Monday, June 17 at the Chicago Cinepocalypse film festival source
  • Netflix is making a Jurassic World animated TV show called Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous source
  • Jurassic World Evolution is getting new DLC featuring Claire Dearing saving dinosaurs source
  • the Science Museum of Minnesota is holding a dinosaur event on July 13 source
  • The North American Paleontological Convention is coming up on June 23–27 at the University of California, Riverside source

The dinosaur of the day: Shuvuuia

  • Alvarezsaurid theropod that lived in the Late Cretaceous in what is now Mongolia
  • Alvarezsaurids have short, powerful forelimbs that are good for digging
  • Type species is Shuvuuia deserti
  • Name means “desert bird” (Mongolian word shuvuu means “bird”)
  • Small and light, about 2 ft (60 cm) long
  • Had a beaked snout
  • Had slender jaws and small teeth
  • Jaw could perform prokinensis (upper jaw mobility, where the snout can bend or flex upward independent of the skull); Shuvuuia had special hinges near the eye sockets
  • Had long, slender hindlimbs and short toes
  • Had three toes on each foot
  • May have been a fast runner
  • Forelimbs were short and muscular, with three digits on each (including one large thumb claw)
  • May have used forelimbs to rip open insect nests (could use its jaws to go after the insects, and open its mouth very wide)
  • Named in 1998 by Chiappe and others
  • Fossils found in the Djadochta Formation
  • Several specimens have been found, including some well preserved skulls
  • One specimen was found among hollow tube-like structures made of keratin. Scientists found the structures contained the protein beta-keratin, and no alpha-keratin. Beta-keratin is found in skin and feather cells of reptiles and birds. But only bird feathers have no alpha-keratin, which showed that Shuvuuia was probably covered in proto feathers
  • Paul Sereno hypothesized in 1999 that alvaresaurids were modified members of ornithomimidae (ostrich mimics)
  • A study in 2002 of a partial skeleton of an immature Shuvuuia found there was not enough information to support the hypothesis that ornithomimids and alvarezsaurids are closely related
  • Can see Shuvuuia in the Jurassic World Dinosaur Field Guide

Fun Fact: A freshly hatched Mussaurus only weighed about 60g (2oz). An adult weighed over a ton. That’s over a 16,000 times increase in size.

I Know Dino Podcast Show Notes: Talarurus (Episode 235)

Episode 235 is all about Talarurus, the “wicker tailed” ankylosaurid from Mongolia.

We also have an interview with Brian Engh, a paleoartist, who has illustrated many of the recent dinosaur finds including Aquilops, Dynamoterror, and Invictarx, to name a few. He also makes puppets, movies, and music. Follow him on Patreon at historianhimself, or Facebook, twitter, YouTube, or his website.

In the interview, we learn about some of Brian’s latest projects, including his work with:

Big thanks to all our patrons! Your support means so much to us and keeps us going! If you’re a dinosaur enthusiast, join our growing community on Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/iknowdino.

You can listen to our free podcast, with all our episodes, on Apple Podcasts at: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/i-know-dino/id960976813?mt=2

In this episode, we discuss:

News:

  • Ambopteryx, the new membrane-winged dinosaur, adds details that were missing from the Yi qi discovery source
  • Workers on a construction site in Colorado found some ceratopsian fossils source
  • Four college students found a clutch of dinosaur egg fossils while on a walk in the countryside in China source
  • The Museum of New Zealand of Te Papa Tongarewa has a new display featuring an Iguanodon tooth source
  • The museum “MOST” in Syracuse, New York is getting a permanent, 3,000 square foot dinosaur exhibit called Dino Zone source
  • A massive dinosaur named Ichiro was built for Burning Man, but is in Washington D.C. until this summer source
  • An engineering student built a PVC raptor puppet in her free time source
  • Quirky Berkeley has a treasure-hunt page dedicated to dinosaurs you can find around Berkeley, California source
  • In Bozeman, Montana, Gallatin High School has just made a raptor their new mascot source

The dinosaur of the day: Talarurus

  • Ankylosaurid that lived in the Late Cretaceous in what is now Mongolia (Bayan Shireh Formation)
  • Quadrupedal, herbivorous
  • Had a beak-like snout, probably snipped off vegetation
  • Estimated to be between 13 to 20 ft (4 to 6 m) long, and weigh about 2 tonnes
  • Had armor on its body and a club tail
  • Has been described as having five fingers and four toes, but an articulated foot wasn’t found, and according to Victoria Arbour, it may have had only three toes, like other ankylosaurids.
  • Also described as having pleated spines on the armored plates and osteoderms with furrowed ornamentation (lines or grooves), but these were half rings that protected the neck
  • However, Talarurus had a long, narrow skull, a relatively small tail club, ribbed armor plates, and wide bones (relative to its length) behind the skull
  • One of the oldest known ankylosaurines from Asia
  • Found in 1948 in a joint Soviet-Mongolian Paleontological Expedition
  • Holotype includes a fragmentary skull, some vertebrae, some ribs, humerus, radius, ulna, femur, tibia, fibula, and more, including some armor and scutes
  • Six individuals found in the site
  • Another specimen found in 1975, has top of a skull and a fragmentary skeleton
  • More specimens have been found since 2006 (at least a dozen specimens found, in total)
  • Described in 1952 by Evgeny Maleev
  • Type species is Talarurus plicatospineus
  • Genus name means “Wicker tail” or “basket tail”
  • Genus name refers to the club tail that looks like a wicker basket (interlaced bony structs that looks like a wicker basket weave)
  • Species name means “folded thorny” and refers to the corrugated (alternate ridges and grooves) spines on the armor plates
  • Maryanska renamed Syrmosaurus disparoserratus as a second species, Talarurus disparoserratus in 1977. Then in 1987 it was renamed Maleevus disparoserratus
  • Part of Ankylosaurinae
  • Probably lived in lowland floodplains
  • Other dinosaurs that lived in the same time and place include dromaeosaurids, therizinosaurs, and other ankylosaurs
  • Skeletal mount at the Moscow Palaeontological Institute, based on the six individuals and a skull modeled after Pinacosaurus (but not too accurate)

Fun Fact: Ankylosaurs are usually found alone, but there is some evidence that they may have lived in groups.

I Know Dino Podcast Show Notes: Nodosaurus (Episode 223)

Episode 223 is all about Nodosaurus, the original member of Nodosauridae: The clade of ankylosaurs without tail clubs.

Interview with Thomas Hopp, scientist, inventor, lecturer, and author. He’s written a number of short stories and novels, including the science fiction series Dinosaur Wars.

Dinosaur Wars: Earthfall
Hatching Alamosaurus

He has also proposed that dinosaurs evolved feathers on their hindlimbs to warm their nests. Here are PDFs of his feather paper and his poster from SVP.

Big thanks to all our patrons! Your support means so much to us and keeps us going! If you’re a dinosaur enthusiast, join our growing community on Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/iknowdino.

You can listen to our free podcast, with all our episodes, on Apple Podcasts at: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/i-know-dino/id960976813?mt=2

In this episode, we discuss:

News:

  • A new American Tyrannosauroid, Moros intrepidus, was about 30 million years younger than T. rex and 1% its size source
  • The Irish coast guard were called to recover some T. rex bones which turned out to be a hoax source
  • Matt Lamanna, will present “Diving for Dinosaurs: Cretaceous fossils from Croatia” at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History source
  • Pismo Beach, California, had a grand re-opening recently for Dinosaur Caves Park source
  • In the UK, you can now buy Easter-themed chocolate dinosaurs at both Aldi and Marks & Spencer source
  • Metahub posted a list of the best and worst dinosaurs in Jurassic World Alive source

The dinosaur of the day: Nodosaurus

  • Ankylosaur that lived in the Late Cretaceous in what is now North America
  • Herbivorous
  • Estimated to be about 13 to 20 ft (4 to 6 m) long
  • Had bony plates on the top of its body, and may have had spikes on the side of its body
  • Bony plates were like bands, alternating between narrow and wide bands over the ribs
  • The wider bands were also covered in bony knobs
  • Had a short neck and a long, stiff tail (no club)
  • Had a small, narrow head, pointed snout, small teeth, and powerful jaws
  • Had five toes on each foot
  • Had powerful forelimbs
  • Named in 1889 by Othniel Charles Marsh (very brief description)
  • Richard Swan Lull gave a more detailed description in 1921
  • Lull also described flat scutes, spines, and plates, though he did not illustrate them
  • Carpenter and Kirkland revisited the description in 1998
  • In 2015, a 4-year-old boy, Wylie Brys found what’s thought to be a Nodosaurus fossil in Mansfield, Texas. He and his father Tim were looking around behind a shopping center. At first they thought it was s turtle fossil. They reached out to Southern Methodist University and worked with them to excavate the area
  • Type species is Nodosaurus textilis
  • Name means “knobbed lizard”
  • Species name refers to the texture near the head (small ossifications in quadrangular form, arranged in rows. Marsh said “The external surface is perculiarly marked by a texture that appears interwoven, like a coarse cloth. This has suggested the species name.”
  • Nodosaurus is the type genus for the nodosaurid group
  • Two groups in Ankylosauria: nodosaurids and ankylosaurids
  • Nodosaurids are usually more primitive, and they don’t have tail clubs, and generally skulls are not as short or broad as ankylosaurids, and the skulls were not covered in scutes
  • Can see Nodosaurus in the Illustrated Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs (a.k.a. Normanpedia), illustrated by John Sibbick in 1889
  • Can also see Nodosaurus in the Land Before Time series (appears in the 3rd movie, as a character named Nod)
  • Can also see Nodosaurus in the game Jurassic World Evoution (unlock via the Hammond Foundation when you complete the Science Division’s mission on Isla Tacaño. Model is based on Borealopelta

Fun Fact: For the tyrannosaur linneage to evolve from Moros interpidus size to T. rex size they would have needed to grow about 4 grams per generation.S

This Week in Dinosaur News: A new, large, Early Jurassic theropod, how ankylosaurs cooled their brains, and more

“Vascular reconstruction of the venous pathway in the left oronasal apparatus of Euoplocephalus” from https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0207381

Here’s what came out this week in dinosaur news:

  • The new theropod Saltriovenator zanellai from the Italian alps pushes back the first date of 1 ton carnivores to the earliest Jurassic source
  • A fluid mechanics model confirms that ankylosaur nasal passages could have cooled their brains source
  • A team of 60 people have recovered about 1,500 items from the ashes of Rio’s National Museum source
  • The Bayville dinosaur in Berkeley Township, New Jersey is now fully restored and back source
  • The three Drumheller dinosaur sculptures which were damaged beyond repair are on schedule to be replaced this spring source
  • The new Aquaman movie apparently features T. rex like dinosaurs source

Check out these stories, our fun fact, interview with Past Time podcast, and dinosaur of the day Tarchia in episode 215 of the I Know Dino Podcast!

I Know Dino Podcast Show Notes: Tarchia (Episode 215)

Episode 215 is all about Tarchia, a Mongolian ankylosaur that was likely prey of Tarbosaurus.

We also interview Past Time podcast, Matt, Adam, and Catherine are the hosts of the paleontology podcast Past Time. They are all also paleontologists working with reptiles, lemurs, and bird brains. Check them out on Facebook or Twitter.

Big thanks to all our patrons! Your support means so much to us and keeps us going! If you’re a dinosaur enthusiast, join our growing community on Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/iknowdino.

You can listen to our free podcast, with all our episodes, on Apple Podcasts at: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/i-know-dino/id960976813?mt=2

In this episode, we discuss:

News:
  • The new theropod Saltriovenator zanellai from the Italian alps pushes back the first date of 1 ton carnivores to the earliest Jurassic source
  • A fluid mechanics model confirms that ankylosaur nasal passages could have cooled their brains source
  • A team of 60 people have recovered about 1,500 items from the ashes of Rio’s National Museum source
  • The Bayville dinosaur in Berkeley Township, New Jersey is now fully restored and back source
  • The three Drumheller dinosaur sculptures which were damaged beyond repair are on schedule to be replaced this spring source
  • The new Aquaman movie apparently features T. rex like dinosaurs source
The dinosaur of the day: Tarchia
  • Ankylosaurid that lived in the Late Cretaceous in what is now Mongolia
  • Tarchia had a broad, low body and short, strong legs
  • Walked on four legs
  • Head was covered in armor
  • Had osteoderms on the body, and probably had a tail club
  • Had spikes on its back
  • Tarchia lived in the desert
  • Probably prey for Tarbosaurus
  • One Tarchia skull has tooth marks from Tarbosaurus
  • Found in 1970 by a Polish-Mongolian expedition (found a skull)
  • Described in 1977 by Teresa Maryanska
  • Type species is Tarchia kielanae
  • Name means “brainy one”
  • Genus name comes from the Mongolian word tarkhi
  • Had a larger brain than other similar ankylosaurs, and that’s why it’s named the “brainy one”
  • Species name is in honor of Professor Zofia Kielan-Jaworowska, who led the expedition that found the fossils
  • Holotype includes a skull roof, braincase, and parts of the rear of the skull
  • Three other specimens were referred to Tarchia, and included tail vertebrae (including part of the tail club and a scute) and a right humerus
  • Tatyana Tumanova named a second species in 1977, Tarchia gigantea
  • Trachia gigantea was originally Dyoplosaurus giganteus (named in 1956 by Maleev)
  • In 1987, Tumanova found that Dyoplosaurus and Tarchia were the same, which made Dyoplosaurus giganteus a senior synonym to Tarchia kielanae
  • Most scientists agreed, and the two names were combined into Tarchia gigantea
  • Then Victoria Arbour found that Dyoplosaurus giganteus was a nomen dubium (not distinguishable from other ankylosaurs from the same time in Mongolia), and revived Tarchia kielanae (she found that a specimen with a tail and club that was referred to Dyoplosaurus giganteus was different from the Dyoplosaurus holotype)
  • Arbour also found that the specimen Tumanova referred to be Tarchia in 1977 was actually Saichania (another ankylosaur from Mongolia), which was well preserved and defined how Tarchia was illustrated and depicted (and changed how we thought Tarchia looked)
  • Arbour found that the holotype of Tarchia was similar to Minotaurasaurus (named in 2009 by Miles and Miles), and that Minotaurasaurus was a junior synonym of Tarchia
  • In 2016, Penkalski and Tumanova found that the 1977 specimen that was referred to Tarchia (that Arbour thought was Saichania) had too many differences from Saichania and was actually a new Tarchia species, Tarchia teresae. They also found Minotaurasaurus to be its own genus
  • Estimates of the size of Tarchia have been based on Dyoplosaurus giganteus (holotype was one of the largest known ankylosaurs), and estimates were of 26 ft (8 m) long
  • However, Tarchia kielanae and Minotaurasaurus holotypes are smalle. Gregory Paul estimated in 2010 that Tarchia was about 14.7 ft (4.5 m) long and weighed 1.5 tonnes

Fun Fact: Barnum Brown was named after P.T. Barnum

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

And by Indiana University Press. Their Life of the Past series is lavishly illustrated and meticulously documented to showcase the latest findings and most compelling interpretations in the ever-changing field of paleontology. Find their books at iupress.indiana.edu

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