The Big Dinosaur Podcast

Episode 222 is all about Mei, the “soundly sleeping dragon” from China.

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In this episode, we discuss:

News:

• A new Iguanodontian, Pareisactus evrostos, was found in Spain with an extra thick shoulder blade source
• A roughly three-year-old early Saurischian, Nhandumirim waldsangae, was found in Brazil and named after its distant cousin: the rhea source
• An Iguanodontian, Sektensaurus sanjuanboscoi, was found on an island in a lake that’s only visible when water levels are low source
• 25% a trackway from Winton, Queensland, Australia have been relocated to protect them from erosion source
• A professional LEGO building company, is working on the “Brickosaur” show for Marwell Zoo in Hampshire, UK source
• Someone managed to flyboard while wearing an inflatable T. rex costume source
• Apex Legends has dinosaur easter eggs in the form of dinosaur toys source
• A “Jurassic Fight Night” with large dinosaur puppets was held in Phoenix, Arizona source
• Ashley Hall started a new Instagram @dresslikeascientist which features lots of dinosaur clothes and accessories source

The dinosaur of the day: Mei long

• Troodontid that lived in the Early Cretaceous in what is now Liaoning, China (Yixian Formation)
• Type species is Mei long
• Mei means “to sleep soundly”, full name is “soundly sleeping dragon”
• Named in 2004 by Xing Xu and Mark Norell
• Found in a roosting position (like birds), with its head tucked under one of the forelimbs, and legs folded under the body
• Second specimen was found and described in 2012 by Chunling Gao and others, in the same posture, which shows the posture wasn’t a fluke
• Probably buried quickly in volcanic ash after an eruption (found in volcanic sediments), may have also died from carbon monoxide poisoning, or maybe asphyxiation, hard to say (died quickly to preserve that posture from life)
• Looks like it’s sleeping, but possibly also went in to that position to protect itself from the volcanic eruption
• May have been in that posture to stay warm
• Position helps show relationship of non-avian dinosaurs and birds, may show they had a common ancestor that lived not long before Mei long
• One of the oldest known fossils found in this sleeping posture (most dinosaurs are found in the death pose)
• Neither specimen really decayed or was scavenged, which may mean they were in burrows
• First fossil found is of a young juvenile, that was about 21 in (53 cm) long
• First specimen found had some incomplete fused bones, so may have been close to being an adult
• Second specimen had juvenile-like features, and was about two years old, and growth was slowing (did histology) so was close to maturity
• Had a lot of teeth, that were spaced closely together
• Had large nostrils, a small skull, and long hindlimbs
• Fast runner
• Had a large U-shaped wishbone
• Large sickle-shaped claw on each foot
• Lived in an area with lakes, streams, rivers, and volcanoes
• Basal troodontid
• Troodontids were very smart, and had good vision and serrated teeth
• Another troodontid, Sinornithoides youngi, was also found in that sleeping position
• Xu and Norell said that Mei long’s shared features with modern birds (and the fact that they share a common ancestor), plus its small size, helps support the idea that getting smaller was important for flight

Fun Fact: Dinosaurs have less space for muscles around their eyes, but they still have a couple of muscles that we don’t have.

Sponsors:

This episode is brought to you in part 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