Episode 301 is all about Bambiraptor, a small dromaeosaurid known from a 95% complete holotype of a juvenile.
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In this episode, we discuss:
News:
- 9 dinosaur fossils have been found with fossilized ovarian tissue. source
- The first dinosaur bone was found in Scotland, that’s not from the Isle of Skye. source
- A large Triceratops skull was excavated in South Dakota. source
- A Dino Summer event including a velociraptor chase through a corn maze is being held in Tatenhill England. source
- The sauropod building in Spring Hill, Florida is now officially listed in the National Register of Historic Places. source
- A design for a sauropod painted with geometric shapes was shared online. source
- Fun piece of trivia: there’s a moment in Jurassic Park where you can see one of the crew members of the film grabbing a raptor’s tail. source
- Photos of Jurassic World Dominion show baby dinosaurs source
- Minecraft now has an official Jurassic World DLC source
- Google Chrome’s hidden dinosaur game now has hidden weapons source
The dinosaur of the day: Bambiraptor
- Dromaeosaurid theropod that lived in the Late Cretaceous in what is now Montana, US (Two Medicine Formation)
- Very bird-like
- Had a narrow snout
- Had a wishbone, that looked similar to modern birds
- Had long arms
- Had a long, stiff tail
- Tail may have curved upwards, but it could just look like that based on how the fossils were preserved
- Had long hindlimbs, so probably a fast runner
- Had sickle-shaped claws
- May have had feathers
- No feathers found with the fossil
- But close relatives found to have feathers
- Proportionally, was similar to Archaeopteryx
- Type species is Bambiraptor feinbergi
- Holotype nicknamed Bambi, by Wes Linster, the 14-year-old boy who discovered the dinosaur
- Wes Linster found the skeleton in 1993, when looking for dinosaurs with his parents near Glacier National Park in Montana
- Genus name because of the specimen’s nickname, Bambi
- Genus name means “Bambi seizer” or “Bambi thief”
- Species name in honor of Michael and Ann Feinberg, who purchased the fossils and lent them to the Graves Museum of Natural History in Florida
- Described and named by David Burnham and others in 2000
- Skeleton is 95% complete
- Because the skeleton was so complete, has been called the “Rosetta Stone” of raptors (John Ostrom called it a “jewel”)
- Right side of the skeleton is damaged, but the rest is in good condition (no end of the tail)
- First thought to be a juvenile Saurornitholestes, and then later thought to be a new Velociraptor species, Velociraptor feinbergi
- Helps show the link between non-avian dinosaurs and birds
- Holotype is probably a juvenile, and is less than 3 ft (1 m) long
- Holotype weighed about 4.4 lb (2 kg)
- Skull was about 5 in (13 cm) long
- Referred specimens include two adults found near the holotype and an upper jaw bone
- Only the juvenile specimen has been described
- Gregory Paul estimated adults to be 4.3 ft (1.3 m) long and weigh 11 lb (5 kg)
- Holotype had a large brain for its body, but could be because it was a juvenile (had a larger ratio of brain-to-body)
- Or may mean it was more intelligent than other dromaeosaurs; hypotheses include it lived in trees, or it hunted more agile prey like lizards and mammals
- Probably ate small mammals and reptiles
- May have been about to reach its mouth with its hands, so it could put food in its mouth with its hands (had opposable fingers)
- Phil Senter found that Bambiraptor could hold prey in both its arms, bring its food to its mouth, and also touch the tips of its first and third fingers together (used fossils and casts of Deinonychus and Bambiraptor forelimb bones to test)
- May have been able to grab prey, kill it with its claws, and then put the food into its mouth
- May have also used its sickle claws on its second toes to kill prey
- Senter found Bambiraptor couldn’t dig
- If feathered, feathers may have gotten in the way of the hands, though Senter said he thought the hands may extended beyond the feathers (if there were feathers)
- Description in 2000 said the holotype may have been male, based on its chevrons being similar to those in male crocodilians (but not clear)
- Holotype found with hadrosaurs, probably Maiasaura, as well as at least three tyrannosaurid specimens
Fun Fact: Birds only have one ovary. It’s the left one. The right one is still technically there, but it’s tiny and undeveloped. In some birds, like kiwis and at least some raptors, the right ovary is still present.
