The Big Dinosaur Podcast

Episode 125 is all about Omeisaurus, a sauropod that lived in the Jurassic in what is now China.

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In this episode, we discuss:

News:

• Zhongjianosaurus yangi a 310g (11oz) raptor from the early cretaceous was found in China and resembles a mini velociraptor
• Moabosaurus Utahensis a likely titanosaur also from the early cretaceous was found near Moab, Utah in a huge shattered and bug-eaten bonebed
• Camarasurus likely had large gums and possibly even a beak according to a study in PalZ
• Ugrunaaluk kuukpikensis the “ancient grazer” found in 2015 in Alaska may be actually just be an Edmontosaurus regalis according to PLOS One
  • They also show that hadrosaurs most likely evolved in North America, although models still show that an Asian origin is possible
• Future Learn has released a new free online course, called Extinctions: Past and Present which focuses on Earth’s five mass extinctions
• The Institute for the Study of Mongolian Dinosaurs released new art of Pinacosaurus, Nemegtosaurus, Psittacosaurus, Velociraptor, Deinocheirus, Oviratpor, and Tarbosaurus
• Le Musee des Beaux Arts d’Angouleme and l’association Paleocharente are raising money for a new exhibition and will name a bone after you for the right price
• The University of California Museum of Paleontology in Berkeley held their annual short course on March 4, and this year the topic was dinosaurs
• The Morris Museum in NJ hosted an Easter egg hunt with Field Station Dinosaurs.
• UK Police got involved in a dispute between Dinosaur World and the ice cream shop next door over where two Jurassic Park-style Deinonychus should sit
• Screenrant posted another take on what dinosaurs would have sounded like. Spoiler alert, they don’t roar at you before trying to catch you…
• MSN listed the “10 coolest dinosaurs” although “10 most popular dinosaurs” is probably more accurate
• Colin Trevorrow confirmed that Rexy, the iconic Jurassic Park T-rex will return in Jurassic World 2
• ChillerTV published a list of “13 dynamic dinosaur movies” featuring a lot of top-notch stop motion
• On April 6, NPR marked the 25th anniversary of Barney the dinosaur; and the apparent solution to a lack of toddler specific television
• Inflatable T. rex costumes showed up in a ballet recital and at a concert—of course Jurassic Park music was played
• Discover the Dinosaurs Unleashed is coming to MetraPark in Montana on April 29 and 30, the winner of a joke contest will get 5 free tickets
• IKnowDino.com was rated #8 in Top 10 Dinosaur Blogs/Websites by feedspot

The dinosaur of the day: Omeisaurus

• Name means “Omei lizard”
• Sauropod that lived in the Jurassic in what is now China
• The name Omei comes from Mount Emei (Omeisaurus was found there, in the Shaximiao Formation of Sichuan Province)
• Described in 1939 by Yang Zhongjian, also known as C.C. Young
• More fossils were found in the 1970s and 1980s, which was the “Chinese dinosaur rush”
• There are six species of Omeisaurus: Omeisaurus junghsiensis, Omeisaurus changshouensis, Omeisaurus fuxiensis, Omeisaurus tianfuensis, Omeisaurus luoquanensis, Omeisaurus maoianus
• Five of those species (all but Omeisaurus maoianus) were named after the locations where they were found
• Type species is Omeisaurus junghsiensis
• Lots of fossils found, so may have been the most common sauropod in the Late Jurassic in China
• About 66 ft (20.2 m) long and weighed 9.8 tons
• The smallest species was Omeisaurus fuxiensis, at around 35 ft (11 m) long
• Had a rounded body, which gave it a small surface area compared to its volume (which would help it stay warm, by reducing heat loss)
• Had nostrils that faced forward
• Had a long neck helped it eat foliage, could probably eat one ton of plants a day
• Omeisaurus tianfuensis had one of the longest sauropod necks (30 ft, or 9.1 m). Mamenchisaurus has a longer neck
• Mamenchisaurusis thought to have replaced Omeisaurus
• Scientists used to think Omeisaurus was part of the Mamenchisauridae family, now it’s thought to be part of Euhelopodidae
• Scientists used to think Omeisaurus had a club tail, based on the club tail fossil being found near Omeisaurus fossils, (which made it hard to figure out which family Omeisaurus belonged in), but now it’s thought to not have a club tail, because a club tail would be too heavy and throw Omeisaurus off balance
• Other dinosaurs that lived at the same time and place as Omeisaurus included the sauropods Abrosaurus, Dashanpusaurus, Shunosaurus, also the stegosaur Huayangosaurus, the ornithischian Agilisaurus, and predators such as Chuandongocoelurus, Kaijiangosaurus, Gasosaurus, Leshansaurus, Xuanhanosaurus, Yangchuanosaurus
• Yangchuanosaurus were big enough to be a threat to Omeisaurus
• Can see Omeisaurus at the Zigong Dinosaur Museum in Zigong, China, and at the Beipei Museum, near Chongqing, in China
• Euhelopodidae is a family of sauropod dinosaurs, named by Alfred Sherwood Romer in 1956
• Dinosaurs in this family include Euhelopus, Chiayusaurus, Omeisaurus, Tienshanosaurus

Fun fact: Some momma birds can feed their chicks without stomach acid because they have a special pouch in their esophagus called the “crop.” Dinosaurs may have also used a crop in a similar way, although it is hard to tell since soft tissue rarely fossilizes.

 

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