The Big Dinosaur Podcast

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.

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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